I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: September 26, 2019] Stereolab

I can still remember going into Ralph’s Record City (R.I.P.) in Scranton and buying a used copy of Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements based on a friend’s recommendation.  I remember thinking that the title made it sound a lot like a stereo test record.  I also remember not understanding the image on the cover as a phonograph needle for quite a while.

I also remember really liking it.

And that started my long time appreciation of Stereolab.   My friend Lar was always updating me about the latest release or re-release or re-issue (which even happened recently with the new reissues of the band’s back catalog).

I started to drift away from them a bit with their last couple of records, and then they more or less broke up.

Nevertheless, it was pretty exciting to hear that they were reuniting for a new tour (and returning to Philadelphia 11 years after their last show in the city.

I really had no idea what to expect, but I grabbed tickets immediately and they quickly sold out.

When the Bitchin Bajas’ gear was cleared away, the Groop’s setup was revealed.  The band would be in a half circle with Tim Gane on guitar to my far left and Lætitia Sadier singing, playing keys and guitars on my far right.  In the middle from left to right was drummer Andy Ramsay, keyboardist Joe Watson (with a giant Fender Rhodes), and bassist Xavier Muñoz Guimera.

Stereolab song and album titles are insane, so I really don’t know what any songs are called.  Peeking at the set list to see how long they played, I really didn’t know what to expect.  So even if you’d told me that the opening song was called “Brakhage,” it wouldn’t have meant anything to me, but as the band came out, as the lights flickered and strobed and as the classic Stereolab sounds came from the speakers, I recognized the song immediately.

And I was immediately impressed by how good they sounded.  Gane’s guitar was clear and crisp–and I never really noticed how much he did with the guitar in the songs–is it just more apparent live?  When Lætitia Sadier started singing I was transported back to listening to Dots and Loops for the first time.

I mostly think of Stereolab as a pretty chill band, so it was quite a surprise how much they rocked.  “French Disko” had everyone moving and Tim Gane played a wildly noisy solo.

Of course there is still chill-out music from Stereolab, like the delightfully mellow and retro “Baby Lulu.”  I admired how effortlessly Lætitia played her keyboard parts.  She was the epitome of cool (I understand she recently hurt her leg, which explains whey she moved so slowly).

One of the things that I always liked about Stereolab, but which became really apparent to me tonight, was how great the bass lines are in many of their songs.  I like the one in “Vonal Declosion” quite a lot.  But the one in “Metronomic Underground” is spectacular.  Xavier Muñoz Guimera was also essential to the band because he provided all of the high backing vocals–the ones that I assume were originally done by Mary Hansen (R.I.P.)  This song was a lot of fun, especially Tim’s raw solo.

Seven songs in, Lætitia picked up a guitar–which I believe was a right-handed guitar that she played lefty.  I love how beat up it was–the finish chipping off the back.   She played the simple riff to “Need to Be,” adding a new dimension to the sound.

Although I’ve enjoyed Stereolab throughout the years, I still love the earliest stuff best, so when they played “Ping Pong” I was super excited.

Although Stereolab are kind of hard to define musically and they do play a lot of different styles, sometimes a sound is distinctly theirs, like the marvelous bass line and unique synth sound that opens the aptly named “Percolator.”

I was also really impressed with how intensely Andy Ramsay played drums.  He never did anything super fancy (no drums solo for Stereolab) but his bouncy energy made me realize that Stereolab is not only a studio band by any means.  You can hear some of that energy on “John Cage Bubblegum.”

When they got to the end of the set (which seemed so early, even though it had been over an hour or so), Lætitia announced they had one more song…but it’s a long one.  And indeed it was, for they started “Lo Boob Oscillator.”  “Lo Boob Oscillator” turned into a lengthy jam with Tim doing some noisy solos and the surprise appearance of Rob Frye from Bitchin Bajas adding flute.  I don’t actually know how long the song lasted, but I loved that Tim spent a minute or two making noises from his guitar.

They left the stage and I had seen earlier that they played a couple of encore songs, so I knew it wasn’t going to be one and over.

They started with “The Stars Our Destination,” followed by the mellow “Rainbo Conversation,” but I was super excited when they actually went back to Transient and played “Jenny Ondioline.”  On the record, the song is 18 minutes long.  I really don’t know how long they played it for, but it stretched out for a pretty long time.  There was a lot of jamming and it gave Tim Gane one more chance to make some great sounds.

The band didn’t say much.  Only Lætitia spoke between a few songs. She was generally full of nice things to say about us and to make a few jokes or not jokes–Need to Be” is about being able to breathe–which is a way of talking about the environment too.

I’m not sure why, but I assumed that Lætitia might be very glamorous.  She wasn’t, and that’s fine, but I did get a kick out of the guy in front of me.  He had clearly arrived very early to stand at the stage.  He clearly was a fan of the band, but he didn’t really smile or dance very much.  And between nearly every song he got out his phone and either checked on the Eagles game or texted someone.  I find this incredibly rude, but also a real distraction (for him more than me, unless the phone is super bright).  But during one of his texts, I couldn’t help but read, “and her jumper is shockingly wrinkled” which made me laugh.

I didn’t buy any shirts, although I did like the designs (see below).  But I did buy my favorite weird piece of merch (also below), a giant Stereolab Laundry Bag.  What?  I wish I was off to the laundrette.

When the band left the stage, Xavier very deliberately brought his setlist over to a guy in the front.  The guy was so happy that by the time I finally was able to ask if I could take a picture, he couldn’t hold back his tears of joy.

Here’s a video of the whole thing from Markit Aneight

SETLIST

1. Brakhage ∴
2. French Disko ≥
3. Baby Lulu ≅
4. Miss Modular ∴
5. Vonal Declosion ♣
6. Metronomic Underground €
7. Need to Be ♣
8. Anamorphose Ø
9. Ping Pong Ø
10. Percolator €
11. John Cage Bubblegum ≥
12. Lo Boob Oscillator ≥
    encore
13. The Stars Our Destination Ø
14. Rainbo Conversation ∴
15. Jenny Ondioline ®

♣ Margerine Eclipse (2004)
≅ Sound Dust (2001)
∴ Dots and Loops (1997)
€ Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
≥ Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On Volume 2) (1995)
Ø Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
® Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)