Wake Up Winnipeg Review - The Residents at The WECC

Review - THE RESIDENTS - THE WECC - Winnipeg MB. Canada - 3/24/2011

By Andru Valpy - CJUM 101.5 FM

Experimental. Weird. Highly entertaining.

These were the words that came to my mind while watching The Residents play their first show in Winnipeg at The West End Cultural Centre on March 24th. Known for their role in the avant-garde music scene, The Residents are very creative and visually appealing with what they bring to the stage.

In my years of concert going and reviewing I have not yet seen a band as "out there" as the residents.

Flashback to 1966 when experimental rock and roll was all of the rage.

Heavily influenced by a evolving underground culture, bands like The Doors and Pink Floyd were creating sounds and songs that had fans gazing blankly trying to figure out exactly what it was they were hearing.

Meet The Residents.

Formed under a mask of animosity, the foursome seemed to lurk out of the swamp lands in Shreveport Louisiana. After a brief hiatus, the band formed once again in 1969 and have been creating art continuously since then.

To this day, the shield of mystery seems to remain present with very little information actually known about who the band is composed of. Some have speculated the members of The Residents are actually those of their management team known as "The Cryptic Corporation" which was founded shortly after the band was formed.

But denials and dead end answers are all anyone have ever seemed to get (unless of course "you're in the know" as they say...)

Fast toward to 2011.... insert a man wearing a over-sized black and white housecoat.

He stares at the crowd with a thin-looking latex face mask, balding curly grey hair and black clown-shoes that would make Bozo (The Clown) jealous.

 With that picture painted in your head you have The Residents performing at The West End.

In a dark two hour performance The Residents took fans into a world reminiscent of the early seventies.  If you thought you were hallucinating, think again. . .

Thanks to a brilliant multimedia presentation, a staticy television set and mysterious melodies stemming from the stage, The Residents created an atmosphere that had fans staring in awe as to what they were witnessing.


And who don't forget the "Mirror People"?

 . . . "I'll tell you about that later".

With bizarre hand gestures, grody dance moves and rayless voice-disguisers the lead singer took listeners to a completely different planet. It reminded me of something Tim Burton may have once created.

At times, some of the lyrics didn't even really seem to be clear.  It was as if grandpa had a few too many drinks and got up for karaoke and was making up the words as he was going along.

Quite amusing.

Another eerie moment was when the video projectors introduced us to a man who appeared to have been filmed with a fish eye effect, smoking some form of substance (be it tobacco or otherwise...) who was flashing back through random mémoire's of his life. At one point, the story teller educated us on death and his experiences on the subject. I believe the story teller even mentioned his pet gold fish who ultimately faced a horrible end.

But perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the night was when we were finally told what the mirror people really were.

(...Insert mandatory spoiler alert here...)

With the audience sitting at the edge of their seat, practically begging for an explanation, the lead singer produced a hand held mirror and warned the front row that they could possibly be in danger.

He demonstrated how the mirror worked, and educated that it had two sides to it as if to say "nothing up my sleeve".

Then. . . it happened.

The house went black and there shining from the mirror was a circle of light illuminating the mirror and our dear entertainer appeared to be resisting whatever it was he was seeing in the reflection. One could swear he actually thought he was being sucked in by this mirror. Thankfully (for Grandpas sake) the lights came back quickly and our host didn't seem too phased. A short lived trip.

The two hour show was worth every penny of the ticket price. In fact, I was offered more than face value to let someone into the show but kindly rejected because I knew this sold out show could just very well be a once in a lifetime experience.

Worth noting is that most of the props that were used in this performance were lent to the band for their Winnipeg show which gave the stage a true home-like appearance.

If you are curious to discover more about The Residents I encourage you to review any of their experimental DVD projects or CD's but suggest doing so in the comfort of our own home.

I promise that once you explore The Residents you will know exactly what it is about the band that I am talking about, and just like tonight's retailing of the mirror people, it will all make sense. . .

-Av