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reviews
Maxwell's, with Lois
Hoboken, NJ
source:
by Apple-O adelucia@eden.rutgers.edu
1994-08-03
First I'd like to comment on how fast this show sold out- weeks in advance! A few months earlier I recall much smaller crowds for Stereolab, and the band's guitarist Tim being psick with numoanya and not able to afford a doctor... glad to see things working out for them.
The opener, Lois Maffeo, now backed by ex-Tiger Trapper Heather, put out some truly sweet sounds. Acoustic and with a solid backbeat, songs from the "Strumpet" album sounded much fresher than on the (overproduced) record. Where last year, shows with drummer Amy were sonically harsher and uncompromising with Lois trying the electric guitar and Amy's more experimental style, creating a real rift between live and recorded sound, this marked a return to the days of Molly and the lullabye like quality of Lois' songs, brought out by the softer sound. In addition to songs off Strumpet, were some golden oldies ("Uncrushworthy", "Valentine"), the b-side "Page Two", and several new songs which sounded like, well, Lois. Though the show was sold out, it was hard to tell at this point because the room was relatively empty. Contrary to the headline of the recent issue of Time, rest assure that people are NOT hipper- many of those there didn't shut up and listen while Lois played, and were seemingly ignoring and missing a great set.
Enter la Lab. On the walls were some strange round posters for the new album, a double with the usually strange futeristic title which you'll probably have heard by now (something like "jupiter space-rock", I don't know!). The single's out, but I have yet to see it. But I heard it! ...
Live, Stereolab is like taking part in a group hypnosis. Not only are they trance inducing, but they've also got one hell of a danceable beat- I'd like to see this band play for aerobics classes. When the first combo gym/club opens, Stereolab should top the bill. But what did we hear?
New songs! Lots of them. Loads of them. Mary Hansen said the band is much happier with this new album, which promises to be less noisy than the last one, but no less interesting... Live songs truly brought the entire room into a unified state of mind. One day I'm sure there will be those who will speak the name Stereolab with much disdain, kind of like how punks slagged the Grateful Dead and Zeppelin, saying how lame it is to play songs with only one note... but they just weren't there, and they just don't know.
Not all songs had the trademark spacemen effect; it seems Stayreeoh Lahb ees mooofing eentoo ay new deemenshun. One song echoed off the back of my skull, returning as one word, "Abba;" many moved beyond the two note blues-based Modern Lovers "Roadrunner" melody that is the trademark of so many of Stereolab's past tunes. Some well-known hits were thrown our way ("Super-Electric", with hellfire keyboard duels toward the end, "The Seeming And The Meaning," "Crest," "French Disco") as well as the pleasant surprise of "John Cage Bubblegum." They seem to have gotten much tighter, with lightning snare rolls by drum powerhouse Andy Ramsay signaling the end of each song. The music has taken on less of a noise element, though they can still crack the whip when they need to.
The band took a break towards the end, to much applause, but the encore was obvious. I think they ended with "Stomach Worm," jamming out on it for several minutes (or was it hours?). I'm not sure because at this point my mind was clouded, ecstatic and ready to pick up the new album as soon as it hits the shelves.
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