I've heard experts say that the voice of a male singer gets better with age. That's great for jazz fans, but in rock we seldom get a good chance to hear this. Careers peak early and too often all we get later is rehashed versions of youth, the performers as blinded by nostalgia as the audiences. Or at the other end of the spectrum we get wised old blues gods that never stopped playing. We seldom get to see people mid career still connected to popular culture singing songs they haven't already sung to death, unruined by fame. Mark Lanegan is a welcome exception.

I've been enjoying Mark Lanegan's albums for many years. This started with college radio favourites Screaming Trees (check out "All I Know") fitting in somewhere musically between Mudhoney and Pearl Jam. He came to wide public attention in a spectacular way as the voice of many early Queens of the Stone Age tracks (check out "Hanging Tree"), but it wasn't until I saw him fronting The Mark Lanegan Band that I fully appreciated the strength of his voice. 

There's an uncompromising quality, while both hands firmly grip the mic stand - you know he's not going anywhere until he's done. His intense directness instantly calls to mind my insecurities - you can't help but feel uneasy when confronted by such a rock icon. At the Mark Lanegan Band gig, the band was great. All tattoos and tattered strats, slow bends and blues riffs all grunged up. The PJ Harvey parts were sung by a woman who looked like pure LA - as if they got a barbie doll, died her hair black, covered her in tattoos and white leather. It was an amazing show, equal parts man and band. Hard to live up to solo.

Tonight's show was acoustic with the accompaniment of a single guitarist. I wasn't sure how this would go, but it was sublime. It was the voice. The voice. Raw. Wonderful. Everytime I hear him he sounds better. It's not just the words that ring true, it's the whiskey soaked timbre that gives them such gravity. Pretty sure he could sing anything and it would sound gospel true.

I found myself shutting my eyes and getting chills, something that you would miss out on with a full kick ass band... especially if you were staring vacantly at rock and roll barbie for an hour <ahem>. The closed eyes might have been fortunate this time because the guitar player looked like a high school music teacher or AA sponsor. But his playing was great. Maybe they could get the team that built barbie to give him a makeover. I imagine a quiff and silver jewellery, rockabilly meets the palm desert. His music students would love it.

I highly recommend seeing Mark Lanegan in any of his projects. You could take a friend or you could take your Dad. The music has a wide appeal that destines him to remain one of the great voices of music. And according to vocal chord experts, he'll only get better. The amazing list of people he's collaborated with is testament to how well he's regarded.

The encore acoustic version of "Hanging Tree" was the biggest crowd pleaser. I loved it all.

Check it out, you'll love it too.

COMMENTS ON THE SUPPORT ARTIST BY LARRY HEATH:

Entering the Metro Theatre, I had arrived just in time to witness the stunningly beautiful singer/songwriter from Melbourne, Amaya Laucirica (pictured below). She opened her set with a song that I believe was called "Sleep in Clouds on my Face". Does that sound right? .... it's what I wrote down? What an awesome name if it's correct, but in either case it was a beautiful number, a fact which held true for the entirety of the set.

"Clouds" featured Amaya solo with her electric guitar. For "Marry Me", she would switch to the acoustic. Single "Climb Up High", which you can listen to via the link below, was a personal highlight, fielding quite a bit of Cranberries influence. The set ended with "Lost and Found" off her last record.

In her recordings, Amaya is proving herself to be one of Australia's finest young talents, and tonight, she backed that up with a terrific live performance. This was supported by a crowd who were silent and respectful, enjoying every chord, and every note of her impeccable voice. If you have the opportunity to see Amaya in action, please don't pass it up!

Oh, and why don't you listen to Amaya in our Free Music Blog!

Header Photo and Photo of Amaya by Larry Heath.
Additional Photo by Kalindy Millions