RED HOUSE PAINTERS + MOJAVE 3
Shepherds Bush Empire 9th May 2001

I must admit to being quite impressed by Mojave 3 as I've never really heard much of them before. I was never a big fan of Neil Halstead's previous act Slowdive so I always gave them a wide berth, so I've certainly been missing out. I can't tell you any of the song titles as I haven't sought out their records yet, but rest assured I will soon. Mojave 3 are hard to describe - they're acoustic based, but with a kind of melancholic mood about them - much like the main act tonight in fact!
Red House Painters were marvellous as ever, though Mark Kozelek wandered on to the stage looking a right shambles (he was feeling a bit poorly) but he soldiered on - this meant they only played a two hour set for a change! 'Grace Cathedral Park' kicked things off in grand style, and there was a bit of everything from then on. NOTHING from 'Down Colourful Hill' or 'Ocean Beach' though and they only teased us with the intros to 'Katy Song' and 'Things Mean A Lot'. Shame.
The new material can hold its own with the older songs and the three or four from 'Old Ramon' are pretty wonderful. The most beautiful songs 'Void' and 'Cruiser' just seem to float, you can sense the stillness in the air as Kozelek's voice fills this cavernous venue.
It's not all funereal though. 'Wop A Dindin' (to all purposes, a love song to his cat) turned into 'Whiskey in the Jar' midway through. There are lovely full band versions of 'Have You Forgotten ' and 'Find Me Ruben Olivares' too. What else? 'New Jersey', 'Mistress' (which almost made up for them not playing 'Katy Song'!), and not forgetting two AC/DC tunes - 'If You Want Blood You Got It' and 'Rock n Roll Singer'.
One of my fave bands ever, so it's hard to be objective, but this was definitely a GOOD Red House Painters show.