Vivek’s Blog

This post shall serve as a double-review. You will read my review of the Electric Six concert on 9/16 in New York City and then my thoughts on their new album, titled “Switzerland.”

So, let’s get things underway with the concert. When I bought the tickets, I saw that Aberdeen City would be opening for Electric Six. When I got to the venue, I found out that there were two more bands playing that night - The Last Vegas and Liam And Me. Oh well. E6 were scheduled for a midnight appearance. The venue was more like a club and held only about 800 people. So wherever you stood, you were always real close to the band. The first band, The Last Vegas came on at around 9:20pm and started with a bang. I saw them and I thought, these guys are so…AC/DC. They tried hard but their singer sucked. They looked like posers from the word go and as the set went on, it just got worse. Plus, they were really loud - and in a small venue, everything is loud already. I was really glad when they got off. The next band, Liam And Me, came on at 10pm and these guys looked sincere. Their music was decent and not as loud as the previous band. However, the sound levels were too high so I stuffed some tissues in my ears to prevent permanent damage.

Then, around 11, Aberdeen City came on. I’d heard these guys were decent and they sure were. They have a weird sound but are a good band. Their bassist is crazy and the singer’s voice stands out over the music. These guys were done at about 11:50pm. Then, E6 started setting up their stuff. When I first arrived at the venue, I ran into 4 of the E6 band members who were taking a walk. No Dick Valentine unfortunately. Even after the setup, there was no sign of E6 until a quarter past 12. Finally, they showed up. The guitarists and Dick were wearing suits which was odd considering the kind of music these guys make.

They kicked things off with “There’s Something Very Wrong With Us So Let’s Go Out Tonight” and the venue was full by this time. Dick was animated and dancing his ass off. The crowd was really into it. Jumping up and down and dancing and yelling. They did about 13-14 songs including “Gay Bar” and left. The crowd yelled for an encore and they came back out. Dick now had a t-shirt on and he played “Jimmy Carter” with Tait Nucleus after telling us that they’d do a couple more and then one more and then finish up with “Dance Commander.” After that, the guys played a couple of tracks off the new album before ending as promised with Dance Commander.

Overall, I was very impressed with E6. Valentine has a great voice and can do weird stuff with it. The rest of the band did their parts well. A couple of times during songs, Valentine just stood on the stage with his hands in his pockets and wearing a big smile. He was drinking all night and was great! I love most of their songs and was slightly disappointed at not getting to hear a few but what the hell. The band put up a great show and played a lot of great songs. I got home really late but it was an enjoyable show, save for the first band and the fact that we had to go through 3 bands before E6 showed up. Tool’s up in 3 weeks time.

Moving on to the album. It kicks off on a slow note with “The Band in Hell” which was surprising considering how the previous two albums opened. The next track, one of my favorites, is called “I Buy The Drugs” (catch the video on the Videos page) which is about a guy who supplies drugs to a sorority. Fun! The next couple of tracks are decent but nothing special although the lyrics to Mr. Woman are hilarious.

“Infected Girls” is track 5 and is another slow jam talking about ummm “infected girls doing it better.” Following this one is “Pulling the Plug on the Party” which is more in tune with the kind of music E6 makes although the lyrics show a different side of the band. “Rubber Rocket” is a song best understood when you listen to it. There is a double entendre in the title and you’ll see how that works once you give the song a listen. “Pink Flamingos” is another one of my favorites but I haven’t yet understood what the song is trying to say.

Among the last few tracks, “Slices of You” is most fun while the closer, “Chocolate Pope” gets the “WTF?” award. “Germans in Mexico” is another one I fail to get although it has a good beat to it. The prize for the longest song title goes to “There’s Something….,” another weird, slow jam.

All in all, I’d say this is a more mature album with better production than the previous two. The synth is not used as much as on “Senor Smoke” but is still used for weird sounds and piano imitations. I think it was on allmusic that I read this album feels like the morning after a party which is about accurate. “Fire” was the party, “Senor Smoke” was the night out after the party, and “Switzerland” is the hung-over, morning-after. But that’s all right, it shows that E6 have more up their sleeves than you’d think. They have taken a new direction with this album but it should still keep fans happy.

PS: I saw a couple of really old Asian ladies at the show. I wonder what they get out of E6’s music?