GARBAGE: 20 YEARS OF QUEER-LIVE AT THE ORPHEUM THEATER OCTOBER 18, 2015-A SYNESTHESIA EXCLUSIVE

GARBAGE
20 YEARS OF QUEER
LIVE AT THE ORPHEUM THEATER
MADISON, WI
OCTOBER 18, 2015

GARBAGE:
DUKE ERIKSON: Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers
SHIRLEY MANSON: Vocals, Guitar
STEVE MARKER: Guitars, Keyboards, Synthesizers
BUTCH VIG: Drums, Programming
with
ERIC AVERY: Bass Guitar

On the weekend of October 16-18, 2015, Madison, WI celebrated Homecoming weekend for the University Of Wisconsin-Madison, complete with parades, pep rallies, alumni reunions and of course, the Wisconsin Badgers football game. Yet, on the evening of Sunday, October 18th, another major homecoming event occurred in the city, yet one that was completely unaffiliated with my beloved alma mater, but undeniably of no less importance to the participants and to all who were graced to attend.

The event was the heroic return of Madison's very own Garbage, the alternative rock band formulated by Madisonians Duke Erikson, Steve Marker and Butch Vig plus Scottish import, the unrivaled Shirley Manson, on the celebration of the group's 20th anniversary at the historic Orpheum Theater located on the equally legendary State Street. The first and previous time I had the good fortune to witness this band was at this very same theater on April 7, 2013, as Garbage settled into one of their final stops on their then year long tour supporting their fifth album "Not Your Kind Of People" (released May 14, 2012).

That 2013 performance was a sledgehammer of a victory lap for the band, a fully triumphant concert which arrived after a seven year hiatus, a most lengthy spell that made me seriously question if the band had indeed run their course. Thankfully and powerfully, that evening proved to me not only that Garbage is unquestionably one of our GREAT bands, as demonstrated with one GREAT song after another GREAT song, that night also confirmed that the story of Garbage was far from over. That night, Garbage delivered a performance that showcased their longevity and their superior vitality and it completely re-defined what it means to be a "roof raiser.".

The performance this past Sunday night surpassed it.

On this chilly, autumnal evening, I arrived at the Orpheum theater not terribly long after 6 p.m. with the hopes of finding myself somewhat close to the front of any formulating line of patrons waiting to enter. Unlike the 2013 performance, where the line outside of the Orpheum stretched along State Street, concert goers were instructed to line up around the corner from the theater so as to not block entrances/exits to and from the accompanying State Street businesses.

With that new information, I was then somewhat surprised to see how long the line of concert goers actually already was, with people beginning at the Associated Bank on the corner of State Street and elongating along the length of the parking ramp that I had just emerged from and even then, threatening to move along to the next block by the downtown campus of Madison Area Technical College, widely abbreviated at MATC. I raced to the front of the theater to grab a quick photo of the marquee and then, I raced back to claim my spot in line. As I waited over the following 45 minutes, I engaged in a hearty conversation with concert travelers from Appleton, WI, as well as regarded new arrivals, several of whom were adorned with pink feather boas, all in tribute to the cover of Garbage's self-titled debut album (released August 15, 1995), which the band was scheduled to perform in its entirety, plus all of the b-side singles and rarities from the period between 1995-1996.

By 7 p.m., the doors to the Orpheum were opened, I entered, had my ticket scanned, my hand stamped and I "X-Wing-ed" myself into the theater's inner sanctum, still feeling a tad displaced as my memories of the Orpheum existing solely as a movie theater, a frequent haunt of mine during my college/early life in Madison years in the late 80's/early 90's, began to flood my brain. Zipping past the sound board as well as a few cameras, as this night's performance was also to be simulcast upon Yahoo Live Nation, I claimed my spot, perched.directly to the right side at the foot of the stage, which was lushly bathed in a sea of hazy, rich blue light.

Shortly before 8 p.m., the house lights faded, I quickly inserted my trusty ear-plugs as the Orpheum's sound system carries tremendous bang for its considerable bucks and over the course of the following 30 minutes, the audience experienced the opening act performance by alternative upstarts, the four piece band, Torres.  Regarding this set, I have to say that I was perhaps a tad underwhelmed. While there was nothing negative about the band, so to speak, and they did indeed perform their set with a certain brooding intensity (a highlight being the track "Splinter"), I do think that the overall dreamy atmospherics of the music itself plus the hushed vocals of bandleader/guitarist Mackenzie Scott, were perhaps a bit too ephemeral for this night, and especially for this particular audience, who was respectful but definitely talkative during the short opening set.

By 9 p.m., it was time!!!! Immediately after the set from Torres and while instruments and the stage set-up were being shifted around, a large white screen quickly descended from the ceiling, obscuring the stage from view. Once the house lights darkened again, projectors blazed to life and began screening a short introductory film onto the screen, displaying footage of Garbage at their beginnings and augmented by the cultural touchstones of 20 years ago.

Suddenly, and in a night filed with surprising visual touches, Garbage emerged (sort of) as they obliterated the theater with the 1995 era b-side track "Subhuman," while completely hidden from the audience, their towering, shadowy silhouettes as the only physical evidence of their presence.

Following the waves of applause and screams from the audience, the curtain dropped with Butch Vig's classic pounding drums signaling the opening to "Supervixen." And as if caught within a supernova, Garbage fully emerged in the flesh with rapturous force.

Completely armed with a gloriously presented visual razzle dazzle, Garbage was fully surrounded by all manner of rapturous lighting effects, including blazing strobes as well as a splendidly kaleidoscopic color scheme of rich reds, deep purples, luxuriant blues and greens and of course, extravagant pinks.

Five rectangular movie screens flowed from nearly floor to ceiling directly behind the band, catching projected images from time to time as well. It was a more lavishly presented experience that the band delivered in 2013, and being at the foot of the stage, just immersed in all of the visual sheen was blissfully overwhelming My eyes simply drank in every single sight to the very final drop.

 

Undeniably, the evening was not about the brilliant light show. This was a celebratory night about the songs themselves. As promised, the band performed every track from the debut album from the hits like "Queer," "Stupid Girl," and "Only Happy When It Rains" to the deep cuts like "My Lover's Box," "Milk" and the downright pile driving "Vow," with that refrain so cleverly lifted from The Beatles' "No Reply," and as promised all of the b-sides and rarities, including my personal favorite, the menacing and pummeling "#1 Crush."

One aspect about the evening's set list that I especially enjoyed was the unpredictability of the running order. I had envisioned that Garbage would essentially perform the album from top to bottom in sequence and then follow with the b-sides and rarities afterwards. They did not and frankly, I think this speaks to the very unique nature of the band members of Garbage as the group is made up of music fans as well as artists and producers. These are individuals who intuitively understand what it means to craft an album as opposed to a live performance, and how each one needs to be cultivated differently in order to achieve the maximum effect. Running the album in sequence would have lended itself to a certain predictability, no matter how ferociously the songs were performed. So, opening the show with a b-side, and then playing the full album out of sequence, with b-sides and rarities mixed within was a masterstroke. You never knew what was coming next and were just thrilled when the songs finally arrived. 

Additionally, this almost hodge-podge fashion allowed certain album tracks that may have been slept on to various degrees depending upon each and every listener, to be re-examined as it has essentially been re-contextualized within the show. For me, the propulsive "As Heaven Is Wide" carried more weight than I had previously felt and with Shirley Manson's additional recitation of The Lord's Prayer during the track's outro, my mind quickly merged the song to be in league with nothing less than Prince's "Controversy."  

The atmospheric "A Stroke Of Luck" was another track that demonstrated a power that I hadn't quite felt before in the 20 years that I have been listening to this album and band. The psychedelic qualities of the song emerged so vibrantly, also illustrating just what great songwriters the members of Garbage truly are, as they are able to reference music's past, wear their influences upon their sleeves so overtly and yet, make music that still sounds as if it was recorded and realized in the future. The multi-layers of the sonic qualities are jaw dropping to be true, but the song's structures and construction...that's where the gold lives and the entire night was filled with nothing but top flight examples of classic songwriting combined with furious innovation. 

I especially loved the tributes Manson made to both the music and songwriting of The Jam and Vic Chesnutt as Garbage performed the rare cover songs of "The Butterfly Collector" (which I honestly had never heard before this night) and the stunning, heartbreaking "Kick My Ass," two examples of their own fandom as well as providing everyone in the Orpheum a bit of music education and history. For if you loved those two songs, then please do find your way to the musical discographies of both artists, influencing and inspiring us to explore the music that inspired and influenced Garbage.

And as I recount my memories and the feelings I experienced during this concert, I have to say that it was through elements like the ones I have already described as well as further insight I have yet to share, Garbage's 20th anniversary performance while dynamic and epic, was actually quite an intimate show. Remember, this was Homecoming weekend in Madison, and for Garbage their own  

homecoming made for quite an emotional evening for the audience I would imagine, as well as for themselves.

Returning to the performance of "A Stroke Of Luck" for a moment, there was a wonderful section of the night when Shirley Manson engaged the audience with her effortless, open and heartfelt storytelling, which felt warmly conversational despite the fact that this night was a sold out performance. Manson laughed to herself once the song completed (quite heartedly, I have to add--she certainly has a most infectious cackle) as she expressed to the audience that while she was singing, memories of her life in Madison 20 years ago began to flash within her mind.

This may sound terribly naive to some of you out there, but I really do believe in the transformative power of music. Furthermore, I firmly believe that a concert experience, at its finest, can be about even more than just having a good night out or hearing your favorite songs being performed in front of you. There is a communal power of the shared experience at work, and a great show can even transcend the music even while the music is precisely what has bound everyone together for the experience in the first place. This 20th anniversary performance by Garbage was indeed one of those very shows that did transcend the music while the music held us all together, and powerfully so.

Shirley Manson, who remains one of the GREAT lead singers, proved herself to be a hostess of tremendous grace, as well as armed with a wicked wit, as she spun one story after another during a few lengthy portions of the show where she simply spoke to us. As she recalled her times living in Madison at the Edgewater Hotel, or purchasing coffee from Ancora, the nights at the now defunct Cafe Montmartre or her arrival to Madison at the Dane County Airport which led to her first night in a bizarrely lurid hotel room at Inn On The Park, I would be hard pressed to think that everyone, especially those who were also living in Madison like myself, were not also transported to where and furthermore, who they were in 1995.

For me, I was 26 years old, working in a bookstore, my life as a teacher not even a thought yet, in a long term relationship but not married yet, and movies, writing and music as much of a source of passion as it is today. Garbage was indeed a crucial piece of that puzzle during that time, especially as the now defunct Smart Studios was a building I drove past on a daily basis (and I still do) and I could not help but to wonder what musical dreams were being hatched inside of that extremely non-descript building that people would otherwise walk/drive past without a second thought.

And this takes me directly back to the songs themselves, the incredible, singular musical vision of Garbage. Yes, these songs are intricately complex musical productions but possibly for the very first time on this night, I realized that thematically and conceptually, these songs are structurally complex as musical compositions, blending the music of the past and present and forging a bold future without question. All evening long, as Garbage performed the songs of 20 years ago, it took what could have been a night of pure nostalgia and firmly placed it up to the minute, if not even a tad ahead of the curve.  

It really struck me on this night how perfect this specific collection of songs actually happens to be as they just nailed who this band is, and would further become, from the beginning. These are songs with an overt sexuality and eroticism, but the dark romance of the songs really creates the tension. Beyond affairs of the heart, the music of Garbage aims simultaneously higher and deeper as every track from the debut album plus b-sides and rarities, all center themselves around precarious and powerful emotional terrain, from anger, rage and revenge, to desire, damage and devotion. We hear the feelings of anguish and anxiety, destruction and reconstruction, love's labor, loss and liberation, and finally, euphoria and most importantly, discovering full empowerment. And to think, this band encompassed all of those feats the very first time with songs all written, produced and created right here in Madison, the city where this band and these relationships were born. If you are still with me, I think you can gather what I mean about the concert transcending the music while the music held us in blissful sync. These songs are now as much about all of us as they are about the individuals who created them, making for a catalog that is as personal as it is populist.

What also became very clear to me was the genuine and deep affection Manson possesses for her bandmates, even after all of the years, successes, trials and tribulations. She spoke of each member so lovingly and it appeared that the feelings were mutual as I tried to read the faces of her bandmates as Manson recounted stories and openly shared her feelings about them to all of us.

Guitarist/Keyboardist Duke Erickson was closest to my vantage point for the entire evening and he cut a superbly sinister figure, dressed all in black, complete with hat, Bishop's collar and a grim, stone face that slashed through the psychedelic haze as sharply as his stinging guitar leads.

Guitarist/Keyboardist Steve Marker was Erikson's outstanding equal, flanking the opposite side of the stage with complete command, flowing between the six string and the 88's with effortless ease. Longtime touring Bassist Eric Avery (a musical legend in his own right as co-founder of Jane's Addiction), with his chest rumbling playing stuck closely to Butch Vig, who remains a behemoth on the drums, with every beat of the bass drum feeling like a mule kick to the chest. They made for a rhythm section at its most formidable.

This 20th anniversary performance by Garbage was a most emotional evening, while the music itself was thunderous and pulverizing. It was an enormously celebratory event, so tightly focused and presented, that illustrated triumphantly how the band's debut album is unquestionably one of the great debut albums. It showed me, in ways that I had not previously realized, that it is a work that solidified the band's musical identity and foreshadowed what was to arrive on future albums and they accomplished this feat just as they were formulating it here in the city of Madison, WI. Simply stated, it was meant to be.

And thankfully, the story of Garbage isn't over. Not by a long shot.

Before the encore, Butch Vig took the mic and announced to the audience that the band was "95%' completed with recording their sixth album, which they hope to have mixed and mastered over the holidays to have it ready for a hopeful May 2016 release. With that news, my heart just erupted for I strongly feel that music deeply needs the artistry and influence of Garbage more than ever and the promise of new material is already shining an enormous light on '16 for me.

Yet, with even greater hopes, I wish that if they choose to tour again, Garbage returns to Madison one more time ready to blow us all apart and possessed with the full knowledge that we will all welcome them home with the widest open arms, ears and hearts.

All photos by Scott Collins