Review Tuesday: GARBAGE

Back after a seven year break, GARBAGE is back with the new record NOT YOUR KIND OF PEOPLE. They put out this record THEMSELVES with no record company backing, which is a big deal in this day and age, especially since it was around #13 on top selling albums about a week ago. Who knows where it is now? They have several versions of the record, I opted for the 15 track Deluxe Edition.

The tracklist:

1. Automatic Systematic Habit 3:17

2. Big Bright World 3:34

3. Blood For Poppies 3:38

4. Control 4:12

5. Not Your Kind Of People 4:57

6. Felt 3:25

7. I Hate Love 3:54

8. Sugar 3:58

9. Battle In Me 4:13

10. Man On A Wire 3:06

11. Beloved Freak 4:29

12. The One 4:43
13. What Girls Are Made Of 3:47

14. Bright Tonight 4:01

15. Show Me 5:14

If you fell in love with GARBAGE back during the 90s, this is perfect for you. They got off of that profound oddity track they were on and got back into some good old-fashioned GARBAGE music. It's sounds like ti came from the era of their first two albums. Thoughtful. Melodious. Beautiful. Not overdone. I'd say this is their best record in years. They left the pretentiousness out, and concentrated in making a good album. I've only seen raves from other Garbage fans as well. Well done!

Then, the day after I got the record we saw GARBAGE at Webster Hall!!!

Lemme back-step a little. Last week I reviewed Lacuna Coil in concert. One bit I accidentally left out was the time spent on my feet. I got to the show by 5:30. They let people in by 7:00. I essentially stood in the same spot without moving until nearly 11:00 PM! We walked a couple blocks to the train to go home after the show and I STILL didn't have proper feeling in my legs. I was thinking that I'm getting too old for this standing all night for a rock show thing. But at the Grammercy Theater they filed you in timely, in order that you arrived and got you out fast. This time around, to see GARBAGE, we were at NYC's famous WEBSTER HALL.

Webster Hall is a club with three floors. They have a main floor, which is good for little but dancing, that's used for current /  pop music. The basement has a small stage where local acts, no-name bands, and a DJ spinning 80s tunes resides. It's dark and loud. The concert floor is the second. I got to Webster Hall by 5:30. I was told that they were lining people up in the bar before the show. I went in and go on line at the bar. At that point there was a simple line. By 7:00 when they started letting people in, the bar was jammed up with people and they didn't let people in in any order at all. I got that two hours in advance for no good reason.

Once I got up to the second floor I saw everyone complaining about having to buy their tickets from scalpers. It appears that NO ONE was able to buy regular tickets for the show, and that [it seemed] that everyone had to buy expensive tixx from dealers.

At about 8:00 the opening act went on. They chose, ready for this???, a magician named Apollo Riego. He had a 15 minute act that he really tried his best with. His biggest problem was the lighting that was meant for a rock band. He was back lit A LOT which exposed a lot of his tricks, especially the ones done with threads and strings.

By 9:00 PM Garbage hit the stage. They were in perfect form and everyone sounded great despite some monitor issues. Butch Vig and Shirley each flubbed a couple cues, but it was fun and it was rock 'n roll. They announced right away to be prepared because they haven't toured in SEVEN YEARS and they will be on stage a LONG TIME. And that was so. They played a good two hours of their music and STILL weren't able to fit in all of their biggest hits. They represented music from all of their albums, and many from the new record. All the pieces fit together in a very well thought out show. There was a great deal of audience interaction. Oh! That also surprised me. Garbage seems to have a huge gay following. I've seen them perform many times before but I never saw so many gays in the crowd before. I'd say around 50%! Butch was his usual mediocre drumming self. Steve and Duke are an awesome dual axe-attack. They dude they lug around on bass was perfect. Shirley's voice and cat moves were as provocative and sexy as ever.

The show, itself was great and I hope to see Garbage perform again in the future. Only not at this piss-poor, disorganized Webster Hall ever, again. Hate that place. Which is fine. I was sardined for hours in that hell-hole and I'm just getting too damned old for standing room only shows.

Read more here:

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/22/153220130/garbage-after-an-absence-always-the-oddball?sc=tumblr&cc=tumb_music