Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, with Blitzen Trapper
November 6, 2008
Liberty Hall
By RICHARD GINTOWT
The last time I saw Stephen Malkmus at Liberty Hall, he was drunk as a skunk. I vaguely remember him coming out before the show and rolling around on the stage while singing “tiptoe through the tulips.” For a brief moment I wondered if the show would even happen, but – in true Pavement style – the band went on to rip shit despite being rather ripped.
Nearly a decade later, Malkmus has sobered up (a little) and assembled a band that's at least as good as Spiral Stairs and company. New drummer Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi) provides a strong backbone for Real Emotional Trash, the fourth solo release from the former Pavement frontman. If you can't crank “Hopscotch Willie” and “Dragonfly Pie” in your '68 Camaro, you should probably be listening to ZZ Top anyways.
First, though, there's the matter of opener Blitzen Trapper – a Portland band that seemed to seize the indie slacker-rock throne on its 2007 release Wild Mountain Nation. I don't know about y'all, but I heard “Futures & Folly” as the best Pavement song since “Carrot Rope.” Blitzen Trapper's new album, Furr, proved they were far more than a Pavement knock-off, and it's also proven to be one of my favorite records of 2008. If anything, these guys are the next of kin to Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead.
This is the second time I’ve caught the Trapper, and they’ve come a long way in the span of a year. Vocalists Eric Earley and Erik Menteer have reached an Eagles-caliber plane with their top-down harmonies, and the whole band seems to have honed its chops by touring like the Minutemen. The six-piece group came out of the gate strong with lively renditions of “Sleepytime in the Western World” and “God & Suicide.” Another high point was “Furr,” which took on an electrified, Highway 61 vibe by incorporating the whole band (as opposed to the album's acoustic rendition). The group’s set lost some steam when they strayed from Furr to play some sloppier and less coherent older tracks, but I think they made a strong impression regardless.
Malkmus wasn’t nearly wasted when he took the stage this time, but he still did it in style by leaning on the side of stage and facetiously acting like his band was late. He shook off a request for Pavement’s “Rattled By the Rush” by sternly replying “We don’t play that shit anymore.” He wasn’t joking either, because the band didn’t play a single Pavement track all night.
Apart from drawing smaller crowds, the main difference between solo Malkmus and Pavement is that he plays guitar – quite well actually. Though his style is often sloppy and prone to wrong notes, it’s pretty fun to watch, especially when he does mid-solo jumping jacks (minus the arms). The only downside is Malkmus’s tendency to overshadow the brilliance of his lyrics and melodies with meandering guitar jams. That was less of a problem with Pavement, possibly because the band was usually too drunk to worry about hitting the right notes.
Highlighting material from Real Emotional Trash, Malkmus and his co-ed Jicks proved they still have plenty of creative petrol in the tank – parenting obligations and graying hairs notwithstanding. Weiss often sported a bemused look on her face when Malkmus struck a funny chord, and the whole band had the look of a bunch of lab technicians trying to keep up with its mad-scientist bossman. The group seemed most at ease on new cuts like “Gardenia” and “Out of Reaches” – two tracks that take the sting out of longing for a Pavement reunion. They also debuted a few new ones, which were hard to get a read on except to say they sounded like vintage Malkmus.
As expected, there were plenty of quotables from our gangly indie-rock protagonist:
• “That’s a nice bag. Where did you get that bag?” (to girl in front row)
• “Sounds like a guitar fart” (in response to out-of-tune guitar)
• “There’s nothing else to do in winter but lay down overdubs and snuggle up to the one you love.”
• “Oh, let’s just go to the chorus” (after forgetting some lyrics)
Critic's Notebook
Personal bias: I prefer a bit more spit and polish than both bands typically exhibit. That’s probably why Furr is my favorite Blitzen Trapper LP and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is my fave Pavement album.
Random detail: Each time I listen to Malkmus I hear a hilarious new lyric. Tonight’s winners were “17 anteaters sequestered in a room” and “I’m really, really, really proud of what you did” (a song about art school).
By the way: They closed off the balcony at Liberty Hall, presumably because the crowd was small enough to fit downstairs.
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