What on Earth would cause a man to drive 10 hours roundtrip in the rain to a ghetto-fabulous neighborhood of Atlanta? Only one thing could induce such a possession – an amazing concert. This most recent labor of love was to witness legendary no-wave gods, Pere Ubu and their friendlier modern day doppelganger, The Features, at the Echo Lounge.
Opening the show were The Features, whose origins lie in the tiny town of Sparta, Tenn. For the past several years they have been honing their tight smart-ass brand of rock and roll while amassing an incredibly loyal fan base from Memphis to Atlanta, Birmingham to Louisville, and all stops in between.
In many an opinion, they are the most important band in America. In time, this will be common knowledge. There is no need to get any more into The Features, as they will be coming here on Oct. 25. I will spare the details until then. However, this show was huge for this band as Pere Ubu is a massive and obvious influence on their sound.
For the past 27 years, Pere Ubu has been sharing their strange, mind-expanding tunes with anyone who’d listen. They took the punk ethos, long before there was such a thing, and applied it to a sound that channels the industrial desolation of working class Cleveland and the avant-garde of the Flux movement. The result is a chaotic mass of dancehall rhythms, gurgling synths, freak out guitar lines, and a vocal styling that can only be described as original.
The centerpiece of Pere Ubu’s sound has always been vocalist David Thomas’ madman yelp and intense warble. He has always been a big man, so his larger than life frame makes the whole experience that much more surreal.
Thomas entered onto the stage looking not unlike a cross between Marlon Brando (now, not then) and Boss Hog. He held himself up with a cane and periodically took swigs from a flask he had in his back pocket as he screeched and sang (if you could call it that). On many songs he adorned himself with a red rubber smock which had a plate microphone duct taped to it. Sometimes he’d sing into it, charge the Fender amp it was plugged into, and proceed to make it his bitch as it emitted vitriolic, howling feedback. This ladies and gentlemen, is entertainment.
But that’s just it, David Thomas is an entertainer. He’s part standup comic, part schizophrenic, part dirty uncle, and just an amazing person to watch on stage. His between song candor kept the crowd at a hush, hanging on his every word. He’d then give a stern glance into outer space, close his eyes and cue the band to start the next tune.
On the whole, I was only familiar with a handful of the songs played, as I do not yet have their newest release, St. Arkansas. You have to respect a band that has been around this long, but won’t rely on the older fan favorites to get people in the door.
Musically, a lot of the songs played were hit or miss. The times when the band was chugging along and rocking out sent the crowd into a massive cluster of noodley non-dancing. This was pure pleasure. However songs that relied on off-time drum signatures and slowed tempos didn’t really work in a live context. However, when they’d proceed to get loud and punky again, the crowd responded with glorious cheers.
Overall, this was a fantastic show. The venue was packed with anxious college kids, aging hipsters and over-the-hill burnouts. The Echo Lounge is a great venue and was the perfect place for these two bands to meet up. For more information log onto the following web sites:
Pere Ubu – http://www.projex.demon.co.uk
TheFeatures- http://www.thefeatures.com
EchoLounge- http://www.echostatic.com/echolounge/

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