Lloyd Cole at Sydney’s “City Recital Hall”

Despite the years (decades?) since I last played it, I still have a copy the 12-inch vinyl album “Rattlesnakes” by Lloyd Cole and The Commotions. Released in late 1984, this album was a permanent fixture on my turntable during the following year, my second year at Griffith University.

Even now, I can vividly picture my on campus single room, the record player, and my university friends, Michele and Heather, sitting with me, unwinding and reveling in the sophisticated melodies of his “literate” pop.

Although their albums and their singles achieved chart success, there was an unmistakable “indie” vibe about Lloyd Cole. During those years, Lloyd held a certain charm for artsy university types like myself. Oh, and I also thought he was very cute :)

Back then, the “cooler” of my university male friends adorned themselves in paisley shirts, while women favored high-buttoned tops. Last night, at Lloyd Cole’s solo performance at the City Recital Hall inh Sydney, the once ubiquitous paisley shirts made a resurgence among the male attendees, albeit accompanied by middle-aged paunches. Curiously, the women in attendance did not seem as inclined to resurrect their 1980s wardrobe.

Nearly four decades since the release of “Rattlesnakes,” I still regularly play the album, albeit through modern music streaming services. The lyrics to every track remain etched in my memory. My particular favourites include “Forest Fire” and “Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?”.

During the show, as a couple arrived late, Lloyd quipped, “Welcome along, don’t worry, you haven’t missed Rattlesnakes,” eliciting laughter from the audience. Later, when another couple arrived even later, he humorously remarked, “Sorry, you’ve missed Rattlesnakers,” prompting further laughter.

Fortunately, Lloyd acknowledged that a considerable portion of the audience was there to reminisce about our late teens and early twenties when “Rattlesnakes” was a dominant soundtrack.

The performance last night featured four songs from the classic album, along with hits from later albums like “Brand New Friend” and “Lost Weekend.” However, much of the setlist comprised songs unfamiliar to me, as I haven’t closely followed his career in recent years.

He candidly described 2006 as the year when he was “almost completely invisible.” Surprisingly, his most recent solo album was in fact released earlier this year—a fact I was unaware of until now. I particularly enjoyed discovering his song “The Afterlife,” released in 2019.

Nonetheless, it is his work with The Commotions that resonates most strongly with me, motivating my attendance at last night’s show.

The performance itself was unassuming—just him on stage, minimally moving, alternating between guitars. Despite a slightly raspy voice, attributed to a mild cold, the audience, myself included, thoroughly enjoyed the show. Despite being seated toward the back, next to the mixing desk, the sound quality was superb—an advantage of being in proximity to the sound engineer.

I struck up a conversation with the couple beside me. She, a devoted fan from the early days, revealed that her husband “put up with it.” Neither of us could recall if we had witnessed Lloyd live during the “glory days,” but both departed the hall having relished an experience that was both nostalgic and contempoary.