Dressed to theatrically thrill
The Tubes - Glasgow School of Art, 9th August 2015
The Tubes - Glasgow School of Art, 9th August 2015
What do you want from life?
A 40th Anniversary tour date from The Tubes in Glasgow to round off an already pleasant and balmy weathered weekend?
That’ll do nicely.
The Tubes always get a great reception in Scotland, whether that be back in the day of the famous Glasgow Apollo, the prestigious Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline or the small but highly charged club atmosphere of King Tuts – a gig front man Fee Waybill will never forget ("I had to do my costume changes on the fuckin’ fire escape!")
A packed School of Art hall was no less vociferous and no less welcoming of a band whose theatrical style and eclectic catalogue (ranging from quirky progressive pop through musical spoofery and 50s movie-inspired material to quality melodic rock) have given them a timeless quality.
And, for well over two hours and half-a-dozen costume changes from the ever-energised Fee Waybill, The Tubes delivered that timelessness – and a large chunk of that musical diversification – in fine style.
An on stage video screen displaying stills of The Tubes alongside film noir imagery (the latter complimenting the 60s swing-pop covers – 'This Town' and 'Town Without Pity' – that followed the 'Getoverture' opening) was simple but effective; it brought 40 years of The Tubes to on-screen life while the band performed 140 minutes worth of some of the best material the San Francisco born outfit have to offer.
Live, the band’s theatrics and musical diversity take centre stage but the musicianship of the group should not be under-estimated.
Rick Anderson – who looks more like Joe Walsh these days than Joe Walsh – drives many of the songs with a punchy or funky bass line ('Power Tools' and 'No Way Out' were two songs benefitting from Anderson’s four-string style) while the talented David Medd (who has worked with the four original Tubesters since 1996) brings a little of his own keyboard colour and texture to the classic material.
Fee Waybill, who has to switch between vocal registers as the set and songs demand (sometimes back to back – from the straight-jacketed intensity of 'Mr Hate' to the vocal highs of 'Amnesia') is still in good voice; there were a few throaty notes (but then you try singing such vocally diverse material after 40 years on the road) but Waybill, 65 years young in September, still hit more highs than he ducked.
On the night however it was Prairie Prince and Roger Steen that truly shone.
Masters of their chosen instruments, you just have to tune in to what Prairie Prince is doing rhythmically and percussively to understand why he has been Todd Rundgren’s touring drummer of choice for nigh on two decades (and you don’t get a gig with Todd if you don’t have the chops).
Roger Steen, plainly and simply, remains of the most under-appreciated guitarists in rock and pop.
His fretboard flourishes on 'This Town' and the bluesy bars of soloing at the end of the band’s classic power ballad 'Don’t Want to Wait Anymore' were superb, comparable to Steve Lukather’s melodic, smooth fluidity.
Some of the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for the band’s heavy hitters including 'Mondo Bondage' (a microphone, torch, leather thong and bondage mask is all you need; we’ll leave it there), 'What Do You Want From Life,' the eclectic prog of 'Up From the Deep' and Fee Waybill’s monstrous (and still funny) glam creation Quay Lewd, teetering on 18" heels while belting out the call and answer of 'White Punks on Dope.'
That said it was refreshing to hear an appreciative audience applauding the new wave rock of 'Rat Race' (a 35 year old song very few would be familiar with) from the never officially released Suffer For Sound album.
The crowd also had a hearty response for the excellent 'Life is Pain,' the feisty Roger Steen-Fee Waybill penned number that has flitted in and out of the set for the last decade but has never seen the light of studio day.
A 40th Anniversary tour date from The Tubes in Glasgow to round off an already pleasant and balmy weathered weekend?
That’ll do nicely.
The Tubes always get a great reception in Scotland, whether that be back in the day of the famous Glasgow Apollo, the prestigious Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline or the small but highly charged club atmosphere of King Tuts – a gig front man Fee Waybill will never forget ("I had to do my costume changes on the fuckin’ fire escape!")
A packed School of Art hall was no less vociferous and no less welcoming of a band whose theatrical style and eclectic catalogue (ranging from quirky progressive pop through musical spoofery and 50s movie-inspired material to quality melodic rock) have given them a timeless quality.
And, for well over two hours and half-a-dozen costume changes from the ever-energised Fee Waybill, The Tubes delivered that timelessness – and a large chunk of that musical diversification – in fine style.
An on stage video screen displaying stills of The Tubes alongside film noir imagery (the latter complimenting the 60s swing-pop covers – 'This Town' and 'Town Without Pity' – that followed the 'Getoverture' opening) was simple but effective; it brought 40 years of The Tubes to on-screen life while the band performed 140 minutes worth of some of the best material the San Francisco born outfit have to offer.
Live, the band’s theatrics and musical diversity take centre stage but the musicianship of the group should not be under-estimated.
Rick Anderson – who looks more like Joe Walsh these days than Joe Walsh – drives many of the songs with a punchy or funky bass line ('Power Tools' and 'No Way Out' were two songs benefitting from Anderson’s four-string style) while the talented David Medd (who has worked with the four original Tubesters since 1996) brings a little of his own keyboard colour and texture to the classic material.
Fee Waybill, who has to switch between vocal registers as the set and songs demand (sometimes back to back – from the straight-jacketed intensity of 'Mr Hate' to the vocal highs of 'Amnesia') is still in good voice; there were a few throaty notes (but then you try singing such vocally diverse material after 40 years on the road) but Waybill, 65 years young in September, still hit more highs than he ducked.
On the night however it was Prairie Prince and Roger Steen that truly shone.
Masters of their chosen instruments, you just have to tune in to what Prairie Prince is doing rhythmically and percussively to understand why he has been Todd Rundgren’s touring drummer of choice for nigh on two decades (and you don’t get a gig with Todd if you don’t have the chops).
Roger Steen, plainly and simply, remains of the most under-appreciated guitarists in rock and pop.
His fretboard flourishes on 'This Town' and the bluesy bars of soloing at the end of the band’s classic power ballad 'Don’t Want to Wait Anymore' were superb, comparable to Steve Lukather’s melodic, smooth fluidity.
Some of the biggest cheers of the night were reserved for the band’s heavy hitters including 'Mondo Bondage' (a microphone, torch, leather thong and bondage mask is all you need; we’ll leave it there), 'What Do You Want From Life,' the eclectic prog of 'Up From the Deep' and Fee Waybill’s monstrous (and still funny) glam creation Quay Lewd, teetering on 18" heels while belting out the call and answer of 'White Punks on Dope.'
That said it was refreshing to hear an appreciative audience applauding the new wave rock of 'Rat Race' (a 35 year old song very few would be familiar with) from the never officially released Suffer For Sound album.
The crowd also had a hearty response for the excellent 'Life is Pain,' the feisty Roger Steen-Fee Waybill penned number that has flitted in and out of the set for the last decade but has never seen the light of studio day.
Nor, sadly, is it ever likely to – The Tubes are one of the many bands both hamstrung by, and benefitting from, a fan-demanded classic back catalogue that keeps audiences coming but also guarantees limited to zero interest in any talk of new material (the excellent but criminally under-heard Genius of America from 1996 remains the last studio album from the band).
Back at classic central the encore included the melodic power rock pairing of 'She’s a Beauty' and 'Talk To Ya Later' with a rapid-fire version of 'I Saw Her Standing There' sandwiched in between (the Weegie audience in fine choral "Whooh!" voice).
All of which meant the Glasgow School of Art crowd went home very happy indeed.
What Do You Want From Live?
Exactly what The Tubes delivered.
Take your bow, boys - you deserve it.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Click here for FabricationsHQ's Feature Interview Article with Fee Waybill
Photo Credits: Derek Murray
Back at classic central the encore included the melodic power rock pairing of 'She’s a Beauty' and 'Talk To Ya Later' with a rapid-fire version of 'I Saw Her Standing There' sandwiched in between (the Weegie audience in fine choral "Whooh!" voice).
All of which meant the Glasgow School of Art crowd went home very happy indeed.
What Do You Want From Live?
Exactly what The Tubes delivered.
Take your bow, boys - you deserve it.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Click here for FabricationsHQ's Feature Interview Article with Fee Waybill
Photo Credits: Derek Murray