I Just Read About That…

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 19, 2024] Echo & The Bunnymen [postponed from June 7, 2026]

I’m not a huge fan of Echo & The Bunnymen, but I have (and love) their greatest hits album Songs to Lean and Sing.  So it would seem that this tour was made especially for me.

They had done the Songs to Learn and Sing tour two years ago and I couldn’t make it.  This tour was billed as More Songs to Learn and Sing.  It was originally scheduled for the same night as the Geordie Greep show that I couldn’t miss (but somehow, I did).

And then, the night before the show, they had to postpone:

Echo & the Bunnymen were forced to postpone their June 7 concert at the Fillmore Philadelphia after vehicle carrying singer Ian McCulloch was involved in a “road traffic incident,” the band announced on their social media platforms.

“As a result, Ian required medical treatment,” the band’s post reads. “Thankfully, the injuries sustained are not believed to be serious; however, as you can appreciate, he has been left understandably shaken by the incident. As a precautionary measure, Ian is undergoing further medical assessment, including scans and X-rays.”

He was fine and they went to Brooklyn the following night.

And in the most rapid rescheduled date I’ve ever seen, they were able to head back to Philly on the 9th.

I had read a recent review that said the show “felt like watching a drunk guy do Echo and the Bunny Men karaoke with a good band.”  And that wasn’t the only review like that.  When it was a good show, people were pleasantly surprised.  So I’m quite glad I didn’t get a ticket.

I believe that the previous time there was no opening act.  This time Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society opened.  And I’m fascinated by this bio

Drew Nugent is a jazz musician and composer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His primary instruments are piano, trumpet, voice, and believe it or not, the tea kettle! Nugent and the band specialize in playing in the traditional “hot” jazz style of the 1920s. His band, known as the Midnight Society, is regarded as one of the best in the business, and has been together for over 10 years. Under Drew’s leadership, they bring forth an authentic, yet original approach to an art form over 100 years old.

Although I don’t really have any proof that Drew and co. played that night.  Although they may have played for 20 minutes?

SONGS setlist [pretty similar to the recent show–differences are in bold]

1. Going Up
2. All That Jazz
3. Flowers
4. Rescue
5. All My Colours (Zimbo)
6. Villiers Terrace
7. Never Stop
8. Seven Seas
9. Nothing Lasts Forever / Walk on the Wild Side / Don’t Let Me Down / Nothing Lasts Forever-reprise / Coney Island Baby
10. Bring On the Dancing Horses
    SET 2
11. Show of Strength
12. Over the Wall
13. I’m Waiting for the Man (The Velvet Underground cover)
14. Bedbugs and Ballyhoo
15. The Killing Moon
16. Lips Like Sugar
    Encore:
17. The Cutter
18. Ocean Rain

MORE songs setlist

1. Going Up
2. All That Jazz
3. Heads Will Roll
4. Crocodiles
5. The Cutter
6. Flowers
7. Over the Wall
8. Seven Seas
9. Rescue
10. All My Colours (Zimbo)
11. Nothing Lasts Forever
12. Bedbugs and Ballyhoo
13. Villiers Terrace (with snippets of The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues” & “L.A. Woman” (as “Philly Woman”))
14. Bring On the Dancing Horses
15. The Killing Moon
    Encore:
16. Lips Like Sugar
    Encore 2:
17. Ocean Rain