The Residents – at The El Rey Theatre – Los Angeles, CA

The El Rey Theatre turned into a playhouse for the strange when it hosted The Residents on their Wonder of Weird 40th Anniversary Tour. The Residents for the un-initiated are pioneers of electronic music. They have been experimenting with all types of media since the late 1960’s. Their artistic output has broken down conventional pop music but they have also created intricate conceptual theme pieces.

The Residents live can be described as witnessing an over the top spectacle that while being very funny is also an intense bombardment of sound.

The show at The El Rey began with the song “Loser=Weed” from the band’s 1976 single, which was a good indicator that The Residents were going to treat us to a wide range of their discography.

The band played songs like “Give It To Someone Else” from their 1980 Commercial album, “Hanging By His Hair” and “Bathesheba Bathes” from 1998’s Wormwood album, “Constantinople” from the 1978 Duckstab album, “March To The Sea”, “Would We Be Alive” and “Shorty’s Lament” from Mark Of The Mole 1981, “The Black Behind” from Ozark 2011 and even went back to 1972 when they played “Santa Dog”.

The stripped down power trio with singer Randy, keyboardist Chuck and guitarist Bob played for almost 2 hours much to the capacity crowds delight. Randy was hilarious telling us about his sexual prowess, penchant for groupies on the tour bus, and his disdain for the music business. The evening did take a somber note when Randy talked about the band’s longtime friend and collaborator Snakefinger who died in 1987. The band played two Snakefinger songs “Picnic in the Jungle” and “The Man in the Dark Sedan”.

The Residents have been de-constructing and then recreating their own brand of music for over 40 years. Seeing them doing it live at The El Rey was such a treat, kind of like Halloween and Christmas in a freakshow funhouse. I can only hope they keep it for a while longer.

            More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Eric Lara-
OG Big Wheel Music Scene Reporter

 

 

 

 

 

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