Tiger Feet

On Friday night we hot footed to the Queen Elizabeth Hall to see Tiger Lillies.

Support came from K&A - Kirsten Reynolds and Ashley Davies - they put on something called Sonic Knitwear. It was basically 30 minutes of electronic droning accompanied by oh-so-amusing images of knitting wool, old fashioned interior decor and pattern books with pictures of their own heads stuck on. Laugh? I nearly headed for the exit.

Thankfully it was soon over and it was time for the Tiger Lillies. For this production - Mountains of Madness - they had joined forces with Alexander Hacke from unpronouncable German minstrels Einsturzende Neubauten. The entire set was based around the works of goth writer HP Lovecraft. I have no previous knowledge of Lovecraft - in fact earlier in the week I got confused and claimed they were playing tribute to HG Wells - but I think I might be checking him out soon.

Each of the songs was preceded by an extract from Lovecraft's books, read in Hacke's amazing made-for-horror-movies scary voice - a perfect contrast to Martyn Jacques' seering falsetto. They were also accompanied by projections onto a giant screen at the back of the stage. The songs were all new, so I can't name check them. I loved the first - a beautiful ballad about climbing the mountain - and also the manic recital about an invasion of rats.

I would have liked a few funnier numbers too. Alongside their melancholy and poetic works, the group have made a name from writing hilarious songs on the themes of blasphemy and zoophilia. Sex with Flies is a favourite. They appeared at a festival in Sydney recently and the Aussies complained the act was obscene and shouldn't be allowed. Silly fools.

www.tigerlillies.com