The Garage, London
31st January 2000
It’s been seven years since Matt Johnson released Dusk, the last The The album; and barring the frankly bizarre collection of Hank Williams covers, plus a series of dubious rumours, nobody has heard from him since. Until now. Joining Trent Reznor‘s Nothing label (after Epic refused to release his experimental album, GunSluts) appears to have rejuvenated Johnson, and his triumphant return to the UK stage saw him debut a selection of material from his forthcoming NakedSelf release (GunSluts is to be released later in the year on his own label). And it Rocked.
With a band comprising of an ex-Sly Stone drummer, an ex-Iggy Pop guitarist, and an ex-Frank Sinatra bassist, Johnson appears to have abandoned the rich, dark keyboards of earlier work in favour of a stripped down two guitars, bass and drum sound. It’s more Metal, but it’s no less dark. Opening with the grinding intensity of “Dogs of Lust”, The The quickly had the venue writhing in the sweaty palm of their collective hand. Underlit with bare red light bulbs, the band launched howling volleys of feedback over a throbbing bassline whilst the pounding rhythm confirmed Johnson’s re-evaluation of the importance of drums. But as tight as the band were, we weren’t actually here to see them. We’d all come to see Matt. And he didn’t disappoint.
The The don’t have a massive following. But what Johnson’s fans lack in numbers they make up for in devotion. This man writes music that actually means something to his listeners. His lyrics and music reveal both an emotional intensity and a sense of authenticity that are almost frightening when they go hand in hand. Johnson grimly strides across an artistic landscape that few other bands would have the balls to even visit. Tonight’s set was heavily biased towards the political end of The The’s range, with “Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)” inducing an aptly apocalyptic atmosphere heightened by the new song “Globalise” (I think) which lashed out at consumerism, in an echo of the classic “Heartland” from the Infected album. That’s not to say it was all social commentary. Far from it. No The The performance would be complete without a stroll through the dark territories of emotional despair that characterise so much of Johnson’s work. It’s a long way from fashionable student angst though. With an oddly stripped-down version of “Uncertain Smile”, the achingly poignant “Love Is Stronger than Death” and the blistering hopelessness of “This Is The Day”, Johnson isn’t wallowing in affected misery… he’s plumbing the depths of the darkness and it’s all so fucking real!
Outside the venue touts were charging 200 quid for a ticket. Inside we were having an experience that was worth more than mere money. We were standing a scant few feet from Matt Johnson – the bloke who wrote “Soulmining”, the bloke who wrote “Kingdom of Rain”, the bloke who wrote “Mercy Beat” for fuck’s sake! And he was singing us his new songs! The encore came too quick – if Johnson had decided to play through his entire back catalogue twice, I’d still be there now. But instead his return to the stage after five minutes of thunderous applause heralded yet another new track (which sounded almost as though Alec Empire might have been involved) and the aforementioned “Love Is Stronger Than Death” from Dusk. Then, confounding us to the end, Matt finished with a quiet track from Hanky Panky – just him and a low key guitar accompaniment. It shouldn’t have worked, but hey! this is Matt Johnson we’re talking about; of course it worked.
I hate reviews that overuse exclamation marks. But last night I was close enough to Johnson that I could reach out and touch him. And as he sung the opening line to “Infected” – “I’ve got too much energy to switch off my mind / But not enough to get myself organised”, I realised that this review could only end in one way: Matt Johnson is back! He’s making music that’s as good as ever!! The The are the most important band in the world!!!
-Grufty Jim-
