Mark Eitzel

The curtains at the back of Dingwalls' primitive stage part unceremoniously and a battered looking guy with matching guitar ambles through them. He's on roadie duties for a minute or two - quietly setting things up, plugging things in - then with a face best described as grumpy, Mark Eitzel plays 'Ladies And Gentlemen It's Time', a new song. The well-filled room expresses a warm approval for this fresh, morose beauty, as well as for the rarity of seeing Eitzel on this side of the pond. Being his only UK date this time around, fans have travelled in from all parts of the country for the event. As the song ends, Eitzel glares briefly, almost suspiciously, before taking refuge in 'Patriot's Heart', a song about a male stripper as American hero. He then moves seamlessly into 'Bitterness,' from last year's 'The Invisible Man,' album in an effort to avoid the intrusion of more applause. At he finishes the song there are signs of a slight thaw and a smile escapes his lips.

For more than a decade, both solo and with his band American Music Club, Eitzel has been the most electrifyingly inconsistent of performers, succumbing, it seems, to the power of his mood du jour. Consecutive nights can bring life affirming soul food, tantrums and half-played songs, distracted performance by rote or sometimes, a combination of the lot. How will tonight shape up?

By the close of 'Jenny' an old fave from AMC's 'California,' LP, verbal encouragement is further raising his spirits. Before long, his familiar deprecating humour is beginning to spark bittersweet repartee with the audience and his 'Proposal For A Theme Song For A Show On The Discovery Channel' is played for laughs with outrageously exaggerated mannerisms. (You want to know how he acts out the lines to do with Tchaikovsky being the "sensitive queer," and knowing how it "feels in the rear"? Well, it's best not to ask!)

No matter how funny and brilliantly entertaining he is, in much the same way as any other performer can be on their night, there's no escaping the special fact that his way with lyrics is unparalled. 'I've Been A Mess,' 'Last Harbour,' 'Gratitude Walks and 'Mission Rock Resort spread a chill through the bones of all present ("You're worried if you remembered to use bleach to clean the needle./ Well so what, so what, so what." "But all I can do is follow stupidly behind and watch you / Walk to the ocean in your mind".)

His magnificence with words is only one side of his charm. As voices go, it's not the most pure, refined or exquisite, but the combination of what he has to say and the way he says it, is the embodiment of charisma of the highest order. Tonight, he's plaintive, addictive, compelling. He growls, screams, cries and howls. Dingwalls is dumbstruck by his power to dissect the human spirit.

He's at ease now and interacts with a couple of young girls sitting on the edge of the stage, plays the odd request or two and tells a story of when he entered NME's Competition for Young Songwriters as an American teen living in Southampton. A discussion on pop music ignites, with Eitzel commenting on the recent MTV Awards Show.

"Really good pop music goes along with totalitarianism. La-la-la, be happy."

This has definitely been a good night for him in all respects. Eitzel has played a mix from both his solo work and his years with American Music Club, as well as brand new tunes destined for his soon-to-be-recorded new album. Although an undoubted genius, he still seems bashfully surprised to be called back for two encores. He closes with the emotionally draining Gratitude Walks' before finding himself hemmed in a few minutes later by fans eager to buy his collectors' item tour CDs, with their covers individually drawn on the spot.

A truly amazing gig by an astonishing man that will fill the wee small hours until he's back next year for a proper tour of the UK.