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GUIDED BY VOICES IN CONCERT:
For more than two decades, DIY torchbearers Guided by Voices have stood as a bastion of experimentation and lo-fi grit in indie rock's increasingly commercialized landscape. Their loose, sketch-like compositions truly come alive at their frenetic live shows, where the band tears through 90-second songs while frontman Robert Pollard sings, drinks, and karate kicks with reckless abandon. With two albums out in 2014, the ever-prolific band will be treating fans to new material alongside all their favorites at several rare appearances.
BACKGROUND SNAPSHOT:
Formed in Ohio in the early '80s, Guided by Voices developed around the work of principal songwriter and frontman Robert Pollard. Following several years of independent releases and local shows, the band began to find a wider audience when 1992 album Propeller became a college radio staple. Their growing reputation landed them a deal with Matador in 1994, and in 1995 they released Alien Lanes to critical acclaim and nods from big media outlets including MTV and Rolling Stone. The band continued to record and tour throughout the '90s and '00s, weathering lineup changes, hiatuses, farewell tours, and reunion tours — becoming a veritable indie rock legend in the process. With two new albums hitting shelves in 2014, the band is sure to be in top form at their highly coveted reunion shows.
FANS WHO BOUGHT TICKETS SAY:
"It was such a great, high-energy show. It was so fun to see people of all ages appreciate GBV for the great rock pioneers they are."
"GBV always give their fans their money's worth. Exhausting set of hits and album tracks that deserve to be hits."
"The most amazing show i have ever seen, everyone was singing all the words to every song, and the band were performing with unbelievable energy."
GBV, the original lineup, rocked the house. They brought energy and heart to each song they played. The only complaint I had was the mix. I really couldn't understand the words, but that could also be because of how close I was to the stage. The Buckhead Theatre was beautiful, just be wary of the security guards and act like a grownup :)
It was a GBV show!! What else do I need to say? They are one of the greats.
Unstoppable rock! This is my 4th time seeing this band and they have never failed to entertain. This show, however, was pretty triumphant. Buy a t-shirt early if you are a girl because the "ladies" size small was all they had left and it will only fit someone under the age of 12 or someone who desperately needs to eat a sandwich.
The concert event of the year lived up to the hype. This was my fourth time to see Guided by Voices live, but never with this, the "original recipe" lineup, though, and let me tell you: PHENOMENAL. They dug deep, mining their golden era tracks from '93-'96 mostly. Those hoping to hear newer GbV material were out of luck. Actually, no one was out of luck at this show! With minimal stage banter, the band absolutely plowed and pummeled their way through most of the tracks on their best albums; a staggering amount of ground covered at their trademark, breakneck pace. Tobin Sprout got to sing some of his great tracks as well, including the incredible "Awful Bliss." The whole night was sprinkled with rarely performed (if ever) older tracks that played to the hardcore fans, which in this case was most of the crowd. And what a crowd! Joyous and enthusiastic doesn't begin to describe the atmosphere. Staggeringly satisfying show, and I had set the bar pretty high in my mind. Personal highlights included blistering live versions of "Game of Pricks," "Break Even," "Buzzards & Dreadful Crows," "Weedking"... the list goes on and on. Epic show. History made before our eyes. And those kids in the band? They haven't lost a step.
Absolutely wonderful performance by the "Classic" Line up of Guided by Voices. My friends and I kept looking at each other in amazement. Song after song delivered in a ragged but right, fun loving way. They really love their audience and give them more than their money's worth in my honest opinion. The chemistry in this line up is undeniable. Maybe GBV has had more "accomplished" musicians in their ranks, but these guys have the soul and the passion. Having Tobin Sprout do some of his tracks was a great treat and Mitch Mitchell was typically energetic, firing off rock move after rock move. He also had some hilarious banter about "hot ladies" and the like. Just a fun night of rock and roll. Openers Sweet Apple were okay and played a set of 70's style boogie rock, J Mascis of Dino Jr. was on the drum kit, but every one was there to see GBV tear it up. Just a note: Most of the set was Propeller, Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under the Bushes material with aome smatterings from various singles and EPs of the period. Do not expect to hear anything past those records as this is focusing on the early to mid-90's period. Three sets of encores...really just the tops.
Robert Pollard, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout, Greg Demos, and Kevin Fennell came together a couple of months ago for the first time in almost 16 years. The wait was well worth it. In my book, these guys are the kings of rock. And I'll put them up against your mama's same old Stones or Uncle Rob's uberreliable Rush canucks. And I'll beat you 9 out of ten heads up with you picking the venue. So throw the switch, it's rock and roll time! Semper Bob! Homeskillet
Fabulous! A must see. Uncle Bob hasn't lost his touch!
Classic lineup was amazing. Played all the old classics
Pretty impeccable live reenactment of all your faves from yesteryear. Pollard exhibited rock god skill set, high-kicking to punctuate the beat and swilling with gusto while twin guitarists delivered nuclear-grade sludge and pogoed in sync. Sound mix a little muddled at first, but became clear and concerted about a third of the way into the show as the players and mix formed a a great sonic turbine that wound up to take flight. Sustained brilliance thereafter.
Absolutely staggeringly good! Anyone who has seen GBV or not, would have loved this show. My girlfriend saw them for the first time and was blown away. Bob and the boys were in top form and the addition of Tobin on vox was truly special. If only they had played 4 nights in a row - I would have gone to every show!
Just so happy I could see this reunion show I felt extremely lucky to see them!!
GBV put on an utterly fantastic show at the 1st Ave. club. They sounded better than ever and rocked out with the intensity of men half their ages. They also played for over two hours! Don't miss these guys!
The club was definitively open - rocked hard - another 30 mins of songs would have been great but nonetheless the show was a great success. Rock over london, rock over chicago, Diet Pepsi UhHu. RIP Wesley Willis
The show was amazing, they played every song I wanted and each one was a hit. The crowd seemed full of semi-fans who didn't know the lyrics but I drive 7 hours to see this show and it was worth every minute.
Not much to say other than it was the best show I've ever seen.
I have to say, Showbox SODO isn't my favorite venue for sound quality, but the soundman for this show actually made it tolerable without earplugs. Whoever that guy is deserves a raise. GBV were amazing as always, if you missed it you might still be able to stream the show at myspace... but you should have been there.
While it was fun to hear the great songs performed live, watching a grown man act like a drunken teenager (swigging from a JD bottle and incessant dumb commentary punctuated with f*ck this and f*ck that, etc) was a bit depressing. Has Robert Pollard always been such a bonehead in shows? Seems to be quite the juxtaposition from the thoughtfulness of his music. His high kicks were a treat, though.
I've seen GBV a number of times, with a number of lineups, and this was probably the best -- not at all what I was expecting for a reunion. It was energetic, everyone was having a good time (onstage and in the crowd), and the set was a perfectly chosen mix of well known material and less-played stuff (like Jar of Cardinals and Matter Eater Lad). And Bob didn't even seem to mind the stage staff nicking his tequila...
If you can imagine how great it would have sounded to see the Kinks or The Who live in 1965, we got a chance to see and hear a rock show that was every bit of that. My friend asked me the next day: "Just how much melody can a person take?" The melodies, the hits, the athleticism of these ex-jocks and school-teachers-turned-rock-stars, the clarity of the sound-system, the venue, the crowd, the pre-concert (yes, Concert) dinner, the beer and booze, the rabid original fans and the new fans.. just everything added up to be one of the top 3 rock shows I've ever attended in my lifetime. ... And I've attended over 600 shows in my old-assed geezerdom.
90s glory days for us all. The bus will get us there yet!
