Garbage
The first thing to say is that the Troxy in East London is
one of the most unfriendly and paranoid venues that I’ve ever been to. I don’t
mind the security checks on the door, but I’m not impressed by the teams of
spotters within the venue itself who busy themselves insisting that even the
smallest bag which had already been
checked on the way in is then removed and placed outside the room.
I also fail
to see much logic in their insistence that the plastic bottles of water that
they sell you are to be decanted into er...plastic glasses. There are rubber
rooms in insane asylums that have more opportunity for self harm.
We are here to see the return of Garbage, who have been in
limbo for a number of years while the band members took a rest from each other
and replenished their various mojos.
The band start in an explosion of sound. Everything is louder
than everything else and singer Shirley Manson’s voice is all but extinguished.
I pop in the ear plugs that I acquired on the Camden Crawl
and everything is transformed. On one level, it’s rather like being underwater,
on the other I can hear the singer and instruments clearly without all that top
end distortion. So, ear plugs are the way to go unless you need to communicate
with the guy stood next to you.
Shirley is sporting a shoulder length Rita Hayworth hairdo and is rocking a black pair of hot pants. She may look incongruous, but as
ever, she’s definitely the one in charge round here. Duke Erikson and Steve
Marker are pretty much dressed as accountants and go about their business with
a minimum of show, Butch Vig pounding away on drums.
Garbage are plugging their new album ‘Not Your Kind Of
People’ and are also limbering up for the summer festival circuit. So, whilst
we get some new material, (all of which seems great and indicates the band
returning to a heavier, guitar driven sound) there are also the hits.
Garbage are one of those bands that surprise you with the
number of their songs that you didn’t realise that you already knew. ‘Queer’, ‘Happy
When It Rains’, ‘When I Grow Up’ ‘Stupid Girl’, these tunes keep coming. The
audience is delighted and Manson often allows them to do her singing for her,
stretching her microphone towards the bawling throng.
For me, the highlight is ‘The World Is Not Enough’ Let’s
face it – how many bands that you see have their own James Bond theme?
Manson has her family here tonight and thanks them, the band’s
manager and Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. It’s all genuine and unforced and cements
the vibe that this is a band playing amongst friends. Garbage are as happy to
see us as we are to see them.
Other than a minor confusion over the running order of the
set list, this is a slick consummately professional show. Garbage in full flow
are a mighty proposition.
It’s good to have them back.
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