TRS Peeve & Cocteau Twins Review

[Mike.Gallaher@msfc.nasa.gov (Mike Gallaher)]

	My thanks to the Love-Hound that posted the Cocteau Twins
schedule a few weeks back.  Thanks to your making me aware of their
Atlanta date, I've become able to check off one more from my "must
see before I die" list (the only two left now are KaTe and Bryan
Ferry).
	I thought I'd post a small review, since there is some cross-
over fandom here.
	But first, the ObKate:
	Is anyone else bothered by the opening lyrics to "The Red Shoes?"
Kate supposedly takes such time and care with lyrice, so why does she atypically
bend grammar in such an inappropriate manner?  "Oh she move like a diva do..."
Like there's not enough words that rhyme with "you?" that she has to
use an incorrect tense?  But even more embarassing for her, she
apparently didn't bother to look up "diva."  This line makes as much
sense as  "Oh she move like a Ph.D. do" or "Oh she move like an Admiral do"
or "Oh she move like a CEO do" or "Oh she move like a Valadictorian do"
or... well, you get the idea: a diva is a good singer, not a good 
dancer.
	Now the concert review:
	I was unprepared to see CT in concert, and went in without
any expectations.  First surprise: Two live drummers.  Considering 
their reliance on a drum machine on recordings, this seemed extravagant!
Occasionally one would take a break in the show, but often both
were playing.  Second surprise: Two backup guitarists.  Taking another
look at the credits on Four Calendar Cafe, I notice that they were 
also on the recordings (this was a post-concert surprise, but who can 
blame me?  I learned long ago not to expect much in the way of liner
notes from these guys!).
	With 3 guitars, 2 drums and a bass, the band were able to 
capture Robin Guthrie's dense sonic landscape quite well throughout the
show.  This leaves only one element...
	Elizabeth Frazer was something of a disappointment.  Although
they selected from their repertoire many songs that feature a prominent
single vocal line, virtually all suffered from the absence of her multi-
layered vocals.  Most of them simply didn't work with a solo vocalist.
The show would have been far better had the group hired some Frazeresque
backup singers.  The effect was exacerbated by a Liz Frazer who was 
obviously not at her best that night.  She fouled up the intro of one song,
which they restarted.  Worst of all was during Iceblink Luck: this song the
crowd was eager to hear, enthusiasm was high, and... Liz doesn't sing the
opening line.  Then she comes in on the second line, but she's on the
wrong note, so she destroys the melody with a failed attempt at improvization
as she attempts to get back in key with the song.  So there's one of
the band's strongest numbers crippled by a spirit-dampening fouled-up
intro.  Alas.
	It wasn't all that bad, though.  The music and singing was largely
enjoyable, and they played a terrific selection, although their early
material was a bit under-represented.  Most of my favorites were played,
including Kookaburra and Aikea-Guinea.  They refrained from playing
"their" greatest hit, Song to the Siren, which also disappointed me.  I'm
glad I heard the show, it was fun, but it's just that so much is lost
in the stripdown to solo vocals...
	Another problem is that the band showed absolutely no rapport
with the audience.  It might as well have been an empty theater as far
as they were concerned.  No words to the crowd, nothing.  The closest they
came to acknowledging our existance was when someone dropped a bouquet 
on stage.  Frazer looked down, seemed a bit embarassed, smiled a bit, and
carried on.  Frazer was not as attractive as she is in publicity
photos (I know, it's sexist, but you can't deny that a performer's look
can enhance the experience).  She was sporting a near-Skinhead O'Connor
haircut, and was wearing some bland black & white lumpy outfit.  The band
played for about 50 minutes, then did a couple of 2 or 3 song encores,
for a seemingly short total set.
	A cuirous item in the souvenir stands: a Cocteau Twins toboggan
(is that what they call them in today's fashion circles?)  I've seen a 
lot of rap fans and artists wearing these caps, and looking, IMO, pretty
ugly and stupid in them.  I can't imagine CT fans would be typical 
wearers of these hats, but I'm really fashion-stupid.  I wouldn't be
caught dead in one of those head-pointening things.
	Also of interest was the opening band.  They were pretty good,
with Guthrie-esque guitars.  They never bothered telling us who they 
were, and were bitterly intent on not gaining new fans in Georgia,
introducing their numbers with comments like "This is off our latest
record, which probably isn't available anywhere around here," and "This
is our next single, but you won't be able to get it anywhere."  It was
almost funny enough to be appealing!

--
Mike Gallaher
(205)-544-1447