[trash-talk] Review from The Age newspaper, 26/9 show

[Mark Perry]

Well, maybe it looked different from the back of the place, instead of
the front row where I was!

cheers,
mark
---

Palais Theatre, St Kilda, September 26

When Garbage surfaced 10 years ago, its invigorating brand of pop was a
neat contrast to the tail end of the grunge era. Here was an enlivening
mix of rock and electronic music fronted by a compelling female
vocalist - it was almost too good to be true.

History shows that over three subsequent studio albums, fiery Scot
Shirley Manson and her three band mates, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson and
Steve Marker, were unable to sustain that momentum.

All dates after this week's Australian tour have been cancelled and
it's likely that tonight's Melbourne show will be their last in the
city, despite the band stating on its website that it is merely taking
a break, not breaking up. Indeed the band arrived on stage Monday to
the strains of Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt - a
strangely morbid choice for a hyperactive pop group.

As the group filed on, the loudest cheer was reserved for Manson, who,
it has to be said, has never looked better. But Manson's restless and
raunchy stage presence was tempered by her bandmates' lack of charisma.
AdvertisementAdvertisement

The set-list covered the band's body of work, although Special and
Androgyny were surprising omissions. Fans reacted coolly to much of the
newer material, yet an impressive string of hits including Only Happy
When It Rains, Stupid Girl, Vow, Push It, and I Think I'm Paranoid
proved the band's merit in pop history.

Why Do You Love Me? saw Manson writhing around on the stage, while,
during Cherry Lips, she plucked out a pink boa from the crowd and
prowled the stage like it was 1996.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com