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The Mountain Goats: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 6 October 2017

John Darnielle was on gloriously shambolic form as music's goth capital was treated to a chaotic evening that merged flute solos with satanic worship.

The Mountain Goats are midway through Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back to Leeds — which drily relocates the Sisters of Mercy frontman back to music's once so-called 'goth capital' — when the stage suddenly fills with dry ice, the Sisters' trademark. Within moments, the scene has come to resemble the set of John Carpenter's horror flick The Fog. "That was a surprise!" chortles head Goat John Darnielle, as the mist is revealed to be a prank played on him by the venue. It's one of several uproarious incidents in the first of two nights here with the man the New Yorker called "America's best non-hip-hop lyricist".

Total word count of piece: 425

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