Guided by Voices Cap Reunion Tour With Cigarettes and Alcohol in New York

Posted on Nov 8th 2010 10:00AM by Kenneth Partridge
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Chris McKay, WireImage

Robert Pollard couldn't have picked a better place to end this fall's Guided by Voices reunion tour. Calling New York City's Terminal 5 his "new favorite rock 'n' roll club in America," the silver-haired singer spent Sunday night "drinking, smoking and rocking," as he put it, simultaneously leading his band's "classic" mid-'90s lineup through three dozen of its best-loved tunes.

One of the more cryptic songwriters in indie-rock history, Pollard spoke plainly at the top of the set about how glad he was to be in New York City, where, in 1993, GBV played its first show outside of Dayton, Ohio. Later in the night, after he'd been through countless beers and a bottle of Jose Cuervo, he opened up more about the group's early days.

"It was my greatest fear to play in New York City," he said. "If they thought we sucked in Dayton, what were they going to think in New York City?"

Despite those worries, NYC loved GBV, and as Sunday's show proved, it still does. From the one-two combo of openers 'Tractor Rape Chain' and 'Game of Pricks' to the pogo-provoking bubblegum of 'Echos Myron,' the band presided over a sweaty '90s love-in rivaled only by this summer's Pavement gigs. Fans seemed to be having as much fun as the band, which was remarkable, since unlike Pollard and company, they didn't have access to a giant metal tub filled with complimentary ice-cold beer.

Watch Guided by Voices Perform 'Game of Pricks' in NYC

"We have a hard-ass persona," Pollard said at one point, referring to GBV's reputation for drunken performances. "But we're basically p-----s. We smoke Camel Lights. We drink Miller Light. The thing is, we do it all day long."

In addition to those vices, which they indulged in throughout the show, the five musicians found unique ways to keep themselves amused. Pollard did high kicks and made ill-timed punk jumps, landing not on cymbal splashes or closing chords, but random places in the songs. Tattooed guitarist Mitch Mitchell -- a guy who looks way too tough to play in a band fronted by a former schoolteacher -- slouched into a bent-knee Johnny Ramone stance and mimicked Pete Townshend's windmill strums. He also sang a couple of tunes without having to extinguish his cigarette.

Bassist Greg Demos practiced '70s rock-star moves, such as holding his instrument away from his body, like an offering to the audience, and pointing the neck straight in the air. Within the first half-hour, he sweated through his white shirt and vest, both of which would have come in handy on Halloween, had he gone as a member of the Partridge Family. Guitarist Tobin Sprout, meanwhile, bided his time until those moments he was able to steal the spotlight from Pollard and sing one of his own songs.

Sprout's '14 Cheerleader Coldfront' and 'A Good Flying Bird' shared the raggedly tuneful psychedelic pop-punk sound of Pollard's songs, and the latter's refrain, "We were not the worst we've ever been/Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" told the story of the night, if not the band itself, as well as anyone might have.