The Mekons


NATURAL	CURSE	ALL THE FAME	MAYORS

The Mekons at the Aladdin Theatre, Portland OR

OK so The Mekons are not a Welsh band but they are one of the finest and most important bands to come out of the UK in the last 30 years. On Monday October 9th they played the Aladdin Theatre in Portland as part of their 30th Anniversary Celebration Tour. They were, as usual, excellent. Jon Langford is, of course, a Welshman (hailing from Newport in Gwent) and he and Sally Timms have been the mainstays of the band throughout its many personnel changes over the years.

The band performed a number of new songs from their album "Natural'. The standouts were "Give me Wine or Money" and "Cockermouth". Cockermouth is a small town in the English Lake District and a centre for ramblers, hikers and hill-walkers and indeed rambling is the subject of this song. The lyrics are humorous and the song provides an opportunity for Jon Langford to indulge a hilarious "dance" routine. Jon moves surprisingly well for a man of 50. For most of the performance the band are seated in a semi-circle on the stage ( it is after all billed as "A Quiet Night In With the Mekons") but Jon, Sally and other band members take centre stage now and then for various set pieces such as the above mentioned dance routine.

The Mekons, "Ghosts of American Astronauts" (YouTubeVideo)

The Mekons also turned in spirited renditions of their older material including the mighty "Millionaire" and the haunting "Ghosts of American Astronauts". Ably supported by The Sadies, whose opening set was truly inspired, the band gave us a less than quiet but truly memorable evening.

One notable omission from the playlist was "Tom Jones, Levitation". Your intrepid reviewer requested the number at one point only to be met by a smiling Jon Langford who stated "I cant do that one...I'm not allowed." Pity! That has to be one of the highlights of any Mekons/Jon Langford performance for a Welshman. Still....only a minor grumble.All in all it was a hell of a performance and you can always listen to the Tom Jones number (along with lots of other goodies) here at the Internet Archive.

LINKS

The Mekons The Mekons at MySpace. Hear tracks from "Natural".

Jon Langford Jon Langford: Art & Music.

The Sadies Welcome to The Sadies.net.

Sally Timms Interview with Sally, Discography, Lyrics and much more.

Jon Langford & The Sadies 'Mayors of The Moon"
Interview with Jon Langford.