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Rave Magazine
Matt Thrower
Pink Floyd have a large inflatable pig. Iron Maiden have ghoulish mascot Eddie. Alice Cooper has his snake. And Guided By Voices have beer and ciggies. These heavily-taxed vices obviously play a vital role in a GBV live show. Actually, they appeared to play a vital role before the show, too, because vocalist Robert Pollard looked a bit of a state the second he stepped on to the stage. What was remarkable was that the shambolic physical state of the band had no seriously adverse effect on their actual musical performance! Amazing.
Perth’s Turnstyle had the task of opening for GBV and while they were the subject of some apathy (a lot of people spent Turnstyle’s set stocking up on booze), their charming, offbeat pop clearly had some admirers. With the ever important Casio bleep-bleep-bleepin’ along, the trio played an understated but enjoyable set, with songs that recalled a combination of early Chills and the garage pop of our own Cunningham and the late Melniks. Dressed in decidedly new wave threads (long-sleeved white shirts and black ties), the band gave a spirited rendition of their insanely catchy radio hit Spray Water On Your Stereo. That song remains their finest moment to date, but on the evidence of their promising debut album Turnstyle Country, I believe these guys have the potential to better it.
Guided By Voices then proceeded to play a two hour-plus set, while downing an impressive quantity of beer. Singer/songwriter Robert Pollard chain smoked, skulled brews an took swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniels. If he could, I’m sure the spirit of Oliver Reed would have made an appearance on stage, shaking each band member’s hand, with the encouraging words “Fucking good job, son!”. But for GBV, excess has so far failed to ruin their art. Which is great news for us. Even though obviously tanked, Bob Pollard was fortunately a happy, jovial drunk, so he had an immediate rapport with the audience. Also, his voice was definitely up to the task of belting out chunky rock numbers Bulldog Skin and Cut Out Witch, but also had the poignant sensitivity required for ballads Hold On Hope and Acorns And Orioles. The group has a reputation for making arty, experimental pop music, but a GBV live show is very much an old-school pub rock experience. Also, with such a huge back catalogue, we got a nice combination of tracks from 1994’s Bee Thousand and 1995’s Alien Lanes (top versions of Motor Away and My Valuable Hunting Knife), with new material and songs from Robert and guitarist Doug Gillard’s new collaborative effort Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department. For fans, GBV have so many records, that it would have been impossible for them to play everything you’d want to hear. But with two generous encores, this rabidly appreciative crowd certainly got their money’s worth. An extraordinary performance from the world’s smokingest, drinkingest band.