In the no-heroes world of indie rock, Stephen Malkmus is the closest thing there is to a legend. As frontman of '90s slacker rock band Pavement, collaborator on the Silver Jews' early albums or as a solo artist with his new band, the Jicks, Malkmus has proven again that he doesn't give a damn about anything.
Friday night at the 9:30 club, Malkmus and his band, now featuring ex-Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss behind the kit, played most of the songs from their new album, "Real Emotional Trash," which came out early this month on Matador. The band proved that they are inching closer and closer to becoming the 21st century hipster's Grateful Dead. Or maybe not. But the Jicks are essentially a jam band for people who don't normally like jam bands.
John Vanderslice and his band opened the show with a set of strikingly mediocre tunes. Best known as a producer for bands like the Mountain Goats, Spoon and Death Cab for Cutie, Vanderslice's solo work is quite varied, yet somehow completely uninteresting. His mid-tempo songs prompted some audience members to wonder whether the band was just playing the same song eight times.
"Didn't they just play this song?" said Jess Taich, a sophomore in the School of Communication. Vanderslice's mom was somewhere in the audience, so that at least kept heckling to a minimum.
After Vanderslice finished up their set, they came down to the audience to play an acoustic song, which was the most ill-advised and awkward idea ever. The band played their hearts out, but no one could hear them in the huge room. The sold out crowd was quite confused and restless.
The Jicks, unfortunately, stuck with the theme of mediocre and mildly boring music for the most part, with some notable exceptions. While the Jicks' recorded music is exciting and filled with interesting textures and sounds, the music just doesn't translate well to a big stage. For example, keyboards and synthesizers play a large role on "Real Emotional Trash," but most of the keys were lost in the mix onstage. Malkmus' guitar solos retained their trademark rambling nature, but the music seemed somehow directionless and generally unfocused.
All the highlights of the show were songs from older albums - "Animal Midnight" from 2003's "Pig Lib," for example, sounded great live, as did "Baby, C'mon" from 2005's "Face the Truth." One exception to the lackluster performances of new songs was the performance of "Gardenia," a standout track from the new album. With bouncy backup vocals and a sunshiny, not-a-care-in-the-world kind of feel, Malkmus and company proved that they can really nail a pop song.
But you don't have to take my word for it. National Public Radio's "All Songs Considered" recorded the whole concert, which interested parties can listen to for free on the show's Web site, www.npr.org/music.
