Bartek wrote:any translation apart google pseud-translation ? please
Can't get that automatic Google-translation and I wonder whether mine
is much better, but here you go ...
And the cigarette is burning for ever
14:25 | 30.04.2009
ZURICH – Cult band «The Sisters of Mercy» played at X-Tra in Zurich, yesterday.
For them «the best thing you can do when you’re dressed.»
16 years have passed since their latest release. Visiting «The Sisters of Mercy» is like travelling with a time machine.
Drum computer «Dr. Avalanche» is still hammering on, head-sister Andrew Eldritch is still smoking chains on stage.
Only the two guitarists have, once again, been replaced. At present, there are Chris Catalyst and Ben Christo.
Ben and Chris, you are members of the band since 2005 and 2006, respectively. Andrew is nearly double your age.
Chris: No, he’s only twenty years older.
Vive la difference! And there are no problems with that?
Ben: We are no children, are we. In addition, love for music gets us together.
Chris: Exactly, it’s common interests that make the difference.
As there were?
Chris: We enjoy going for a walk in the cities together.
Last time in Zurich – in 2005 – we watched a football match in a bar.
So, you do know Zurich well?
Chris: I’ve eaten a wonderful Falafel here.
Interlaken has left a stronger impression on my memory.
We played at the Greenfield Festival while the sun was going down.
Great atmosphere, with the view of the mountains ahead, simply great
I’ve seen one of your concerts in Madrid. Inappropriately, in a club with palm trees.
Does it matter to you in what kind of place you play?
Chris: Not really. After all it depends on the audience. Open air concerts surely have a special atmosphere,
however, a room with four walls and a bar is all it takes, at times, to get things cooking.
During the concert, it’s most notably Chris to get off. He jumps, runs, maltreats his guitar.
Ben – beautiful and silent – is more introverted, not only during this interview.
And between them, there’s Mastermind Andrew Eldritch, meanwhile bald-headed
but still with sun glasses and, of course, with a cigarette.
How much do you, actually, smoke during a concert?
Ben: I don’t smoke at all.
Chris: I do. Why do you ask that?
Because of the non-stop embers I've seen on your stage.
Chris: Andrew has got nothing to do with his hands. Unlike us.
Ben: Furthermore, we’ve both been into sports in the past. I had nearly decided for football. Or arts.
Chris: Really? For me, rugby was the thing.
Rugby? But, you look a bit thin. Ben looks a bit more fit, at least.
Chris: I’m rather thewy. But then the knee went bust.
Now, you have become musicians. The Sisters don’t have a label, anymore.
Don’t you miss the creative part of the work in the studio?
Ben: We both have side-projects running.
Chris: In addition, we play a strong part during the concerts. This is the best job of the world, anyway.
Today you play in Zurich, two days later you wake up in Beirut, for example.
You put a guitar ‘round your neck, jump about and pull faces.
There’s nothing more fun when you’re dressed.
In the case of Chris, being dressed means wearing a shirt with leopard print, while Ben decided for a muscle shirt.
In a hooded pullover, Andrew Eldritch steps from the fog into the limelight. After the first song, he removes half of his clothes.
No more is necessary - his movements are reduced to a minimum, thus inducing maximum effect. And Eldritch gets by,
entirely without directing a single word to the audience … or to journalists … Instead, his deep and sonorous voice is partly
being trebled over peak. Compared to original versions, there’s more importance given to the guitars now
– at cost of the typical ethereal Sisters’ sound, a good choice for some songs, however.
But not for all of them. Had the Sisters been ahead of their time in the 80s, they are now dragging
a bit behind in approaching the modern world. It feels like having been landed in a period of time
that survived itself, the reason, perhaps, for their great force of attraction..
Uah, this guy has a funny sort of perception, but - fair enough - there have been worse approaches.