Pilcrow

On Wednesday February 16, I went to the Showbox at the Market to see post-punk legends Gang of Four, with Hollerado opening. Gang of Four are a band I've only come to appreciate in the past several years, and so I still don't know them much beyond their better-known hits. I already felt like this would be a good opportunity to check them out even before I started hearing songs from their new album Control on KEXP, but those songs settled the matter. Even so, I almost waffled out of going, but I was glad to prove once again that it's always the right decision to go to the show.

I wasn't really familiar with opening band Hollerado, despite the fact that they dedicated their song "Americanarama" to KEXP with thanks for playing them. They had a good set of upbeat pop rock, including a credible cover of "Psychotic Reaction" by '60s band Count Five, and they played out their final song with extended riffs and improvised jams in a fun way. I felt they're the kind of band that will get a big following among kids in college right now, but it remains to be seen if they'll grow or just keep that initial audience.

Gang of Four showed a lot of vitality for their years, with original members Jon King (vocals) and Andy Gill (guitar) dancing and running about the stage gesturing to the audience, and even tossing a guitar around during one song. Their music, new and old, was very dark sounding with heavy bass-driven songs, and the (relatively new) rhythm section of Thomas McNeice on bass and Mark Heaney on drums did an excellent job of providing that fundamental support. Although they were very important to the band's sound, so were the stark guitar lines and vocals of Gill and King, and it was clear how the original Gang of Four influenced the sound of many current bands, such as Interpol. I wondered though how many of those other bands were also weaving in the social/political commentary/criticism that Gang of Four are famous for. Gang of Four played a mix of songs from their new album and classic hits, including "(Love Like) Anthrax", "What We All Want", "To Hell with Poverty", and "Damaged Goods" as the final encore. Their new song "Do as I Say" sounded just as intense as any of the old ones; they haven't lost anything, still playing uncompromising rock after 30+ years. "To Hell with Poverty" probably had the best audience response—no doubt the song resonated with many people these days—and got the whole floor dancing. In all, they played one solid hour, broke a couple times between the three-song encore, and were done. I know the audience still wanted more, but I believe we can rest assured we haven't heard the last of Gang of Four.

Not a lot of photos, but I actually got a couple good ones of Hollerado (and posted them while at the show), and I was close enough to the stage for Gang of Four to get some fairly decent photos of them as well; in fact, I decided I liked one of them enough to put it at the start of this review. You can see them all in my set on Flickr.