Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,Kim Salmon @ The Hi-fi,Melbourne (15/01/2011)

Thu 20th Jan, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Throughout their long and eclectic career, the anti-rock missionaries of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have often faced criticism for their sound. The complaint being that their scuzzy take on the more traditional African-American sound is nothing more than parody, some sort of white-boy musical joke; all explosion and no blues. Well, there was no evidence of that on Saturday night, when the trio of New Yorkers thrilled fans with a moody, down-and-dirty run through of 1994’s Orange before an extra full set of hits spanning the band’s modern discography.

Leading up to the headlining act is Kim Salmon, who turns in a set that probably falls somewhere in the realm of music but is nowhere as exciting as it purports to be. Sounding something like the agonised moans at the birth of grunge (i.e. not necessarily good, but fuzzy and different) Salmon and his band prefer to drawl through single effect laden chords and disparate drumbeats, which doesn’t exactly make for a user-friendly performance. To that end it’s an immobile crowd that half-heartedly claps and cheers after numbers that almost go out of their way to alienate the listener.

This is a band that comes to the stage with a glowing reputation, but falls short through a combination of only semi-written songs and half-hearted performance. For example, if de-tuning his E string mid strum (back to the audience, no less) is the most exciting thing Kim Salmon brings to the table, perhaps he needs to rethink his modus operandi. Even the bass player wearing a onesie fails to make up for an essentially entertainment-lite performance.

Ripping straight into Bellbottoms to start their album recital, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion don’t waste anytime with formalities, remaining altogether anonymous for at least the first half dozen songs. With little, if any, crowd interaction to speak of the focus remains firmly on the music and as the gig progresses, it becomes apparent that there is no blackface parody here. If anything, the album in it’s live incarnation begins to sound something like a soulful take on Metallica’s Load albums.

Where Kim Salmon failed to engage the audience with his songs that lack focus, JS succeeds in creating an intense and exciting atmosphere within the walls of the Hi-Fi as his spiky, caustic heartbreak buzzes around the venue like strong black coffee, with none of the saccharine hit of sugar. From the first half of the set, it’s the irrepressible Flavor that wins the award for highlight, notable for a rampant drum solo that cuts through the swathes of guitar music and Judah Bauer jumping in to take on Beck’s vocal from the collaboration.

For all the fevered worship in the front row and occasional bolts of electricity that leaps from the stage, it can’t be denied that this is a fan’s performance tonight and the uninitiated might struggle a little to understand the fascination. The dearth of crowd acknowledgement from the band definitely does little to reel in any prospective new fandom and while the second half of the set showcases a set of astutely delivered, premier noise-rock, it’s only really She Said that possesses the tangible hooks to extract a heartfelt singalong. Beyond that, while the music is raucous enough, there’s little of the incendiary performance antics one might have expected from the vitriolic trio; the band instead staying relatively immobile and inexpressive.

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion might often draw criticism for their sense of aesthetic taking precedent over the authenticity of the music, but, tonight at least, it’s all blues, no explosion.