Mindless Self Indulgence with Chantal Claret – at Club Nokia – Los Angeles, CA

The tone of Mindless Self Indulgence’s one night residency at Club Nokia, Los Angeles can be described by Jimmy Urine’s declaration about defying authority “You got to do it when you're young. I mean hell, your mom did...
Back in 94’ that bitch was here fucking to sound garden." However, for those who were not lucky enough to be in attendance of the event here’s a breakdown of the night. 

Nothing is typical or predictable about a Mindless Self Indulgence (MSI for short) concert; from the eclectic audience to the bands they tour with every Mindless Self Indulgence concert is an interesting and novel experience. Chantal Claret is a shining example of that same attention-grabbing trend.

Chantal took the stage to the cheers of the audience as she was introduced by her husband Jimmy Urine (lead vocalist of Mindless Self Indulgence). She was backed by some amazing vocalist and a band that played with notable energy. Chantal Claret immediately sang her heart out to the funky, jazzed infused sound of her band; the audience reciprocated her band’s energy and got into the music.

Midway through her musical set Chantal stepped off the stage into the audience and instructed them to all sit down as she told a tale for what she deemed the “Story-Time” portion of the evening. She then strolled into the center of the seated crowd and told a story about her dad in the form of the song "Pleasure Seeker." The rest of Chantal Claret’s set was a high impact musical tour de force consisting of songs like “Pop Pop Bang Bang,” and “Black Widow.”

Though the audience was ripe with anticipation for MSI to take the stage once Chantal Claret finished performing; the ambience in the air after her set left the audience talking about her in a positive light.

Fans of both Chantal and MSI: Jessie, Becca, and Megan said “We loved the show, especially the story time portion. There was so much energy in the building that you could practically taste it. Or maybe that taste was the beer someone spilled on us during ‘Black Widow.’ Either way we’re having a great time or we can’t wait for MSI.”

The venue went dark and the religious hymn “Hallelujah” was played as entrance music to Mindless Self Indulgence taking the stage. Jimmy Urine, wearing a white suit, wasted no time with introductions as the band began with a high energy performance of “Shut Me Up.” The set to follow came to the audience in the abrasively offensive yet contradicting affectionate manner that MSI is famous for.

After opening tracks like “Straight to Video,” and “Never wanted to Dance” the audience was definitely not left wanting. Jimmy paused and exclaimed to the audience "When you get home and you're drunk, lost your car keys, pregnant, and addicted to drugs. Remember that this show never happened. When you tell your friends where you were on Saturday night you say ‘a Taylor Swift concert"

At one point in the show Jimmy took a phone call from “God” telling the audience to “Shut the fuck up. This call is very important to me and I don’t want you guys fucking this up for me,” as he had a discussion with the faux deity.

In the sketched conversation Jimmy talked about how “God” will destroy Los Angeles in 3 days. The discussion ended with Jimmy stating “I don’t know what’s more fucked up. Me having a fake conversation with ‘God’ or you asshole’s actually playing along with this conversation.”

Once the conversation with “God” ended MSI transitioned to playing their cover of Wu Tang Clan & Method’s “Bring the Pain.”

The last moment of note, for a night that could only be described as insane, happened towards the end of Mindless Self Indulgence’s set. The band took leave of the stage and the audience was calling for the band to return for an encore. When in typical Jimmy Urine fashion he instructed the audience to chant “One Mother Fucker,” “Two Mother Fucker,” and “Three Mother Fucker” in order to bring the band back on stage. Jimmy returned last wearing a mask that resembled the “Mine-craft” video game characters.

The night ended as Jimmy lip synced to “We’ll Meet Again,” by Vera Lynn, and the majority of the audience exited the venue. While a few stayed as Jimmy signed autographs as took pictures with his fans. A true gentlemen and caring of his fans, it is no wonder why MSI has remained a multi-generation band since 1997.

            More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Ryan R.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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