Stephen Malkmus Dishes Out The Weird

The Phoenix Concert Theatre

Toronto, ON

on Jul 16 2008

Cameron Gordon (CHARTattack)

07/17/2008 10:49am

It's been five years since Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks headlined a show in Toronto, and apparently they saved up their weirdness for the occasion. With a combination of bizarre stage banter, excessive guitar noodling and oppressive heat, the band's touchdown at the Phoenix was nothing if not… different.

Opening with "Gardenia" from their fourth full-length, Real Emotional Trash, the band thrilled and throttled through 15 tracks of indie rock sustenance that leaned heavily on their most recent output. The common thread was capacity and the band packed every song with tons of guitar — mostly provided by Malkmus. Something of a minimalist during his time in Pavement, Malkmus has really unleashed his inner J Mascis and had no problem stretching tunes like "Baltimore" to the limit with his impressive fretwork.

The fact that it all seemed so effortless made it all the more enviable, strangely putting Malkmus and crew closer to Phish or the Grateful Dead than any of his Matador Records contemporaries. Ex-Sleater-Kinney basher Janet Weiss' The skilled, powerless drumming aided the precision.

Zippy catalogue favourites like "Phantasies" and "(Do Not Feed The) Oyster" provided a respite from the heat, which was positively stifling and sent many onlookers home early. Coupled with the jams and the light show, watching the 90-minute performance became a test of wills, especially with a number of tunes pushing the 10-minute mark. Luckily, the musicianship and quality of the songwriting won out more often than not, even if most fans seemed unfamiliar with the band's recent tunage.

In short order, here's a summary of topics that were discussed from the stage: the U.S./Canadian exchange rate (multiple times), the Toronto Raptors' recent trade of T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon's potential prowess as a starting point guard, Mike Myers, the reasons why Mike Myers sucks, NOW Magazine, raccoons and "no-show" opening act Fleet Foxes, who apparently cancelled last minute due to "exhaustion."

Throw in a number of f-bombs and some bathroom humour, and you have the confusing array of comments that left the audience at times amused and awestruck. Even when The Jicks closed things out with the popular "Church On White," the performance seemed somewhat stilted as the band mugged and preened for the crowd. It still drew considerable applause and proved that ability can win over attitude, even on an off night.