A few weeks ago, we had the chance to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday at Berlin, watching a Tiger Lillies performance of Onepenny Opera. It was a perfect evening; The Tiger Lillies are probably her favorite band, and what better place to experience the Tiger Lillies' version of a Brecht/Weill play than a Berlin cabaret? We first discovered the band in late 2003 when we still lived in Athens, Greece. Their first appearence late that year was a smash, and some friends who had been there bought the band's CD's (then still not commercially available) at the foyer. Soon copies began circulating, and we were hooked by their unique blend of Tom Waits-ian jazz, waltz, gypsy music, Berlin cabaret, and British music hall, dominated by Martyn Jacques' accordion and inimitable castrato voice. His lyrics are also quite unique: he drew his inspiration from his experiences in the pre-gentrified Soho underworld, only to accenuate it to grotesque proportions. I'll quote from their press release, since I think it captures the band's essence well: they "inhabit a dark and cruel world peculiar and varied, with moments of deep sadness, cruel black humour and immense beauty... Their songs cover all the dark aspects of life, from prostitution and drug addiction to violence and despair. Always with a touch of twisted humor and sharp irony they point an implicit accusing finger back at us: what on Earth are we doing, laughing at this stuff?" The visual elements of their shows are also striking: when they returned to Athens in January 2004 (we made sure we didn't miss it) they presented their amazing Circus Songs show, featuring real acrobats and other circus performers. Until we left Greece for The Netherlands we hadn't missed a single show: The Mountains Of Madness, Little Match Girl, Sea Stories, Freak Show... But it's been many years since we had a chance to see them live - somehow the Dutch seem to be immune to their charms, so they never seem to be playing nearby. Back to the Berlin show, this is not the first time they cover Brecht's Threepenny Opera (itself based on John Gay's 18th century Beggar's Opera). Indeed, back in 2001 they had presented us with the CD Twopenny Opera. 20 years later, and one penny cheaper, they return to the site of the crime. This time, they follow the original work more closely - the songs are not simply inspired by the play, they are sequenced in the order they would be performed if we were watching the play unfold. During the concert, as well as between the numbers on the CD, Jacques' narration fills us in on the events happening offstage. Opening numbers "King Of The Cut-Throats" and "Macky Is A Swine" present our anti-hero's criminal activities, "Down With The Poor" his derpived childhood, and "Married", "Bastard" and "Hit Me" his relationship with Polly, daughter of the king of the beggars. "Bastard", as well as "Police" and "Finale I", are reprised from 2001's Twopenny Opera - not just the compositions, but also the performances. Despite the 20 years' distance, there is no obvious difference in sound and production, and it gives one the chance to hear original drummer Adrian Huge and guest guitarist Blixa Bargeld (of Einstürzende Neubauten -and formerly of the Bad Seeds- fame) in the older recordings. For this album, Martyn Jacques (vocals, accordion, piano) is accompanied by the Tiger Lillies' current incarnation: Adrian Stout (double bass, musical saw, theremin, back.vocals) and Jonas Golland (drums, back.vocals). Despite the "exotic" instrumentation, the album is plainly produced: what you hear in the CD, the trio was able to reproduce onstage exactly, down to Jacques' theatrical narration and customary sneer.
"Police" is an upbeat number emphasizing the symbiosis between police and thieves, both corrupt in their ways. It focuses on Macky and the chief of police's former comradeship fighting in England's imperialist wars, and their current mutual understanding - the equivalent of Threepenny Opera's "Canon Song", only even darker and more cynical. Other songs from the Brecht/Weill play also have their lyrical equivalent here, e.g. "Poor Maid"/"Pirate Jenny". In the end, just like in the original play, Macky is rescued from the gallows at the last moment thanks to a royal pardon. In the original work, Brecht, true to his communist ideology, had already made the point that Macky and his band of cut-throats, beggars and whores are no better or worse than the aristocrats, bosses and cops. From killing the "brown and yellow fellows" and looting their land in the name of the King to robbing and murdering the rich clients of a whore, the difference is a question of scope rather than of quality. All Macky did, it transpires, is take capitalism's lessons to heart, so who are we to judge him? As he famously says at his trial "What is the robbing of a bank compared to the founding of one?" Taking this into account, executing the scoundrel would be a mockery of justice, so Brecht made an uncharacteristic break from realism and spared him his life. With typical black humor, The Tiger Lillies take it even further: Macky is not only pardoned, he also enters the service of the Crown, murdering and procuring prostitutes for the gentry. He's the same-old killer, only this time he's untouchable because he's joined the ruling class. He's come full circle, thus it makes sense to close with "Mack The Knife", the popular song that opened the original version. It is one of two Brecht/Weill covers here - the second is "Alabama Song". A puzzling choice to say the least: not only it's from a different play (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) but it doesn't fit in the plot. I can only guess that Jacques got so caught up in the Brechtian world that he felt he had to try his hand at this famous ditty, too. I must say that, while I enjoyed the Berlin show immensely, I found the CD less special; something of a slightly inferior reprise of their previous take on the subject, Twopenny Opera. The lyrics are, as always, delightful, but the music starts to seem a bit repetitive, at least for someone like me who already owns more than a dozen of the band's albums and can spot their frequent self-plagiarism. Compared to the past, there's a more pronounced use of theremin and musical saw, and Jacques sings in a slighly lower register, but it's otherwise business as usual. By Tiger Lillies standards, this is about average - it displays all their typical traits without any real highlights. Next to older recordings "Bastard" and "Police", the best tracks are opener "King Of The Cut-Throats", heartbreaking (or masochistic?) ballad "Hit Me" and poetic waltz "Soho Moon" - upbeat music hall number "Selfish Git" is also rather entertaining. I would certainly recommended this CD as a souvenir of the show, or to someone who likes the original play and would enjoy a different, twisted, take on it. For the full effect though, it's like the saying goes: You should have been there!
**** for King Of The Cut-Throats, Bastard, Police, Hit Me, Soho Moon, Selfish Git
*** for Macky Is A Swine, Down With The Poor, Married, Poor Maid, Free, Face, Alabama Song, Death Row, Finale I, Stupid Clown, Finale II, Victory Song, Mack The Knife
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