The snow fell with a vengeance on the dreary little town of Canton Ohio, where I dwell amoung the stench of art mundane. Roads were closed, and the bozo's on the radio were acting like Ohio had never seen snow before. Cry babies be damned, I WAS GOING TO CLEVLEAND!!!
Because MSI, the great MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE was due in at the Cleveland Odeon and I was not going to wuss out and miss them again. "If you live in Ohio', I reason, "suffer and quit acting like a child." And it was with this motto that I set out with my equally adventureous wife to see what the crazy foursome sounded like live. I will say that it has been my exspericnce that people dont like MSI...you either love them or you think they SUCK BALLS. I love them because they are not this cookie cutter band. You can hear one song by them and you will know them the moment you hear them again no matter how much time has passed. Urines vocals are a TINY bit Manon like on the high notes every so often, but MM did not create that singing style either. No one was going to get in my way this fine December 5th.
The weather did slow me down enough that we missed the first band, but any sence of loss was quickly put to rest when the band TUB RING hit the stage. I just explained that Mindless sound like no one but Mindless, remember? Well, no one sounds like TUB RING but TUB RING either. What are the chances of that occuring on the same night? And it is my job to try and tell you what they sounded like...hmmm...how do you describe what trancends description? Well, here goes. Tub Ring are a mad cross between death metal, punk, and circus music with an insane keyboardist that really kicks your ass with his post-new wave-ish sytles. The singer goes from harcore barking, to clear singing whims, to Cradle of Filth screeching. There are hints of ska, and even some kinky sounding rap segments. They are really alternative in the true sence of the word before it became a catch phrase. They are fast, percise, and they keep programming to a bare minimum. Yes, the keyboardist really PLAYS HIS KEYBOARD!!! "We try and stay fresh, and keep our music real," he said, "it is good to see that you enjoyed that aspect of it." Enjoy it? It is my whole approach to music coming from the mouth of another keyboardist. I was in heaven.
MSI were up next, and as I watched Kitty's drum set go up, and then the guitar techs tuning up the axe, I did wonder why notice the keyboard rig did not change. Odd. From one key guy to those who do not know, it is really hard to play another persons keyboard rig, because everyone programs their gear a bit different. No sooner did I notice this I also noticed that MINDLESS were trying to kill us with the most horrible music ever written blaring loudly over the sound system. Those of you who have seen MINISTRY know that AL hits you with bluegrass and string bands. Hell, Urine hits you with Whitney Houston and Celine Deon! I was in hell, and I was laughing so hard I could hardly contain myself as fans sung loud and proud..." I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU" by ol' big tits, Dolly Parton. This was going to be a crazy show.
Soon the torture ended and Urine bounded out along with the marry band of crazies that make up Mindless Self Indulgence. That was when I noticed Rob from Tub Ring WAS the keyboardist for MSI. Why? As Urine told the crowd, " One of us knocked up Natalie. She is trying to find out who the daddy is. So the best we could do was Rob from Tub Ring. You better be good," he taunted Rob, " better not suck." And it was this humor that ruled the night. At one point Urine proclaimed " I still want to be friends, but I want to see other fans. I want to see Disturnbed fans" before singing "Your just like all the rest." And during the backmasking break on another track, he began trhowing fruit at the balcony telliing them how many more were coming and instructing them to duck while he amused himself during "the boring part of the song" Still another time, a crowd surfer flopped over the mosh wall, and he looked down, pointed, and said "Your late!"
Musically, they were on target. MSI is not a band that is really hard to play as much as a band where the need is to be tight on what you do play and dont miss any of the insane breaks. Urine, besides being an amazing frontman, is a just as verstile live as on cd, and effortlessly hits every note he reaches for. The best part however was after the show ended (with Urine and his ever-wit playing EUROPES THE FINAL COUNTDOWN over a boom box to end the show before running of the stage like a scared girl...dont ask) the ENTIRE band came out before anyone left and signed autographs, talked, and posed for pictures for the whole club. No showboating, or " I am too good to talk to you" premadanna bullshit here. "We like to talk to everyone" Urine said. "We are happy to see all you come out and see us" Kitty was very happy to answer questions about the make up of the music and the band. "Rob had to learn all of Natalies parts in one day" she said " because we did not have anyone to do them He has really done well all tour." I was under the impression that since there is that MINDLESS SOUND, that the music is written a certain way, but that is not the case. " That depends on the song" guitarist ___ said. " We never really plan it that way" He then wrote his autograph on my ticket along with about 18 letters of pi. A fitting end. A number that does not end from a band whose love for their fans has no limit. If you get a chance to see this band do it. Just watch for the flying friut. With Love To Our Fans--->SAM I BE