POSTED: Monday, November 8, 2010, 7:00 PM
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? |
Theatricality can mean different things to different bands. For some, going that extra entertainment step simply means buying a matching article of clothing or similarly-designed instruments for everyone in the band. Others employ elaborate effects, props and wild onstage behavior. Neither one is better nor worse than the other, since it all comes down to the music.
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| CLINIC |
Liverpool's
Clinic falls into the more conservative style of performance art. The psych-fuzz quartet returned to Johnny Brenda's after a multi-year absence with a new batch of tunes and a slightly altered band uniform. In addition to their signature cloth surgical masks, the men of Clinic donned busy dashikis, not a far cry from last tour's Hawaiian shirt theme. The pseudo-mystical bent befits the group's latest offering,
Bubblegum; a more atmospheric effort than previous albums. Unsurprisingly, the set was strongly occupied by new songs, with album highlights like "Lion Tamer" and "I'm Aware" standing out just as much as on record. Clinic dug into their impressively expansive catalogue plenty of times throughout the night, unearthing several early cuts including "I.P.C. Subeditors Dictate Our Youth" (their first single) and "Distortions" (their breakthrough). Throughout, the masked men remained unsettlingly quiet, with frontman
Ade Blackburn simply introducing songs or thanking the crowd for their applause. For those not accustomed to Clinic's shtick, their impersonality might have come across as, well, impersonal, but when you've committed yourself to hiding behind a mask for a living, mystery is something you've clearly embraced.
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? |
If Clinic has learned to control their onstage lunacy in the years they've been together, then Man Or Astro-Man? has been bottling it up in the years they've been apart. As it's been 10 years since their last album (and just as long since their last Philly date), the interstellar surf combo received a tremendously warm welcome in the stuffy catacombs of the First Unitarian Church's basement. Flanking the cramped stage with projector screens, coiled plastic tubes, static-glowing televisions and other technological doo-dads, Man Or Astro-Man?'s white jumpsuit-clad crew turned the popular DIY spot into a space station. The band emerged in orange space suits and launched into a set of their best material. It was a show for fans, with favorites like "Escape Velocity" and "Television Fission" appearing right alongside their closest thing to a hit, "Destination Venus." While their stuff is mostly instrumental, guitarist Star Crunch sings every now and again and bassist Coco The Electric Monkey Wizard's keyboard (like, computer keyboard) controlled the signature vintage movie samples. To cope with some mixed-up setlists, the guys poured on the between-song chatter, with gripes about having to cope with our planet's gravity and how things have changed since they first went into cryogenic storage. In true theatrical fashion, they saved their best stunts for the very last song. After climbing through the audience and passing their guitars through the crowd, Coco set his theremin ablaze before wheeling out a massive Tesla coil to send lightning bolts crackling over the stage. It was a moment that filled the audience with joy, terror, intrigue and wonder, and it was all thanks to four reckless guys in jumpsuits.
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| CLINIC |
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| CLINIC |
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? |
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| Photo | Eric Schuman |
| MAN OR ASTRO-MAN? |
