I’d been looking forward to this gig for quite a while, as Real Emotional Trash has been a constant on my MP3 player since it came out. Pitchfork didn’t go crazy about it, and neither did I initially, but I found myself listening to it again and again.
Usually, high expectations are bad things to bring to a gig, but for some reason I found myself telling everyone that I thought the Jicks gig was going to be great (this was partly due to one of my friends pulling out, as the gig clashed with Holland vs Italy). Thankfully, I was right, and it was (great). A solid set of Malkmus material, new and old, was played with enthusiasm by the impressive four-piece. ‘Steve’ as he called himself looked like he was enjoying himself, especially during the instrumental detours common to many of their songs, and he also kept the crowd updated with the Euro 2008 scores. Ex-Sleater Kinney drummer Janet Weiss is probably the best female drummer I’ve seen live - very impressive, and both she and bassist Joanna Bolme chip in with backing vocals. Joanna Bolme’s main weakness seems to be her bladder - it’s not big enough to last a full gig. The ensemble is completed by Mike Clark, who fills the holes with guitar and keys.
Many of Malkmus’ tracks, especially those from the new album, could be described as indulgent - with their convoluted structure and proggy guitar detours, but these seem to translate superbly to the live show, with Malkmus and Weiss playing off each other and really giving it socks*, as they say. It seems that general guitar fun is vying for Steve’s creative affections, which were previously focused on lyrical fun, though anyone who has listened to Real Emotional Trash will know that the lyrics are as Malkmus as ever.
It was an entertaining and charming set, with fine renditions of ‘Cold Son’, ‘Gardenia’ and the sprawling title-track of the new LP - ‘Real Emotional Trash’. The highlight for me was ‘Baltimore’, probably the most indulgent tune of all. It’s just a great guitar-rock song, one that convinces you (if only for an hour or two) that you should find an electric guitar, plug it in and play it until the electricity bill arrives.
A three-song encore wound things up and Steve said his goodbyes, though the rest of the band seemed reluctant to leave, but I suspect the Tripod time-keepers were turning the screw. Despite Holland vs Italy turning out to be the best game of Euro 2008 so far (apparently - trying to catch the highlights on TV is nigh-on impossible, it seems), I’m pretty sure it couldn’t have been as entertaining as this gig.
Support came from the highly amusing Jeffrey Lewis, who warmed the crowd up admirably, with, amongst other things, an illustrated history of communism in Russia (which he somehow tyre-levered into a song of sorts), and the story of the Creeping Brain. Very strange - it shouldn’t work, but it does.
*Anyone know where this phrase comes from? It makes little sense to me. Giving someone socks seems like a very mundane thing to do. Here, I got you some socks.. eh, they’re 100% cotton..
