Has It Shirley Bin 20 Years?: Garbage Recycles Its Remarkable Beginnings at the Riv -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Garbage

w/ opening act Torres

Riviera Theatre, Chicago

October 17, 2015

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There are few bands I've followed across their entirety any more so than Garbage.

I became aware of their 1995 self-titled debut album soon after its release, in part because of the novelty of three Madison, WI-based producers--including Butch Vig who had famously produced Nirvana's Nevermind--rekindling their own musical chops, starting a band and recruiting a striking Scottish singer named Shirley Manson.

With its heap of superb songs like "Only Happens When It Rains," "Stupid Girl," "Not My Idea," "Vow" and more, Garbage became one of my favorite albums of the '90s.

I didn't see the band live supporting album no. 1, but have caught them on tours for their four subsequent releases, for a total of 7 times including Saturday night at the Riv. (And I still rue that their 2002 tour with No Doubt didn't include a Chicago date.)

In 1998, I even briefly met the band at a CD signing for their second album, Version 2.0, at the now-extinct Tower Records on Clark Street. As shown, I also got each of the members--Manson, Vig, Duke Erickson and Steve Marker--to sign a photo I had brought, in addition to the CD booklet.

So I have always been a big fan and considerable admirer, including of Manson's wonderfully-opinionated Facebook feed.

Hence, along with a couple good friends, I eagerly bought a ticket to the Chicago stop on their 20 Years Queer tour celebrating their debut album and named for the second song on it.

Of course, back in June when tickets went on sale, I couldn't assume the show would coincide with the Cubs' first game in the NLCS.

But such is my regard for the band, despite not being quite as dazzled by 2012 and 2013 concerts as some earlier ones, that I forewent a rare chance to watch the Cubs in late-October to attend the concert.

And while I again found Garbage eminently enjoyable but not mind-blowingly phenomenal, alongside a group of friends that had swelled to six and with whom I had a nice dinner beforehand--abetted by another friend texting me constant updates about the Cubs' 4-2 loss to the Mets--the show was good enough for me not to rue my decision.

With the setlist devoted almost entirely to the debut album, its outtakes--included in the deluxe version you can find on Spotify--and other material the band wrote or covered in the mid-'90s, it was nice to hear the highlights mentioned above alongside some rarer tunes.

The show began with an opening set by a band called Torres, which reminded me and some of my pals of Kate Bush, Aimee Mann, Portishead, Radiohead, the Velvet Underground and--because of the female lead singer's hairstyle and garb--Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Which isn't to say they reached any of these heights, despite sounding pretty decent on a number of songs.

After a brief video respective on Garbage was accompanied by a recorded version of Garbage outtake "Alien Sex Fiend," the headline band launched into "Subhuman"--also left off the debut--while shrouded by a white scrim.

The not officially sold out, but pretty-well packed crowd went nuts as the curtain dropped and "Supervixen," the first song on the first album proper, was blasted into the balcony by the quartet, augmented as on recent tours by Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery.

Following "Queer," the band eschewed the album's third song (and first single), "Only Happy When It Rains," for placement late in the main set.

Though the debut album holds up rather distinctively 20 years on, not every song is quite a home run--which actually allowed me occasion to check the Cubs' score--and while outtakes like "Girl Don't Come," "Trip My Wire" and Jam cover "The Butterfly Collector" were nice augmentations to the actual album, there were some periods of relative lull. (As a huge fan of The Jam, I loved hearing Manson relay how much the great British trio meant to her.)

By and large, the lighting design was also impressive, but often kept the entire band shrouded in darkness, if Manson usually a bit less so.

With its three grizzled studio denizens and petite, fashionable singer, Garbage has always somewhat resembled a kidnapping, and as Shirley noted onstage that she often gets much of the focus while the other three do much of the work, it seemed a bit odd that the men were often rather unnoticeable. (I literally only saw Vig well when he was leaving the stage.)

Manson did nothing to diminish her status as one of rock's best frontwomen ever--and even one of the world's coolest people--but though in great voice and prowling the stage frequently, she didn't seem quite the dervish she was in the past.

But even if not mesmerizing throughout, it was a good, fun concert that I was happy to attend with some great friends (and some new ones). Songs like "Only Happens When It Rains," "Stupid Girl" and the show-closing "Push It"--the lone representative of Version 2.0--will always have a special place in my heart and, along with several other songs, they sounded great.

And it was great to hear what a special place Chicago holds for the band members, as Manson shared that it is where Vig, Erickson and Marker first heard her sing (when she was still fronting a band called Angelfish).

The quality of the music the band created right from its onset is pretty remarkable--they never really topped Garbage, IMO--and I was happy to celebrate the 20 years of pleasure they've brought to my life.

Even if this show, like those in the recent past, wasn't quite--to borrow, in the best sense, the title of their 2007 hits compilation--absolute Garbage.

A Much More Enjoyable Night of Garbage (Especially for Me) -- Chicago Concert Review

Concert Review

Garbage
with io Echo
Riviera Theatre, Chicago
April 3, 2013
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In most respects, I really didn't need to see Garbage again.

Although I've always liked them, and I enjoyed their show Wednesday night at the Riviera Theatre, this was the 6th time I've seen them--in six different years over the past 15. Most recently was just eight months ago at the Metro.

While they remain a powerhouse live act, with Shirley Manson still likely rock's premier female "front man," perhaps because their recent material doesn't capture me like the early stuff, in concert they haven't been quite as rapturous as in the past.

To their credit, the Madison, Wisconsin-bred band likely recognized the probable prevelance of repeat fans and thus played nine songs that they didn't last August. As their 1995 debut album remains their best, it was nice to hear Garbage reach back for relative rarities like "As Heaven is Wide" and "Milk" to complement "I'm Only Happy When it Rains," "Stupid Girl" and "Queer." (See the full setlist for Garbage at the Riviera on Setlist.fm)

Still I can't say the band's performance at the Riv was substantively better than the one at the Metro, which I also rated @@@@ (out of 5).

I just liked it a lot more.

As I wrote about in this review of the Metro show, that was one of the more uncomfortable evenings out of the nearly 550 concerts I've attended.

I don't blame Garbage nor, necessarily, the venerable and oft venerated Wrigleyville venue. But in being stuffed in like a sardine at the back of a standing room only floor--I admittedly prefer to sit these days--next to a makeshift beer stand with a very territorial barkeep, with very little air circulation on a sweltering August night, well, although Garbage sounded good, from their first note I couldn't wait for the show to end.

And that's why I had to go to Wednesday's show: to get the bad taste of my last Garbage gig--even if they themselves were good--out of my mouth. I didn't want to associate a band I've liked for nearly 20 years with one rotten evening.

Thankfully, from a personal comfort standpoint, my experience at the Riv was 100% better than at the Metro.

Which isn't to condemn the latter venue; I knew that the Metro has no seating options yet went anyway because I really wanted to see Garbage after a 7-year layoff. But had I known that they'd play the Riviera this spring, I wouldn't have bothered with the Metro.

Like the Metro, the Riviera--on Broadway in Uptown--is a general admission venue. But as a former movie palace, it has a large balcony full of seats, and if you get to a show early enough--I arrived at 7:15 for the 7:30 gig with a pretty good opening act called io Echo--you can typically get a seat.

Which I did, about 10 rows up, and sat comfortably all night.

And while I didn't absolutely love every minute--some of the new songs just aren't terrific--I didn't rue a moment of the nearly 2-hour performance.

Songs from the first and second Garbage albums were, as expected, the best of the night, but it was also great to hear "Cup of Coffee" from their their record, 2001's Beautiful Garbage.

Manson was in fine form, vocally and in terms of endearing stage patter, at one point even rambling on
about her "arse" (she's from Scotland).

To open the encores, Shirley and drummer Butch Vig paid tribute to a key crew member--sorry, I didn't catch his name--who was leaving the tour after the show. Touchingly, they allowed him to play drums on "Push It," as Vig gave up his seat to play the tambourine and join Manson at stage center, even singing a few lines.

A terrific version of "Stupid Girl" followed, an ample reminder of why I've liked Garbage so much, and "You Look So Fine," ended the show, but not before Manson sprinkled in a few lines of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

It was a nice way to end a night that was the antithesis of my relative nightmare back in August. Even though the band--accompanied on tour by Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery--was never really at fault, all is now metaphysically redeemed.

Who knows if I'll ever see Garbage in concert again; unless they come out with a really killer album I probably don't need to. But in the right place, as this show proved, it certainly couldn't hurt.

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Below is a video of Garbage performing "Stupid Girl" at a recent show in Montreal, posted to YouTube by Mechamilla: