“Radio Radio” is the named for an Elvis Costello song that is cynical of radio music variety. It is a fitting venue for the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion who sing, “SPIN Magazine wanna tell you what to wear / But I ain’t gettin’ with that / Or MTV / Make up your own minds” in “Talk About the Blues”. Jon Spencer may be what Elvis Presley wished he could be, but anyone who has ever seen a Blues Explosion show knows that Russell Simins is the ‘50s kick with his snare pounding solos, and Judah Bauer is the suave character.
Radio Radio is a small lounge-y venue in Indianapolis with a small stage, but good room, and a nice vibe once everyone filled it. The Blues Explosion is easily the most well known live act from the ‘90s New York rock scene so expectations were high on Monday, April 20th. The set began with “Funeral”, a new song, “Come on’ Fellas’, we got to pay respect!” It was not the most obvious choice, but fitting nonetheless.
The next piece was a mash-up of new songs with old interruptions. First, “Bellevue Baby”, which had the ending from “Bellbottoms”. Then “Down and Out” and “White Jesus” were highlights. Things picked up when Russell Simins led a metal stomp at vocals, and later Judah Bauer led the old fan favorite “Dang” on the harmonica. “The Ballad of Joe Buck”, “Dial Up Doll”, and “Tales of Old New York: The Rock Box”, also made an appearance. They even played their Beastie Boy’s cover, “She’s On It”, and the songs kept coming.
There was good energy, despite some under volume guitar throughout the first half, but it was only when they played V Pro from the album Orange that things hit the noise level people are accustomed to from the band. Following “V Pro” was “Do the Get Down” and “Wax Dummy”, two of the best songs off of the new album, Freedom Tower (QRO review).
Jon Spencer, known for his antics, at one point yelled, “I want everybody to get down right now. I won’t take no for an answer!”, and he shamelessly self promoted a lot of “Freedom Tower!” He also walked off stage and tried to turn off the lights when the soundman did not know how to do it.
The encore was the best part of the show. Spencer did some experimenting with the sound effects and the band played a surreal version of “Heavy” to kick things off, then “2 Kinds of Love”, “High Gear”, the crowd favorite was “Bellbottoms”, and they ended with “Blues X Man”.
This was the twelfth show on the Freedom Tower tour and at a smaller venue, but The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion had a dedicated group of fans show up to Radio Radio and all signs point to Freedom Tower being well received by critics and fans alike. They played almost twenty songs, and all in all their energy just made it a good night for everyone.
