Dallas Morning News Show review

Dallas Morning News
By Thor Christensen

Concert Not One to Forget Guided by Voices Lush Melodies Shine Through

Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices has been playing the role of drunken wild man for so long it's tough at first to recognize him when he isn't blotto. Performing Thursday night at Trees, the leader of the Dayton, Ohio, punk-pop quintet kicked off the show with an apology of sorts: "I'm not drunk enough yet," he said. "When the alcohol kicks in, [the show] will be good."

But instead of guzzling beer after beer and dancing on the brink of incapacitation -- in other words, a typical GBV show -- the 42-year-old ex-schoolteacher barely finished a few bottles of Bud the whole night. There were no beer shotguns. No beer showers. No piles of empty beer cans onstage for Mr. Pollard and company to trip over.

And at first, the audience seemed perplexed.

"Drink more beer!" one fan yelled. Another threw a cup of ice at the stage, hoping it might trigger some bad behavior from the band. It didn't, and the show never did turn into one of the booze-drenched blowouts that are the stuff of GBV folklore. Yet at the same time, the concert was a welcome eye-opener: Despite the legend, Mr. Pollard actually doesn't need to be wasted to put on a great show.

He's a natural born showman -- constantly pursing his lips and striking fey poses between puffs on his ever-present cigarette. Swinging his microphone in tight circles a la Roger Daltrey and kicking his leg up to his head like a Rockette, he was ready for the arenas.

But as near-perfect a frontman as he is, Mr. Pollard is an even better tunesmith. He's no innovator (many of the songs sounded like the Kinks plus the Clash divided by Cheap Trick), but he's a total master of melody and hooks. When you write three-minute pop songs as brilliant as "Teenage FBI" or as dreamy as "Hold on Hope," originality is a moot point.

Mr. Pollard put the songs across with gusto (and a goofy recurring fake British accent), but the music got most of its pulse from the rest of Guided by Voices. Doug Gillard was especially impressive as he fired up anthems such as "I Am a Tree" with buzzing, ringing guitar riffs.

And while drummer Jim MacPherson and bassist Nate Farley never drew attention to themselves, their skintight rhythms gave the show its urgency. Both musicians come from another Dayton band, the Breeders, which is on an extended hiatus; with GBV sounding as powerful as it did Thursday night, don't be surprised if they never go back.