1999/10/04, The Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO, USA

Written by Brendan Cook (Noddipoc@aol.com) for Dominion mailing list

Finally we are back from the nine hour drive to Denver. And dear God was it ever worth it.

We where at the front up against the barricade off to the right a little from center. Nearly choked to death on the smoke. Andy was so full of life and literally made the show. Some great quotes of his that night directed to some ultra gothy guy to the far left of us as Andy leaned a little off stage. "If you think I'm getting closer to you you've got another thing coming." And then laughs.

No one else in the front really seamed to move, they just sat there arms folded. The five of us made up for it though, and he pretty much stayed at our end of the stage. There was no smoking in the Fillmore which was killing me. Andy walked over to the side of the stage my girlfriend was at and asked "I bet you need a cigarette"; she nodded. Andrew replied "so do I" and walked to the back of the stage, grabbed a smoke, light it up, took a couple puffs, and handed it to her. Then he moved into Temple of Love.

The rest of the show just kicked my ass. It was so heart wrenchingly wonderful, like somebody had just hooked an IV up to my arm and pumped me full of drum beats and Andy's voice.

However, this was not the best part. After the second encore Adam ripped off the set list and handed it to me. I would have been perfectly happy with that but... We where leaving and walking to our car parked behind the building, near the tour bus. We knew that earlier Eldritch was not riding in the tour bus with everyone else, but in a separate passenger van. Everyone were crowded around the tour bus waiting for him to get on. We knew better than that: we waited 'till we saw someone getting into a van parked away from the tour bus. It backed out and drove behind us, so we followed behind it a little way until it reached a hotel three blocks from the arena. Me and one other person jumped out, the car still rolling, and casually walked over to the door of the hotel. We knew he would be walking past us, and sure enough here he comes.

I was wearing my Royal Albert hall tour shirt from '85 and as he got closer he and I quote this stated "for fuck sakes that is an old shirt". I of course being shocked he even talked to us replied "yes its been around for a while". Not knowing what else to say to the man whom I have seen so many times in pictures and covers and now is suddenly five feet in front of me and walking closer. He got to the door where we were at, put two small hand bags down and lit up a cigarette.

A bottle of Vodka was hanging out of a pocket in his pants and -- what a fucking surprise -- absolutely NO sunglasses but regular glasses. He was wearing regular black pants and a purple sweat shirt. I said thank you greatly for the show, it was the best. He kind of nodded and said "your welcome" in that rough Brit accent. I was so incredibly in awe that I couldn't figure out what else to say. I asked him politely would you mind signing this for me realizing I had my set list Adam had given me. He very jokingly said "that looks familiar" staring at the setlist. Then he took the set list and put it on the suitcase in front of him. He then asked "could you hold these" handing me the two small hand bags; I have no idea what was in them but dear God was it heavy. I was so completely in awe at what was actually happening just held his bags and watched. He then asked for my name and I told him.

After he signed the list he handed it to me and reached out his hand for his bags back. I handed them to him and said "thank you so very very much you have no idea how much this means to me". He replied "yes I do" and kind of laughed. And smiled with that. Finally, he had put out his cigarette and reached out his hand at the same time I did I shook it and said "thank you" again. He nodded and walked into the hotel.

I nearly died when I got back in the car and finally realized what had just taken place.

Written by Kent (yaura@unm.edu) for The Sisters of Mercy Tours site

Wow. Witnessed the Sisters perform at the very lovely Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado. Drove the six odd hours back to Albuquerque (home) directly after the show. Gives one lots of time to reflect on a show like that.

The place was packed, to say the least. I hadn't seen that much black since Bauhaus last summer in Hollywood... Tube was alright I guess. I'm not about to go run out and buy one of his CDs, but I'm not about to go off about how much his music sucks, 'cos it doesn't. I just wish he had actually played more of his music. From the front row, he looked like he was just triggering samples and DAT tape... oh well.

Sisters came on. Cool lights. No, wait. Fucking awesome light show... Some very cool, almost underwater effects going on. Not as much fog as I had expected 'cos I could see everyone very clearly with the exception of Doktor Avalanche, who I only caught a slight glimpse of a few times. Was he hiding in the back or what...?

Sound was awesome. It was not by any means a loud show. I think the Sisters were going more for clarity then anything else, but their live sound is just incredibly flawless. It took Andrew a little while to get used to the crowd (and this crowd sucked but more on that in a second), but once he did he was joking and telling everyone (sarcastically) how nice they looked.

All I'm saying is that this show was simply brilliant. It started a little slow with the older material and b-sides until those anthems started hitting. You just couldn't remain unmoved. Positively stellar version of "Dominion", probably the only song people got down to, movement-wise. "Vision Thing," which was never one of my personal favorites was faster then ever. I was almost afraid the sound was literally going to roll over the people asleep in the front row. The Pink Floyd cover just goes without saying. Everyone seemed really pleased with that, even if they stood as still as ever. Maybe denverites just have a different way of saying "I'm having a blast"... In Albuquerque crowds just seem a lot more supportive of the bands they see, especially movement wise. I dunno. Weirdness. That wonderful chorus chord in "Something Fast" shook the auditorium... just incredible. Shortened versions of Temple of Love and This Corrosion... The new songs were gorgeous, especially "Suzanne".

I don't know what it is about the Denver scene that prevents them from getting into their music, but I have never seen a more tired and apathetic bunch of goths in my life. Being at least 3 or 4 heads from the very front row, scarcely anyone was even moving. No jumping. Very little pushing. Not a whole lot of dancing even. I almost felt a little bad that I was moving around as much as I was but I finally gave up and decided that these people just suck. The Sisters were putting out just so much energy and emotion into this show, they were totally with it. I may have pissed off some prissy denverites with my dancing and jumping about but oh well. Oh fucking well.

If you miss this show for any reason whatsoever, there's just gotta be something wrong with you.

Wow. Go. Go... GOGOGOGOGOGO!!!

Written by Jeff Feekin (jfeekin@hibbertco.com) for Dominion mailing list

7:45 PM

I'm standing outside the Filmore waiting for the rest of my group and wondering where the hell all of these people came from. (Rumor has it that the show was sold out but so far that is only rumor.) Next thought is trying to figure out what all these people do for a living as they were all so, ummm, "goth." Remember now, this is Denver where there are more pick up trucks and cowboy hats per capita then anywhere else except maybe Texas. I'm completely wired to be seeing the Sisters for the first time in my long life.

8:12 PM

Veronica and Chad finally show up. We go to the dive bar across the street called the Golden Nugget and drink with old men who don't have any teeth (I am serious). Veronica is a nervous wreck, certain that we need to leave RIGHT NOW because we are going to miss the start of the show.

8:40 PM

We're in. Tube isn't doing a lot for me so I buy T-shirts for everyone and their mom. My vintage white bowling shirt and jeans seems to be getting me a lot of attention, I'm not sure if it's good attention, but I'm still glad I didn't wear any black. A cop starts hitting on Veronica. The cop and I entertain ourselves by try to pick jobs for all the people around us. I run into people I know. Chad and Veronica are getting drunk. The cop loses interest and wanders away.

8:45ish

Tube leaves the stage and Veronica immediately herds us forward to within about 20 feet of the stage.

8:55ish

The smoke starts. And goes on and on and on.....

9:05 until 10:45 PM

The boys take the stage. Ribbons rips through the crowd. AE's in what appears to be black leather pants and a white T-shirt and a white motorcycle jacket. My jaw hits the floor... The sound is incredible, the lights are amazing, the smoke goes and goes and goes. We move/push our way closer. I elbow some big bastard in a vinyl bondage outfit out of the way. His master doesn't look too happy with me but I figure I'm already friends with one of the cops so I have nothing to worry about and I keep moving until we are in the front row. The sound isn't as good as it was further back and no one is moving.

Train starts and most of the people around me look confused. One chap even asks me what song it is. Everyone on the my left starts to dance. The new songs sound great. AE seems to be sort of quite compared to what I've heard of the other shows this year. We move back into the crowd. The sound (and the crowd) is much better 25-30 feet from the stage and we spend the rest of the show here until This Corrosion. AE throws someone a cigarette. AE tells the crowd to stop him if we can't understand his accent. I'm simply amazed how good they look and sound. They play the second encore and leave the stage. The lights come up. Veronica and I just standing there glowing. We go to coat check and collect our stuff. I realize, to my disappointment, that the girl in front of me is really a guy.

11:15 PM

We are back in the Golden Nugget. We all agree it is the best show we've ever seen. Not the just the best Sisters show, but the BEST SHOW WE HAVE EVER SEEN. Period. I start wondering how I can make it to the SF and LA shows.....

Written by Lisa Amend (opheliaastrid@netscape.net) for Dominion mailing list

My best friend and I waited outside in front of the Fillmore all day long, from 10 am on. We were the only people there for hours and hours and I got the worst sunburn of my life!

Anyway, it was well worth it because we had front row center seats and were right in front of Andrew all night! (I was the one in the purple glitter party dress, best friend wearing a red plaid pullover dress).

I have to laugh now because from where we were, we couldn't see who Andrew was talking to when he said "If you think I am going to come near you, you've got another thing coming!" I should have known it was an ultra goth person... The whole crowd appeared to be ultra goth, with a few exceptions, but that could have been just where we were standing.

My best friend and I most certainly WERE moving, not standing there with our arms folded... We were yelling, jumping up and down, having the time of our lives!!!! :-) Andrew even chuckled at me when they started On The Wire because I have been dying to hear that one live -- it is one of my all time favorites, so needless to say, I let out quite a yelp!

The highlight of the evening for me was Andrew offering me his cigarette at the end of Vision Thing. My husband still hasn't asked, but since I don't smoke any more, I am sure he wonders why I have a cigarette butt propped up on the nightstand!

We didn't try to meet Andrew, though we had found the busses the night before and knew they were staying at the Warwick. I met Andrew in '91 on the Vision Thing tour at the LA Forum and found him to be a perfect gentleman, though I was so nervous I nearly died. He liked my tiny little hands and squeezed them as hard as he could. Good thing, too because it kind of snapped me into reality when he did it.

The show was awesome, well worth the wait, and I would not trade one single second of Monday, not my bruises, not my sunburn, not my ultra sore throat! I just hope we don't have to wait another decade to see them again!!!!

Written by Judy Renee Pope (coyote@spookhouse.net) for Dominion mailing list

>BEST SHOW WE HAVE EVER SEEN. Period. I start wondering how I can
>make it to the SF and LA shows.....

LOL! I know this feeling all too well. It's the same impulse that made me order tickets to the Atlanta show last night; it's been almost two weeks since DC and Philly, and I HAVE to go again. Looks like I'll be good friends with Greyhound by the time I get to Georgia. These shows are just that good -- miles better than the ones I saw them do in 1991...

Written by mcsommie@yahoo.com for Dominion mailing list

I had the pleasure of meeting Eldritch and Mike Varjak shopping at Hot Topic in downtown Denver. Eldritch was donned with clear glasses and had a very nice view of his eyes. Plus, seeing him in a sweatsuit was an interesting experience also. Go figure.

All pictures in this page were scanned by Brendan Cook (Noddipoc@aol.com) for The Sisters of Mercy Tours site.