Live Review: Lloyd Cole

Lloyd Cole returned to Adelaide for the second sold-out night of his retrospective acoustic tour hosted at Church Of The Trinity, commonly known as the Trinity Sessions. The venue is unique in that it is an 18th century bluestone church, beautiful in its simplicity with intricate leadlight windows and high-vaulted ceilings, the latter lending itself to crystal-clear acoustics. Capacity limited to 200 makes for intimate, stripped-back performances and the crowd, mainly comprising the 40-plus sensible shoe brigade, shuffled in to take their seats.

Lloyd Cole is no stranger to these shores, having toured here both solo and with his small ensemble, but his fame and fanbase originated from one of the finest debut albums of the mid-'80s, Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole & The Commotions. Cole boasts a 30-year-plus musical career and has embarked on what he calls "The Retrospective" tour, consisting of songs pre-1996 (all The Commotions and his first four solo albums).

With the concert split into two 15-song sections, the first seeing Cole solo before his son William accompanied him on guitar during the second act, he promised the crowd, "You will hear the songs you are expecting to hear and then some." Standing ramrod straight and opening with an exquisite version of Patience followed by Perfect Blue and then the crowd favourite Rattlesnakes, Cole drew the audience into his well-crafted pop songs. Confidently, Cole then played through the likes of Lonely Mile, Pretty Gone, Butterfly and Weeping Wine, and then asked the crowd to join in during Jennifer She Said to "save [him] from [his] own embarrassment of singing such a song at [his] age". With the odd mistake and repeated verse "because that just didn't sound right", Cole teased, "If you have been to a Lloyd Cole concert and there hasn't been a mistake then it must have been a tribute act!"

A cover of Prince's Sometimes It Snows In April was a pleasant surprise, as was a version of Bowie's Heroes. Two latecomers rushing in mid-set were heckled by Cole himself, who said, "Not to worry [you] only missed Rattlesnakes," as they dashed, obviously embarrassed, to the back of the church.

After a short intermission, Cole was joined on stage by his son William, who was introduced as the band member that took years to find. Along with comparisons to Echo & The Bunnymen (re: William's black-and-white striped shirt and Ian McCulloch-inspired hair). Both armed with acoustic guitars, the pair filled the venue with lush soundscapes, Lloyd Cole mostly playing rhythm and leaving his son William to the melody and intricate fills, during which he demonstrated superb skill. Together they played a tight set comprising Cole's solo material and The Commotions hits including Charlotte Street, Perfect Skin, 2cv and a beautiful rendition of Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? Finishing off the set with Easy Pieces classic Brand New Friend, Cole then thanked the crowd and acknowledged William before they both left the stage to a standing ovation.

After a brief break, they returned with beers in hands, for a short-but-sweet encore of Lost Weekend and Forest Fire to finish off the night. Wishing the audience a safe trip home, Cole bowed and departed. The crowd were back on their feet and clapping in appreciation of this rare performance that will always be remembered.