Mindless Self Indulgence
El Corazon, Seattle, WA
04.11.14
Thirty bucks and thirty steps would’ve got you into the Mindless Self Indulgence show, if you just so happened to be standing outside El Corazon on Friday night. The law of probability is against me, and so I must conclude that, after all these years, Mindless Self Indulgence continues to retain and recruit listeners to their brash, unapologetic, hybrid punk sound.
Nobody was here by coincidence. This place was packed.
By the time MSI came on, a body could barely move. If you didn’t appreciate your near-topless crowd neighbor flailing around and sweating on you, tough shit. The ever-looming cloud of weed will settle you down. Tut tut, it looks like rain… (This is still Seattle, right?)
With 17 years in tow, MSI has been in this for the long haul and their preparation shows. Their stage presence is polished and their live sound is awesome. They gain richness and cohesion when they perform, and it certainly belies your iTunes download. Singer Jimmy Urine is a handful on stage, bouncing around this time in mostly hot pink attire, and is full of friendly or caustic or motivational chatter. It changes. Some sample paraphrases from Friday’s performance include, “Hello, San Franciscooo!” and “You’re gonna get fired! You’re gonna get dumped! You’re gonna get divorced!” etc., taking his time to point around the audience. Last is my personal favorite, “Who wants to be a librarian or a doctor when rock stars get lots of free drugs and don’t have a bedtime!” While I stood in the back wanting to vomit from the lack of moving air and life goals, the crowd ate it up. It is true what they say about MSI fans: they are rabid, they are fierce, and a disproportional number have face tattoos. I’m still petitioning for that last one.
MSI played a healthy set, spanning 22 songs dotted with such classics as Shut Me Up, Stupid MF, Bitches, and F**k Machine. Guitarist Steve Righ?, bassist Lyn-Z, and drummer Kitty each had a slot on the set list to pick a song as well. Urine closed the evening with a goodnight song, sporting pink wings and a pair of pink Kanye sunglasses. That librarian spot is looking better and better…
Openers included The Iris, a self-identified post-pop foursome from Phoenix. They played approximately 8 songs, one of which included a solid cover of Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. The meat in the lineup sandwich was the San Fran doom-pop foursome Death Valley High. They played rockin’ covers of Dancing with Myself and F**k the Pain Away. Both groups have been around the circuit for a few years, with Death Valley High taking the 2011 Independent Music Award for Best Rock Song for their single Multiply.
Set list:
It Gets Worse
Shut Me Up
1989
Stupid MF
Steve’s choice
Fuck Machine
Issues
Animal
Jimmy’s choice
Never Wanted
Stalkers
Eveningwear
Anonymous
Kitty’s choice
Tornado
Ala Mode
Dicks Are For My Friends
Bitches (Lyn-Z’s choice)
Faggot
Planet of the Apes
Jack Me Up
Straight to Video
Review by T. Monte
Photos by Sunny Martini
