4 February, Cottiers, Glasgow
Eraserhead Xiu Xiu was described as a new a live concert with accompanying film that uses field recordings, concert specific homemade instruments, organ, modular synths, vocals, flashlights, electrical interference and elements of musique concrete to express the bizarre emotionality, conflicted sexuality, relentless darkness and singularly unsettled moonscape of this most incredible of midnight masterpieces.
The original sound design and score by Alan Spelt and Lynch serve as guide wires to Xiu Xiu’s sonic expansion of how they have been affected by them as fans and musicians.
Eraserhead Xiu Xiu is an art installation, an exploded tribute to a cinematic triumph and an epitaph to an idol, as intense, odd and curious as you’d want it to be.
As per the above, it is understandable that to term this as a gig was slightly off the mark. Having seen Xiu Xiu play before, I had hope that there would be time set aside by both Jamie Stewart in and Angela Seo to perform some of their more recent recordings if nothing else.
However, nothing else was in fact the order of the day.
I can only describe the show as being an assault on the senses, both visually and aurally and I can certainly add this to the list of events best described as ‘never having seen or heard anything like it before.’
That’s not necessarily a criticism, as it obviously had artistic merit and it did appear that the audience may have been made up from the various art schools that were within travelling distance of Glasgow.
I hope that the next time I see Xiu Xiu live it may be closer to the concept that I saw them a year or so ago.
