Live Review: Mark Lanegan, Howl At The Moon

It was a sparsely filled room and a fairly subdued crowd that greeted opening act Howl At The Moon. They were alright in their own way and pretty good in patches, but on the whole the band didn't stray far from their take on crunchy, bluesy, reverb-heavy rock. Frontwoman Katie Scott has a nice set of pipes that went a long way to alleviating the standard moody fare on offer, which didn't deviate much in terms of song structure or pacing. They weren't quite rousing enough to pull the punters chilling out on the floor to their feet, but earned themselves a few loud cheers nonetheless.

The grim majesty of The Gravedigger's Song heralded the arrival of Mark Lanegan. The shaggy, craggy, gravel-voiced weaver of shadows and dark tales led his audience through a show that alternated between big thumping numbers and slower, more measured fare. The light scattering of prog through the set had something of a leavening effect, particularly on the boys, inspiring some funky dance moves and the odd wail on the air guitar.

Lanegan and company wasted no time between numbers, kicking off the next one almost before the final notes of the previous song had fully died down. The electronica of Ode To Sad Disco was an unexpected treat that was carried through to Tiny Grain Of Truth, a tune that melded all the elements into a big trippy, atmospheric melange.

Pendulum, Harborview Hospital and Methamphetamine Blues rounded out the encore before the queuing and the crush for Lanegan's signing at the merch desk began in earnest – as did the trade in $50 numbered lithographs.