Mindless Self Indulgence alienates a Chicago audience (3/20)
On Friday, March 20th, all the pretty people of Chicago turned out for the Mindless Self Indulgence show at the House of Blues. Sound promising, right? Think again.
The mish-mash of punk, goth, emo, and even a few hipsters melded into one cohesive unit ebbing and flowing with the crunchy guitars and throbbing bass lines that encompassed the venue. The place smelled like a petting zoo according to one fan that I overheard. Throw Jimmy Urine’s extravagant stage antics into the mix and you’re left with a sensational cacophony known as an MSI concert.
For fans dating back to the Tight era, you know the new album, If, delves a bit too far into the mainstream and after watching last night’s performance, I’m going to take the liberty to say that their live show has gone the way of the new album as well. There was no full on nudity, no blood-letting on stage, and Jimmy Urine didn’t even urinate on anyone. But, that’s not to say the show wasn’t entertaining, quite the contrary. Even though the New York outfit played an incredibly short set and Lyn-Z was M.I.A. due to her pregnancy, Friday’s show still kicked the shit out of 95% of the concerts witnessed in Chicago over the last year. I simply envy the days of Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, that’s where most of the crazy MSI concert stories come from. I wish I could travel back to those shows…
But, unless Stephen Hawking discovers a way to time travel, we’re stuck with present day MSI. That said, after Friday, it’s quite apparent how Mindless Self Indulgence built such a devout fan base over the years. For one, Jimmy Urine remains a fantastical entertainer; so good I had to make up a word for it. Even though he talks in between every single song, cutting down on the amount of material actually played, his banter is hilarious and the crowd hangs on his every word while he segues brilliantly into the next song.
To call Jimmy Urine offensive is an understatement, that’s all part of his mystique. To make sure he offended absolutely everyone last night, he even tossed in a Mormon joke while commenting how the crowd was a bunch of vampires, “all you do is kill people and have sex…you must be Mormon!” Later on in the set, he said “Doesn’t it look like the Little Mermaid in here” and started singing, “I wanna see ‘em dancin’; walkin’ around on those (what’d ya call ‘em?)” and when the crowd filled in “feet,” Jimmy countered, “You guys are fucking gay!” I could go on and on about each little quip that he added in between songs but no one would make it through the entire review. So I’ll leave you with the suicide pact he made with the audience, “Let’s make a suicide pact together. But not for any bullshit reasons like ‘nobody likes me,’ let’s do it for the ultimate reason…when the Jonas Brothers break up!”
He even offered a tour of the stage to the first person with $20 and brought one lucky girl on stage for all of about 30 seconds. Afterwards he laughed, “That wasn’t the easiest $20 I’ve ever made, but at least I didn’t have to blow anybody…this time.” Before launching into “Stupid, Sadistic, and Suicidal”, he pointed to the 
mosh pit and said, “that looks fun” then pointing to the stage, “this doesn’t look so fun anymore, that looks fun,” and after repeating a few times, he walked out into the crowd to sing the first verse.
Musically, the standout track of the night was “Tornado” where Urine sang into a shoe that was thrown on stage and improvised a lyric, “this is a shoe, it’s a fucking shoe” before throwing it back into the crowd. Then again, it could have been when he shoved the microphone down his pants and rattled off a drum solo on his crotch. Or, maybe it was “Bitches” where he explained all the reasons why bitches love him: because he can rock, because he can rhyme, and because he’s always on time, now that’s how it should be done!
After Kitty, Jimmy, and unknown bassist walked off stage, Steve, Righ? stuck around to play the hidden track off of Tight. He waited a few minutes after the stage crew started tearing down the set before coming back out and announcing that they’d encore if the crowd could raise $180 before laughing, “I’m just fucking with you, there’s no fucking encore.” Then in a move that would please only the most die-hard fans, he did impromptu acapella versions of the entire Tight album. When he finished, a lot of the crowd had dispersed and several minutes later Jimmy came back out to greet the loyal fans.
If it’s not obvious by now, MSI is all about Jimmy Urine, especially when Lyn-Z isn’t there dancing and contorting her way around the stage. It’s not a bad thing and it’s incredibly entertaining but it does leave the rest of the band feeling kind of drab in comparison.
I could rattle off another 5-10 favorite moments from the show but unless you were there, it would just come off as sick, twisted, and perverted; MSI’s specialty. With only a few songs breaking the three minute mark and Jimmy Urine entertaining the crowd, there was no room for boredom. I don’t know how anyone could’ve walked away from the House of Blues disappointed. I know I found myself frantically searching for other dates close by but unfortunately, all the other shows are either sold out or hundreds of miles away. That’s how a fan should feel after a show (indie rock bands, please take note.) In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a picture of Jimmy’s fine white ass.
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Glad someone caught that. The whole time Jimmy is on stage he tries to alienate the audience and they just eat it up. That’s kind of the point of an MSI show. One fan posted on the message board that they were disappointed they didn’t get pissed on at this show. It’s a complete different mindset for their fans. And while entertaining as hell, I don’t know that I’d call myself a fan which I don’t think qualifies as a fanboy.
MSI has an album titled “Alienating Our Audience” hence the review title…
Hey i think it’s a pretty entertaining read. I don’t really have gripes with the Hot Topic / fanboyness of the review.
That said, did the following confuse any of you? The subject is “MSI Alienates a Chicago Audience”
That sure sounds like a review of a show worse than dull… not a performance other bands should emulate. Change the title to something more appropriate like “MSI Entertains Chicago Die-Hards, Alienates Mormons”
“The internet public is just the same as the typical average, moronic American public, who take one comment and make it into something else entirely (e.g. Obama on Leno last week, for instance). It’s a sad ordeal, but whatever, too much to worry about.”
I don’t think its fair to address a reader of your blog as being part of the “moronic american public”, or very kind really, but sure…why not!
thank you michael everyone is moody as hell around here. no one can make an opinion without being called names. i think you guys do an awesome job even when i don’t agree with you guys but you entertain me with the great job you guys do everyday.
I like how one remark can make the whole review bad.>>
That’s just how it is with every internet comment these days, Andy. The internet public is just the same as the typical average, moronic American public, who take one comment and make it into something else entirely (e.g. Obama on Leno last week, for instance). It’s a sad ordeal, but whatever, too much to worry about.
As for indie bands’ live shows. It’s win or lose; however, most indie bands sound exceptional on record, but come to a live show, it’s downright boring — especially for festivals. Case in point, last year I saw Fleet Foxes at Pitchfork, and although I love the album and listen to it repeatedly, I was bored out of my mind at their live performance. They were tight and fine musically, but it was the setting.
I’d say 65% of the indie acts today are better in seclusive settings (e.g. Fleet Foxes, Death Cab for Cutie, Mates of State), and the rest get by everywhere else (e.g. The Hold Steady has become nearly an arena rock act by now). So, to some nature, I agree with your statements, but it’s all hit or miss, really.
Haha, I like your take. I love indie rock, it’s probably my favorite genre. But, I think they could spice up their live shows a bit, that’s all.
Oh, and do you mean to tell me you wouldn’t go back to see the likes of Jimmy Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, or The Who? I would love to hear what bands you’ve seen in the past few years that smash their set every show or light a guitar on fire and smash it?
This is a fine review. We learn that Andy Keil likes Mindless Self Indulgence, does not like Indie Rock and that if he had a time machine he could go to better shows than he goes to now.
Well lets not got into what Indie has turned into… again, i just dont think your analysis of “indie” rock shows is correct.
are there dull bands? of course, but that goes with every genre.
i’m not knocking you, or your review. I think your review was fine, but i just dont like that you picked a specific genre of show (indie, i guess.), and kind of made a generalization.
Hug it out, boys.
Would it have been better if I singled out just one band and only pissed off fans of a single band versus an ambiguous term that has lost its meaning over the years?
well to a person who might be a fanboy of MSI/a fan of them, then yes this review is probably dead on.
but again, i think dismissing almost all indie acts as being dull is a bit harsh, dont you think? Just because said bands don’t do the same things that Jimmy Urine does (insulting audience, etc), doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting acts or fun to watch.
again, im not saying this is a terrible review, i just disagree with it greatly.
haha. I like how one remark can make the whole review bad. It’s an honest remark, I’ve seen 70+ shows in the past year and while I’ve seen some interesting indie shows, I haven’t seen many “exciting” indie bands. Sorry ladies and gentlemen.
This review reads like the Livejournal of an overexcited MSI fanboy/Hot Topic junky.
Horribly written review for a horrible band.
not a fan of this review, sorry…
“That’s how a fan should feel after a show (indie rock bands, please take note.)”
just pissed me off. you shouldn’t generalize that all indie rock acts are dull, uninteresting live performances. The Decemberists are one of the greatest live acts i’ve seen, and they fall into the ‘indie rock’ category, i suppose.
weak review, really. glad you had fun at the show though, just don’t toss in snide remarks such as that.
I always aim to please!
This is just about the worst review I’ve ever read.
No Lyn-Z to do her Bass Backbend = Fail.