REVIEW: Garbage in fine form on launch of North American tour

MONTCLAIR, N.J. — They helped define the 1990s rock scene, and yet they always felt separate from the typicality of that time period. They are originals, never playing by some boring rulebook.

Garbage, featuring Shirley Manson, Steve Marker, Duke Erikson and Butch Vig, are beginning the final leg of a tour in support of their new album, Not Your Kind of People. They brought an energetic fire to the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, N.J., last night.

With a setlist that featured both classic tunes and new cuts, the band circulated around the ferocity of Manson’s vocals. She was ever the front-woman, sporting low-cut attire that looked simultaneously alluring and combative. She took center stage, grabbed hold of the microphone and offered the band’s adoring fans a resurrection of Garbage’s albums. It’s a credit to the hard-working Manson, Marker, Erikson and Vig that the entire catalog feels like continuous evolution.

“Queer,” with its science-fiction-like beat, allowed Manson’s vocals to emanate above the amplified power of her guitarist cohorts (this was a loud concert, only eclipsed by the ultra-loudness of openers IO Echo). One of Garbage’s biggest hits, “Only Happy When It Rains,” offered one of the evening’s highlights. Hearing Manson’s vocals grow increasingly higher and more emotional is alt-rock bliss. The song is a perfect balance between the melancholy of Morrissey and the self-reflection of Nirvana.

“Push It” was fierce fun. The band knows how to encapsulate its energy and let it loose like a cannon. Again, the wonderment can be found in the song, which is an amalgam of what sounds like Franki Valli singing “Don’t Worry Baby” and a nuclear reactor brimming with expectant explosion. Right when it’s about to spill over the top, Manson screams “Push it!” Coupled with an exciting lighting design, it makes for a great live track.

“Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go),” more pop-ish and different than most other Garbage songs, fit nicely into the nearly two-hour concert. The addition of new songs off Not Your Kind of People was also a welcome treat. “The World is Not Enough” was the only unfortunate absence among the hits.

Watching the band work together is like snagging a glance at a well-oiled machine’s inner parts. Marker and Erikson flank the stage, knowing their lead singer’s entrances and exits with a scary exactness. Except for one false start, the band, which also included a bass player, clicked like a bunch of professionals. Vig is the glue for the grouping, tying so much of the sound together and letting the frantic beats settle into a digestible pattern.

Manson is that consummate singer. The voice has not lessened one iota over the years, and she does so much “selling” of each song. Her stances, postures and stylistic dancing punctuate each lyric with added zeal. Sometimes she walks around in a circle like a stalker about to kill unsuspecting prey. Other times, she camps out near Vig and jumps up and down, almost like preparing to spar against a heavyweight opponent. Still other times, she falls to the ground to sing a verse flat on her back. Amid all of her moves, there’s never a missed beat, missed lyric, missed opportunity to impress. The showiness is in service to the songs, not in place of them.

The encore featured a few songs, including “Stupid Girl,” another mega-hit for the band, and an unexpected collaboration on “Because the Night.” The band was joined by the lead singer of the Screaming Females, Marissa Paternoster, who received a justified applause for a killer guitar riff that could draw blood.

The crowd — seemingly diehard — welcomed back a band that luckily never seemed to go too far away. Even when they did.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Garbage’s tour continues with a sold-out concert at New York City’s Terminal 5 on March 22.