Sisters of Mercy toured North America last year, which was their first visit here in a decade and a half. While their Brooklyn show at Kings Theatre was fun (and quite the attendee fashion show), it was not frontman Andrew Eldrich’s finest showing and left a lot of fans disappointed to say the least.
What a difference a year makes, though. At Friday’s show at Brooklyn Paramount (moved from Radio City Music Hall), Eldritch seemed like a new man, rejuvenated, with a markedly improved vocal performance, engaging in banter with the audience and in general having a blast. So was everybody else, including a very enthusiastic crowd.
From what I could tell, no small part of this was due to new guitarist Kai, who seems to have changed the dynamic of the band, not to mention adding female backing vocals to the mix which really helps out on classics like “Temple of Love,” “Detonation Boulevard,” and “This Corrosion.” You could also tell as Eldritch enthusiastically introduced her before launching into “Marian”: “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is KAI!”
Whatever the cause, Brooklyn Paramount was a super fun show, and everything about it was better than last year, from the sound to the performances to the stage design, which featured a vaguely Egyptian backdrop with stone walls and columns of glowing runes. The new songs, which just slightly outnumbered the vintage material, were all pretty good too. The night closed out with three of their biggest songs: “Temple of Love,” which was the last song of the main set, and then an encore of “Lucretia My Reflection” and “This Corrosion.” The whole band took a bow to thunderous applause and Eldritch thanked the crowd. I almost didn’t go this year but I’m very glad I did.
My one big quibble remains: no bass player. The Sisters of Mercy have favored a more metallic sound since 1990’s Vision Thing but “Lucretia My Reflection” features one of the most iconic rock basslines of the ’80s. Even if you don’t want a live bass player the whole night, I wish Kai or Ben Christo would pull out a bass just for that one song.
Openers on this tour are Blaqk Audio, the gothy synthy AFI offshoot who I only caught a couple songs of. Photos of the whole night by Mathieu Bredeau, plus the setlist and full video of the show, are below.
SISTERS OF MERCY @ Brooklyn Paramount 9/20/2024
Doctor Jeep / Detonation Boulevard
Don’t Drive on Ice
Ribbons
Alice
Summer
Dominion / Mother Russia
I Will Call on You
Marian
Giving Ground
Eyes Caligula
More
But Genevieve
I Was Wrong
Here
When I’m on Fire
On the Beach
Temple of Love
Encore:
Lucretia My Reflection
This Corrosion
THE SISTERS OF MERCY – 2024 TOUR DATES
Fri, Sept 20 New York NY Brooklyn Paramount
Sun, Sept 22 Boston MA MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Tue, Sept 24 Charlotte NC The Fillmore
Thu, Sept 26 St Augustine FL St Augustine Amphitheatre
Fri, Sept 27 Atlanta GA Coca Cola Roxy
Sun, Sept 29 Austin TX ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Tue, Oct 1 Dallas TX Southside Ballroom
Thu, Oct 3 Phoenix AZ The Van Buren
Sat, Oct 5 San Diego CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Sun, Oct 6 Los Angeles CA Greek Theatre
Tue, Oct 8 San Francisco CA The Fillmore
Wed, Oct 9 San Francisco CA The Fillmore
Fri, Oct 11 Portland OR Crystal Ballroom
Sat, Oct 12 Portland OR Crystal Ballroom
Tue, Oct 15 Vancouver BC The Orpheum
Wed, Oct 16 Seattle WA Paramount Theatre
Fri, Oct 18 Salt Lake City UT Union Events Center
Sat, Oct 19 Denver CO Mission Ballroom
Tue, Oct 22 Minneapolis MN The Fillmore
Wed, Oct 23 Chicago IL Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Fri, Oct 25 Cleveland OH Temple Live
Sat, Oct 26 Toronto ON HISTORY