It is our, erm, strange duty to inform you that tonight, Red House Painters - the band renowned for their lengthy, heartfelt and soul-searching songs of sadness and despair - play three AC/DC cover versions. Carefully selected tunes from the band's 'classic' Bon Scott era, no less.
Two others are about cats; one of those is inserted in the middle of another cover, 'Whiskey In The Jar', the lyrics taken from the Thin Lizzy/Metallica adaptation. The most important thing - this can't, in fact, be stressed enough - is that he's not taking the piss.
For those of you who've been keeping up with Mark Kozelek these last few years, none of this will come as any great surprise. For the rest of the free world, though, an explanation for tonight might be necessary.
Mark's fondness for a bit of '70s lead guitar first became apparent on 1996's 'Songs For A Blue Guitar', released on Island imprint Supreme. Label buy-outs left its follow-up 'Old Ramon' in limbo, and Mark decided to fill the void making a few non-RHP records, in which he could pay tribute to the music he listened to as a kid. As a consequence, he masterminded a John Denver tribute album, and recorded a couple of solo records. The first contained three AC/DC covers; the second, released a month or so ago, contained nothing but.
'Old Ramon' has finally been released, which is why the band are touring again, but Mark seems keen on blending tracks from that record with bits and bobs from his solo set. Unfortunately, most of the audience aren't so keen. Delighted as they are to see him, they'd love to hear songs from throughout the band's career. And they'll leave disappointed.
The set kicks off with '93's wonderful 'Grace Cathedral Park', and is followed by a (15 minute!) new song. Lengthy tracks are, in fact, a feature of tonight, as the band only manage to squeeze five songs into the first hour, the next three all coming from 'Old Ramon' - John Denver tribute 'Golden', 'Michigan' (which Kozelek describes as 'the worst song in the set') and 'Cruiser'. Many fans have been disappointed by 'Old Ramon' and its stark, limited sound, but tonight they're performed in the band's earlier, more sweeping style, and are all the better for it.
Mark also spent some of the time away acting, appearing in 'Almost Famous' as a member of the band Stillwater. He mentions them as an introduction to two of the AC/DC tunes, 'What's Next To The Moon' and 'If You Want Blood', and then sings 'Find Me, Ruben Olivares' from his first solo record. The crowd, meanwhile, are getting restless for some songs they actually know...
They get, contrarily, a B-side, 'Three-Legged Cat', and then 'New Jersey', an oldie that raises the roof, followed by set-closer 'Have You Forgotten' from '...Blue Guitar'.
The audience don't so much call for an encore as holler song titles from the band's first three or four records, but when Mark returns it's for another AC/DC song, 'Rock'n'Roll Singer', and then 'Whiskey In The Jar', which briefly morphs into 'Old Ramon's 'Wop-A-Din-Din', a song he wrote about missing his cat. A certain frustration begins to be felt, which he (briefly) nips in the bud with a concluding 'Mistress', one of the favourites from the band's early recordings.
But the mood as people leave is, essentially, bemused. Though many never imagined they'd have a chance to see the band play again, the contrary setlist has disappointed most of them. The band filled this hall off the back of their first four or five records, and then barely acknowledge that they exist. And fine though the set was, if you leave a thousand people who'd applaud if you coughed saying to themselves 'is that it?', you've clearly done something wrong...
