The Orpheum Theatre, Madison, WI, USA - 22 February 2001
Known for its 30 years of work as a deconstructionist pop band that conceals the identities of its members, the Residents have always had a dedicated underground following. That following congregated at the Orpheum Theatre, 216 State St., Thursday evening to witness the band during one of only eight stops on its "Icky Flix Tour 2001."
Thursday's performance could most aptly be described as a recital. Although the music was far more energetic than the fare generally associated with such an event, the self-conscious artistic nature of the Residents' stage show when coupled with the enthusiastic, yet far from raucous, crowd provided the evening with an air usually not fostered by rock groups.
The show was promoted as one in which the band would play selections from its recent DVD release, "Icky Flix." Every piece was performed in the shadow of a screen sporting the group's self-produced videos--the collection of which is "Icky Flix."
The Residents' catalog, both in the musical and visual sense, is hit or miss. As such, Thursday evening featured brilliant performances interleaved with those that were nonessential and in some cases boring. Several of the videos distracted from the music and vice versa, causing much of the middle portion of the show to disengage the otherwise interested spectators.
At times it was difficult to tell if the group was pedaling something of true artistic merit, or if it was simply engaged in informed parody. The Residents' stage show is reminiscent of 1950s B-movie science fiction.
The majority of the band, clad in black masks and flashlight-armed head gear, labored over a unique collection of instruments behind transparent screens constructed to conceal the band members' identities. The vocalists, a pink-haired princess and a limping man in a contorted mask that appeared to feature marshmallow-laden antennas, chased each other about the stage in a spectacle of pathetic, and often disturbing, affection.
The songs themselves were often engaging but were also frequently off-putting due to the purposely unconventional form and feel they adopt. The male vocalist's frightening rasp operated as the perfect foil to his cohort's gorgeously melodic offerings. The music, as supplied by the non-vocal segment of the band, was for the most part excellent. The primary flaw of the music was that it often got lost within itself, in the process completely forgetting about the audience. Although this refusal to pander to a public is central to the Residents' ideology, it often has the affect of losing those who are looking for more than concept.
Ultimately, the Residents supplied the Orpheum's occupants with an evening of entertainment that few other groups could, if indeed they had wanted to, furnish. However, the feeling one was left with was that a nearly identical experience could have been had courtesy of the DVD. The group's fans were not disappointed, though, and as such, the Residents succeeded in entertaining.
--Brian Gettler