Wednesday, 01 June 2005
Attack Of The 6 Foot Nerd Rockers!
If you do anything long
enough it becomes a career. And twenty three years into their career,
They Might Be Giants, Americas best – and best-kept – secret,
are still prolifically treading water at a commercial plateau. And that’s not to
say they deserve to play half-sold clubs on sweltering Thursdays, but that while
people are busy stuffing increasingly-bland and generic upstarts down our
throats, talent deemed too clever, too quirky, and frankly, too good, is often
bubbling under.
By rights, they should be
headlining arenas. I know. Arena rocks sucks. But wouldn’t it be nice if more
people liked bands this good instead of Blink 182? The world
would be a better place, for a start. And people might help old ladies across
the road.
From the off,
TMBG’s quirky, intelligent cyclops rock offers us the science
of msuic. Songs aren’t just songs, but densely plotted, flippantly humourous
interpretations of our world. Like the geeks they are, entire songs are built
out of the smallest of details, and whilst on might claim that these are the
works of the Woody Allen’s Of Rock, the tender beating heart is always shown.
Songs often falter on abstract concepts (“The Alphabet Of Nations” and
“Museum Of Idiots"), yet use this as a way of unlocking the truth
within. An artist is always most truthful when wearing a mask.
Tonights relentless, greatest-hits
set, tailored to upcoming European festival shows, sees the duo on guitar,
accordian, keyboards, and shared vocals, whilst ably backed by The Band Of Dans
who manage to play almost every other instrument known to man. The bizarre
instrumental lineup results in a band that sounds like no one else in the world,
perhaps to their chagrin of their bank manager.
Nonetheless, a opening suckpunch
sees the band dispatch with “Istanbul Not Constantinople”, “Boss Of Me”,
“Dr.Worm” and “Don’t Let’s Start” in short order, before moving
further into their catalogue.
In a pace and enthusiasm-draining
segment, aided and abetted by Jonathan Ross in a cape and vampire outfit, tonight they
play 7 songs in a 20-minute ‘tour medley’ that covers the globe and details the
minuatae of touring : they play two songs called “The House Of Blues”
(“The Las Vegas House Of Blues” and “The Anaheim House Of
Blues”), before regaling us with odes to Glasgow, Vancouver, Brooklyn,
Alberta, and no doubt other corners of this beautiful world. Whilst the songs
are undoubtedly excellent, playing 20 minutes of ‘new’ material mid-show
slaughters the pace and results in a distinct move to the bar. To criticise them
for actually writing new songs is to be the enemy of progess mind you, and
invention is the thing that pushes mankind to evolution.
Undaunted,
TMBG return to their well known back catalogue, and dazzle with
Their Compendium Of Nerd Rock, archly deconstructing the utter stupidity of the
central tenements of rock, with moves that should be called “This-looks-stupid,
but-I-know-it-looks-stupid, and I-like-it, yee-haw!”. By the end of the set, the
assembled thousand or so are left in a state of mild exhaustion, having being
thoroughly dazzled by the invention of a utterly sincere, yet knowingly mocking,
intelligent brand of Geek Rock that the world needs more of. Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 1.0 beta 2! |
