So, last night we went to a concert at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. The sonic blast was provided by Garbage with support from Queen Adreena. We got there a little early to find the doors already open, which made a nice change from shuffling along in a line for half an hour or more. The Electric Ballroom is a nightclub most of the time, and the actual performance area was quite small, especially for a popular act such as Garbage. As Shirley said shortly after they came on, it was strange for the band to play such a small venue
The opening act, Queen Adreena, were not really our cup of tea. Imagine, if you will, Bjork mixed with the latest in screeching death metal and you’d come somewhere close. The waif like singer seemed to be on something and was behaving in a disturbing way for most of their set. Anyway, they weren’t on for too long and while the crew cleaned up for the main act we at least got a chance to regain some hearing. Eventually, Garbage came on stage.
The last time we saw Garbage was in Auckland where they were part of a triple bill will Stellar* and Alanis Morissette and Garbage were definitely the best of the three. At the time Shirley seemed surprised at the enthusiastic reception the band received, which lead to a performance boost for the show. Last night Garbage were revelling in the smaller, more intimate surroundings and seemed to be having a great time performing, Shirley especially was very chatty and made a point of looking at people, seeking out their eyes, during the show. It must be refreshing to be able to pick out members of the audience easily (in fact, Shirley said as much).
Everyone was into the music, bouncing around and singing along. Some songs went better than others, there was a three song sequence half way through the show, starting with ‘Stupid Girl’, that really got the crowd rocking along. It all went along very fast, the band were on stage for at least an hour, maybe closer to two, it was hard to tell. There was a three song encore which went down really well and then it was over. The concert was Garbage’s last European date until they record a new album, which will be a year away at least, so it was good we caught them when we did. Songs played on the night included (in no particular order):
Vow
Temptation Waits
I Think I’m Paranoid
Cherry Lips
Milk
Girl don’t come (encore)
Soldier Through This
Special
When I Grow Up
Stupid Girl
Hammering in my Head
Shut Your Mouth
Parade
Drive You Home
As Heaven Is Wide
The trip home was uneventful, at least it was short and easy – a walk around the corner from the venue to a bus stop and a ride on the 134 bus to our street. All in all a great night out. Now we look forward to tonight we’re we off to see two NZ bands, Stellar* and The Feelers at Shepherds Bush Empire.
