Tuesday, June 07, 2005

The Scottish Play

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Four gentlemen in their 50s take to the stage. These blokes have been playing together since 1976. They are Wire, and they proceed to unleash an unrelenting attack on your eardrums. They are taut and tight and precise with their riffs, and the assault makes me think "geez, I thought you were supposed to mellow with age." Their new LP is a CD/DVD combo called The Scottish Play : 2004. It's a film and it's soundtrack, based on their appearance at the Triptych Festival in Glasgow in April of 2004. They play a lot of newer stuff and a few choice oldies. Surgeon's Girl and 106 Beats That are oldies from their 1977 debut Pink FLag. These tunes are almost 30 years old now and they sound as fresh as ever. My only complaint about the Wire of today is that I wish they'd lighten up the assault a little - those old records had their heavy moments, but there was a clarity to them that the newer stuff lacks for me. Still, it's good to see a bunch of geezers play as hard and as well as they still do.

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