Review: Echo & The Bunnymen @ King George's Hall, Blackburn

11:07am Monday 28th July 2008

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A FREE show by a top band sounds like a great idea.

Certainly virtually all the tickets to see Echo and the Bunnymen at King George’s Hall as part of the Celebrate Blackburn festival were picked up.

But because no-one had paid, they had no incentive to actually attend.

As a result the hall was only a little over half full.

Even that shouldn’t have been a problem had a high proportion of those who did go along paid any attention to what was on offer.

Throughout, the band had to compete with incessant chatter which drowned out any attempt at between song banter – lead singer Ian McCulloch soon abandoned the idea – and even swamped some quieter songs.

There was a great show in there waiting to happen.

McCulloch, with a really tight band behind him presented classic Bunnymen songs such as Rescue, Killing Moon and Bring on the Dancing Horses.

A series of covers were thrown in – including Bowie’s Heroes and Blondie’s I Want That Man.

After a hour-long set and an encore of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side and it was over.

This was a case of what might have been. I enjoyed the band, I’d go to see them again, but will you all please just SHUT UP and listen.