Article

The Ticket

30 Mar 2003

What's the Alternative

Sick of taking the easy-listening option? Prepare to be challenged by The Things You're Missing Tour, writes Kevin Courtney

Are you missing something in your rock'n'roll life? Is there a glaring gap in your record collection, somewhere between The Sterophonics and Travis? Kid A not doing it for you anymore? Fear not, becasue the Things You're Missing tour is coming to replace your faith in rock's ability to totally freak you out. Things You're Missing is a collective of independent bands who share an offbeat attitude to making music and have decided to pool their rather meagre resources to put together a nationwide tour and bring some quirkiness, strangeness and charm to a town near you.

"There are around 30 of us, and we're all in various bands on the underground scene", explains Kieran McGuinness, one of the organisers of this inaugural 'weirdo-coaster' tour. "Most of these bands record their own stuff and put it out on various independent labels - it's amazing when you look in record shops like Tower and Road just how many Irish bands are putting out their own material."

A whole bunch of them are banding together to go on a tour around Ireland, but if your idea of a radical night out is seeing Picturehouse at the local Palais, then you probably won't recognise any of the names on the bill - and you definitely won't like what you hear. Neosupervital, Estel, Large Mound, Detputy Fuzz, Stoat, Omelette, Playground Psychotic and The Coldspoon Conspiracy are just some of the groups who will be packing up their unusual sonic luggage and taking it to venues around the country. The tour kicks off in Letterkenny, and ends in Dublin's new Village venue on April 17th.

The music on offer spans a wide range of idiomatic Irish rock, from electropop to metallic punk to avant-country-Americana, with lashing of improvisation, experimentation and downright bleedin' messing in between. Estel mix punk and Krautrock to bemusing effect, while Rollers/Sparkers specialise in "music for the whole family - ar at least the black sheep". Stoat blend nursery rhymes with Russian folk to create something that sounds like the cast of The Lion King on acid. McGuinness himself is a member of The Holy Ghost Fathers, who specialise in "banjo, theremin and sleaze". One band, The Dudley Corporation, has even gone so far as to trademark its own genre, MamrockTM. Copy it at your peril.

It's not all goatee-stroking weirdcore however, assures McGuinness. Most of the acts have a sharply-honed pop sensibility, and they're apt to toss a few catchy riffs and infectious melodies into the avant-garage brew. Settler are Americana in the tradition of Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons, while Neosupervital are Kraftwerk using their synths as surfboards. Deputy Fuzz are "odd but good. Every single gig has at least one rock band," says McGuinness. "We want to give people a chance to see these bands and make their own minds up."

Things You're Missing is not a record label, although the bands can sell their wares on the website at www.thingsyouremissing.com.It's more like a resource centre, a group of disparate but likeminded acts who are smart enough to realise that they can get more done by working together.

"Most of the bands on the tour are self-financing," says McGuinness. "We're doing this tour on a completely non-profit basis, and we're setting up a stall at each venue so the bands can sell their CDs. We're also trying to keep admission prices down."

Each venue will feature just three acts, so the punters' heads won't get too weirded out. But what if the locals don't like it, and call out for something they know?

"We always bring out Lenny Kravitz's Are you gonna go my way in an emergency," laughs McGuinness. "Some of the bands will do a Britney Spears song or a Destiny's Child, but they'll do it their own way, so you'll hardly recognise it."

So, are you gonna go their way and find out what your missing? Or are you just going to schlep along with the other sheep to another predictable Picturehouse gig? It's your life.