Lloyd Cole, Dick Prall Live!

Lloyd Cole, Dick Prall
Park West, Chicago
Friday, November 10, 2006

On record, Lloyd Cole makes for a generally compelling listen, combining the stocky swagger of Elvis Costello, the mythical sense of Nick Cave, and a wry sense of humor akin to Leonard Cohen. On stage, one would expect all of those qualities to translate, along with a personable presence and entrancing demeanor, though that’s certainly not the case for the English singer-songwriter (and one time Commotions leader) on his current Antidepressant tour.

Unlike the album title (on One Little Indian in America), he appeared incredibly low key and dull, coming off as somewhat cranky and anti-social throughout Friday’s intimate 90-minute set.

The show started strangely with Cole in front of a laptop looping various instrumental selections for several minutes with awkward bits of silence thrown between. Thankfully, he eventually strapped on an acoustic guitar and was joined by an accompanying strummer, though it didn’t necessarily raise his spirits. Sure, the easily singable “Like Lovers Do,” organic new cut “NYC Sunshine,” and golden oldie “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?” still featured their normal vocal glow and intelligent songcraft, but offered little additional life in the live setting.

As the night wore on, fans shouted numerous requests, though Cole seemed set on his pre-planned list placed to his left on a music stand. Calls for “She’s A Girl And I’m A Man” (one of his most familiar U.S. singles) went unreturned, as were many from his most vital album of the decade, The Negatives, (such as “What’s Wrong With This Picture?”) in favor of fresh tunes. Luckily, Antidepressant is a promising album and its most upbeat track, “The Young Idealists,” was supported with a chunky laptop loop, though the mood would again drop for “Music In A Foreign Language,” the title track of 2003’s somewhat languid release.

An encore featuring “Undressed” and “No Blue Skies” finally gave way to some from the constant request reel, though again, lacked the spunk he’s certainly capable of delivering in the studio. Perhaps it was simply an off night for Cole or maybe he would’ve been better off with a full band and improved attitude. But if the tour’s remainder follows similar suit, a personal stereo experience would certainly suffice, which would shed a much stronger light on the vastly underappreciated tunesmith’s talent.

Chicago’s own Dick Prall opened the show with much more charisma than the headliner and provided the total package for a troubadour. The one-time Starch Martins leader turned to most of his latest solo album, fizzlebuzzie, including the pensive pair “Barely Moving” and “Learning To Merge.” Prall’s voice evoked Cat Stevens during “Grand Marquee,” a song about his disappointment with the current state of radio where influences like Costello and The Replacements have been replaced by disposability. All of these tracks could be solutions to that problem if program directors get their act together, and hopefully with the momentum of this prominent warm up slot, the ball will continue to swing in this accomplished songwriter’s favor.

— Andy Argyrakis

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly