You know, my dearest mother used to tell me that “if you cant say anything nice about somebody don’t say anything at all” Well it’s a shame for DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS that I never listened to my rather crazy mother. DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS are confused, confused in sound and confused in direction with pretensions to artiness. They sound like a motorway pile-up of different musical styles with misdirected jazz/psyche noodlings and tired and banal Alt-rock. I know all this sounds very negative but to be honest experimentation without an overarching vision or direction is pretty inane and pointless. It was suggested that they have a passing resemblance to the PORORPHANS and you know what I can’t disagree, because they suck too.

LACUNA COIL on the other hand proved to be a different proposition. I never really rated them much on CD; they always seemed a little tame and “nice” for my tastes. Well my previous closed-mindedness was well and truly exposed this night as they are a real revelation live. Opening with ‘Survive’ off their 2009 album Shallow Life they proved finally that they do have the balls that I haven’t previously heard on their recorded output. They followed with ‘Underdog’, ‘Closer’, an excellent ‘I Am Not Afraid’ and ‘Fragments of Faith’.

Next was ‘Tight Rope’ from the Comalies album with this first part of the show finishing with ‘Fragile’. The band takes a break at this point in what essentially turned out to be a very long set and re-emerge complete with a change of stage clothes (why?) to ‘Wide Awake’, ‘To the Edge’, ‘The Maze’ finishing with a good rendition of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’ complete with cheesy audience sing-along participation. They came out once more unto the breach for ‘Not Enough’, ‘Spellbound’ and ‘Our Truth’ with an enthusiastic crowd virtually prostrating themselves at their feet. Lacuna were one of the slickest and most professional bands I have seen, not loaded with catharsis or angst but taken on the level in which they operate they have at least made a semi-convert of me, live at least.

Rating:

Review by Lee Bullock and Photography by Alex Shaw (Lacuna Coil Photos)