Mclusky - Zaphod's, Ottawa, 14/10/2004

  by Andrew Carver

published: 14 / 10 / 2004

intro

Andrew Carver watches Welsh trio Mclusky bring their surrealist post-punk bludgeon and some slapstick humour to an enthusiastic audience at Zaphod’s in Ottawa

Welsh trio Mclusky brought their surrealist post-punk bludgeon to an enthusiastic audience at Zaphod’s. I arrived for what was literally the last few seconds of opening act the Banditas; After a quick setup McLusky jumped on stage at 10. Bassist Jonathan Chapple started the set by pressing down on the neck of his bass (cushioned by a water bottle) with his foot . The group blends a rhythm-heavy post-punk sound -- even if Steve Albini hadn’t produced their albums, his name would probably crop up –with peculiar and snarky lyrics. Songs like 'Without MSG I am Nothing', 'Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues', 'To Hell With Good Intentions' all got an airing. The band’s sense of humour was evident in the deprecating introduction to 'Alan Is A Cowboy Killer' by singer-guitarist Andy Falkous: “This is categorically the worst song we’ve ever written … it’s complete shit, we’re actually quite embarrassed to play it, but it’s on one of the albums, so fuck it." As the minutes to the appointed hour of disco ticked down, Chapple said “We have to stop … if you offend a DJ, you can’t buy drugs from him later … I need me horse!” They ended their set with some impromptu girder-climbing by Chapple and by disassembling their gear until only drummer Jake Eggleston was left playing his snare drum. After a slapstick push from Chapple, the entertaining set was over after about 50 minutes.

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