Review: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks at The Button Factory on November 9th 2011
Review: Sean Cullivan
Photos: Alan Moore
Indie rock hero Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks ambled into the Button Factory on Wednesday night for a stop off on the tour for their new album Mirror Traffic. The setlist was, as expected, quite heavy on tracks from the new record, but we were also treated to some choice cuts from Malkmus’ acclaimed post-Pavement output.
Dublin band Land Lovers opened the gig at 8:15. I hadn’t heard them before and I really enjoyed their slot. They had a well honed alt. rock sound with some excellent guitar and keyboard melodies which I really enjoyed. They seem to be a band on the up having played at Hard Working Class Heroes earlier this year and I’ll definitely be checking out their album “Confidants” in the coming days.
Malkmus and the Jicks sauntered onstage around 9:15 to a warm reception and plenty of banter from the off from the crowd before lurching into a set which was dominated by tracks from their new record, but given a freshening up in a more rocking and cranked up format. Album tracks such as Senator, Brain Gallop, and Stick Figures In Love were beefed up and played with more abandon, aggression, and volume by the band which made for a great evening’s rocking out. There were also big cheers from the crowd for the sprinkling of older Jicks tracks. Alas, hoping for a Pavement song was a bit fanciful but we still got a very good show.
I was greatly impressed with the Malkmus’ guitar playing throughout and he really let rip more on a couple of jams. He was loose and loud but showed some good chops. However, he often struggled with singing the high notes, later in the night admitting that he had a cold and he was quite hoarse come the end of the show.
The night was notable for tons of banter exchanged between the band and crowd, mostly occurring during the frequent gaps between songs. The band got slagged off for not playing on a weekend night while Malkmus compared the messed up Irish economy with the steady economy in Berlin where he now resides. The funniest bit of the night was where drummer Jake Morris, while using a towel to wipe off the sweat he built up put it over his head and did a great John McEnroe impression. For me it summed up the off-kilter humour and slyness that made Pavement such a great band and which I was happy to see is at the centre of the Jicks as well. Overall good show, lots of fun, recommended.