Le Tigre
El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California
November 16th, 2004
Reviewed by Ivan Fernandez
I never knew feminists could party the way they did on November 16th, the night Le Tigre, along with two opening bands, performed at the historic El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. As I stood in line with my friend Alicia, the excitement of the rest of the crowd also in line was fully palpable.
Opening band Willpower offered a brand of Backstreet Boys-esque pop music, complete with a pair of dancers, that went over well with a few of the first people inside. I, however, felt a sudden need to head outside for some fresh air.
It was a wise choice as we ended up meeting the members of Lesbians On Ecstasy, the second opening band. The Montreal quartet, comprised of Fruity Frankie (Lynne T) on vocals, Jackie “The Jackhammer” on drum pads, Veronique Mystique on bass and Bernie Bankrupt on synths/keys, were an amiable bunch who kindly acknowledged our questions about the tour and their music.
Bidding adieu, we went back inside and patiently waited the onstage appearance of our newfound rock star friends. Lesbians On Ecstasy took the stage in front of a bleak-looking dark blue backdrop and were dressed in matching uniforms that were similar to those worn by crash-test dummies or prison inmates.
The band’s earlier demeanor towards my friend and I had fooled us into thinking that, perhaps, the band’s sound would veer towards the pop side. Instead, we were treated to almost an hour of what I can only describe as electro-furious lesbian anthems. Pounding house beats led synth-backed electro political anthems that could almost be called an angrier version of Le Tigre.
Minutes before Le Tigre were to take the stage, the MC, a rotund and mustached lesbian dressed as an old-school train engineer, warmed up the crowd. “Don’t go anywhere,” she said, “Le Tigre will be up in a few minutes.”
The audience’s anticipation was rewarded by the opening of the stage curtain as the opening guitar riff of “TKO” played through the house speakers. Kathleen Hanna danced behind her microphone while JD Samson controlled a synthesizer/sequencer and Johanna Fateman rocked out with a guitar in her arms and a sequencer by her side. As they performed, the band’s famed slideshow presentation, a trio of screens set up on stage featuring a same slideshow/PowerPoint presentation specially designed for each song, provided the song lyrics to give everyone a chance to sing along with the band.
Le Tigre continued their barrage of danceable feminism for slightly over an hour with barely a pause between songs. The band’s near non-stop barrage of dance-punk included a strong presence of songs of their latest release, This Island, including “After Dark,” “Nanny Nanny Boo Boo” and their cover of The Pointer Sisters “I’m So Excited.”
The trio didn’t leave out any of their previous hits either such as “My Art” and “Fake French” from the Feminist Sweepstakes album and “The The Empty,” “Hot Topic” and “What’s Yr Take On Cassavetes” from their self-titled debut. Le Tigre ended the show with their most popular song, “Deceptacon.” Hanna literally let her hair down as she and company led the crowd through one more charged blast of feminist rock disco. Feminism was never this fun.
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Social Distortion
Warfield in San Francisco, California
November 15th, 2004
Reviewed by Steven Marra
Social Distortion played at the Warfield in San Francisco on Nov 15th, and I was happy to be there. I was especially happy to safely be up in the balcony and not down on the floor, which morphed into something much more intense than a mosh pit during the course of the evening.
During the first two opening bands, there was pushing and shoving, and watching it was sort of amusing. But maybe that was because I didn’t care too much for either band and watching the moshing helped pass the time. Then Social Distortion came on and things changed. At one point, when general entropy was reaching maximum and someone in the audience was spitting at someone else, Social D’s lead singer, Mike Ness, stopped mid-song and delivered a mini-lecture on respect and no spitting. Then, rather than picking up the song where he stopped, the band started over from the beginning. Cool. One of the original L.A. Punk Rock bands from the late 1970s, Social Distortion has probably seen many weird things from the stage. The mayhem on the floor in front of the band was not a reflection nor provoked by the band. I found myself wondering how these very talented and dedicated musicians must feel when they are playing their hearts out and just a few feet in front of them people are pounding on each other.
I’ve not been a big punk fan in the past, always wanting to know at least one or two of the words to lyrics, where was the beginning, middle or end of a song, and I guess in general, what was the point of this style of music. In spite of this, I found myself really liking Social Distortion and within days I went out and bought their Live at the Roxy CD. They are very, very good musicians and performers. I understood their lyrics, liked their sound and liked their stage presence. There really must be some magic that happens when a band makes into double-digit years. All those years of playing together must make something really gel.
Social Distortion just plain works. I guess their style and sound is punkish, but to me it was more straight ahead rock. I very much liked “Story of My Life” “Prison Bound” and even if it took me awhile to catch on to what it was they were playing “Under My Thumb” was hot. These guys are clearly journeymen in the best sense of the word and their show was linear. Their newest CD release in eight years is called Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll and it pretty much captures the band’s sound. But for me, their Live at the Roxy CD is the way to go. But then again, my CD player holds 10 CDs, 7 of which are currently live performances, so you know my preference.
Next time Social Distortion is in your town, even if you are not a punk rock fan, go see them. Their skeleton logo is also pretty cool. At the end of the show, Mike Ness invited a 7-year-old little boy up on stage and congratulated him on being able to attend a rock show “on a school night”. I like that kind of punk.
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The Musical Box
Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada
November 20th, 2004
Reviewed by Michael Gilman
Ticket prices are getting absurd. I mean - what kind of moron pays over $50 to see a cover band? Recently myself and nearly 3000 other morons did just that, filling Toronto’s Massey Hall to capacity.
The cover band in question is The Musical Box, a group of Montreal musicians who have been recreating Peter Gabriel-era Genesis shows since 1993. They are unquestionably one of the best cover bands out there. The term “clone band” is more fitting. I can’t think of any other “cover band” that would bring out the ticket scalpers in droves. This isn't just a bunch of guys on stage in some dingy, hole-in-the-ground bar playing the music of other artists. They don't alter the lyrics or the sound to suit their tastes, they don't make the songs more modern, and they'd certainly never do a punk version of a prog-rock classic. You can get that anywhere on any night. The Musical Box does it with respect and they are very, very serious about it.
The entire show is recreated down to the finest details: costumes, lighting, the slide show, and even the instruments are the actual models (or at least authentic reproductions) used by Genesis in the early seventies. Even the banter between songs is word for word. Then of course, there is the music; they don't just play the crowd favorites or the hit singles. Instead, they perform the same setlists used when Genesis was on tour note for note.
This recent tour saw the recreation of the most difficult and theatrical of the early Genesis tours, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway. The Lamb was the second tour Genesis did in North America - it was a high concept album and even higher concept tour. As a result the fan reaction was cold. When Genesis started the tour in Chicago, the album had not yet been released. The Lamb is not an accessible album to begin with, but when you play the entire double album live in concert to an audience who has never heard it before… well, maybe you shouldn't expect much. The Musical Box on the other hand, has had thirty years of devout fans of the album on its side. Maybe that has something to do with the ticket prices.
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tells the story of Rael, a young man who gets caught up in a surreal version of New York City. It tells of his angst and introspection as he shouts out at all of the social injustices in the world. Its themes are Freudian and many: insecurity, sexuality, questions of self and belonging (among others).
The Musical Box have three such tours in their repertoire: Foxtrot, Selling England By the Pound, and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The latter is by far the best and most ambitious of the three.
The band has come long way since 1993, even being granted a license to perform the Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by both Peter Gabriel and Genesis. There used to be seven musicians on the stage when they performed tours in the nineties. There was an extra guitarist and an extra keyboardist to fill out some of the parts, which have since been learned by the core band members. As a result, the lineup has been pared down to match Genesis’ original five. They have done a lot of fine-tuning to the stage, costumes and lighting and seem to have everything down pat. Eleven years of practice will do that.
Still, the question arises: Over fifty bucks to see a cover band? You better believe it. When you have a product that people want and can't get anywhere else (at least not in the last thirty years), you can ask whatever you like. In many respects, we're lucky the tickets are so cheap.
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