The Scala, London 2 February 2011
It was eleven years ago that I saw Wire
first and last; once as part of a theatrical production at the Royal
Festival Hall with the Michael Clark dance company,
and once a few months later as a honed four-piece at The Garage
in the black hole between Highbury and Islington. Both were completely
different shows, the latter show having the urgency and perfunctoriness
befitting that small, dirty venue, the former possessing an artistic
stateliness that included a DJ set from Daniel Miller
and Seth Hodder (DJxDJ), a royal
salute from Christian Hausswolf and Leif
Elggren, a set from Graham Lewis's He
Said and a duo performance from Colin Newman
and wife / Githead co-conspirator Malka
Spigel. I can't recall if Bruce Gilbert,
now departed from the band, played a solo set or not, but I did
get a nodded acknowledgment from him when he strolled into The Garage
a few minutes before the show that night.
So tonight of course there was no Bruce; there was
no theatrics, no appearances from spin-offs and side projects, friends
or sponsors, but there was a support act in the form of Madensuyu,
a Belgian drums and guitar duo who produced a wild infernal punk
racket the likes of which I've never heard before. The drummer brought
to mind the elastic head movements last seen in bassist Flea, occasionally
bashing himself rhythmically and manically in the face, but all
the while producing a carefully controlled barrage of noise; the
guitarist, meanwhile doused the whole venue in feedback, distortion
and sporadic synths. The combination together was nothing short
of thrilling. One to watch.
One of the first things you notice as the roadies
re-set the stage for Wire is the economy of Robert Grey's
drumkit, particularly compared to the - by comparison - prog-esque
kit proportions of Madensuyu's. That and the fact that Newman and
Lewis still seem pretty happy to set up their guitars themselves.
A nice touch, I thought. My dad always says 'Why have a dog and
bark yourself.'
'Precise' is still the only word to describe Wire;
I was thinking it just as I overheard the media guys next to me
saying this of the band. The sinewy, lanky figure of Robert Grey
looms over the rest, setting a rigid time, calling the band to concrete
order. 'Spent', where the guitar and bass of Newman and Lewis really
let rip, was still never anything but completely controlled; nevertheless
as an audience you couldn't help but feel tense, almost in anticipation
that the song would collapse in on itself. New touring guitarist
Matt Simms not only possesses the longest hair
in the band (not difficult when only Newman has any), but also a
tendency toward guitar exuberance and drifting head nodding, something
the stoic Gilbert would never have brought to the party. But hey,
times change; Bruce left; c'est la vie.
Inevitably, when performed live, tracks take on
new dimensions. New track 'Red Barked Trees', for example, was recast
as a heavy blues number with a frenetic dirge of a middle section,
while old favourite 'Advantage In Height' was re-sprayed with an
aggravated impatience that I dimly remember the 2000 Wire vintage
may have applied. 'Comet', from Send, was ludicrously loud and fast,
its distinctive non-chorus arriving with Newman's customary sly
grin as the dense wall of ur-punk noise pushed ever forward.
The twin pairing of Red Barked Tree's 'Moreover'
with 154's 'Two People In A Room' reinforced the connection
between the punk clarity of the new track and its 1979 forebear.
Both highlight that precision quality - both could easily spin out
of control and yet they remain steady in spite of the whirlwind
guitars and pounded drums. Before sloping into 'Clay', Lewis sarcastically
announced that 'We've been accused of copying ourselves,' ushering
in the unabashed 'I Am The Fly'-esque verses. '12XU!' screamed someone
when the band came on for their second encore. 'We haven't played
that for years,' responded a bemused, and perhaps slightly peeved
Newman. 'We're going to play your new favourite song instead,' he
said, introducing the slow 'Adapt'; given that this band never used
to play old material, the gesture was a polite punk two-fingers
to crowd-pleasing.
'Boiling Boy' was delivered with customary elegance,
the middle section featuring some of the angriest, snarling bass
from Lewis; 'Underwater Experiences', as on the Strays
EP, was flat out dirge motorik; 'Drill' could have gone on far longer
and featured what seemed like layer upon layer of processed guitar,
noise and effects. Bizarrely, an audience member asked them to play
Tubeway Army's 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' after 'Drill'; it elicited
no response from Newman or Lewis, and rightly so. Closing track
'Pink Flag' still sounds ferocious, even though the live version
includes a sparseness; that sparseness somehow seems to make the
ferocity that comes in like waves all the more devastating.
Ninety minutes felt a little short overall, but
the set couldn't be faulted. That's partly because the band themselves
can't be faulted, but generally it was because of the choice of
songs. It was good to hear songs from Red Barked Tree get
an airing, particularly Lewis's 'Please Take' and 'Bad Worn Thing'.
In conclusion, the line from 'Two People In A Room' seems somehow
appropriate here - 'My God they're so gifted.' Yes, that
seems to work perfectly.
setlist:
Smash
Advantage In Height
Comet
Please Take
Red Barked Trees
Kidney Bingos
Bad Worn Thing
Moreover
Two People In A Room
101 Beats That
Boiling Boy
Spent
Drill
'We've recently been accused of copying ourselves...' -
Graham Lewis
Clay
Underwater Experiences
Adapt
Pink Flag
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