Their unassuming presence is refreshing, with a lot of the psych revivalism of recent years being rather image based, the band references a certain 60’s nostalgia devoid of pretentiousness. My friend commented “they don’t seem to be on as many drugs as other psychedelic bands,” – true, they are rather normal looking lads but boy do they sound good.
The room has filled considerably as Wareham and co. take to the stage, his backing band consisting of wife Britta Phillips on bass and backing vocals (The Belltower, Luna, Dean & Britta) and Anthony Lamarca on drums. Flowers off the classic album Today is first song of the night and there are cheers as Wareham launches into the opening line “I can never calm you down…”. His soft falsetto is as appealing as ever, it’s a rare treat to hear this song played live and the crowd knows it. Wareham has previously said he “never understood why people called me a great guitarist” but it’s hard not to be impressed watching him play tonight. His Gibson Les Paul in conjunction with some sort of wah-wah effect creates slippery, velvety tones that dreamily texture these classic songs.
The former G-500 front man has lost none of his charisma as he introduces Decomposing Trees with a story about dropping acid. When he sings “my toes can talk and they’re smiling at me” everyone in the crowd is smiling, happy to be let in on that little secret. The druggy haze bleeds into Strange which is similarly introduced as another “song about a time I dropped acid”, Wareham’s laidback yet achingly beautiful solos are lovely to watch, he glides seamlessly over the notes, appearing to lose himself in the song. Phillips’ melodic bass lines balance perfectly against the feedback drenched guitar, her reverby backing vocals adding an airy quality. Tor Larsen of the Sand Pebbles joins in for the exquisite Tugboat , the full sound of two guitars evoking a huge response from the crowd.
The encore sees Britta take lead vocals again for a cover of the Dylan penned I’ll Keep It With Mine, released on a recent split 7″ with Sand Pebbles. It’s a good attempt but for me Britta’s vocals are a bit light on, losing a bit of the potency of Nico’s version. They finish the set with a cover of Joy Division’s Ceremony, an achingly good rendition which slows down the pace of the original; it’s heartfelt without being cheesy and a fitting end to the evening. Playing for over an hour and a half, with material from all three albums, it would be hard to be disappointed by Dean Wareham’s performance tonight – at times both dreamy and visceral, everything you’d hope a Galaxie 500 set to be.
BY CASSANDRA KIELY
LOVED: The older indie-nerd crowd knowing all the words to the songs.
HATED: Nothing.
DRANK: Pots out of plastic cups.
