On Wednesday night we attended a concert at the Barbican Centre in London. This was the first time we’d ever been to the Barbican for anything other than work events (the Barbican being next to work). The concert was for a band called ‘Dead Can Dance‘.
The music of Dead Can Dance treads the line between ambient and dark folk rock with each style being suited to one of the two leading players in the band. Lisa Gerrard is famous for her haunting voice, you’ll have heard her if you’ve seen the Galdiator movie or the Kiwi movie Whale Rider. The other member is Brendan Perry, he of the dark and moody voice who sings the dark and folky/rocky tunes.
Being a band known for brooding tunes the fans tend to be on the darker side of society. There were Goths in all shapes, sizes and clothing. I felt a little out of place in amungst the black chiffon and platform docs. If was interesting wandering around and noticing all the different styles or clothing and hair.
The concert itself was very good and also rather different to our normal night out. Interesting musical instruments were to the fore, things like large gourds made with beans in shaking around and tiny little cymbols plus instruments I didn’t have any reference point for (Brendan played a large wooden instrument that looked like a model ship that had a winding handle at one end). The vocals were strong and all up we had a good time. Below is a photo from the night, Brendan and Lisa together for a song).
Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance
