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Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Dead Milkmen
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I'm so happy The Dead Milkmen are back!
I was thrilled when I heard about their resurrection; when I heard
they booked a Seattle show, it became the first must-see of 2012 for
me. Sure, they're not a Seattle band, but I saw them here, and I'm
writing about shows in this town, so....
Different bands carve their initials
into the cultural wall different ways. Some have lengthy and solid
careers, some explode on their creative peak, some have one
unforgettable song, The Dead Milkmen have a perfect album. To me,
Beelzebubba should be discussed with the same reverence as
Check Your Head or Raw Power or Sergeant Pepper
or Seasons in the Abyss or OK Computer. Beelzebubba
cements The Dead Milkmen's legacy; it's one of my all-time favorite
albums, I wouldn't miss the band that released it when they came to
my city... especially when it seemed like none of us would be seeing
The Dead Milkmen again.
After many years defunct and a band
member's death, I had no intention of missing this reunion... though
I have to admit, I don't listen to DM records thinking “this would
be so much better live.” They've always existed as a collection of
recordings in my world; I've never known them as a live band.
The changes in a song like Smokin'
Banana Peels work on the record, but played live, the quiet/loud sections in the “mellow” middle, the breaks that lead into the
verses... these are the kinds of dramatic shifts that punch through a
live show, the parts of music that are never really captured in a
studio. Surfin' Cow (not one of my favorite Dead Milkmen album cuts)
seemed grandiose and ethereal live, and Big Lizard in My Backyard was
strangely melancholy. Even though The Dead Milkmen was the first
spotlight show of the year for me, I still think I underestimated
them: you really ought to see them live.
The Dead Milkmen have always had a
loose, smart-ass vibe, and their comedic banter comes through live.
I fired up my crappy video camera when I heard the faux-blues of
Bitchin' Camaro start up because I knew it was going to include a new
story leading into the song (the video is over 6 minutes long; the
actual song is under 2 minutes). While you couldn't call them a
political band, the Bitchin' Camaro had a lot of gay rights in its
pre-song banter, and Right Wing Pigeons now has a verse for Rick
Santorum... Santorum is a perfect punchline for these guys (and
anyone whose education wasn't derived solely on a bible. Just
sayin')
When Surfin' Cow closed Rodney
Anonymous announced “You were great, [the band] was beautiful, and
I'm very sexy for an old man!” The house lights came up and the
house music started over the PA, usually the de facto close of any
show (if there's going to be an encore, the band usually leaves the
stage, but no one starts playing CDs on the sound system or turns on
the lights.) I wonder if they were even supposed to come back out...
but they did. There was an encore of The Thing That Only Eats
Hippies and I Walk the Thinnest Line, which was probably above and
beyond, and it was pretty sweet.
The venue sold out well before the day
of the show, and, though DM has always been kind of light and jangly,
the crowd wasn't lacking for liberty spikes and mohawks (considerably
more punk than my last visit to El Corazon, for the more
hardcore Meatmen.) The mood was high, there was a lot of stage
diving, and the main floor was completely packed. It's good to know
people still remember this band-- I hope they sell out venues
throughout their tour and are encouraged to come back around.
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