The Mission come to Brighton’s Chalk Venue for a warm-up show as part of their greatest hits ‘Déjà vu Tour’ which had been delayed from last year, but you have not quested it was a warm-up show the crowds gathering for an early start outside.
Notable is that the gig is a total devotion of the Missions fans and they do sing along in mass. Not surprisingly, the band did headline Reading Festival back in 1989.
Tonight’s show ‘The Mission’ had alternative rock band ‘Salvation’ as their support who had a few technical glitches before they were finally were able to kick off their bouncy, rhythm ridden set with frontman’s Daniel Mass precise vocals Through the late 80s Salvation had connections with ‘The Sisters of Mercy’ and were constantly on tour playing out their energetic sets to the gothic fans.
As soon as the mission come on stage one fan chants, “play something we can dance to”, with frontman Wayne Hussey’s response being “fuck of we are not a dance band” The band have their iconic Celtic Cross at the back of the stage and spend most of the gig bathed in purple low light with Hussey having his dark shades in place. The missions set consisted of the late 1980s and opened with ‘Beyond the Pale’ taken from their second chart-topping album ‘Children’.
The English Goth rock Band formed in 1986 and were initially known as ‘The Sisterhood’. The band members had changed several times over the years and now consist of Wayne Hussey (vocals, guitar), Simon Hinkler (Guitar), Craig Adams (Bass) and new drummer Alex Braum.
Thorough the set The Mission played fan favourites, ‘Hands across the Ocean’ and ‘Into the Blue’ with the crowd getting the most enjoyment out of ‘Severina’ and waving their hands wildly into the air. The nodes of 70’s style rock and Gothism was played out nicely on stage with two encores to boot. By the time ‘Wasteland’ was played, one fan could not resist climbing onto a mate’s shoulder, swaying about in a festival-like manner in this small venue’s intimate setting. The night came to a close with Wayne Hussey handing his wine bottle to an audience member together with the crowd still singing out the lyrics to ‘Tower of Strength’.
