Hurricanes, cyclones, psychotic ex-girlfriends. These are called ‘forces of nature’. Coming screaming out of New York in 1991, three piece The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion should be added to this category.
This is a band that redefines the word ‘loud’ and are utterly uncompromising in their style and approach, it is easy to see why they have earned so many fans in this part of the world, having toured here regularly during their career.
After an eight-year hiatus, they released their latest long player, Meat And Bone, last year to great acclaim – the Blues was back! Here as part of the recent Golden Plains Festival in Meredith, tonight was the second of two sold-out shows in the very fortunate city of Melbourne.
Local yahoos Bad Aches, with their aggressive take on punk and borderline unintelligible vocals, kicked off the night and beautifully set the template for what was to follow.
There was a beautiful running thread and theme between all three acts, that being ‘noise’ in all its many forms.
Next up were U.S. twosome Moon Duo. The side project of Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson, he provided some intense, incredibly atmospheric space pop along with his band partner, keyboardist Sanae Yamada.
This was a complex and haunting tableaux of sight and sound, with some trippy projected lights and patterns physically overlaying the duo. A great choice for support to the headliner.
Hitting the ground running and not stopping for the next 90 minutes, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, consisting of the main man himself, Mr Jon Spencer, guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer extraordinaire Russell Simins – bearing more than a passing resemblance to Animal from The Muppets – proceeded to basically rip venue a new arse!
This is music at its most raw and primal. What the Blues Explosion brings is a sense of wild unpredictability and danger that is sorely lacking from music in general these days.
It makes one think of the early period of rock and roll; a time where conservative parents believed that the swinging hips of Elvis Presley spelt the end of the world. In other words, music before the money men and corporations got hold of it and, basically, commercialised it and cut its balls off.
There’s plenty of balls here; especially in the newer material, such as the rather to the point “Take Your Pants Off”, stacking up well against crowd favourites such as “Wail”, “Son Of Sam” and “2 Kindsa Love”.
That final track recalls to mind the moment where the Blues Explosion became both legendary and infamous in Australia. In the mid-nineties, the band performed it track live on national television on the Saturday morning music show Recovery.
The set climaxed with Spencer turning into a human wrecking ball, terrorizing the audience and literally destroying the set.
The demonstrated a similar incendiary attitude tonight. The energy they created onstage was nothing short of electric. Stopping for about a nanosecond between songs, this was a performance with energy and attitude to burn.
The audience reaction was incredible, with the sold out crowd wearing silly and incredibly happy smiles; acting like hyperactive 12-year-olds who had had way too much red cordial.
For the final part of their set, the band created a wall of noise that could probably double as the soundtrack for the apocalypse, if and when it ever happens. (This scribe’s hearing is still recovering)!
Watching the threesome bash the absolute shit out of their instruments was an intense and invigorating sight. One wishes more bands had this ferocity and showmanship in the way they tackle the art of live performance.
A cracker of a night that reminds one why live music is such a vital and important experience, both from a personal perspective, and that this city has one of the most vibrant and exciting live music scenes in the world.
