Cocteau Twins Full Concert, Portland, March 30 1994

Setlist:
00:00 Pur
05:34 Heaven Or Las Vegas
10:29 Pitch The Baby
14:02 Carolyn's Fingers
17:30 For Phoebe Still A Baby
21:04 Evangeline
26:07 Whales Tails
29:50 Lorelei
33:45 Road, River & Rail
37:37 Bluebeard
41:45 Summerhead
45:35 Iceblink Luck
49:14 Blue Bell Knoll
53:28 Cico Buff
57:27 Aikea-Guinea
01:01:41 Cherry Coloured Funk
01:05:50 Ella Megalast Burls Forever
01:10:15 Pink Orange Red

[@mithluinluis]

Setlist: 00:00 Pur 05:34 Heaven Or Las Vegas 10:29 Pitch The Baby 14:02 Carolyn's Fingers 17:30 For Phoebe Still A Baby 21:04 Evangeline 26:07 Whales Tails 29:50 Lorelei 33:45 Road, River & Rail 37:37 Bluebeard 41:45 Summerhead 45:35 Iceblink Luck 49:14 Blue Bell Knoll 53:28 Cico Buff 57:27 Aikea-Guinea 01:01:41 Cherry Coloured Funk 01:05:50 Ella Megalast Burls Forever 01:10:15 Pink Orange Red

[@chrisw8813]

I was at this show. It was a fleshed-out full band with great sound and lights. Liz looked and sounded freaked out the entire time. You can hear it in this good recording. Extraordinary.

[@ooskitooskit760]

i was at this show. one of the best experiences of my young life. thank you for putting this online!

[@VanBaylen]

Hey! I know it’s 3 years later since your comment (which, in hindsight 3 years went by SO quick).. but would you mind sharing a little more about this memory? How old were you during this concert? Did you go with friends? What was the crowd like generally attending this show? What drew you to be a Cocteau Twins listener? I imagine this type of music was listened to by a lot of outcasts and those who had an ear for particularly experimental ambient music. Most people wouldn’t listen this at the time.. so I’m curious.. it’s almost as if the original listeners were just as much apart of the band as the band themselves.. they’re sort of an enigma now. A relic of the past. I’m 26 right now but discovered them in my early 20s and never fail to grow mesmerized every time I hear any of their music.

[@Jaapkore]

What an amazing gig ¡ I am a musician and producer. Hear lots of music from all times, You name it, folk from the whole world, ancient as much as paleolithic reconstructed music or sound and modern as the most avante-garde jazz or electronic music meanwhile it is of high quality or strong expression. I can tell that the Cocteau Twins are one of the most touching, original and really expressive things musically I`ve heard in my life. Thanks for posting this ¡¡

[@CharlesChestnut51]

Sir, you have the best collection of sound quality audience recordings. Please keep posting them!

[@darkfieldmpls]

For everybody talking about Liz's brilliant on the edge performance, you should know that this was the only tour where she sang like this. Her bandmates all expressed confusion and bemusement by her approach on this tour. For those saying she is horrible live, know that Liz generally sang beautifully when she could actually hear herself. This show is actually a perfect example, there are sections where she flawlessly creates the tone of the album recording in one line, and then does something completely different in the next.

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

She stated that she will never sing like this again and that it is their worst tour, the Milk& Kisses tour is much better

[@vonBottorff]

Not even she could cover herself live. It's impossible to get all the melody-harmony genius live. She would have needed at least two backup vocals.

[@serenitusaurum]

I actually do like this a lot. I appreciate her donating their repertory some eccentric, disruptive diversity. Thanks for the context!

[@jg769]

I saw this tour in Cleveland and she sounded awful. The band was amazing but it was clear that she just phoned-in her performance.

[@lazybelphegore6748]

Love the scream in Lorelei!

[@mithluinluis]

Do you mean 32:32 scream?? I just thought the same yesterday 😅😅😅🥰🥰🥰

[@cffrlima]

10:23 Finally listen to this amazing song live. Pitch The Baby is my favorite Cocteau Twins song and this performance is really great. Thanks!

[@jartober]

I cannot believe this masterpiece is on here!

[@allgoraro]

I saw this concert. I cannot believe that this is online. Thank you.

[@hadibae]

I was at this show! The band signed my 10 EPs Box Set! What a GREAT GREAT band!

[@billyaubin5360]

Are you lying?

[@hadibae]

@@billyaubin5360 No, I'm not. I was working earlier that day downtown at a store called Endgames. My wife went to the Civic Auditorium, which was just up the street, and the band autographed the box set for her. It was one of the greatest gifts of my life. I LOVE Liz! She has the voice of an angel. And Robin's guitar work is sick! Great, great, band!

[@billyaubin5360]

@@hadibae that’s so sick! Liz is so talented!

[@khek242]

I feel so astonished with the guitar en road river and rail

[@chrishill5622]

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing. I saw them a month earlier (14 Feb at the Norwich UEA, my first gig in the UK, and one of the best I've been to) supported by Seefeel. Was impressed with Robin and Simon as much as I was impressed with Liz's singing. Simon's skills and contribution are hugely underrated. The CT's set had the same songs (with the addition of 'Know Who You Are at Every Age') but in a slightly different order.

[@natedagr8zt]

Their songs always make me happy sad

[@zenbear4149]

I’m sure the dolphins present really appreciated her translations.

[@lovemuse2288]

Ennio Morricone straight into Pur is breathtaking!

[@seabud6408]

Fantastic to hear someone singing so close to the edge, being wholly creative and taking leaps/risks. Wow. There is no one quite like Elizabeth and this band.

[@thaumaston7]

Liz as a vocalist is quite the enigma. She always sounds great in the studio, sometimes sounded good live, but she also fairly often sounded utterly ridiculous live. One theory is that she stopped trying because she hated being in CT with her ex RG. But she also sounds horrible in solo work. Maybe if it were a time or two, you could attribute this to an earpiece issue. I guess my theory is this… the vocals she performed in studio are so difficult to replicate that any time she didn’t feel 100%, she did this garbage

[@behroozshahdaftar4209]

@@thaumaston7 Hello. Check out the Milk and Kisses tour, which her vocals are more "traditional." During FCC, She received therapy, and was opening up, and felt confident enough to use recognizable lyrics, one one hand, and to experiment live with new ways of singing, on the other. What are your thoughts of her performances with Massive Attack and solo at Meltdown?

[@thaumaston7]

​@@behroozshahdaftar4209 I think her performances around that time sounded excellent. They also got a lot of live TV play around that time (Channel 4 UK, MTV, VH1). She looked nervous but sounded good. There's a 1996 performance of Fifty Fifty clown in Seattle that's pretty impressive. It's a hard song, and the guitar competes too much with the vocals in the live performance. Aside from shortcutting some low notes, she stays in tune even when the guitar drowns her out, and she nails the difficult high notes. As far as Massive Attack, I like her live performances of Teardrop. The 2012 Meltdown performances are interesting. I've heard the August 7, 2012 performance (she performed 6 and 7 Aug). I think she sounded good for someone who'd been out of practice of live performance for some time. However, I heard Song to the Siren from the night before (Aug 6) and think she absolutely butchered it that night. She then performed it the next day and sounded much better. So I'm curious how the rest of the Aug 6 show went. What are your thoughts about per post-Cocteau Twins performances?

[@behroozshahdaftar4209]

@@thaumaston7 Hello, In some ways, I agree with you. I think Milk and Kisses features Elizabeth's best singing. In the Mojo interview before the Meltdown shows, Elizabeth says that her voice has changed and that its power shows itself differently now. I know that in the Cocteau Twins songs performed at Meltdown, for example, Pearly Dewdrops and Suckling the Mender, is there a mournful melancholy that I don't hear in the origin recordings and the early performances. I get the sense that Elizabeth has had a difficult life, and she just wants to enjoy life as stable, secure. She has had very little releases following the Cocteaus' breakup, especially when you compare her output to Simon's and Robin's, who have released their own music, as well as produced and helped release other people's music too. I like Sun's Signature; what are your thoughts?

[@thaumaston7]

@@behroozshahdaftar4209 I very much enjoyed the songs I've heard from Sun's Signature and hope to hear more. The songs were perfectly suited for Liz, and she sounded great!

[@domiti9481]

love for Phoebe still a baby in this version.

[@rjwije4874]

Thank you for posting this fantastic groups live show...I saw them twice, once on the Treasure tour and 2nd time on Heaven and Las Vegas tour.

[@burnningbridges]

Thank YOU from the bottom of my HEART!!

[@rodrigovieira6115]

Best version "pur" 🥰🥰🥰❤ amazing

[@garthlyon]

Saw them 10 years earlier in Nottingham post-Treasure. Flawed, but immaculate.

[@_mynewcareer]

Thanks

[@kikernice]

Sin duda Cocteau Twins es mi banda favorita. Para mi, nadie los supera pero en concierto deja mucho que desear mi apreciada Elizabeth.

[@mithluinluis]

Definitivamente 1994 fue un año cuestionable para sus presentaciones, te recomiendo escuchar sus demas conciertos! 1985 fue maravilloso y 1996 redime este setlist por mucho!!

[@kikernice]

@@mithluinluis aprecio mucho tus recomendaciones Luis, gracias.

[@mithluinluis]

@@kikernice después me tienes que decir que opinas por fa! Escuchate también el show de detroit del 90, fantástico!!

[@juaniriarte1193]

Pasa que improvisa mucho Liz.. a veces queda bien o no, pero es su estilo

[@rosaelviralopezaliaga7458]

Acabo de escuchar una "sessions" grabado en vivo en Francia (1996) y el canto de Liz es ordenado, limpio, se acerca a la belleza y calidad de las obras en estudio, lo recomiendo, pues soy fan de CT y tengo todas sus canciones de estudio, las cuales son fantásticas. Saludos desde Perú.

[@johnnyatab]

It is interesting hearing her ad lib and experiment. I think I went to this concert in Denver and don't remember her singing like this.

[@davidryan7386]

It peaked (her ad lub, ad hoc sing anything she wished phase), I have read, on this tour which i missed. Not sure whether this show is representative.

[@davidryan7386]

Yeah, wow, heaven or las vegas is very.....loose interpretation of the studio compared to the 91 and 96 tours. She was mirroring the relationship breakup. And so felt little direct relationship to.old melodies as it were. She is such a 1 in a billion talent. If all her performances were available i would start at the beginning and listen to 1 day.

[@bacilo19]

That I was at the concert and that she sang in this way. I would leave the concert!

[@seabud6408]

@@bacilo19 I’m presuming you are a fan. You can’t know that unless you have a time machine and turned up there. Each to their own but I saw her ad-libbing like this in Glasgow and was blown away. One of the best sonic experiences I’ve ever had.

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

Here she sings terribly, later she stated that ffc never existed, you can clearly hear that she had mental problems and had a nervous breakdown until the end

[@silviamedina4701]

Que voces que sonidos! Llega tan profunda esta música, se pone la piel de gallina y me transporta los inicios de los'90, años imporyantes para mi💕💕

[@cristobalv]

This is just before they broke up, She seems tired of everything. Anyways this band will be remembered as one of the best band of all times and it music will stand the test of time.

[@cesarespino9207]

Cocteau se convirtió en mi mejor banda cuando escuché el disco "Heaven or las Vegas". Con el "Treasure" estaba en mi lista de 10 mejores bandas. Y con el "Four-Calendar Café", más por "Pur", está en el primer puesto de mi lista. En el segundo lugar está Queen.

[@vonBottorff]

Going wild on the already wild Aikea-Guinea.

[@freeradt]

I saw the amazing, one & only, no one else like them, Cocteau Twins in the early-mid 90’s in Denver, CO. It was Spring and it rained just for the band and all of us that were there and she sang just like the Angel she was/is and the band was perfect, everything was perfect. I too am saddened that they even uploaded this concert bcuz a true fan would not criticize her performance. Everyone has an off night, everyone! I still love CT❤forever ~

[@miked533]

People slag the Twins saying they were too lazy to write lyrics, so the songs just sound like awesome demos. That said I've loved them since 84. No doubt a lot of Garlands-like vocal passes were muted in the mixes of later music. I'm certain that the kernel vocals for songs were always like that. Anyway, it's tough to re-create those record productions live. There's no way she recorded the tracks listening to all the "sweet syrup" that we hear on the final product. Go and listen to Garlands. Very different production than BBK. And it's a very common misconception to believe that you will hear live what you listened to a hundred times at home, by any performer. If you think this is difficult, try some Coltrain live. I think it's rubbish sometimes, but my jazzies go "did you hear that?!?" "or THAT, oh man!!" and it just sounds like he's blowing clams to me. The beauty is in the ear of the behearer. I suggest fifty or so more listenings! Certainly for me.

[@marisolsegovia108]

Todas estas canciones de cuna de mi hijo❤️

[@mithluinluis]

que bonito eso!!!!

[@Kozmuff]

this is amazing and thanks a lot for uploading. you know what, live performances are all worthless if they just reproduce its studio recordings.

[@mithluinluis]

Completely agree with you! I love this show.

[@alex.sunders]

Play list perfeita!

[@MKMKMK1986]

💖

[@misfitstargazer9695]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Ilikeitlikethis]

Sending streaks of jealousy to anyone who ever saw them live. From Australia. Sniff......

[@seabud6408]

Can empathise and commiserate. I did see them live but I missed the chance to see *Joni Mitchell live on her last tour .... *The other “greatest” singer in the world. 😀

[@HassanCodA-Xod8hm.]

Keeping it Weird 🤩

[@cocoygranada9403]

"Sometimes I see you from The Orpheum, at The Vasra, in Oriole..." Louder, Wander, wonder....beyond

[@alinahusna_]

Wish I was at this concert but I wasn’t even born yet🥹

[@kunwarbedi3882]

i would have gone mad at the first minute

[@laalaasequin9215]

oh dear!!!

[@johnstinchcomb8156]

When I listen to this I think to myself the band had an easy job. They just played their parts. All the pressure was on Fraser to deliver. I can't imagine having to do what she did for an entire tour. With people expecting to hear all the turns, screams & tremolos with little regard for the toll it takes on the voice. As a one time musician one of the things I've learned is that when you have a wonderful singer you should support them in every way you can. With backup singers. Or with guitarists, bassists & drummers sacking it up & learning to sing in falsetto if they're dudes or with no excuses if they're gals. If you play an instrument you should learn to sing at least enough to support those doing the heavy lifting.

[@glenwind6493]

Yeah.. makes sense. But oh man, I could NOT ever even imagine a mail voice accompanying Liz's delicate vocals. It's untouchable, the guys know it, and I'm sure she wouldn''t have it. The instrument players do their part, she does hers. If she couldn't handle it, she wouldn't be there doing it. ;)

[@garythomas4431]

I very much agree. While Liz is superb, a tour can be the death of one of the most important instruments..the voice.

[@DanielRamirez-it4wf]

Que voz en evangeline no es de este mundo grande Lizz!!!

[@mstozsto4756]

the best: Whales Tails, Pink Orange Red

[@Wolf.moon23]

Tava chapadona kkkkkkk

[@downallyourstreets]

i wish i'd have seen the Galaxie 500 opener, tour in 1991, Galaxie broke up right after that tour ended, right before they were set to go to Japan. guess Dean Wareham wanted to start the 90's with a different sound, less atmospheric, more fast jangly Velvet underground riffs with Deans vocals less smacked-up, plus he got members his favorite and excellent NZ flying nun bands to be his rhythm section: drummer Stanley of the Feelies; bassist Justin Harwood of The Chills to back him on an excellent debut on a major label which is usually a dealbreaker (I subscribe to the East Coast's and Midwestern maverick's: Ian Makaye's Discord records, and Stave Albini's Big Black's respectively, refusal to sing major labal "Deals". Also the NorthWest Coast's K Record's and Kill Rock Stars and any other's I've missed. But it probably took major label money to get band members from New Zealand and the US to record and live in super-expensive NYC. not to mention you needed payola for FM "alternative" radio and 120 minutes MTV exposure. And Luna was a hard-touring, hardworking band sure there was drinks, drug and call girls with legs up to the Empire State

[@kingpetra6886]

Portland Oregon?

[@mvitulano]

Was there a backup singer on this tour? I can hear another...what seems to be a male voice filling things out? Am I crazy?

[@branson9271]

the lead vocal doesn't sound like liz fraser to me at all

[@johnnyatab]

There are moments it does sound like someone is helping for example on Pitch The Baby.

[@lazybelphegore6748]

you're not crazy, I thought I heard someone else too for a moment there, I put it down to the mixing or some production techniques, whatever it was, it was done just right, very subtly.

[@deliuslyndon8340]

What are you hearing??

[@pussycats456]

There’s another voice on Lorelei.

[@ozmarichardson6524]

Love this band. Love the songs and their sound. I do not get why you would want heaven or Las Vegas to sound like that. Not saying it's bad, I just dont get it.

[@mithluinluis]

1994 is a hard year to take from them! I accept that, 😔

[@aaron1888]

i saw them 2 nights around a month before this and always remembered the show as being great and i saw them in 96 as well and 94 was better. i was relistening to some shows and found one of the shows i saw in atlanta and one a week earlier in new orleans the vocals are much better and the band sounds tighter its hard to say maybe i just was in ahh over seeing cocteau twins and anything would sound good i think the early part of the us tour in 94 she was singing better and just got burned out she had a lot of personal shit going on as well

[@melaniewhite6852]

She sounds like she is having fun singing here. It's kinda odd but fascinating, like an exotic warbling birdv

[@ReunionMana]

@@melaniewhite6852 ^ this is exactly why this recording is so good, its liz in full bird mode, and that bird-like quality is exactly what people love about singers, and liz is taking it to a whole other level of weird that makes you kind of realize how absurd the whole singing thing is

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

Liz is about to have a nervous breakdown here, the whole band has declared that they wish FFC had never happened

[@petemanning1768]

I saw this tour in St. Louis and I remember she just kind of sang whatever. Didn't follow the album at all.

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

Im big fan of CT But what is fantastic here? Listening to a woman who suffers on stage, who had serious mental problems at the time, who screams, howls, falls out of tune, which ended with her nervous breakdown. And that's ok with you?

[@ihavezeroideawhattoputhere3653]

i’ve always thought she was doing this as a way to get out of touring, maybe the vocals would cause so many issues they would have to cancel the tour. i’m glad milk and kisses tour had great vocals though, good to end on a positive note

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

@@ihavezeroideawhattoputhere3653 Milk and Kisses was fantastic tour, this, but this is torture

[@Pezmergainax]

The band is on point but for some reason the lead singer is ruining the performance in its entirety

[@alci720]

I didnt like the way Liz was singing on this tour. Choppy syllable mush.

[@belldelafuente]

In this concert her voice is so exagerated, ridiculous and chaotic.

[@ihavezeroideawhattoputhere3653]

when i’m bored i go to this video and listen in awe as liz makes the worst vocal choices possible for a good hour

[@ronbar4192]

Here Liz reminds me Amy Winehouse very very drunk in the point that she started to sing like a rooster screaming☺️

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

Agree, She sings completely uncontrolled, hysterically, that year she experienced a nervous breakdown

[@ihavezeroideawhattoputhere3653]

she wasn’t a drinker, i think this was just her odd way of trying to get the band to cancel the tour, because she wasn’t mentally well and likely didn’t wanna deal with touring

[@vonBottorff]

Liz was forced to jazz skat her vocals to carry all the studio melody-harmony across. Interesting results.

[@lesjuly]

This is really harsh to try and listen to and I'm not talking about the recording itself. I love Cocteau Twins but I gotta be HONEST, after listening to the magic of the studio recordings, I can't deal with this. I got through less than 2 minutes and had to STOP and make this comment because this sounds so bad. Liz sounds horrible and NONE of the 'etherial other-worldly-ness' of her voice is captured live and it sounds like she's intentionally butchering the songs. I saw them live on the Heaven Or Las Vegas Tour and while it wasn't great (I could tell she was having problems hearing herself), it wasn't THIS bad.

[@pussycats456]

I totally agree! Her voice is horrible live!

[@seabud6408]

@@pussycats456 With respect if you love Jazz improvisational/experimental music this is just fantastic. Right on the edge ..bringing it ... and never dialling it in. I saw them in Glasgow twice. 2 of the best gigs I’ve attended.

[@seabud6408]

With respect. You need to get attuned to what she is reaching for here. Each to their own but I find this astonishing. Who else can sing like this she’s a one off “treasure” 😀

[@ihavezeroideawhattoputhere3653]

@@pussycats456 her voice was beautiful in every tour except this… i suppose she was just having a moment

[@adastra1500]

@@seabud6408 I saw them twice in Glasgow, firstly at the Barrowlands for the Four Calendar Cafe tour and then at the Arches for the Milk and Kisses tour. I thought her singing was off for the first gig and she looked uncomfortable and nervous but was amazing for the Arches gig. The sound production was amazing for the Barras gig but was stripped down for the Arches and they were relying a lot on effects and sounded like they were remixed by Hawkwind.

[@thaumaston7]

Although Liz had the capacity to nail it live, she often did this absolute garbage. I’m not sure how anyone could think this is nice. CT is my favorite band, and I respect them as artists. She set a high bar on the studio recordings but could perform well when she focused. Below is a link to one of many performances were she actually focused and tried her best. I think this is simply a matter of not having the energy and emotional focus to sing to her ability, and she’s reacting to that by being absurd. kzbin.info/www/bejne/inWqnaF3bLuBha8

[@MacakFric-dt3qg]

I totally agree, it sounds like Liz is about to have a nervous breakdown, why didn't they cancel the tour? For those who think this is great, listen to how they sounded in 1996 Royal Albert Hall - perfect! I can't listen to this

[@thaumaston7]

@@MacakFric-dt3qg yeah mental health issues is the short answer. When most vocalists don’t feel up to it, they stop reaching for high notes. But here Liz is reacting by forcing out all sorts of weird noises and not even trying to sing in key. Robin G used to make fun of her for being hypochondriac. I imagine cancelling a show wouldn’t go over well, and it was a complicated and awful situation.

[@domiti9481]

okay you do it then

[@thaumaston7]

@@domiti9481 strong response, but I think comparing Liz to Liz is probably better than comparing Liz to me

[@pussycats456]

What the hell is going on with her voice? Horrible to listen to her murdering her own songs!

[@seabud6408]

With respect if you were in the audience you would probably get it. I was blown away when I saw them do this set. On the edge and flying is what I hear 👂🏻😀

[@belldelafuente]

In this concert the voice is so over reacted. At some point is disturbing and ridiculous. It separates a lot from the instruments and the essence of the music. She sounds forced and exagerated. Is good to improvise, but here is too much.. Fraser is destroying the magic of the music with her caothic singing.

[@jbEATs5]

Ummmm...but I still love them. Saw them twice and left with mixed feelings. Seattle 90 and 94.

[@thaumaston7]

No, the way she often sang live is not OK, and it’s not an issue of “having to be there”. She is a very sensitive and sentimental person. She set an almost impossible bar with her studio recordings. I think she reacted to that pressure by doing this garbage. Sometimes in live performances she went all out, and it doesn’t sound like this.

[@belldelafuente]

In this concert the voice is so over reacted. At some point is disturbing and ridiculous. It separates a lot from the instruments and the essence of the music. She sounds forced and exagerated. Is good to improvise, but here is too much.. Fraser is destroying the magic of the music with her caothic singing.

[@mithluinluis]

1994 was a strange year for them 😰

[@bbaff8622]

@@mithluinluis I think the Paris show was one of the best live ones I have heard, check out Carolyns Fingers in Paris 94.

[@ihavezeroideawhattoputhere3653]

i think she was doing really mentally unwell around this time, and was giving up on the band so i suppose this was her acting out in a way. she sounds great in videos from 1996 and 1991 so this tour was just… strange

[@chrisknowlton9460]

Great recording. Her singing on this tour was awful and annoying. Almost ruins the songs.

[@domiti9481]

Okay. Get up on the stage and you do it then.