I was actually at the 'very last' Garbage show at Brixton Academy years ago and it was an amazing performance. I cannot, however, believe that took place over 7 years ago! Surely not? Where does the time go? And more importantly how old am I - gah!
I first saw Garbage in the origins of their hey day co-headlining with Alanis Morrisette in Canberra (October '99) of all places. I distinctly remember Shirley tearing up the stage and making the night of numerous hapless boyfriends (who had been dragged along to the show by their girlfriends!) by strutting around the front of the stage with her very short skirt and white undies - they were actually very good that night and Alanis had to significantly up the ante to match it.
Garbage, time, were mainly about very slick pop rock songs and some serious Scottish attitude (care of their iconic leading lady). I am keen to see whether they still have the ability to sliver up the goods. I am also somewhat concerned about the fact that yet another band from my own hey day has come out of retirement - where is the new guard? In a perfect music world there would be no room for those who voluntarily left the stage many years ago. Perhaps the fact that bands like Garbage, Blur, Soundgarden and The Stone Roses (amongst others) are able to successfully tour again says something about the dire state of a music industry overrun by artists created by Simon Cowell - or maybe it just indicates that I am getting overly critical in my old age!
At least Garbage are not simply resting on their old laurels - there is an album full of new material on its way and I assume that we going to get a taste of some of the new tracks tonight.
Following a DJ opener (who really did remind us how old we were by playing 'classics' like L7 and The Damned) , the band took the stage just after 9pm. The crowd are full of people around my age in various shapes and forms and lots of goth looking girls with pink, blue and purple died hair - go the youngins!
The supervixen herself stepped straight up and into the track of the same name from Garbage's debut album (yeah that pink one!). She was decked out appropriately in red and black hot pants and heels and proceeded to throw herself around the stage in her infamous 'circling the prey' manner.
Unfortunately the sound system at the Troxy wasn't able to keep up with the band's intent and the result was a really muddy mix where Shirley's vocals could barely be heard - which was somewhat concerning given that I was standing in the front row. I've been at the Troxy a number of times and not experienced muddiness of this level before so I can only think that it's the set up that is creating the problem. It does improve over the course of the set but it's still a little off.
By the time we get to Queer we are able to hear the vocals a little better. The band sound good and the Shirley swagger is in effect - although it is slightly diminished by the minion who appears to relieve Shirley of her heels in exchange for flat boots - fair play!
Stupid Girl a few tracks later gets the crowd going and this is shortly followed by my personal highlight of the night being the triple whammy of #1 Crush (with awesome Madonna Erotica intro), Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go) and excellent new track Blood For Poppies. Really they sound like the 7 year break was only 7 weeks - which bodes pretty well for their upcoming tour.
Shirley takes the opportunity to thank the crowd, their manager and their families (most of whom are here tonight) for their love and support and there is a collective feeling of nostalgia which I think is felt by most in attendance - ahhh the 90s - those were the days!
We then move into full nostalgia mode with Milk and I Think I'm Paranoid. It's good to see that there is still some venom in these tunes - especially given that some of them are over 17 years old!
Man on a Wire and Bad Boyfriend from (album) keep the energy high and we then find ourselves with two further old friends to end out the main set - Only Happy When It Rains (which starts out low key and almost acoustically) and Push It.
I am still yet to hear probably my favourite Garbage tune (Vow) but I have high hopes for the encore - although I am wondering what else they are going to play given that most of the biggest Garbage hits have already been dealt with.
I have to say I am pretty surprised to see them pull out new track Automatic Systematic Habit and The Trick is to Keep Breathing as the first two songs of the encore. It's not exactly keeping in line with the high energy which they had created but it's certainly different and enough to sort the men from the boys in terms of Garbage fans.
We are suddenly at the end of the night and I am rewarded with my favourite track - Vow. This is the song that started it all off in 1995 and is a fitting finale for this 'comeback' show. We even get a tidy sample of Patti Smith's Because the Night at the end before Shirley runs off stage and leaves the boys to finish things up.
It's a fairly satisfying night for us old Garbage fans. It will be interesting to see whether they can garner some interest with this latest album amongst the new brigade.
More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/59794835@N00/sets/72157629670377450/
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