Wormwood Live
The Forum, London
19th July 1999
When The Residents put on a show, it’s something very special to see indeed; like Jesus Christ Superstar (surely one of the defining moments of pomp-pop-opera, and whose theme provides the opening fanfare as the curtain goes up on the monocular ones) taken beyond the realms of kitsch to a theatricality which defies satire and emerges resplendent as total genius incarnate. To explain: the very fact that there are four musicians dressed in surplices with foam eyeballs for heads making the kind of gargantuan music to suit the subject of Curious Stories From The Bible – at once pompous, Prog and post-Modern – while the two main actors declaim (with skill which somehow transcends overacting) the group’s peculiar interpretation of key moments from the not-so-Good Book is mind-boggling enough. Add in the skull-masked and bird-like carnival beaked male and female leads (or entire cast in fact) spinning through a variety of minimalist flourescent costumes virtually guaranteed to fry the irises of anyone brave enough to attend the performance in an altered state, and what results is over two hours of non-stop, jaw-dropping theatre quite unlike anything staged before – except of course by The Residents themselves.
Concentrating mainly on the Old Testament thanks to its plethora of violent, sadistic and downright bizarre stories, Wormwood brings alive the album of the same name with so much added depth that it makes the eyes weep with joy and confusion that anyone could have conceived of, let alone produced, such a show. Despite the swearing, mock-cakewalking and manic prancing around the supremely well-designed, if deliberately garish, stage, the intent here seems at least half-serious, simultaneously reviling and drawing inspiration from the keystone of (so-called) Western Civilisation’s very history. Particular highlights include Skull-head’s swaggering, stumbling diatribes and introductions; the moment when the percussionist-Resident comes down from its array of analogue and electronic drums (including a rather effective bass-drum with synchronised internal spotlight) to play the tablas; the pole-mounted masks which accompany most characters such as the scheming Abraham or the cock-rocking King of Kings (David drawn as Elvis!); or the rock-out climax of “Hanging By His Hair,” which takes the album version of this Steinmanesque paen into only semi-ironic epic territory.
As an epilogue, the ensemble keep on kicking up an anti-Messianic storm with a uniquely Residential take on “Gimme That Old Time Religion,” in as many styles as possible from the Gospel to the synth-phonic, and with venom practically dripping from their disguises onto their vestments. Roundly deserving the ovation they receive, it’s the only alternative possible to the saccharine sentiment of the big-production musical. Given the upcoming Millenium (in truly Biblical terms?), there’s still plenty of scope for this most gobsmackingly inventive of bands to surpass themselves – but Wormwood will take some beating for its sheer, stupendous, utter magnificence.
