Wire @ The Bakery, Perth(25/01/11)

Sun 30th Jan, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Anticipation with a capital ‘A’ was the fuel in The Bakery’s fire as Perth eventually got the nod and a performance from post-punk veterans Wire was upon us. Wire is about as seminal a band as it gets. Name-checked by anyone who is anyone, from covers by REM through to Fugazi and to the point of plagiarism courtesy of Elastica in 1995, Wire have always pushed the boundaries of their sonic abilities, never sitting tight in one particular musical realm, yet always sounding like Wire. From melodic pop through to short burst punk with dabs of experimental sounds with obscure lyrical references, Wire have carved their own niche and built their ballpark at the same time.

From their first 3 brilliant albums, Pink Flag (released in 1977), Chairs Missing and 154 right up till the release of their on-form Red Barked Tree released in January 2011, their approach to music has never stagnated and this lit itself with the smorgasbord of tracks that made up the set list. Whilst some punters might have been keen to hear more material from the first 3 albums, the power and dexterity of the band’s performance from the get-go to the last encore track Pink Flag, Wire had the crowd in their hands.

With young gun touring guitarist Matt Simms deftly taking over extra guitar duties from an absent Bruce Gilbert, original members, Messers Newman, Lewis and Grey pounded out some truly epic performances of tracks; notably Drill, Two people in a room, 106 beats and a truly mind-blowing Spent to end the first complete set, before coming back for two encores and ensuring the thirsty Bakery crowd were well and truly ‘spent’ by the end of the show.

Robert Grey in particular, on drums, delivered a standout performance, with his eyes closed for the majority of the show in what seemed to be almost a hypnotic trance, he deftly delivered Wire’s trademark minimalist percussion with military precision.

Supports for the evening, Bamodi and The Tigers may have seemed like an odd choice at first, Bamodi were like Fugazi on laughing gas with their blistering garage punk, and Perth veterans The Tigers delivering a languid, melodic and experimental set. However, it made perfect sense once Wire had been through the throes of blistering feedback that finished the evening. Perth’s two local supports were perfect for distilling the focal elements that make up the sound that is Wire.

Wire are as seminal as it gets. A thrilling performance by a band that is of its own and ever shall be. Amen!