There is certainly an explosion of postmodern anarchic noise tonight in the Classic Grand, with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion appropriating sporadically cliché-induced elements of blues into a more non-standardised mesa of noise.
The irony isn’t missed on anyone as the room is filled with a legion of cult fans filling the cul-de-sac set-up from back to front of the stage.
The metaphorically incendiary grenade launching scuzz soundscapes create a civil warfare between the crowds’ cochlea’s–producing a merciless auditory assault– juxtaposed with overtly confident musicianship emanating fiercely from the stage.
Jon Spencer’s Blues Explosion manages to hold forte and eventually break through the Glasgow vanguard–quite literally–with their energetic performance.
Spencer adopts an bluesy vocal style akin to a take-the-piss Elvis impersonator while the band churn out sketchy riffs, crashing around him and incorporating an almost anti-blues sound at their core; sounding more like an accomplished garage band who haven’t lost that trashy and trampy garage-band ethos.
Paradoxically compounding the fuzzy backdrops with the occasionally unabashed blues licks–produces caricature clichés, which facilitates the mash-ups and adds to the fun of it all.
The most noticeable change with the newer material is the emphasis on tight songs, funky backbeats, and loads of catchy riffs and hooks.
Live, the band put on quite a show, naturally generating the kind of blood-sweat-and-tears onstage presence that is an anathema to many other bands of their ilk.
The band are certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to picking out their setlist as there is no way the can do no wrong.
Standout tracks tonight are ‘Bellbottoms’ from 1994s Orange, ‘Get Your Pants Off’, ‘Bag of Bones’ and ‘Strange Baby’ from 2012s Meat + Bone.
A self-styled, self-aware parody of blues with more emphasis on perfectly tight and trashy pop undertones.
Words: Derek Robertson
Photos: Jayjay Robertson
