I arrived tired and broke after a shitty day of work, one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. Luckily my friend had a “+1” next to his name on the guest list, so I wouldn’t miss out on what turned out to be one of the best shows of the year.
After we got our beers and made small-talk with the few people we knew, the first band, Colin Decker Freefall played. I was surprised by this pick of an opening act. Nothing against the band, but considering Jello’s preference for weirder, less-mainstream music, it just seems odd that a band with a sound akin to mid-90s Bay-Area melodic punk would be opening for him. (And yes, apparently Jello did specifically approve the openers himself.) Not a bad band, but definitely not my first choice for an opener.
Next up was a band known as Fuel-Injected 45, who are from Vancouver. All I can say about them is WHAT THE FUCK?! Take generic bar-band rock-n-roll, tune down, turn up the distortion and then find a vocalist who sounds like she used to sing for that shitty nu-metal band KITTIE ten years ago. I don’t know why they were there, but they certainly weren’t anything original or special.
But all disappointment was quickly extinguished, when after a brief intermission, the lights dimmed. Four well-dressed fellows stepped onto the stage and began teasing us with some feedback, which slowly led into the intro to “The Terror of Tiny Town,” the first song off of Jello and the GSM’s LP. At the right moment, Jello himself leapt from the shadows and held us captive for the next hour or so. The dude is fifty-something years old, but despite the obvious signs of aging, (ie- balder and fatter than when I last saw him doing spoken word, like 8 years ago,) you wouldn’t know how old he is considering his stage presence. It was just like seeing that old DK video I own – Jello jumped, leapt, mimed and did all sorts of weird spastic shit, that few people half his age do anymore. The GSM set consisted of their album (obviously,) with some nice surprises thrown in there, too.
I’ve talked to people who saw the band on other stops on their tour, so I knew there was going to be some DK songs. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of Jello’s songs from his one-off project THE NO WTO COMBO, and as for the DK songs, he did pull out the hits – ‘California Uber Alles,’ ‘Let’s Lynch The Landlord,’ and ‘Holiday in Cambodia.’ But much to my ridiculous joy, they pulled out one of the darker and more haunting tracks, ‘Bleed for Me.’ Fucking brilliant.
Anyone who’s heard of Jello Biafra knows that the man is smart as a whip and is political as hell. Between (and during) songs, he preached the gospel, his trademark political ranting being topical and tying the situation down in the States with Albertan and Canadian politics. Despite the fact that his rants can get too long and tedious during his spoken-word shows, it really tied into the music.
If you’ve never heard Jello’s new band before, all you have to do is think of the Dead Kennedys and bring them into the modern age. The fucked-up surf guitar sound that defined the DKs is there. The bass thunders along flawlessly and Jello’s voice hasn’t spoiled with age. Why would you go see the DKs with some child actor, (or reality TV star, or whoever they have on vocals these days…can’t keep track anymore,) when you can see Jello with a much tighter band truly enjoying themselves, playing some truly amazing music.
After we got our beers and made small-talk with the few people we knew, the first band, Colin Decker Freefall played. I was surprised by this pick of an opening act. Nothing against the band, but considering Jello’s preference for weirder, less-mainstream music, it just seems odd that a band with a sound akin to mid-90s Bay-Area melodic punk would be opening for him. (And yes, apparently Jello did specifically approve the openers himself.) Not a bad band, but definitely not my first choice for an opener.
Next up was a band known as Fuel-Injected 45, who are from Vancouver. All I can say about them is WHAT THE FUCK?! Take generic bar-band rock-n-roll, tune down, turn up the distortion and then find a vocalist who sounds like she used to sing for that shitty nu-metal band KITTIE ten years ago. I don’t know why they were there, but they certainly weren’t anything original or special.
But all disappointment was quickly extinguished, when after a brief intermission, the lights dimmed. Four well-dressed fellows stepped onto the stage and began teasing us with some feedback, which slowly led into the intro to “The Terror of Tiny Town,” the first song off of Jello and the GSM’s LP. At the right moment, Jello himself leapt from the shadows and held us captive for the next hour or so. The dude is fifty-something years old, but despite the obvious signs of aging, (ie- balder and fatter than when I last saw him doing spoken word, like 8 years ago,) you wouldn’t know how old he is considering his stage presence. It was just like seeing that old DK video I own – Jello jumped, leapt, mimed and did all sorts of weird spastic shit, that few people half his age do anymore. The GSM set consisted of their album (obviously,) with some nice surprises thrown in there, too.
I’ve talked to people who saw the band on other stops on their tour, so I knew there was going to be some DK songs. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of Jello’s songs from his one-off project THE NO WTO COMBO, and as for the DK songs, he did pull out the hits – ‘California Uber Alles,’ ‘Let’s Lynch The Landlord,’ and ‘Holiday in Cambodia.’ But much to my ridiculous joy, they pulled out one of the darker and more haunting tracks, ‘Bleed for Me.’ Fucking brilliant.
Anyone who’s heard of Jello Biafra knows that the man is smart as a whip and is political as hell. Between (and during) songs, he preached the gospel, his trademark political ranting being topical and tying the situation down in the States with Albertan and Canadian politics. Despite the fact that his rants can get too long and tedious during his spoken-word shows, it really tied into the music.
If you’ve never heard Jello’s new band before, all you have to do is think of the Dead Kennedys and bring them into the modern age. The fucked-up surf guitar sound that defined the DKs is there. The bass thunders along flawlessly and Jello’s voice hasn’t spoiled with age. Why would you go see the DKs with some child actor, (or reality TV star, or whoever they have on vocals these days…can’t keep track anymore,) when you can see Jello with a much tighter band truly enjoying themselves, playing some truly amazing music.
Written By Damien Inbred
No comments:
Post a Comment