Garbage revisits glorious past; previews future in Las Vegas

Garbage performing in Las Vegas on Oct. 5, 2018.

Garbage, Rituals Of Mine
Where: The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas
When: Friday, October 6, 2018
Next: Garbage will headline at The Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Arizona on Oct. 7. 
Information: Garbage is on tour through Nov. 3, 2018. For all of the band's upcoming tour dates and ticket information, visit Garbage.com



Performing for just under two hours on Friday night, Garbage performed a wide-ranging concert that celebrated the band's 25-year history while previewing a memorable new song that came in the encore.

Singer Shirley Manson and drummer Butch Vig of Garbage.

Garbage began its current tour in late September in connection with the 20th anniversary of band's terrific sophomore album Version 2.0 (originally released in May 1998), which was re-released as a must-own and expanded deluxe edition in June 2018. That album's original track listing and some of the wonderful B-sides and bonus tracks the quartet recorded in the late 1990s (also included on the recent deluxe edition) were presented at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort on Friday night, Oct. 5, 2018. 

Shirley Manson caught up in the moment at The
Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Through the fast-moving fog of time it's easy to forget how groundbreaking Garbage was when they emerged with their self-titled debut album in August 1995. In an era personified by American grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, etc.) and a testosterone-fueled sonic aesthetic of the day, here was a band fronted by Scottish female singer Shirley Manson where the bona fide power of modern rock was artfully fused with electronica and an emphasis on creating masterful songs. In addition to Manson (lead vocals, guitar), top-tier American musicians Duke Erikson (guitar, keyboards), Steve Marker (guitar) and Butch Vig (percussion) have always been fully involved in the creation and production of the troupe's original material. 

Watching Garbage perform in Las Vegas was to be fully reminded how well the outfit's songcraft and talents as musicians have endured. Manson — with eye-catching makeup to match her dramatic attire — was engaged with the audience and relaxed even when their was a technical glitch forcing the band to re-start "Special" early on. "Let's take a moment to recover," Manson mused. "Good evening Las Vegas."

The subsequent 2.0 performance of "Special" was epic and thrilled the crowd, the song's iconic verses and soaring choruses hitting the collective mark. That masterful performance was followed by decidedly dark, post-goth take on the group's theme song for the 1999 James Bond flick "The World Is Not Enough." That alluring track had an almost symphonic feel, with the song growing in power to an impact-filled finale.

There was also a sense of paying tribute to seminal artists who came before Garbage, laying the groundwork for bands willing to make their mark in rock's rich tapestry. Early in the wide, on the band's cool "Wicked Ways" Garbage suddenly segued into Depeche Mode's blues rocker "Personal Jesus." Garbage pulled off a similar feat several times later in the set, finishing off the forceful rocker "13x Forever" with a bit of The Kinks' wistful 1965 hit "Tired of Waiting for You." Garbage ended its regular set with the fiery "You Look So Fine," wrapped up with a reworked slice of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams."

Shirley Manson and Butch Vig of Garbage in the final moments
of the band's memorable set in Las Vegas on Oct. 5, 2018.

"It's not a normal Garbage set," Manson explained before the band's performance of "Hammering In My Head," a song she added was the "only party song we've ever written." She then noted that this night would feature a set of songs "you've never heard."

Guitarist Duke Erikson.

Manson wasn't kidding about this night's foray into distant musical worlds. Among the cuts showcased was the group's absolutely stunning take on the Big Star classic "Thirteen" — the 1972 song chronicling adolescence retained its melancholy-draped moodscape even while reworked with Garbage's signature sound. Another strong cover, The Seeds' 1965 "Can't Seem To Make You Mine," included Manson even pounding out keyboards to fire up the garage rock classic.

For sure, many fans on hand at The Chelsea responded loudest with the performance of the band's best-known material ("Special," "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Push It"), but this writer was most impressed by the eclectic mix of originals and covers, played with a sense of artistry and pure fun.

Garbage delivered a solid three-song encore to cap a great concert, with the simmering rocker "The Trick Is To Keep Breathing," introspective 2017 original "No Horses" and the night-ending electronica-flavored "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)."

Combine the musical instincts of Warpaint, Eddie Vedder and Björk and you might well come up with Sacramento, California' duo Rituals Of Mine. Performing a 30-minute set of hard-hitting songs whose lyrical tides dealt mostly with relationships, the crowd welcomed and cheered the twosome's high-octane electronica/rock fusion. 

Review and photography by Robert Kinsler

Garbage Setlist at The Chelsea on October 5, 2018

1. Deadwood
2. Temptation Waits
3. Wicked Ways (with Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" snippet)
4. Special
5. The World Is Not Enough
6. 13x Forever (with The Kinks' "Tired of Waiting for You" snippet)
7. Get Busy With the Fizzy
8. Hammering In My Head
9. Medication
10. Thirteen (Big Star cover)
11. Can't Seem To Make You Mine (The Seeds cover)
12. I Think I'm Paranoid
13. Sleep Together
14. Dumb
15. Soldier Through This
16. Lick The Pavement
17. Push It
18. When I Grow Up
19. You Look So Fine (with Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" snippet)
Encore
20. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing
21. No Horses
22. Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)

Garbage set to release 'Strange Little Birds' on June 10

Garbage was terrific when I caught them in concert last October, and I am excited with the news that the band is set to release a new album on June 10, 2016. Here is all the information, as well as the cover artwork for Strange Little Birds.

GARBAGE ANNOUNCE STRANGE LITTLE BIRDS 

 

BAND'S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED SIXTH STUDIO ALBUM TO BE RELEASED JUNE 10TH ON STUNVOLUME

Garbage (Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson and Butch Vig) today announced Strange Little Birds, their sixth studio album, which will be released on June 10, 2016 on the band's own label STUNVOLUME. The band recently shared the title via Twitter, and today released the tracklisting and artwork. The album, produced by the band, is the follow up to 2012's heralded Not Your Kind of People.

 

Working initially in Vig's basement and then at Red Razor Sounds in Los Angeles, Garbage drew on a variety of sources, from their recent fan letters back to the albums they loved growing up.  "The guiding principle was keeping it fresh, and relying on instinct both lyrically and musically", said frontwoman Shirley Manson.  Strange Little Birds is "less fussed over" than anything Garbage has ever made. "We fell in love with immediacy," adds Vig.

 

Some will hear echoes of Garbage's 1995 debut album in Strange Little Birds - including Manson herself. "To me, this record, funnily enough, has the most to do with the first record than any of the previous records," she says. "It's getting back to that beginner's headspace." "In part," she says, that's a result of not having anyone to answer to."

 

Garbage will perform at various festivals and headlining shows across Europe this summer. See below for confirmed dates and stay tuned for additional live dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

 

STRANGE LITTLE BIRDS TRACKLISTING 

 

Photo credit: Joseph Cultice

1.     Sometimes

2.     Empty

3.     Blackout

4.     If I Lost You

5.     Night Drive Loneliness

6.     Even Though Our Love Is Doomed

7.     Magnetized

8.     We Never Tell

9.     So We Can Stay Alive

10.  Teaching Little Fingers To Play

11.  Amends  

LIVE DATES

 

May 24 - La Cartonnerie ­- Reims, France

May 26 - Rock im Revier Festival - Dortmund, Germany

May 27 - Women Of The World Festival - Frankfurt, Germany

May 28 - Rockavaria Festival - Munich, Germany

May 30 - The Paradiso - Amsterdam, Holland

May 31 - Den Atelier - Luxembourg, Luxembourg

June 1 - Caribana Festival - Nyon, Switzerland

June 3 - Le Radiant - Lyon, France

June 4 - Montereau Confluence Festival - Montereau, France

June 5 - La Belle Electrique - Grenoble, France

June 7 - Center Urbane Kulture Kino Siska - Ljubljana, Slovenia

June 8 - Fabrique - Milan, Italy

June 10 - Nova Rock Festival - Nickelsdorf, Austria

June 13 - Troxy - London, UK

June 14 - Rock City - Nottingham, UK

August 8 - Lokerse Festival - Lokeren, Belgium

August 10 - A Summer's Tale - Luhmühlen, Germany 

 

ABOUT GARBAGE

Garbage is Shirley Manson, Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig. After forming in Madison, WI, Garbage released their self-titled debut album in 1995. The band's unique sound and provocative visual aesthetic, inspired massive worldwide attention and success. Their follow up album, Version 2.0, released in 1998, topped charts all over the world and garnered multiple Grammy Award nominations including Album Of The Year. Garbage went on to release two more albums: 2001's Beautiful Garbage and 2005's Bleed Like Me, the latter of which earned the band its highest chart position with a No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. After a 7-year hiatus, the band released their fifth studio album Not Your Kind of People in 2012 on their independent record label, STUNVOLUME. The album was named one of Rolling Stone magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2012 and was hailed as the "alternative to everything," by Pitchfork. Garbage has sold over 12 million albums worldwide and performed in over thirty-five countries. Last year the band celebrated its 20th anniversary with their SOLD OUT '20 Years Queer' world tour and the release of a special 20th anniversary edition of their debut album, re-mastered and featuring previously unreleased material. 

http://garbage.com