Show of the year
by deglazeordie on 6/30/16The Sinclair - CambridgeAstounding. This show is simply not to be missed! Hope they return soon.
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About
PERE UBU IN CONCERT:
Experimental post-punk outfit Pere Ubu has been turning rock and roll on its head with their wildly original and willfully non-conformist sound for the past four decades. Their output from late '70s to the early '80s holds a special place in the minds of fans for its punk-meets-performance art appeal, and that's why ticket buyers are so excited that the band is bringing their Coed Jail! Tour 2016 to North America, which sees them performing setlists culled exclusively from the recordings of 1975-1982. Frontman David Thomas is a legendary showman, known for combining offbeat spoken word, wild-eyed yelps and yowls, and way-out body movements as he casts his fever-dream poetry over the band's jagged, dissonant blend of angular guitars, eerie synths, and skittering drums. It's visceral, cerebral, totally engrossing stuff, and Pere Ubu's loyal fans love every minute of it whenever the band takes the stage to let their arty freak flag fly.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Pere Ubu formed in Cleveland in 1975 and self-released their debut single "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" that same year. Critics and fans looking for a successor to punk immediately latched on to the band's unique sound, and while their 1978 debut album The Modern Dance didn't sell well, it proved immeasurably influential in the development of post-punk. They followed up with the albums Dub Housing (1978) and New Picnic Time (1979), commercially unsuccessful releases that nevertheless stand today as cult classics of the era. Although the band's lineup changed constantly throughout the '80s and '90s, frontman David Thomas remained a constant, lending his singular avant-garage vision to everything the band produced. Today he continues to lead the charge for sonic renegades everywhere, honoring Pere Ubu's hallowed legacy with unforgettable performances that never compromise the band's oddball antics and artfully discordant sound.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Rating: 4 out of 5 Not your usual club show
by PromoTheRobot on 9/17/13Brighton Music Hall - BostonYou have to know what Pere Ubu is all about to understand what you see and hear. Otherwise it might be too much to comprehend all at once.
Rating: 4 out of 5 we're all getting older
by JeffeyG on 9/15/13Bowery Ballroom - New YorkBut David Thomas is still great. Between song patter made it worthwhile by itself. Plus he played the old hits at the end which he didn't have to do to make it great. New album is more noise than tuneful but sill classic Ubu.
Rating: 5 out of 5 EXCELLENT PERE UBU SHOW
by FirewalkMatt on 9/15/13Bowery Ballroom - New YorkPere Ubu is one of those amazing bands that defies real categorization. As a fan who has seen them many times since their reformation in the late 1980s, I can honestly say that this new American tour, which I saw at Bowery Ballroom was a sweet, small revelation. David Thomas and the band kicked some old songs up the road, and gave me an appreciation for the most recent material. Our friends who came to the show had never seen Ubu before, and they really liked the whole shebang as well.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Pere Ubu blows out Bowery Ballroom
by Old58 on 9/15/13Bowery Ballroom - New YorkOnce again David Thomas and friends shared the future of rock and roll with the few enlightened members of NY society. Or as Thomas put it, "old guys with pony tails but no hair on top, people like me." There were also an assortment of younger old guys in the making and about 6 women. Thomas dedicated two songs to the ladies because, "for every woman that comes 6 others come with her. Every old guy that comes loses 3 potential audience members." His new songs are even more contemplative and drone based than in the past and many have a less combative edge, although most of his introductions continue to bait the audience. After the first tune he said "I used to thank the audience, then I realized they should be thanking me." Whereupon many old dudes in the audience shouted "thank you!" and Thomas gruffly beamed. He also had an entertaining story of being the opening band for Kool and the Gang. That's where he learned the importance of appealing to the ladies. Favorite moment: When Thomas, sitting in his chair, began rocking back and forth, chanting "Baby (or David) want beer, baby want beer" until finally Mahlman, the drummer, went to the bar and brought back 4 bottles, opened them with a drumstick, gave him one and he complained, "I don't drink beer out of a bottle." Then continued with the show.