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2005/01/21
bang the drum
Last night we went to see The Jimmy Chamberlin Complex rock some socks off at Mercury Lounge. We were hungover and very tired, so take that into consideration when reading this. Basically the only reason we went to this show was out of curiousity and love for all things Smashing Pumpkins related (except for D'arcy's awful plastic surgery but that's a whole different  matter). We hadn't heard any of this band's music, but who cares because Jimmy Chamberlin is fucking awesome.
And as we confirmed again last night, YES HE IS. But what we also discovered is that an awesome drummer from one of the most awesomely awesome bands ever does not necessarily gurantee anything at all. Not to say that the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex was bad or anything, they were just kind of all over the damn place. After the show we talked to multi-instrumentalist Billy Mohler (who came up and asked if we had driven in from Oklahoma... randomly), and he confessed that they had only really played 4-5 shows as a complete band. Maybe that explains the weird mix of jazz, funk, rock, and occasionally what I can only describe as weird elevator music that the ensemble produced in their 45 minute set. A good amount of their music resembles Pumpkins Melon Collie-era, and while I'm not very into instrumental stuff, I enjoyed the songs with no vocals... because those vocals really need some serious work. Obviously most of the song arrangement put the focus on the rhythem sections, which were great obviously, but the rest seemed lacking somehow.
That said, I think this band could be great but I think they need a lot more work as a group... so it's a little alarming that their album Life Begins Again is already slated to come out on the 25th of January. Apparently the album features additional guest vocals from Billy Corgan and Rob Dickingson of the Catherine Wheel... so I guess honestly the verdict is still up in the air. I'm glad Jimmy is venturing out with a project of his own, and I think after some more time together they will be much more solid. It's an interesting experiment at least. Seeing Jimmy Chamberlin behind the skins just made me feel like I was 16 again, and that was pretty nostalgic and sweet.
posted by n. @ 1/21/2005
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