Mike Watt and the Missingmen at Auntie Annies
Mike Watt and the Missingmen, The Continuous Battle of Order
Auntie Annieās, BelfastĢż
16th October, 2011
Ģż
The term āpunk legendā gets thrown around much too chaotically these days. The reality of the matter is you could probably count the amount of true punk legends walking the face of the earth on one hand. From his exceptional, altogether timeless work with post-punk heroes Minutemen in the Eighties to his current role within a reformed The Stooges, the brilliant and increasingly inimitable Mike Watt could take up two fingers. Tonight, the man and his band, The Missingmen, look set to confirm this opinion.
In a room equally divided between blasĆ© hipsters and - yes - quite a few po-faced Minutemen fanboys, Belfast-based instrumental rock combo The Continuous Battle of Order steadily unleash their numerically-titled math-rock via the flurry of looped guitar lines and syncopated, jazz percussion that is ā008ā. When it arrives, itās a wonderfully intricate noise explosion and an impressive set opener that segues into the yet more involved ā009ā, a track distilling guitarist Hornbyās complex, tapping style reminiscent of Don Caballero-era Ian Williams and Peleās Ian Prowse.
In a six-song set that takes in forceful riffage of āHoskinsā and the elaborate danceability of ā001ā, itās clear the two-piece have a vast array of barraging loops and discordant refrains at their disposal. Just as fascinating is the bandās growing experimentalism indicative of, say, a Eugene Ionesco play or Luis BuƱuel film, i.e. stopping half-way through songs for unexplained, extended silence; drummer Craigās drum-solo coming to a sudden because he has ānothing else left to play.ā In other words, if you like Hella, Samuel Beckett and John Coltrane circa Ascension, check out the bandās PTTRN SKRS.
Casually sitting at the side of the stage, Mike Watt is an imposing, yet completely amicable presence. In fact, when TCBOOās set comes to an end via ā006ā he wastes no time in approaching the stage to praise the bandās performance. Fifteen minutes later, Watt, guitarist Tom Watson and drummer Raul Morales kick straight into what the former beamingly announces as āmy third opera, Hyphenated-Manā, his most recent, 30-track, 47-minute album based on the works of Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. But, despite many peopleās aversion to theĢżmere mention of āoperaā, itās a record as coolly Mike Wattesque as ever.
Starting with the energetic āArrow-Pierced-Egg-Manā, the Missingmen are, for all intents and purposes, natural descendents of vintage Minutemen and punk legends Nomeansno. Barely pausing between songs, their deceptively refined post-punk sees Watson give the sadly departed D. Boon a run for his money and Watt himself command his beloved bass on everything from the catching funk groove of āHammering-Castle-Bird-Manā to the somehow agreeably incongruous noise of āBelly-Stabbed-Manā. The crowd, though sparse, seem fully engrossed in this heroic display of ambitious, often comical lo-fidelity.
The bossanova weirdness of āCherry-Head-Love-Manā running into the spoken-word Beat of āPinned-To-The-Table-Manā is also a stand-out, the latter track exposing Wattās baritone stylings on āloss and liberationā; a wonderfully Captain Beefheartesque ode musing seeing many of the crowd watch on in unblinking awe. Better still, even the catching slacker groove of āThistle-Headed Manā struggles to compete with the questionably-titled āMan-S****ing-Manā, a track evoking Slint and Melvins that forces Wattās ferocious vocals to reach new heights. Hyphenated-Man has raised its head. The crowd are overjoyed. Cue, then, the encore.
Following ecstatic applause to lure them out once more, Watt thanks the fans, āAwnty Awnies?ā and āThe Consistent Battle of Orderā. The banter goes down very well and with Tom Watson taking over the vocal duties and Watt assuming a behind-drummer role, an encore including first-rate covers of 'Conspirators Oath' by Red Crayola and a perfectly schizophrenic retelling of The Pop Groupās torture anthem, 'Amnesty Report', sees the three-piece merge as a unit in ways youāll struggle to see in many of todayās upcoming punk bands.
At the end up, weāre treated to an inevitable closing dose of Minutemen goodness: the frantic groove of 'Toadies' and 'The Glory of Man' from their classic double-album, Double Nickels On The Dime, and 'Black Sheep' evoking a properly doting reception from the crowd. Indeed, following set closer āAnxious Mofoā - right up their with Wattās original bandās more familiar songs - an uncommonly extended applause serves not only to underline the status and incredible musicianship of Mike Watt himself, it also reflects a real admiration of Watson and Morales, not to mention the brilliance of Hyphenated-Man and a performance that will no doubt live long in the memory.
Brian Coney
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