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LIVE
IN CONCERT! |
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TRICKY |
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With
Special Guest |
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WHALE |
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Reviewed By
Dave Merrill
Toad's Place
Hartford, CT
11/13/98 |
When I arrived at Toad's Place, about a half
hour after they opened the doors, the place was dead. Just a
few people milled about in front of the stage, and the few tables
on either side were mostly full - normal for Toad's. If you want
to sit down, you have to mark territory early. A few people sat
or stood at one of the two bars, while a DJ filled the room with
techno dance music. Most of the people were college age, with
possibly a few high school seniors. This was an all ages show,
so there was a net sectioning off the drinkers from the under
agers, with the larger portion of the venue devoted to the under
age audience - obviously expecting a younger crowd, given "Tricky's"
fan base.
I was getting to do a lot of people watching that night, since
the show was starting really late. By 9:30, the venue was filling
up with a slow, but steady, trickle of people arriving. Students
sat on the stage edge, sometimes pushing off to bust a move to
the music.
It was getting to be 10 o'clock, and I saw dancers looking at
their watches. Expectation was turning to annoyance, even for
them. The whole time, two drum kits, some synthesizers and some
guitars filled most of the stage, mocking us. A roadie with a
shaved head came on stage, picked up guitars, placed them in
front of mikes and plugged them in, testing each piece of equipment
briefly. Finally, at about 10:15, "Whale" came on stage.
Cia Soro wore blue and purple streamers in her hair, flying around
and catching the light when she moved her head. Their first song
was "Crying At Airports," and they seemed pretty relaxed
on stage through the next couple of songs, "Hobo Humpin’
Slobo, Babe," their international hit from their first album,
and "Puma Gym." By then, the crowd was pretty densely
packed near the stage. People were getting into the music, though,
obviously most of them came to see "Tricky."
"Whale" slid into "2 Chord Song," each instrument
coming in one by one, building a driving beat. Soro’s vocals
flowed over the whole thing, and it was a great effect live -
even better than on the album. By then, the crowd was pretty
well packed near the stage, and people were getting into the
music. As the song neared fever pitch, Jorgen Wall leaped up
onto his drum kit, playing from a doubled over position while
he attacked the drums without missing a beat. Not to be outdone,
Heikki Kiviaho, jumped onto an amp, as did one of the guitarists.
They leaned out over the crowd like leering gargoyles on the
side of a building. It was chaos on stage as Cia moved from one
side to the other.
The quirky rhythms of "Deliver the Juice," came next.
People were really getting into the show, and "Whale"
was clearly into putting on a performance for them. Wall turned
his back to the crowd, but looked back to make sure the front
row was aware of what he had in mind. Slowly, he allowed himself
to fall backward into their waiting hands. They pushed him back
to his feet on stage to continue playing. A throbbing pulsing
rhythm launched, "Ping" The lead guitarist sat down
on the stage to play, concentration. The song ended with distorted
keyboard, getting faster with the beat.
Each band member had a separate identity that came out on stage.
Being the only female on board, Cia Soro might be considered
front person in this band, but she doesn’t hog the stage.
"Whale," closed their set with "Singer Star,"
another older song. It sounded like bubble gum music with feedback,
heavy on the techno. Wall jumped all over the stage to the electronic
beat. They ended the performance with thank yous and good byes
and were gone from the stage quickly.
"Tricky," took the stage slowly, with no lighting at
all. As the last of the band came on, blue lights came up behind
them. They were bathed in an unearthly glow, but mostly they
were in shadow. The dance beat pulsed rhythmically, crawled under
my skin and lodged there, effecting my whole body. The press
of people was intense. Usually this would bother me a lot, but
the beat seemed to make us all as one. It wasn’t scary at
all to be so compressed together as long as it was the music
that linked us. The press of bodies became intoxicating under
the music’s influence. The only time "Tricky’s"
face was visible was when the music reached its most intense
peaks. Light strobed to the beat, flashed on his face. The overall
effect was captivating. The band had the audience in its grip
just with one song.
The heavy bass, synthesizer and female vocal on their second
song made it sound like something off a James Bond compilation.
The darkness and rhythm breathed sexuality. A high female vocal
intoned, "Feels like the real thing," on their third
song. I’d expected to dislike this music, but "Trick"
had me totally blown away by this point. The drummer and bass
player were fantastic. You could just see "Tricky,"
rocking intensely back and forth around his mike stand as he
sang. Moody synthesizer and bass sank deeper into me as the fourth
song began. There was no choice but to move to it. I was trying
to take notes, but the press of people was so close, that my
pad and pen were right next to my face. It was the only way I
could have them close enough together to write.
"I need more," repeated on the fifth song, as the music
became like a drug, an aphrodisiac of sorts. "Tricky: literally
vibrated as he sang. My notes were becoming illegible, so I stuffed
the pad and pen into my pocket. It was time to just go with the
flow. And what a flow it was. The crowd, so close together, they
danced as one. A few people tried to slam dance, but there really
wasn’t enough room. I saw someone up front lifted up onto
the hands of the audience. He surfed the crowd for a long time,
not really having a choice, because it was so packed he couldn’t
get down. People pushed him toward the back, and I reached up
as he passed to give him a boost. I was only a few bodies from
the back of the club. Finally he reached a place where people
could lower him to the floor. The grin on his face was ear to
ear as he passed me, pushing his way back toward the front. I
don’t think it was possible to get there.
I’ll say it again! I was totally blown away by this show.
The only show I can think of that came close to the same kind
of energy was when I saw "R.E.M." in 1982, during their
tour for their second album. "R.E.M." was bathed in
shadow through most of the show. The haunting mood took over
everything, leaving me breathless. But "R.E.M.’s"
music didn’t have a mesmerizing rhythmic pulse like "Tricky’s,"
so the effect, though similar, was not quite as strong. If you
have the chance to see "Tricky" in a small venue like
Toad’s Place, do it. Even if you don’t know his music,
the experience alone made him worth seeing. |
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