By: Cyn Collins
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Ike Reilly at the Hexagon - Photo by Sondra Mann
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There’s not enough of Ike Reilly. His lyrics are rife with double entendres, veiled layers of meanings and socio-political commentary. Ironically, he appeals both to those he parodies and those who catch his sardonic wit, spoonfeeding bitter truths with his aggressive rock and punk rock rhythms. Luckily, when he comes through town with the Ike Reilly Assassination (IRA) every couple months, there is often more than one opportunity to catch them.
An IRA show is always a wild sing-a-long dance party with people carousing to the driving folk punk rock. Reilly’s friends and fans return again and again to welcome him back into the fold and help him belt out the songs, harkening to an old Irish tradition evoking the ageless compulsions of drink and song -- no matter how grim the times, more so because of hard times. The Ike Reilly Assassination plays confessionals about death, drugs, drink, sex, cars, political corruption, racism, corporate greed, and conformity. . . with a bittersweet humor causing you to laugh, think, and drink at the same time.
The stealthy, heavy keyboards of Ed Tinley reminded me of the Doors during “Suffer for the Trust,” a gem from their recently released third CD, Junkie Faithful. Tommy O’Donnell stalked and leapt like a cat while grooving with his old-school punk rock bass. Dave Cottini’s swaggering rhythms on drums and Phil Karnats’ crunchy and wailing guitar were the perfect offset to Reilly’s raps and stories.
Along with songs from the new CD like “The Mixture” and the raunchy “Kara Dean,” the IRA played standards like as “It’s Alright to Die,” “Whatever Happened to the Girl in Me,” and huge favorite “Duty Free,” (inspired by the Clash’s “I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.”) with the line, “Do you need anything from the duty-free? I got to get out of the U.S.A.”
Reilly announced a new cover which delighted me – “Vicious,” by the Velvet Underground (“Baby you’re so vicious, you hit me with a flower,” absurdist lyrics I love to sing). It’s a perfect cover they made their own.
The IRA returned from a brief break and sang the new “I Will Let You Down,” a personal favorite for its humor and astute observations. It goes along blithely, darkly and then ends with a bit about shooting a gun in the city, in the pines: “I sucked on the barrel, so many times.” (One IRA trademark is their 180 degree turn from glib to poignant with barely a warning instrumental change.)
The IRA sang another favorite of mine, “Garbage Day,” the crowd pleaser “I Don’t Want What You’ve Got (Goin’ On),” and, calling out for farm girls to reveal themselves (there were quite a few), sang “Farm Girl,” replete with double entendres like “My ploughs won’t plough and my hoes won’t hoe.” The crowd as always loved the hilarious, “My Commie Drives a Nova.” The fast, hard pace of the songs juxtaposed with gravity of the content, the humor and changes in pacing. Reilly’s audience wanted more. We’ll get another fix in November when he plays his traditional Thanksgiving Eve show at First Avenue.
See also Andrea Swensson's review of this Ike Reilly show.
Location Info:
The Varsity Theater
Artist Info: Ike Reilly
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