Its Portland’s Lithics who are tasked with opening tonight’s proceedings to a packed Fairmount Theatre. I am always at a loss when it comes to describing music in any more detail than all-encompassing blanket expressions like “alternative” – thankfully, my Montreal Rocks colleague and tonight’s Photographer isn’t. “Surgically precise dance music for Proletarian robots“ is his synopsis; perfect! It’s a splendid 40 minutes drawn heavily from recent full-length Mating Surfaces, awash with angular riffs that get everyone warmed up nicely for tonight’s main event.
As soon as Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks arrive on stage, things don’t seem quite right. Before playing any songs, Stephen addresses the crowd in a very deep, raspy voice; clearly, he’s sick as a dog. He mentions that for tonight’s show, “requests may be taken, but may not be honored… and please don’t throw any beer!“ He clearly still hasn’t forgotten that Osheaga set back in 2010 where he got drilled in the shoulder mid-song by a beer!
And it’s not just Stephens voice that bothers him during the set; various technical issues afflict the set with some regularity. On Bike Lane, there are problems with Stephens guitar, and its the turn of his mic stand to give up the ghost on Shiggy when he tries to move it, though somehow he still manages to tear through the epic solo unperturbed. Bassist Joanna Bolme messes up Post-Paint Boy midway through too, bringing the song to a crashing halt. They manage to resume the song and make it through to completion, but it’s clearly not going to be their tightest set ever.
Stephen seems all too aware of all of these vocal and technical shortcomings, apologizing on various occasions throughout the set. After a problem-free Future Suite, he laments ”this is so humiliating, I’m sorry!” After the jaunty Pavement-y Malediction, he says “thank you so much, I want a do-over, we’ll come back!” As the packed room cheers following the massive outro of Witch Mountain Bridge, Stephen simply shakes his head.
However, as dissatisfied as Stephen clearly is, the crowd clearly do not feel the same way, cheering throughout and yelling words of encouragement frequently. The drudgy bassline of Bike Lane translates well in the live setting. Joanna impeccably fills in for ex-Sonic Youth bassist Kim Gordon’s part on country-tinged duet Refute. The solo on Solid Silk sounds pretty emphatic too, as does set closer Kite with its Peter Frampton pedal distortion.
Following that, half the band leaves the stage, before Stephen declares ”that concludes the gig… now to some karaoke.” And here come the requests he talked about at the start! After asking for suggestions, you might expect people to be shy about climbing up on stage and singing, but no! One guy Etienne climbs on stage immediately, asking for Cut Your Hair, and the band duly oblige. Etienne does an admirable job, phone in hand to make sure he doesn’t mess up the lyrics.
Stephen asks if there are any ladies with a request; one girl called Vivienne climbs up and asks for Shady Lane, followed by 2 more guys singing Zurich Is Stained and Stereo in succession. Taking audience participation to a whole new level! Stephen then brings drummer Jake Morris forward to sing lead vocals on a stripped-down Spit On A Stranger to close out the encore, who does an admirable job too. It makes for a pretty unique experience; on the other nights of this tour, the encore usually consists of just two Pavement covers, but tonight we get FIVE! What could have been disastrous in terms of Stephen’s voice and technical issues winds up being a truly memorable show indeed; well played Mr Malkmus and your Jicks.
Setlist
Cinnamon and Lesbians
Post-Paint Boy
Bike Lane
Future Suite
No One Is (As I Are Be)
Stick Figures in Love
Shiggy
Solid Silk
Malediction
Witch Mountain Bridge
Rattler
Refute
Kite
Encore
Cut Your Hair (Pavement cover) (accompanied on vocals by fan)
Shady Lane (Pavement cover) (accompanied on vocals by fan)
Zurich Is Stained (Pavement cover) (accompanied on vocals by fan)
Stereo (Pavement cover) (accompanied on vocals by fan)
Spit on a Stranger (Pavement cover) (with Jake Morris on lead vocals)
Review – Simon Williams
Photos – Jean-Michel Lacombe
