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May 19th, 2009
by Liem Vu
While many of us were fetal positioning in the late 80s (myself included), Glasgow duo, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, were positioning themselves in a less uterine way as the world’s best songwriters. Indeed, that title was bestowed onto the group by Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain.
Although they disbanded shortly after the release of their first and only full-length, Dum-Dum, The Vaselines slid over the Atlantic and gained notoriety through Nirvana’s covers of “Molly’s Lips” and “Jesus Want Me for a Sunbeam” on their album, Incesticide.
Touring for the first time in 20 years, Kelly and McKee stopped by Lee’s Palace for an impressive and almost comprehensive 19-song setlist that saw them performing the now-famous “Molly’s Lips,” the contemptuous “Monsterpussy,” and the rhyme-happy ditty “Dum-Dum.”
While their pop melodies, psychedlic harmonies and Glasgowian wit were in abudance, The Vaselines’ status as a musical artifact showed signs of age as their opening couple of songs had them readjusting their instruments and sound levels. But it was Frances McKee’s bouts of playful banter with the audience that truly roused (or should I say, aroused?) the gentlemen as she unraveled her flirtatious leer and suggestive words.
“I hear the men in Toronto are sensitive,” said McKee after the first song, “fuck that, we want to play rough.” A collective cheer ensued as McKee launched into the appropriately titled track, “Monsterpussy.”
In the end, the moderately crowded venue offered an intimate and nostalgic evening where fans were able to relive their musical memories live especially after the recent release of Enter The Vaselines, a 2-disc compilation album of remastered tracks and different live/demo tracks.
With Rick of the Skins opening up with their very own offering of pop music, The Vaselines may have very well stepped out of the Cobain shadow and cast a new one for themselves and for future musical artistes. Yes, you heard it. Artistes.
Tags: concert reviews
Posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 2:17 pm by Liem Vu and is filed under Concerts.
