Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at First Avenue on 3/19/08

By: Jon Behm

---

Photo by Jon Behm

A great deal of trouble went down at First Avenue the other night, and it was spelled with three B’s. That’s right, indie rock legend Stephen Malkmus brought his band to town to support he and the Jick’s recent release Real Emotional Trash, a harder rocking plate of the dish they have been perfecting since 2001. This time around the Jicks featured former Sleater Kinney drumstress Janet Weiss, a recent and welcome addition to the band.

After notifying the crowd of the Timberwolves recent triumph over whoever it was they were playing, Malkmus and the band treated us to a set that spanned their short musical history - everything from the self titled debut to the 2008 release. Being a huge fan of the earlier stuff, I was very happy to hear “Jo Jo’s Jacket” and “Troubbble,” but admit that the song that really did it the most for me was the anthemic “Baby C’mon.” 

Unfortunately it took a long time for the crowd to warm up, and when they did it was really only to about room temperature. One could chalk this up to Malkmus’s aging fanbase, now generally in their thirties. That’s no excuse for being lame ducks though, as I have seen veritable senior citizens with more energy. The house was fairly packed though, so what the crowd lacked in enthusiasm they made up in numbers.

Photo by Jon Behm

number of spirited jams as well as trading insults with each other and generally having a good time. A loud audience member’s inquiry as to whether or not bassist Joanna Bolme was single prompted a band discussion of Jick sexual history (Janet is the only member of the band who hasn’t been divorced and Mike Clark may or may not be single). Malkmus then claimed to have been divorced three (!?) times, which I don’t actually think is factual.

When the band left the stage late in the night the lethargic audience woke up long enough to cheer them back for an extended encore. This was a case of too little, too late, however, as it didn’t really rescue the overall experience from ho-humness. I don’t believe this was the band’s fault though - they played exceptionally well and had good energy. Whatever the secret is to those terrific shows just clicking with the audience just wasn’t there though. Maybe this is due to the sound, the energy, or some kind of weird herd mentality. Or maybe we just needed to wake up.<

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks website

The band's Myspace

---

Location Info: First Avenue
Artist Info: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Share this story:

Article comments powered by Disqus