Dead Can Dance

I haven't posted for a while, as we have been recording the new Emily Palen release Creation and my new release Cult of Beauty.  But I have been out to see some great music, and there is more coming up this fall.  In August Dead Can Dance played the Greek Theater.  It was their first tour in 7 years, backing their first studio recording in 15 years.  I first saw them in the '80s, and in many ways they are timeless.  Lisa Gerrard has one of the most fantastic voices in all of music.  A huge range, often dipping into eastern quarter tones, and singing in everything from old English to invented languages, she casts an hypnotic spell.  The fans lean toward Goth, which has always amused me, as Lisa is usually in a white gown more reminiscent of Amee Semple McPherson.  And now the fans are mature Goth.  (With quite a few very attractive mums with their teenage daughters, for some reason. Bonding?).  Ms. Gerrard is a great beauty, and her voice has remained pristine.  She did a wonderful solo tour a few years ago.  DCD have always been two bands for me; one when Lisa sings, and a less fortunate one when Brendan Perry sings.  He hasn't aged well, and has always sounded to me like Neil Diamond imitating Jim Morrison.  It should be hard to sound pompous when paraphrasing Humpty Dumpty, as he does in Children of the Sun, but he manages.  Still, to be in the presence of Ms. Gerrard's incredible voice, and gentle, enigmatic demeanor, one would endure far more.