luscious jackson/bis
april 11, 1997 • luxor, cologne, germany


review: My friend, Bend, drives us up from Frankfurt, bless him. He wants to see Luscious Jackson, whereas I want to see one of my favorite bands of 1996, Bis. It's worth the trip just to meet Manda and John and Stuart (manager, roadie and ex-indiepop list regular) again. And to alloy my fears that the songs on the album might not be as sparkling and special as those on the singles. It's a performance bursting with energy and confidence, John Disco in particular giving it some welly (as we say in Yorkshire). They're every bit as immediate as they ever were and world domination (Japan is already theirs) can't be far off. The three Luscious Jackson songs I know ("City Song," "Deep Shag" and, inevitably, "Naked Eye") all sound just as good live, but the rest, though admittedly funky as anything, is sometimes so laid back it entirely forgets the necessity of a melody. Bend loves them though, so we both go home happy. (andrew.1997)