Black Lips

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I saw the 'Black Lips' last night in Montreal.

They were amazing... the epitomy of 'cool', awsome songs, presence.

Everything was perfect, except that I could not understand a word of what the band mates were telling the crowd in between songs (really not a problem, and it actually added to the mystery)

I never write reviews on songkick, but this time I felt compelled to do so.

I have often had to endure terrible opening acts in my past 'concert-going career', but this concert really pushed it to new proportions.

I won't mention the names of the bands, I think they know who they are.

Conceivably their music appeals to 'some' audience but I cannot believe for one second that the 'Black Lips' picked them, there is just no way...

After the first act, my friend and I were puzzled but at the very least, we found it bearable (thought completely out of character...) It was like watching a rat on steroids

The second act, my friends... OMG
I never thought I would ever feel this, but here it is (keep in mind that I am a royally peaceful music addict, who listens to pretty much any and every style)

1- for the first time in my life, I hoped that there would be a power failure during the concert

2- for the first time in my life, I felt like grabbing the singer's guitar and shoving it inside his mouth (to everyone' relief)

3- for the first time in my life, I really felt that going to confront the singer/guitarist after the show to give him a peace of my mind, would be a good thing to do for him an mankind

4- for the first time in my life, I felt so pissed at the concert organizers/the Black Lips for giving these guys a platform to their - conceivably, hard-won - fans, I actually thought about leaving the venue before the main act

There are no way in english to describe how bad these guys were, a terrible death-metal style noname non-stop assault on your ears and mind

My request...

Black Lips... I love you guys, you are amazing... but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pay more attention to who the organizers sign up as your opening acts

[Unnamed Death-metal Act]... please for the love of god, stop what you are doing ASAP and focus on your day job... The World does not need what you have to offer in terms of useless sound wave production (I am sorry I cannot bring myself to call it music)

Thanks

Controversy has often followed Black Lips around during their career, sometimes to the detriment of the band. Yes, I’m sure it’s nice for Cole Alexander and the rest of his Atlanta, Georgia band mates to be in people’s thoughts but worries over on-stage nudity, spitting and what have you can take away from the fact that Black Lips actually do have some great garage rock tunes in their arsenal. When I witnessed the band play, there was a complete lack of controversy, save for some spitting (not in each other’s mouths, thankfully) and some withering put-downs to some clueless hecklers, so that meant a complete focus on the great songs from some of the band’s best records. So "Bad Kids" and "Cold Hands" from 'Good Bad Not Evil' sends the moshpit into meltdown through their glam-punk stylings, with Alexander and Swilley trading vocal duties throughout the evening. Not just content with throwing out a noisy racket to the crowd, Black Lips know how to slow things down occasionally and the Beatles-esque slow number "Dirty Hands" is definitely one for the lovers in the crowd. It’s never too long before things get rowdy again and alongside the "Bad Kids," "Raw Meat" closes out the set with the crowd providing the handclapping rhythm as the band chants out the lyrics. So, worry not about controversies; Black Lips has decided to put most of that stuff behind them and concentrate on the tunes – and that’s why going to see this bunch live is always worth doing.

Black Lips are an Atlantan garage rock band known for having some pretty wild stage antics. These include vomiting (apparently a medical condition of guitarist/singer Cole Alexander), nudity, “penile guitar playing”, spitting, tongue-kissing each other, and stage invasions. They’ve been banned from a long list of venues, and narrowly escaped being arrested in India after some lewd onstage behaviour. Tonight we seem to be getting a slightly toned-down version, although there’s still plenty of beer flying around, toilet-roll projectiles, a near constant moshpit, and crowd-surfing. Guitarist Ian St. Pé swats cans of lager back at the audience using his guitar, nobody seems to mind. Cole Alexander takes a swig from his can and sprays the people nearest the front, who remain unfazed, enjoying every moment. And yet, a lot of their music, often overshadowed by their notorious stage antics, draws more on catchy, repetitive choruses, and 60s era Stones-like rock ’n’ roll. They are intermittently aggressive, but on the whole they seem to have somewhat mellowed out recently. Their most recent album was produced by Mark Ronson, and possibly signals a shift towards, well, trying to make a hit. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.Write your review of Black Lips here...

Commerciality has unfortunately escaped garage rockers the Black Lips however since their debut in 2003, they have gained a cult-like status globally. This is not wholly due to the strength of their music but also the controversy of their live show. Nude performance, exchanging of spit, crowd diving and coarse language have seen the band narrowly avoid arrest numerous times as well as being barred from a large amount of venues.

This negative press has seemed to spur fans on to see the rambunctious rockers perform. Their recent date at Scala in London was not filled with crude display possibly due to the reputation of the place. Therefore the garage rock stylings of 'Modern Art' and 'Sea of Blasphemy' took centre stage and the crowd cheered them on intently. There is of course still a lot of choice language between tracks by Cole Alexander and the occasional spit to the side of stage but aside from that it is all about the music.

It was a great example of how the band has amassed a cult following in a short time due to the strength of their sound. By the final sneering guitar riffs of 'Bow Down and Die' the only clothes to have been blown off are the audience's collective socks.

If you've heard the Black Lips' brand of psych - rock/punk, you already know they have one of the more original sounds in contemporary music.

Their live show doesn't quite live up to their rowdy musical endeavors, but if you enjoy listening to their albums the live show will give you a glance into the creativity they've harvested into their albums.

I saw them once before and the concert only made me want more! I became a bigger fan after that first live show. The only negative thing to say would be about the venue. The Exit/In provides a deep, musically influenced atmosphere, but when the band was having audio problems, not much was done to correct it. I was forced to watch the show barely being able to hear the lead singer. I was disappointed they didn't do more to resolve the sound issues.

Amateur sound men aside, this band is definitely worth the ticket price. I would've gladly paid more than $15 to see them. The overall vibe of the audience and the consistent positive mood their music exudes will leave you satisfied and yet, wanting more...

You ever see see a 20 year old band a hootin and-a hollerin like it’s their maiden tour? You ever see dozens of crowd surfing 40 something hipster chicks? You ever see a fist fight during a quiet encore serenade? You ever seen a mustache mullet look cool? You ever seen your mind suckcum to a sexy succulent succubus, her leather clad long legs lure you, swirling hips hypnotize your head while having your heart hopping through hoops & holding at heel on demand? No??? Well that’s because you missed the Black Lips last Friday at the chapel in San Francystco Fooooo.

The Black lips Rocked!! Great character venue at the Rickshaw. .. but sadly the show IMHO was short, they were sandwiched between Hinds (all girl band from Madrid, which were 1st on stage), and Ariel Pink. Don't know if that was why the B-Lips were shortened up, didn't even come out for one encore. Missed most of the songs from Arabia Mountain.. which was bummer. Need to see them when/if they come back and headline solo (they co-headline with Ariel Pink on this tour)

Hinds were pretty good, poppy garage sound.

LOVED IT!! I saw them here 10 months ago, and I have to say that this show was even better!! The band is energetic, creative, and unpredictable, but loads of fun!!! The crowds both times were crazy though, so be careful not to stand in the front/middle. The opening bands, especially Warish, were great!! The Black Lips are super approachable too, and I met them both times after the show. I got setlists from both shows too. Looking forward to the next show!!

Missed timmys organism sadly, like their work tho, really loved black lips. Great energetic performance if a tad short. They have toned down their stage antics seemingly; unless they were just in a subdued mood, but there was no "venue trashing" or penis guitar playing. Still great

The show was INSANE!! A lot of fun and quite energetic!!! I met Oakley before the show; got the setlist and also met Jared after the show! The guys were really nice and I had a great time! Perfect outlet for finishing my degree this spring!!