Soul Asylum
Tramps, New York, May 15, 1998


Just when it becomes trendy to write them off, Soul Asylum deliver a nationwide slap in the face in the form of live radio. Friday's show at Tramps was broadcast live throughout the U.S. and Canada and served as a reminder that the Soul Asylum live experience is still one of the best out there.

The set appropriately kicked off with "I Will Still Be Laughing," the first single off their latest effort, Candy From a Stranger. Eager to get the show off on the right foot, Dave Pirner suddenly lost his balance and tumbled over mid-song. After fumbling for his guitar, getting to his feet and finishing the song he murmured, "So far, so good."

The set was heavy on songs from the new album and featured only three from their critically acclaimed double-platinum album Grave Dancer's Union (luckily, "Runaway Train" was not one of them). With his tangled mess of hair and collapsible spine, Pirner evoked a hip-swinging ragdoll Elvis. Soul Asylum, with their punk ethos somehow intact despite bona fide mainstream success, are a pure American pop-rock package that Minneapolis natives Paul Westerberg and Bob Mould can be proud of.

With "Close," the emotional theme of the new album became evident. Placing his hand on his heart, Pirner sang: "I've known you forever/We complete each other's thoughts." (No word at press time on what Matt Damon thinks of the new album ...) Quick to shift gears, Pirner showed off his new Spice Girls belt, which was doing a shoddy job of keeping up those famed ratty jeans. "Crazy Spice!," Dan Murphy joked, pointing at Pirner, before exploding into the new "Creatures of Habit" and proving he's still a highly underrated guitarist.

"No Time For Waiting," a standout track on Candy, was performed in their trademark Midwestern rowdy bar band style, but didn't completely overwhelm Pirner's reflective, almost intimate lyrics. This time around, he's not only looking to reinvent his band, but also his own identity, singing "But I know one day you'll see the person I wanted to be."

After "Blood Into Wine," a slow, moving encounter of love lost penned by Murphy, "New York Blackout" energized the crowd, causing waves of cheering -- probably due more to the city reference than the pensive melody. Again, Pirner's lyrics betrayed his search for identity as he sang, "There's still so many things I want to be/Sometimes I just don't even want to sleep." During the radio hit "Misery," Pirner had to stop mid-chorus upon realizing the audience was singing "Frustrated Incorporated ..." in unison. He smiled and let them take over before merging straight into Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs."

The encore, a vamp on Wyclef Jean's "Gone Til November," perfectly meshed Pirner's recent rootsy interests with Murphy's guitar twang. The experimental stroll was inspired, but not really necessary for a band that still rings this true.

LIZA GHORBANI