Friday, May 20, 2005
Gang of Four Destroys Irving Plaza 5.18.2005
My most anticipated reunion, The Gang of Four, rolled into NYC for two nights and three shows, May 17th and 18th, 2005, appearing twice at Irving Plaza and once at the Tribeca Grand. My anxiety was starting to mount, as the hype of the previous shows was getting to me. What if this is a total disaster? What if they just plain suck? Fuck it all. The Gang of Four were as nasty-funking-jarring-angry as I was hoping. There are us cynics and music geeks, who just sit and kind of bob our heads in time with the music, well the groove just grabbed my ass and started shaking it. Since I am old and my short term memory is shite, I will just throw out the tunes I remember from the set: (This is from memory, so their might be omissions or additions of songs.)
Paralyzed, He'd Send In The Army, To Hell With Poverty, Natural's Not In It, Damaged Goods, I Found That Essence Rare, Anthrax, At Home He's A Tourist, Return The Gift, 5.45, Not Great Men, Ether, and Cheeseburger.
All the songs were culled from the first three albums in which the original members participated. They were fucking tight as hell and the ferocity with which the set was delivered was mind blowing. The rhythm section of bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham, laid down a blistering groove that was hard to keep your booty from shaking, mine included. Andy Gill's slashing licks and fucked feedback laden chords iced the deal. Jon King flailed and wailed all over the stage as if possessed. The show was Nothing short of perfect.
