Photos and review by Jennie Book @jenniebookphotography

Ian McCulloch and his Bunnymen came to the Warfield in San Francisco on June 6, and when you go to an Echo show you know you’ve got to go along for the ride and be willing to experience the roller coaster of it all and accept whatever the rock n roll fates throw you. Morrissey’s good at this in a similar but more extreme way.

The great news is that even with the what’s-going-to-happen? component, and even though the stage is dark while Ian McCulloch sings and he’s nearly impossible to photograph, he sure does sing well. His voice was in great form and during the 18 songs (19 if you count “Ocean Rain” stopping and then being revisited in a second encore) he had the crowd loving being there as they sang along to hits like “Bring on the Dancing Horses,” “Lips Like Sugar,” and “The Killing Moon” (after McCulloch stopped it and then restarted.)

This band has a lot of history and has been through some serious ups and downs, but the touring configuration with McCulloch and Will Sergeant is working for them now and San Francisco fans were very excited to see them live. The Songs to Learn and Sing tour continues in the US through June 14, and then moves to the UK for five dates throughout the summer and fall. For all the latest information check out www.bunnymen.com.