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In with the new

Mission of Burma, Institute of Contemporary Art, September 23, 2007
September 24, 2007 4:39:40 PM
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Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma left the building — the Institute of Contemporary Art — last Sunday without playing the “hits.” No “Academy Fight Song.” No “That’s When I Reach for My Revolver.”

“Sooner or later, you’ve gotta draw back,” said drummer/singer Peter Prescott post-show. “It almost feels awkward to leave ’em out — it’s the Maypole the others swing around. But you have to find reasons to exist; you have to change the fabric, and you change in little increments. I wouldn’t blame anyone for being mildly annoyed.”

So the fans that nearly filled the theater were treated to a 70-minute set that included four new songs — most notably guitarist Roger Miller’s “So Fuck It.” “I often wonder what I’m really worth,” he sang, “but I won’t take shit from you or anyone else/So fuck it.”

The band — Prescott, Miller, bassist Clint Conley, and tape manipulator/sound engineer Bob Weston — worked through more than a dozen angular rockers. The newer material was slightly more conventional than the avant-punk this outfit is known for. But they still fit well among older tunes like “2twice,” “Spider Web,” “Mica,” “Trem Two,” and “This Is Not a Photograph.” There was a sense that Burma have barely harnessed the runaway rock-and-roll train that started chugging more than a quarter-century ago. And it still rattles along the track without a nod toward the “marketplace.” They’re a band who revel in bursts of ferocity and oddball hooks that come in unexpected places. If few of the songs have specific meanings, that’s because they’re designed to build up to a guitar storm, convey agitation, anger, or irony, and then deliver a calming moment before revving back up again.

That was Burma’s MO last Sunday. It’s worked in the past, and it retains the power to stun and excite.

COMMENTS

I really loved the contrast between MoB and opening band Jonathan Kane's February. While Kane's group built towards orchestral catharsis, MoB resisted any such impulse, perversely refusing to get into a groove for any length of time. But it's precisely this fitful agitation that gives their music its power. The best part of the show? All the kids rockin' out in the front row. I WISH I could say my first rock show had been Mission of Burma!

POSTED BY Andrea AT 09/27/07 12:25 PM

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