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Reviews
26 March, 2008
The Clean and Haunted Love - The Backstage 30/01/08
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After introducing the night as a “hang loose” kinda night, [The Clean] open with Fish, one of the highlights of their Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So So Sounds So So, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten EP from the early eighties, and the signs are not promising. More lackadaisical and disinterested than hung loose, the song threatens to dampen their formidable reputation, coming across a bit lazy, and struggling to better Gray Bartlett’s journeyman version from [The Clean] tribute album. The following song, Sad Eyed Lady, doesn’t fare much better, the band’s attempt to make the older songs interesting for themselves by routinely altering the drum patterns and rhythm coming over flat.

But any fears are allayed with the next song, Draw(in)G) to a (W)hole finds the groove that they’ve been searching for, [Robert Scott]’s always melodic bass lines coupled with the steady beat allow [David Kilgour]’s surf infused lead guitar to wind a tightly coiled path, reverberating and absolutely gripping. Having just really found their groove, the song suddenly ends, and this proves to be the pattern for the rest of the night, songs that could happily work themselves into a further epiphany are cut short, another being worked to the same state and cut short again.

A new song, Factory Man, is brought forth for public testing, another short song with a repetitive groove and vocal, perhaps indicating that there won’t be any great surprises on the new album. Actually it’s surprising how much old material [The Clean] ended up playing, from right across their long and distinguished career, Vehicle’s Some One an early highlight, [David Kilgour] in great form with a brash guitar, running perfectly over the top of a tight combination of drums and bass, once again cut seemingly too short just are you’re being enticed to completely lose yourself in the groove.

We’re treated to Whatever I Do is Right/Wrong, the groove constructed on full, round bass and keyboards, climaxing spectacularly; a brace of unfamiliar songs, built on a steady groove with snaking lead lines bordering on the psychedelic, yet still as sharp as ever; a new song called Back in the Day, more akin to David Kilgour’s works with the Heavy Eights; a version of Point That Thing Somewhere Else (which Hamish Kilgour dedicated to Plagal Grind) which has to be described as a little disappointing, not it’s usual mind bending experience, more road traveling than spectral traveling, a little meandering and aimless, not quite arriving at it’s intended destination but still a pleasant journey; an absolutely transcendent Getting Older, the guitar calling out the melody to the bass which responds in kind, the two melding beautifully before diverging again, the engine room chugging steadily away for [David Kilgour] to once again take on a journey into the farther reaches of space, a warning for us kids not to kill ourselves (and what better way to celebrate existence than such a transfixing, shared experience); a more gentle and layered instrumental followed by a similarly gentle Attack of the Teddy Bears, not as sharp as earlier incarnations and more groove friendly.

After announcing the end of the set and a short self-proclaimed “old man break”, [The Clean] return to the stage and work up Too Much Violence, working it up from a moody little number to a groovy little monster, then finishing with a gentle rendition of Safe in the Rain.

Maybe the word groove has been overused in this review, but it’s the basis if [The Clean] nowadays. No matter what else the individual band members do they’re always brought back to the significant celestial pull of [The Clean], journalists always ask about the next reunion, new releases are always compared to the heights of previous Clean albums and audiences love to hear Point That Thing. No longer all about the sharpness and bounce (although tonight they prove still as adept), [The Clean] nearly thirty years on can now just lose themselves in the moments, as well as rekindle the old fire where required. While not quite a vintage performance still a resounding justification (and vindication) for strapping on those old songs one more time, and hopefully next time we’ll be treated to more new stuff.


Dave Local
Posted by rob

Posted by rob
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