It had been eighteen years since I last saw Stereolab live, so I was looking forward to seeing them again at the Factory Theatre on Sunday night. Support for the night was another firm favourite, the Underground Lovers, so a solid night out was assured.
The Underground Lovers delivered a short but powerful set. The wall of sound provided by Glenn Bennie on guitar and Richard Andrew on drums provides Vince Giarrusso and Philippa Nihill the perfect tapestry for their vocals. The crowd got to the venue early to support them and they were well rewarded.
Stereolab never took the most straightforward path to musical stardom, and you only need to take a look at some of their album titles to get a feel for what they are all about. Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. A little bit French, a little bit English, they tip their music hat to some Krautrock, and other experimental sounds and styles. Their setlist spanned the bulk of the Stereolab discography – the first eight songs came from eight different albums/EP’s. They finished the main set with “Lo Boob Oscillator”, a rendition that would have easily clocked ten or more minutes. But, that wasn’t enough, and fortunately, they came back for three more songs, finishing off with “Contronatura”.
Stereolab Set List:
Anamorphose (Mars Audiac Quintet – 1994)
Brakhage (Dots and Loops – 1997)
French Disko (Refried Ectoplasm – 1995)
Fluorescences (Fluorescences EP – 1996)
Miss Modular (Miss Modular EP- 1997)
Metronomic Underground (Emperor Tomato Ketchup – 1996)
Extension Trip (Aluminum Tunes – 1998)
Need To Be (Margerine Eclipse – 2004)
Percolator (Emperor Tomato Ketchup – 1996)
Crest (Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements – 1993)
Lo Boob Oscillator (Refried Ectoplasm – 1995)
Come Andy (Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night – 1999)
Blue Milk (Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night – 1999)
Contronatura (Dots and Loops – 1997)
Check out Bruce’s photos of the night below.
