I Don't Need A Cure, I Need A Final Solution
Words cannot describe how amazing Pere Ubu were last night. It just might have been the best show I've seen this semester (though it has some stiff competition!). Plus, seeing one of the first and most important bands in post-punk (which formed before "punk" was really founded!) felt like a real honour. Sure, their lineup changes constantly, but that's sort of a key feature of Ubu - it's not about who's in it, it's about the entity of Pere Ubu itself. And damn, did that entity ever put on a great show.
The opening act, Gagarin, was actually Ubu's soundman, and as one would expect he worked with sonic manipulation. He used a ton of reverb and distortion on a soundboard to make hauntingly bizarre tunes, which was interesting but somehow not all that engaging. Still a worthwhile sight, though. The real attraction began when David Thomas and company took the stage, with him dressed like a classic noir detective in a fedora and trenchcoat. They went right ahead, with an energy that belied the odd experimentation of their recorded work. Make no mistake - their music was crazy, bizarre, experimental, but it also really rocked. the effect was anything but rockist, though - it felt more like performance art than a typical rock show.
Their setup did a lot to add to this. First of all, as Ubu apparently specifies for every show, the lights were "theatrical rather than rockist" - they accentuated the band's presence and drew attention to their actions rather than being bombastic. What's more, Thomas had a chair behind him to sit down whenever he wasn't singing - giving the impression of an actor waiting for his cue more than anything. And some of the instruments were completely bizarre themselves - most notably, keyboardist Robert Wheeler not only had a soundboard attached to his keys (complete with 4 oscillators, as Thomas explained at great length), but had some kind of apparatus of two metal, and presumably magnetic triangles which he would move his hands around near to generate crazy high-pitched squeals. Also, Thomas has a distortion-wrought telephone in addition to a regular mic.
Let's face it, Thomas was the star of the show. Besides being the only permanent member of Ubu, and his trademark nasal singing voice, his showmanship really made the night. From rattling off ridiculously fast speeches about ghost towns, explaining that a song was "called 'Love Song' because it's about love, so it's a love song which is why we call it 'Love Song'", he was hilarious the whole time. Other highlights included him saying "this is a song Mr. Elvis Presley wrote for me about a year ago, and I'm trying to work on the vocal technique", talking about how a song was "for all the women in the audience, but only the men will understand", and of course his "conversations" with certain celebrities. These last were all in the following format: "I was talking to Kylie Minogue last month, and she told me '(in falsetto)You know David, I really dig your music, but there's one thing you should add to your show: a costume change.' And I thought about it, and decided, sure I'll put in a costume change Here it is." He then proceeded to put his hat and coat back on. The second was Sting (with the same falsetto voice) saying he needed social relevance, to which Thomas replied "Well, Mr. Sting, I just prefer writing about guys and girls in bars." Last, during the drawn-out pause in their last song, it was Bob Dylan (once again in falsetto) telling him he needed shorter songs, which drew the comment "Well, Mr. Dylan, I really respect you, but what the hell were those last two albums? Seriously, does anyone think the last Dylan album is worth mor than dogshit?" priceless.
Of course, the music was amazing too. They played a solid hour and a half of material from many different points in their career, though I neglected to get the setlist. Basically, it was an incredible show and will be a very hard act for Samiam and the Draft to follow tonight.
The opening act, Gagarin, was actually Ubu's soundman, and as one would expect he worked with sonic manipulation. He used a ton of reverb and distortion on a soundboard to make hauntingly bizarre tunes, which was interesting but somehow not all that engaging. Still a worthwhile sight, though. The real attraction began when David Thomas and company took the stage, with him dressed like a classic noir detective in a fedora and trenchcoat. They went right ahead, with an energy that belied the odd experimentation of their recorded work. Make no mistake - their music was crazy, bizarre, experimental, but it also really rocked. the effect was anything but rockist, though - it felt more like performance art than a typical rock show.
Their setup did a lot to add to this. First of all, as Ubu apparently specifies for every show, the lights were "theatrical rather than rockist" - they accentuated the band's presence and drew attention to their actions rather than being bombastic. What's more, Thomas had a chair behind him to sit down whenever he wasn't singing - giving the impression of an actor waiting for his cue more than anything. And some of the instruments were completely bizarre themselves - most notably, keyboardist Robert Wheeler not only had a soundboard attached to his keys (complete with 4 oscillators, as Thomas explained at great length), but had some kind of apparatus of two metal, and presumably magnetic triangles which he would move his hands around near to generate crazy high-pitched squeals. Also, Thomas has a distortion-wrought telephone in addition to a regular mic.
Let's face it, Thomas was the star of the show. Besides being the only permanent member of Ubu, and his trademark nasal singing voice, his showmanship really made the night. From rattling off ridiculously fast speeches about ghost towns, explaining that a song was "called 'Love Song' because it's about love, so it's a love song which is why we call it 'Love Song'", he was hilarious the whole time. Other highlights included him saying "this is a song Mr. Elvis Presley wrote for me about a year ago, and I'm trying to work on the vocal technique", talking about how a song was "for all the women in the audience, but only the men will understand", and of course his "conversations" with certain celebrities. These last were all in the following format: "I was talking to Kylie Minogue last month, and she told me '(in falsetto)You know David, I really dig your music, but there's one thing you should add to your show: a costume change.' And I thought about it, and decided, sure I'll put in a costume change Here it is." He then proceeded to put his hat and coat back on. The second was Sting (with the same falsetto voice) saying he needed social relevance, to which Thomas replied "Well, Mr. Sting, I just prefer writing about guys and girls in bars." Last, during the drawn-out pause in their last song, it was Bob Dylan (once again in falsetto) telling him he needed shorter songs, which drew the comment "Well, Mr. Dylan, I really respect you, but what the hell were those last two albums? Seriously, does anyone think the last Dylan album is worth mor than dogshit?" priceless.
Of course, the music was amazing too. They played a solid hour and a half of material from many different points in their career, though I neglected to get the setlist. Basically, it was an incredible show and will be a very hard act for Samiam and the Draft to follow tonight.
posted by Sasha at 4:47 PM
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