Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Tonight I went to a great show at The Clubhouse in Tempe: Mark Gardener opening for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I'd never heard of Mark Gardener before, but apparently he was the frontman for a band called Ride, which I'd also never heard of. I googled Mark Gardener earlier in the day to see what I might expect, and started reading up on him and his history. It appears that in the early 90's I must have been living under a rock to not be familiar with Ride and their shoegazing style. Actually, I should give myself a little credit, I wasn't living under a rock in the early 90's, I was just beginning to come into my own as far as music goes. I was catching up on the old stuff via my dad's record collection with bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Peter Paul & Mary. And I was also sorting out what current music I liked by dabbling in R.E.M., The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Violent Femmes, Nirvana, The Dead Milkmen, and many more. Nevertheless, it seems like by now I should have heard of Ride, or at least shoegazing, although, now that I have, it makes a lot of sense why BRMC would choose Gardener as their opener- their sound, especially their early sound, was heavily influenced by shoegazing (Shoegazing is characterized by the use of distortion and the fuzzbox, droning riffs and a Phil Spector-esque wall of sound from the noisy guitars. Vocals are typically subdued in volume and tone, but underneath the layers of guitars was often a strong sense of melody.). I don't think you could more perfectly describe the backbone of BRMC than with that sentence. Anyhow, I'm off on a tangent...

Mark Gardener was decent enough. He reminded me of an older Robbie Williams in looks, which kept cracking me up, I'm not sure why. His band consisted of him on guitar & vocals, a keyboardist/back up vocalist and another guitarist/back up vocalist. They played about seven or eight songs, all of which were acoustic and all of which all three of them sang on. They were good songs, but nothing really stood out. Actually, there was one thing that stood out, which is that I think the sound mix was screwed up. The vocals were entirely too loud, especially the keyboardist, and especially since all three of them were singing at the same time. Otherwise, it was a good set. I'm not sure that I'll run out and buy the new album, but I may check it out when I have a chance.

BRMC took the stage around 9:30 to a crowd of maybe two hundred people. The set started with just Peter on the stage with guitar and harmonica. He played three of the more acoustic songs from the new album and the band joined him at the end of the third. This was my second time seeing BRMC, the first time being back in 2002 when they opened for Spiritualized. At that time I was a fan of their music but didn't know anything about the band. I left the show absolutely blown away by their sound, and by the fact that three guys created it. Their songs were so intense and were literally a wall of sound. It was amazing. After hearing the latest album, Howl, I wasn't sure what to expect when seeing them live because their sound had changed so much. Again I left in amazement, this time for two reasons: 1, at how much they've evolved and 2, at how much each song is a cooperative effort between Peter and Robert. They both sing, they both play guitar and they both play bass, and often all on the same song. It's amazing to watch these sounds recreated live because you really have no idea what goes into each of them.

I had a great spot up near the stage in front of Peter, so it was cool to see what an amazing guitarist he is (not that I know much about playing guitar!). He switched guitars on almost every song and was doing all sorts of stuff with the various pedals and the sound board at his feet. He also played harmonica on several songs, bass on As Sure as the Sun, keyboards on a few songs, trombone on Promise and a strange accordian/organ instrument on Open Invitation. Most of the time Robert played bass, but he played guitar on several of the songs as well as piano. He's such a cool bass player because he plays the bass almost like a guitar. His fingers are all over the place and he picks the bass instead of thumping it, like a lot of bassist do. Their songs can be so bass-heavy, so it's really cool to watch him play. Their drummer, Nigel, is pretty average as far as drummers go, but he works really well with them.

I was impressed with the new sound and how well it translated live. I was also pleased with how well the old songs blended with the new. Whereas old BRMC was a loud, brash, in-your- face sound, the new BRMC was more diversified. There were still plenty of loud guitars and heavy basslines, but there was also an element of soul in the acoustic guitars and harmonica and vocal melodies. The most noticeable album divergences were an acoustic rendition of US Government and an electrified Sympathetic Noose. Overall this was a great show with a really good setlist...

The Setlist:
1- Complicated Situation
2- Fault Line
3- Devil's Waitin'
4- Shuffle Your Feet
5- Ain't No Easy Way
6- Weight of the World
7- Love Burns
8- White Palms
9- Punk Song
10- As Sure as the Sun
11- Rise or Fall
12- Howl
13- Still Suspicion Holds You Tight
14- US Government
15- Sympathetic Noose
16- Promise
-Encore-
17- Spread Your Love
18- Stop
19- Gospel Song
20- The Line
21- Open Invitation

to do #314: See Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

UPDATE: I love interconnectedness in life. I was just reminded by a friend that I have, in fact, heard of Ride because Andy Bell (the bass player for Oasis) was a member of Ride. Duh! That explains why Mark Gardener, when he saw a guy in an Oasis shirt, dedicated a song to Andy Bell. This feels vaguely like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, except with Oasis. All music can be related to Oasis within six degrees. Try it! I dare ya.