The last time I saw the band Garbage live was 1998 at the very same venue
(then called the State Theatre) that I witnessed them live this past Saturday
evening.
I've been a steady listener of the band over the years who dominated
the alternative rock airwaves in the 90's and the band still has the musical
abilities and edge that they first started putting out over two decades ago. The
music industry has changed much over the years, but Garbage has remained
consistent. Take this from a guy who was there in the beginning.
The stage lights stayed off for the bands first song of the set
"Sometimes", which also happens to be the first song of the bands new
album 'Strange Little Birds'. It was perfect for the atmosphere, but
not so great for capturing photos. But that would soon change as the lights
were turned up as well as the music. The band broke into fan favorites
“I Think I’m Paranoid” and "Stupid Girl" in succession. Yes folks...the great music
of the 90's lives on and I couldn't be happier.
The band lineup for the evening consisted of vocalist Shirley Manson,
guitarists Steve Marker and Duke Erickson, touring bassist Eric Avery (formerly
of Janes Addiction), and Matt Walker (from Morrissey and Smashing Pumpkins)
who filled in for Butch Vig on drums due to Butch's illness
and his doctors
orders not to travel.
The band's set consisted of a wide variety of material from all six of
their full length albums. Material off of 'Absolute Garbage' and 'beautifulgarbage' got the least play with only one track from each of them played live during their set and the bands self titled 'Garbage' saw the highest with six.
The Fillmore had a great turnout and the crowd was
very pleased and let the band know it with screams, hand claps, and the light of
their cell phones as they captured some of their favorite songs.
The band stayed energetic with Shirley, in a free flowing dress, pacing
with a purpose all over the stage and guitarists Steve Marker and Duke Erickson
adding sweeping motions and movement to their playing that makes for a great
visual live music experience.
The band only had one hiccup in the set which came in the first minute
of “Only Happy When it Rains”. I believe it was due to an error on the
part of fill in drummer Matt Walker as Shirley was talking to him right after
mishap. The band had a good laugh about it and restarted the song from the
very beginning and had the majority of the crowd singing along to the
chorus.
Shirley spoke to the crowd quite often between songs. I love Shirley's
accent, but I found myself missing a lot of words coming from her mouth. She
spoke of her support of the LGBT community during one break and her belief of accepting all
people for who they are.
Popular hits “Push It” and “Vow” were saved for the end
of the regular set and encores included "Supervixen" and "#1 Crush"
off the bands 1995 debut album and the bands high
energy song
"Why Do You Love Me?” finished the set.
A great set list and
evening all around. My 18 year break from seeing Garbage live felt like a
Back To The Future trip that I can easily see myself taking again.
*Photos and review by Casey Schwochow*
