Killing it

Finally got the pics off my camera from Thursday night's Killing Joke show. What's with the House of Blues? It's totally expensive, they practically strip search you on the way in, and you can't even bring in cameras. The only thing more phony than the "love all" murals inside the venue is the fake rust on building's faux Bayou exterior.


But Killing Joke were great--even if their name was spelled incorrectly on the marquee. Opening with "Requium," the original lineup blew through almost two hours of old and new songs. Everyone knows "Eighties" (on the Weird Science soundtrack) and "The Wait" (which Metallica covered), but perhaps the strongest song was "Love Like Blood," dedicated to the band's late bass player Raven.


The band's dark, pounding, and sometime dubby brand of post punk holds up well today, and so do the political overtones of songs like "Money Is Not Our God" and "Wardance." They influenced a ton of musicians, and we saw Dave Grohl rocking out in the audience. Check out the beginning of their biggest US hit and compare it to Nirvana's "Come As You Are."



The band was probably hotter when I saw them at the John Anson Ford Theatre in 1990, but seeing them in a smaller venue without seats but with all their chops and
energy was pretty amazing. Still releasing great albums, still relevant, still underrated.