The opening bass line of ‘O Katrina!’ was my introduction to The Black Lips. “Good Bad Not Evil” was an injection of addictive energy that left me with a craving for the hard-hitting Garage hits The Black Lips deliver. So when Psych Night announced they would be bringing the mania that is The Black Lips to shake up South African audiences, I purchased my tickets as fast as my Wifi would allow.
I ascended the Assembly stairs on Saturday night just in time to catch the end of The Sisters’ hypnotising set. Next, The Gumbo Ya-Ya’s won the audience over with their wild charm which exuded elements of ‘60s garage-punk. Sakawa Boys then showcased their special band of shoegaze before it was time to grab a last pre-Black Lips drink.
Whiskey in hand, I watched the group saunter onstage. During a performance of the decade-old ‘Punk Slime’, drummer Joe Bradley, did a stellar job of maintaining the track’s steady backbone while it was fleshed out with monotone vocals that morphed into frenetic screeches halfway through. ‘Boomerang’, with its sing-song rhythm was another song from this era that I was pleased to hear. I later migrated to the other side of stage just in time to hear Jared Swilley thank Cape Town audiences right as the band played a few drawn-out, familiar-sounding, twangy notes before launching into a performance of ‘Bad Kids’. The song both provided the perfect moshpit soundtrack as well as conjuring up the everything-is-going-to-be-okay feeling that you only get from listening to good live music.
A performance of the ominous ‘Not A Problem’ was a highlight of the set for me. With its mesmerising lead breaks which transform into a solid punk chorus, the song showcased The Black Lips’ wide range of skills. Similarly, ‘Raw Meat’ stood out because I cannot think of another vocalist who can sing ‘ooh oh baby’ over and over whilst remaining as cavalier as Cole Alexander. I was also especially pleased to hear the band play a version of the swinging, Southern, gospel anthem ‘Bow Down and Die’ by supergroup The Almighty Defenders.
In addition to Saturday night, the good ever-ambitious organisers from Psych Night arranged a secret Sunday show at Colourbox Studios. Along with hearing some of Saturday’s set, including the angsty ‘Modern Art’, The Black Lips played their cover of Jacques Dutronc’s ‘Hippie Hippie Hoorah’ complete with lengthy intervals between the mystical psychedelic guitar line. Highlights of the show included ‘Family Tree’ whose bassline descends one note at a time, as if walking down a staircase and the anthem-like ‘Boys in the Wood’. In addition, I will always remember hearing the opening bassline of ‘O Katrina!’ being sung by the band, reviving some of Saturday night’s moshpit behaviour. When Swilley thanked the crowd saying, “We’ll miss ya’ll” it was clear from the shouts of the audience for an encore, to which the band obliged, that the feeling was mutual.
The Black Lips are my fuck-everything energy source when I’m tired of wallowing in sadness, regret, disappointment or all of the above. This energy manifested itself throughout the Black Lips’ sets, especially in the performance of ‘Dirty Hands’ which was my favourite part of the weekend. Standing metres away from Cole Alexander as he spoke the lyrics of the cutesy, drugged-up song reinforced the Black Lips mantra that it’s okay to feel like a Bad Kid sometimes because, fuck it, what’s wrong with not having everything figured out anyway?
Follow Carrie on Twitter.
For more photos from the event at The Assembly check out our exclusive gallery.
