More and more these days, when I’m scouring for shows to go to, I’m thinking about the smaller venues, the cheaper tickets ($40 and under) and the bands that may have reached a certain level of fame at one point, but have since found their fan-base distilled down to the diehards… for many bands, that can still be a significant audience… but lucky for us, not more than the Vic or the The Riviera can accommodate, venues known for great sound and an intimate size.
One such band is Living Colour, who reached the height of their fame in the late 80’s early 90’s with a string of hits including “Type”, “Solace of You” and their biggest, “Cult of Personality”, which charted as high as #13 in 1988. They were on the bill for the first Lollapalooza as well, so they go back… With a capacity of only 475 though, the Double Door seemed an odd choice of venue… the stage was almost too small for a band that uses a significant amount of gear in their performance. It was also hotter than hell, as it always is… you would think they could figure out a way to ventilate that space after all these years… but at $20 a ticket, this show was the hands-down bang-for-the-buck winner among the 20 or so shows I’ve seen in 2009.
Any minor annoyances quickly dissipated once Living Colour took the stage. In essence you have Vernon Reid, an extraordinary guitarist akin to Eddie Van Halen in terms of creativity and physical dexterity… also in common, these two guitarists require a certain type of rhythm section able to hold that bottom end when they meander, or literally take off, whichever the case may be… In the 4-string inventiveness of Doug Wimbish and the metronome-like, fill inflected drumming of Will Calhoun, Reid has such a rhythm section, which allows him all the space he needs to do his thing. Another point to note about Calhoun on drums are the ever-changing time signatures that he effortlessly transitions to and from which no doubt originate in the way Vernon Reid constructs the bands songs.
And then there’s front-man Corey Glover. When you listen to him live it dawns on you that this guy has one of the best, genre-spanning voices in rock music. With seething and screeches in the vein of Fugazi and Bad Brains to gospel melodies alluding to the Motown greats… Glover’s voice goes a long way, he also doesn’t seem to have lost any of his range or ability, all songs were in their original keys and Glover struggled with nothing. Unfortunately the one place Doug Wimbish can’t compete with original Living Colour bassist Muzz Skillings is with the backing vocals… give him credit for giving it a go, but every time he sang, I wished he hadn’t.
The band hit the stage with a long string of hits including “Middleman”, “Type”, “Bi”, “Open Letter (To A Landlord)” and “Funny Vibe”… they occasionally transitioned from one song to the next with deftly executed cover song fragments including some Sly and the Family Stone. There was a bass solo that was actually pretty cool as Doug Wimbish came down into the crowd for some Parliament-style funkitude… but then a drum solo that felt like it went on a little too long… In all though, a nicely paced first third of the show.
From there, Vernon Reid grabbed a mic to announce the bands latest album, “The Chair in the Doorway”. He asked the audience whether it would be alright if they played some songs from the new disc which was met with enthusiasm… then some technical problems with the guitars caused about a 10 minute delay, before the band ripped through 6 of the new songs… two of which I really liked in “Decadance” and “Behind the Sun”. The new album is beginning to grow on me… not really strong throughout, but definitely with its high points.
Then on to the end of the show, once again filled with hits… “Glamour Boys” (arrgg), “Ignorance is Bliss”, “Time’s Up” and others before culminating with the “Cult of Personality” (see the video below)… the band then left the stage briefly before returning for a cover of Jimi Hendrix “Crosstown Traffic” dedicated to Buddy Miles before closing with a soulful version of “Love Rears its Ugly Head” to wrap things up. All told they played for 3 hours, 15 minutes which was exceptional for a $20 ticket. Weeks earlier, U2 played for an hour less than that at 13 times the ticket price…
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the opening band, Sekund Skyn (I think that’s the right spelling). These guys more scalded eardrums than they warmed-up the crowd. The band wasn’t that bad, but their front-man (pictured at left) struck as I guy who’s not really a musician, but a place was found for him because everyone thinks he’s a cool guy. He mostly shouted, rarely sang, made sure you saw his sweat glistened 6-pack abs and said some variant of the word “fuck” far too often, mostly injecting it into the wrong part of the sentence… for example, “Fuckin Chicago, you rock fuckers… enjoy this song bitches…” That’s verbatim… he sucked…
Anyhow, Living Colour… great band, great show… these guys are journeymen… honing their craft and getting better with age… I’m telling you, focus on these more intimate shows… you’ll no doubt leave feeling much more satisfied than you ultimately would from shows at the United Center or the Allstate Arena. I’m convinced that live music simply can’t be experienced at the large-capacity venues, they’re just too big.
The following video wasn’t taken at Double Door this past Sunday… but it was shot only a week earlier on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon… so it’s representative of what Living Colour look and sound like these days. An inspired performance and a great example of the rhythm section holding down the fort while Vernon takes off…
< missing video of living colour circa 2009 live on jimmy fallon >
The show rocked, like you said a little hot, but oh well… opening band wasn’t bad, the bass player was good…. Living colour knows how to put on a show for their fans. i saw them at the metro i believe it was, back in the 90s, and that show was AMAZING, this show was much better… Vernon Reid doesn’t get the full credit he deserves. Eddie Van Halen is great, and the band is huge, Vernon Reid is equal if not a little better, and the band is there, us die hard fans know that know matter what their outside appearance may be, they rock harder and louder than any other band out there, Corey has the most amazing voice ever, best heard live, it sounds better live than recorded.. one word review for the show from me… WOW!!!!!!!!!
This show was amazing, and meeting Vernon after the show was a highlight. I have been listening to these guys for over 20 years and I am really happy to have had the chance to see them in such a small venue. Didn’t pay attention to the opening act, the downstairs bar was empty and had great specials. Overall probably the best show I’ve seen this year.
Jeez- was I the only loyal reader NOT at this show?!?
Anyway- none of the above surprises me. I saw them open for he Stones years ago at Alpine Valley and the absolutely destroyed. “Destroyed what?” you might ask. Everything in their path! Including my ability to even remotely get into the Stones that night. Now that I think about it, the next time I saw the Stones, Lenny Kravitz blew them away at Soldier Field.
I know I am getting off topic here, but is there a pattern here? The Stones are a notoriously bad live act (particularly now that they are mostly dead,) but they sure do pick some great opening bands. You’d think that after having done this for 70 or 80 years, and now that they are long past their prime and just in it for the money, they would try to pick someone that WOULDN’T show them up- someone like… say… Snow Patrol.
Wait a second- ‘Long past their prime’? ‘Just in it for the money’? Snow Patrol? Hmmmmm- a recently reviewed show may be stuck in my head.
These guys are just too good…I rank them up there with the best ever…amazing they are so far off the radar.
I have seen LC many times over the years (including the first Lolla and the reunion gig at CB’s) but this show really stood out. It was a LONG show for LC and I really got the feeling that they were enjoying themselves again. For a long time you could tell they hated dragging out Cult and Corey would really just let us sing it for him, but this time even that song came back with new life. The PA system was FRICKIN loud for sure. I thought I was doomed when that first band came up and loaded us up with pink noise. Luckily LC have always had a very good crew (Hey Denny!) to take care of their mix and balance.
Amazing set. Very very tight. In fact they played almost the entire new album, in order, right in the middle of the show! Favorites from the old albums as well, but not a single track from Collideøscope. Vernon’s FX went screwy on him at one point. He kept running back for new Parkers and ended up with the same tuning problem which I suspect was in the rig somewhere. Minor blip to be sure.
I read a review that said that Will’s drum solo went on too long. Ridiculous. The person does not understand the content of the Calhoun solo I think. It is a meditation as well as a up front display of blazing skill. I would have preferred it went on a little longer actually. Well done Will!
Gotta get this out of the way. I am really not sure how the opening band managed to snag this op but they are damn lucky. They were not awful, but there really was not one thing about them that was not cliche and overdone. One of you thought the bass was good? I couldn’t hear it. All I could make out was the guitar center distortion on both guitars (indistinguishable), the bass drums and the singer shouting the titles of the songs (the only words I could make out). If they had played the same song twice I would not have noticed. Completely formulaic.
I REALLY hope that this US tour proves to be a good success for the LC boys. We may get to see them more often. If not I will just have to move to Eastern Europe or Brazil. Easy choice…