Morningwood opened for Gang of Four at the
Avalon on Thursday night. They delivered a rocking set as usual, complete with frontwoman Chantal Clarets crazy stage antics, which include taunting and yelling at the audience and undressing a guy on stage. Morningwood played for about 45 minutes to a crowd that seemed to be largely unfamiliar with their music, but nonetheless receptive. This was the largest venue that I have seen them in (last time was at Spaceland) and considering the size of the Avalon, I think that they commanded an audience, which could be difficult considering the devoted Gang of Four fans there. Their regular guitarist seemed to be missing and Chantal did not have quite the same camaraderie with the replacement guitarist, as she does with their regular guitarist (lets hope that this isnt a permanent change). She made up for it with the camaraderie she has with the bassist instead by her interactions with him. Morningwood performed material off their debut album which sounds promising. My favorite songs include NY Girls, Take of Your Clothes (a guy did strip down to his skivvies for this one and had to cover something up when he walked off stage) and the cover of Adam Ants Why do Girls Love Horses? (I know I love horses!). Great show!
Gang of Four took the stage just after 11 pm. I must remember that the Avalon has a horrible habit of not allowing the headliners to take the stage before 11. It kills me because then you end up getting out of the place at 12:30, which is tough on a work night (sorry for this review, its partially due to lack of sleep). Chantal, of Morningwood, said a couple of times during their own set that Gang of Four is the best band ever! and judging by the zealous crowd there to see Gang of Four, she had about 1200 other people in agreement with her. I felt young in this crowd of devotees that had obviously worshipped Gang of Four since their inception. Gang of Four proved on stage with their music and performance why they have influenced so many up-and-coming bands of today like the Kaiser Chiefs, Futureheads, and Franz Ferdinand. They were the true originators of this sound. Im happy that, although late on the train to catch them, I did.
