Blonde Redhead at the Glass House 4-25-07
Blonde Redhead -- click for larger picture.
First, allow me a small rant. If you're going to answer your cell phone during a concert, have the courtesy to go somewhere else to take the call. Don't stand in the crowd like the guy who was right next to me, yelling, "I can't HEAR you!" into your phone while everyone around you is trying to enjoy the music.
The Glass House in Pomona, CA is a former department store on a corner in the refurbished old downtown of the city. The name comes from the large glass windows in the front that once displayed the store goods. The room is good-sized, but the stage is not very high. That means shorter people (like myself) cannot see the performers when tall people stand in front of them unless they go to the far back wall of the venue to watch from the mezzanine. I was very happy that so many of these pictures came out fairly well because I did not see very much of the performance with my own eyes even though we were fairly close to the stage. I was holding my camera up at arm's length and had very little idea what was in the shot.
The Annuals opened the show, and unfortunately for them I was preoccupied for most of their set trying to find a setting on my camera that would allow me to take a decent picture without the flash. At the right is the best example of the results, and I finally gave up and turned the flash back on. I am not familiar with the Annuals, and I could not hear their vocals at all, so it wouldn't be fair of me to critique their part of the show.While I am familiar with Blonde Redhead's current CD (see my album review), I'm less familiar with older songs, so please set me straight where I'm off. As with the Annuals, the vocals were not very clear so I had to rely mostly on melody to recognize them. The stage was unornamented except for a large, black (and therefore unphotographable) horse chair where Kazu sat while playing her keyboards.
They opened their set with "Elephant Woman" from their 2004 CD Misery Is a Butterfly then played four songs from 23: "SW," "23," "Publisher," and my favorite "Heroine." These were all very faithful to the CD versions--no surprises and little variation. Next there were three older songs that I didn't know so I hesitate to guess, but one may have been "Equus" and another "Messenger." After this was an absolutely amazing version "Falling Man" that is longer than the CD version and somehow even spookier and sadder than the original. After one more song, they left the stage but returned shortly for a short encore consisting of "Misery Is a Butterfly" and "The Dress" from 23. This seems like a short set, but the songs are very long, ranging from six minutes to ten or more.
During one number Amadeo bent over his guitar and rocked back and forth, Kazu draped herself over his shoulder, and they rocked together to the music while she sang. Unfortunately, I just missed that in this photo. You'll have to take my word that it was a very endearing moment.
Click photo for larger image.
In my opinion, anyone who is already a Blonde Redhead fan will enjoy seeing them live, but their performance is not likely to make a new fan out of someone who feels only lukewarm about them. I am basing this on my and Indie Mom's reactions to this show. Although I'm a new fan of this group, Blonde Redhead fits neatly into the niche occupied in my taste by Mew, Husky Rescue, Stars, Lush, maybe Psapp, and the Cardigans. Indie Mom doesn't like any of those bands.
Although band members Kazu Makino and brothers Amadeo and Simone Pace clearly enjoy playing together, they do not draw the audience into the performance. We observe only; we are not made a part of the show. This lack of engagement will not convert a non-fan into a fan. So while I enjoyed the music very much, Indie Mom thought it was just OK.
This is not the "Falling Man" that I heard Wednesday night, but this KCRW performance from 2004 is close. Go to Uberdrivel blog for more live Blonde Redhead from that show.
Falling Man (live)
The Dress
Click thumbnails for larger pictures:
Comments are appreciated.
7 comments:
Thanks for the review, and for linking to me. Unfortunately, their May 8th show here sold out (and I couldn't get into their in-store a few weeks ago), but hopefully I'll see them eventually. Gotta spin 23 a few more times, anyhow...
Thanks for posting those live tracks, Roland! I really wanted to hear "Falling Man" played like that again after last night.
nice review.
speaking of kcrw, i've been hearing a band called questions in dialect on there that i've become obsessed with. i think their myspace is www.myspace.com/questionsindialect. kinda tortoise-y.
the glass house is sort of rad. ...it's pretty rad. that thrift store across the street is even radder....radder. now a word.
Thanks for the tip--I am checking them out!
i think this is a really honest review and i appreciate that. i tend to gush a bit more than i should, so i'll have to remember this next time i write one!
i think it's sort of odd when a band doesn't try to interact with the audience--draw them in, as you say--i mean, the audience is who you're there for, otherwise you could be playing at home in your basement and get the same result, you know? do you feel like they gave their all and just aren't good at the banter, or were they totally wrapped up in themselves? just curious.
Thanks, Marcy--I do try to be honest!
I don't have any info about how BR view their live audience. I have a sense of their show as "performance art," like a stage play is a performance, where the audience is there to watch and not interact with the actors.
The only remarks spoken to the audience were Kazu's quite sincere thank-you just before the encore.
The show isn't subdued--Kazu tosses her hair and waves her arms as she sings when she's not playing an instrument, but her eyes are closed most of the time. The band all seem to want to keep a sense of detachment and just present the songs.
More acknowledgment and involvement of the audience I think would improve a BR live experience, especially for those who are less familiar with them.
Thanks tons for those live tracks!
I for one think that BR shows are quite spectacular.
The interplay between the band members and the intricate nature of their songs preclude meaningless communication with the audience.
This is a main reason why a BR show is so compelling and a deeply personal experience with the band.
But if you're not familiar with BR and looking for a band to yell out "hello Cleveland!" and other cliche's, they may not be your cup of tea.
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