The Mission, from Heaven to Hell in one night (Photo – Marcos Anubis/Cwb Live)
By journalist Marcos Anubis
Translated by – Fernanda Furtado
Music gives us magic moments that can be built in many different ways. The fans from Curitiba that went to Espaço Cult last Saturday (23) to see the english band The Mission expected a great show because of the great career the group built up during almost three decades. For a number of reasons everyone ended up experiencing an historical moment in the quarter’s career in a good and bad way.
The Mission’s “bad luck” started at a concert in Rio de Janeiro on a Wednesday (21) when the bassist Craig Adams got an electric shock so strongly that the musician was thrown at the stage. On the way to Curitiba Simon Hinkler’s guitar was lost and they had to get a new instrument. The band also demanded that security bars was placed in front of the stage to protect the musicians. The reason for that was that at the concert in Lima, Peru on August 14 a fan grabbed the vocalist Wayne Hussey and pushed him over.
The performance in Curitiba was the last one of the South American tour and it was scheduled to 10pm. The sound check started at 8h30pm but due to many technical problems on the stage the sound technicians were unable to equalize de instruments the way they were supposed to be. After many attempts the band went backstage visibly irritated. The most distressed seemed to be the quartet’s manager. With the imminent risk of canceling the concert a meeting was held and it was agreed that the group would play even with all those difficulties.
It was past midnight when the band got on stage together with their sound technician who is brazilian and participated in all the South America mini tour. He was very straightforward with the audience: “We arrived here at 8h30 to check the sound and we haven’t got a satisfactory result for the band or for you. This concert should have been canceled but in respect for you the band have decided to play as long as the equipment withstands. Some people queued for more than two hours outside Espaço Cult and this announcement was a relief to the audience that feared that the concert would not happen.
From that moment to the first chords of “Beyond the Pale” it began a night that the band will not forget. As if by magic all the heavy atmosphere around the visit of The Mission in Curitiba went away to give place to what certainly was one of the best presentations in the almost 30 years of history of the band. On stage a huge flag with the cover of the album “Gods Own Medicine” (1986) was the background for the musicians. On the left side a Liverpool’s flag with the band’s name and the date of it’s formation in 1986 “decorated” the amplifier used by the vocalist Wayne Hussey.
The quartet mixed great hits of their career such as “Severina” and “Wasteland”, two of the greatest classics of the 80s which were enthusiastically received by the audience, songs of their latest album, “The Brightest Light” launched last year, as “Swan Song” and “Everything But The Squeal” .
One of the most special moments of the show was the ballad “Butterfly On A Wheel” from the album “Carved In Sand” (1990). “Silver and gold and it’s growing cold. Autumn leaves lay as thick as thieves. Shivers down your spine chill you to the bone. ’Cos the mandolin wind is the melody that turns your heart to stone” says the song.
When they returned for the first encore Wayne sang a cappella the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, a sort of unofficial anthem that the Liverpool fans sing on every game. Still alone on stage the vocalist performed with voice and guitar the beautiful “Like A Child Again” and the classic “Stay With Me”. With the band back on stage and properly introduced by Wayne, Simon Hinkler (guitar), Craig Adans (bass) and Mike Kelly (drums) they performed other two “explosive” songs of The Mission’s career: “Blood Brother” and “Deliverance”.
“Tower Of Strenght” ended the concert. During this song the bassist Craig Adans climbed one of the PAs on the stage and played the whole song up there. On the way down Adans fell and started to limp but smiled knowing that they gave their best and managed to overcome the difficulties that seemed insuperable.
Liverpool flag with the band’s name and the date of it’s formation (Photo – Marcos Anubis/Cwb Live)
The view of the fans
Last Saturday night had everything to go wrong at Espaço Cult because of all the problems the band had been through. What happened was exactly the opposite. A great show that increased the respect the fans had for The Mission. “The show was wonderful and they were extremely professional and respectful to the fans. No band would play with that sound that looked more like a notebook in the last volume. The playlist was sensational and the charisma of Wayne was sublime” , said the freelancer Joel Zolnier.
Despite Wayne Hussey’s and his troupe’s goodwill the night would not have been so pleasant and probably the performance would not have happened if it wasn’t for the patience and understanding of the audience. “I think the show was a collective action, a ritual, a pact between the band and the audience trying to fix the problems. After they played ‘Like a Hurricane’ the show could have ended because I was happy already” joked the journalist Katy Mary.
The band left Espaço Cult quickly and did not meet the audience that was expecting autographs and photos with their idols. Even so at the entrance of the van that took the quartet to the hotel a group of fans made way for musicians to pass and applauded effusively thanking for the great show that they provided even with all the difficulties.
From this experience we realize that Curitiba needs to better prepare for the events that are held in here and that the love for what one does can overcome any difficulty. The Mission showed that the music and the respect for the fans should prevail in any situation. Watch three great moments of the presentation: “Severina”, “Deliverance” and “Butterfly On A Wheel”.
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