At The Drive-In
with Murder City Devils and International Noise Conspiracy
Tuesday October 24 2000 @ The Reverb, Toronto

This was a sold out show at The Reverb, and with good reason. Three amazing bands, each with a reputation for putting on a good live show, together on one bill. It was a show I had been excited about ever since it was announced back in early September.

Despite the growing popularity of At The Drive-In, and the fact that they were the headliners, I’m pretty sure that a lot of the people were in attendance just to see The International Noise Conspiracy. After all, Swedish bands don’t make it over here to North America very often. And if I’m not mistaken (which I could be), it was their first time ever playing in Canada. It was a rather strange experience having a venue for a show packed so tight full of people before the first band had even gone on.

Wearing their stylish brown suits, TINC came out and delivered a tight set of mod influenced garage rock and roll that did not disappoint. They were bouncing around and having a great time up on stage and their energy was transferred to the crowd. The vocalist, Ex-Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén, had all the cool rock poses down perfectly. He even proved to be a great dancer, which I didn’t expect from someone who used to be in a hardcore band.

In between songs he gave a few little speeches explaining the politics behind the band, and I didn’t mind this, but he didn’t really seem to be making any points. The way I see it, if you’re going to give little lectures in between songs, keep them short, simple, but above all, make your point, and actually give the kids something to think about.

Towards the end of their set, he actually said something that sounded kind of hypocritical.He said something like “Everything is for sale and so are we, and we’re pretty damn cheap. Take home a piece of the revolution with you.” which was referring to the merchandise they had for sale. Now for a band that criticizes consumerism and capitalism so much, this seemed like a stupid thing to say. Even though I’m sure he was joking, it sounded really hypocritical. It made it seem like the politics and the “revolution” are just part of the rebellious image they are using to sell records and merchandise.

Maybe I’m just being too picky, but then, that is one of the pitfalls of trying to make statements in between songs. You only have a few seconds to talk, and everything you say is going to be analyzed. If you say the wrong thing, or there is a misunderstanding, then it can’t be rectified because individual audience members don’t have a chance to respond.

That is the only thing that really disappointed me about their set though. And maybe I’m a dork for letting it bug me, but I mean, it’s really no big deal. They were still a lot of fun, even if they lost a little bit of credibility in my eyes.

The Murder City Devils have a reputation for being an amazing live band, and although I was not too familiar with their music, I was looking forward to seeing their show.

They had red candles on all the amps, setting sort of a sinister atmosphere, which really didn’t have much to do with their music at all. Once they started playing, they just let loose with their raw, all out rock and roll mayhem.

They were aggressive and loud. Maybe a little too loud. I think I would have enjoyed them more if they were an instrumental band, because the distorted, strangled screaming just hurt my ears. The one guitarist was making all these poses like he was some sort of guitar god. Rock poses are cool when they are done tongue-in-cheek, but not when they are done in an arrogant kind of way. This guy came off seeming very cocky.

I liked the fact that they had an organ player, but I don’t think she was used to her full potential. (By the way, both the Murder City Devils and the International Noise Conspiracy supported the uncanny tendency for bands to have female keyboard players. I wonder why that is. I guess keyboard and piano are just seen as more of a feminine instrument. But I digress…)

Near the end of their set, they briefly lit the drum kit on fire. That was pretty cool, but not really enough keep me interested through the rest of their songs. I can’t say the Murder City Devils weren’t intense, but I can say that they weren’t really my thing.

At The Drive In came on last and they seemed to be in a little bit more of a playful mood than they had been in a few months ago. There were a lot more screaming girls in the audience this time, and the band was sort of teasing them as they set up their equipment.

Their live performance was jaw dropping as usual. There’s not really much I can say that hasn’t been said before. They are an amazing band, and their live performance has no equal. If there was any question that they should be the headliners for this show, it was quickly answered within the first 30 seconds of the opening song, Arcarsenal.

At The Drive-In are so good at switching gears during their performances. One minute it is complete chaos: flailing guitars, gut wrenching yelps, crunching riffs, random noises and feedback. The next minute they bring it all under control, with melodic vocals and a precise rhythm section.

They played a great selection of songs including an extended jam out version of Quarantined, and blazing versions of Catacombs and Napoleon Solo, which seems to be their customary closing one-two knock out punch. It was definitely a T.K.O from Texas on this night.

In between one of the songs, Cedric voiced their discontent with an article that Now magazine had written about them, which apparently called them “The New Nirvana” or something to that effect. I don’t know if the Nirvana comparison was what they were upset about (I never got to read the article), but apparently in the music industry there is a lot of buzz surrounding At The Drive In, and people are saying they are going to be the next big thing. I have my doubts about whether or not the commercial music world is ready for a band like At The Drive In, but as long as they continue to put this much energy and intensity into their live performances, they will certainly not be losing fans any time soon. — Sean