Does Stephen Malkmus (right) know something Joanna Bolme doesn’t? Photos by .
I hope none of capacity crowd attending Thursday nightap show expected to get treated to a helping of Pavement. If so they were no doubt delightfully disappointed. As strongly as the considerable influence of Pavementap indie sound has reverberated through many of today’s more successful alternative bands like Modest Mouse, Calexico and others, remains prescient enough to guide his Jicks beyond all that. And if his latest efforts are any indication, that prescience, and his musical genius, is alive and well and promising to last.
Malkmus and the Jicks played a 90-minute set Thursday night at the Gothic, covering their eight-year history with a varied set list. The band swayed stylistically from early songs centered around Malkmus’s signature melodic guitar riffs and twisted, wry lyrics through solid-rocking power pop, to a few protracted, thickly psychedelic blues-based ballads, drawing in the house more and more with each tune.
Malkmus has assembled a talented and like-minded group of indie “superstars,” with Mike Clark on keyboards and guitars, Joanna Bolme on bass and Janet Weiss on percussion. I call them “superstars” because of their deep connections with many of the most influential alternative acts of the last two decades: Bolme was dating the late Elliott Smith at the time of his unfortunate death, an ex-girlfriend of Elliott Smith, was instrumental in producing his posthumous album. She spent some time playing for the Minders and is also bassist for the band Quasi.
Weiss was one of the original members of seminal indie Seattle/grunge band Sleater-Kinney and is also currently drummer for Quasi. Together with Malkmus, these musicians have captured a level of comfort and familiarity with each other that not many bands have.
This camaraderie was obvious onstage in their banter, as well as in the ease with which they tore through their set list. They hit highlights including “Hopscotch Willie,” “Out of Reaches” and a brilliant version of “Baltimore,” among others. One highlight was their long, boisterous and nearly perfect rendition of the latest album’s title track, “Real Emotional Trash.”
The performance recalled the best of Steve Wynn’s Dream Syndicate, while channeling some of the most explosive and churning Velvet Underground, still remaining true to the Jicks’ overall sound. There are times when Malkmus’s guitar work explodes from the stage with a huge sound, and it was often giant in the Gothic Thursday night.
Another highlight came in the encore, when Jicks members were joined onstage by members of openers in some fantastic covers of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” and Joe Walsh’s Funk #49.” The mini-supergroup showed off a deep familiarity and love for both songs’ mowtown and funky ’70s roots.
Portland, Ore.’s Blitzen Trapper opened the show in their last appearance with the band on this tour, and treated the audience with a mixture of styles that showed some considerable influence from Pavement, mixed with a heavy dose of ’70s hard rock and more than a little SST Records-style noisy guitar exploration. The six-member group played for just under an hour, and easily whetted the appetite of the growing crowd.
As much as many may have wanted to hear a few of their favorite Pavement songs, the Jicks had no trouble proving it was best to turn that page in Malkmus’s history and move on. Based on the overall mood as the Gothic cleared out, no one left disappointed.
Billy Thieme is a Denver freelance writer and regular Reverb contributor.
Julio Enriquez writes the blog and is a regular Reverb contributor.
MORE PHOTOS: Blitzen Trapper
STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS
