Rataj Berard
The five steamed punks known as Garbage threw the loudest homecoming party of the weekend Sunday night. A sold-out Orpheum crowd showered the former Madisonians with love throughout the thundering, two-hour show. The grunge-era pioneers loved them right back by loosely re-creating their debut record to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its Aug. 15, 1995, release.
The touring vehicle known as “20 Years Queer” had the potential to rub the rail of nostalgia. It didn’t.
The band emerged like an apparition in the show’s opening — back-lit behind a sheer white drape. There’s no avoiding the iconic figure the band cuts — each member easily identifiable even as shadows on the curtain wall. Guitarists Steve Marker and Duke Erikson on the flanks, crouching and prowling around like velociraptors. Butch Vig behind two acres of drums (I counted 14 pieces). Touring bassist Eric Avery straight up like a stovepipe. Singer Shirley Manson front and center, the Homecoming Queen herself.
“It’s so good to be here. You have no idea,” she said early in the set. “This was our home for a long time. We made a lot of records here.” And then, after connecting the next selection to the long gone Café Montmartre, the band rumbled into “Girl Don’t Come.” The song’s merciless cynicism was somehow juiced by playing it at a slower tempo than the recording. Manson laced it with vocal tics and soared above the thrum and buzz of the Garbage guitar factory.
Rataj Berard
Marker and Erikson kept their eyes on each other all night, going back and forth from guitars to keyboards. The communication between musicians appeared to be as much about sharing the good time as it did about staying on arrangement. “Only Happy When It Rains” was a dark dance party, and Manson pin-balled between Marker and Erikson throughout.
Part of the fun was seeing how the band repurposed familiar material. They put an extra bounce into “Not My Idea,” a song that caused the balcony to spring up and down like a diving board. Blinding lasers and strobes added to the pandemonium of “Driving Lesson.”
A cover of the late Vic Chestnutt’s “Kick My Ass” flew in from nowhere like a black crow for the start of the band’s four-song encore. It was followed by “Trip My Wire” and a punky, funky version of “Cherry Lips.” The show closed with the lead single from the 1998 Garbage 2.0 album, “Push It,” a great finale choice for an anniversary show since it’s a song about the challenges of fitting in while standing out.
It made you wonder what the pride of Baldwin Street will do next. Vig answered that question just before the encore.
“This is not our swan song!” he bellowed. “We’re not f’ng done!” A new Garbage record is being readied for release next year, he said.
The concert was streamed live by Yahoo! and is currently replaying on repeat via the Yahoo! Screen website and app. The video is embedded below.
