The Weekend in Concert: Gomez

Where do I begin?

The concert venue had a capacity of 650—I believe the appropriate industry term is “intimate.” From the looks of it, Mr. Small’s Theatre had been a church in its previous life, thus giving solid stained glass and altar imagery reinforcement to the sense that the crowd considered themselves worshippers of great music.

We showed up about halfway into the opening band's set. We were running late, having been detained at Ikea--but that's another blog. I liked Slow Runner a lot; in listening to their CD since the show, I'm liking them even more.

I also think their sound (strong lead vocals, featured keyboard, songs that alternate between rocking hard and whispered vocals in one tune) meshed well with the schizophrenia that is Gomez live.

After Slow Runner finished, there came the interminable wait as the opening band themselves ferried equipment offstage and Gomez's roadies quickly refilled the empty space with pedal boards, guitars, clean fluffy towels and fresh, cold Beck's for all 5 band members.

When we were running late from Ikea, we were worried that we wouldn't be right by the stage. In our Gomez concert experiences (this being our 3rd show), we'd been spoiled by never being further away than the 3rd row. Unlike with Pearl Jam, I felt entitled to see expectorating and perspiring, et cetera, with a close, unobstructed view.

Turns out we needn't have worried. During the stage rearranging, we sidled forward a bit, moving into the 2nd row on the lefthand side of the stage. Being on this side suited us just fine, because it meant being directly in front of the lead guitarist, Ian.

Gomez is an interesting live band. The story goes that they started playing shows before they'd named the band. For an early show, they put up a sign for their friend—something to the effect "Gomez in here."

Being a fan of their albums long before seeing them in concert, I was surprised to learn that they are mostly known for their energetic live performances, rather than their recorded albums. ANd yet, singer/guitarist Ian has said they were initially more comfortable with the recording studio, and it took them a long time to find their feet as live performers.

But you wouldn't know it to look at them. They finally stride onto stage, give a few waves to the crowd, and jump into "Bring It On" from their 2nd album Liquid Skin.

Two of the 3 times we've seen them, Gomez have been supporting a new album. This time it's How We Operate, the title song of which had been featured on the season finale of Grey's Anatomy, provoking great fear and concern on my part that they would finally get the recognition in America that they deserve, and Keith and I would never again watch from the 2nd row as Ben's Adam's apple bobbed when taking a swig of beer.

Instead of screaming TRL-ers, however, it was the usual, laidback Gomez crowd. To my mind, Gomez fans are extremely loyal to their earlier work, possibly to the detriment of their newer material. For this concert, they were regularly alternating between the new album and the old favorites, but not spending much time in-between. They only played one song off their 2004 album Split the Difference. 2002's In Our Gun fared a little better (can't remember offhand how many IOG songs were played), but not much.

I understand where this mentality is coming from. The Bring It On album was strangely intriguing. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before. I wasn't even sure if I'd consider all of the tracks to be "songs"—some just seemed like rambling instrumental experiments with a few phrases thrown in.

Although it was odd, it kept sucking me back in, and the album grew on me. ("Like a fungus!" as my sister Erin would say.) Liquid Skin felt similar to me, and then In Our Gun confirmed me as a lifelong Gomez fan. It was still the distinct Gomez sound—lead vocals alternating between 3 unique voices, lots of guitar effects and keyboard riffs and pounding drums. But it was also a cohesive album with actual songs. Really, really good songs. I think I listened to it for several months straight and fell in love with it more every time.

Their two albums since have not disappointed, either. Even though I have favorites, I can't think of any Gomez song that I actually dislike. I love and worship Gomez.

So yes, I can understand the dedication to their fabulous back catalog. But being too loyal to their early songs seems somewhat stagnant to me. Next tour, how many songs will we hear off How We Operate? If the fleeting appearance of Split the Difference at this past concert is any indication, there'll be fewer off HWO than from their 1st album and I think that's a shame.

... to be continued ...