Guided By Voices has reached an enviable point in their career arc: the point of nothing more to prove. The reunion tour in 2010 was overwhelmed with expectations from those fondly remembered their final 2004 show, those who actually remembered the original days of the classic lineup. and everyone in between for whom “Echos Myron” had exceeded 1,000 plays on iTunes. Inevitably, that show fell short of those lofty expectations as the band was still re-learning how to play with each other after 14 years apart, although the audience memory of the night was certainly somewhat softened by insane amounts of liquor.
In the four intervening years, Guided by Voices has released six new albums of varying quality (the best of the bunch probably being 2013’s English Little League) on their own imprint and have continued touring intermittently. As such, the quintet had noticeably shaken off any rust and the audience responded accordingly to what was clearly a tighter and more energetic set.
Even if the band had not been introduced by their most famous fan, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the audience was ready to go as energetic chants of “GBV! GBV!” had begun ten minutes before they were even scheduled to take the stage. Within two songs, Pollard had already shaken hands with the bouncy group in the front (which only grew as the night progressed) and bassist Greg Demos had lunged toward the crowd, allowing one audience member to drunkenly caress his face.
A significant chunk of the set was comprised of their most recent release, Cool Planet, and Pollard delighted in pointing out that they were now touring off three albums: Cool Planet, Motivational Jumpsuit and classic album Bee Thousand which turns twenty this year.
“We’re not like the Rolling Stones,” said Pollard. “We don’t release one song every 15 years.”
Mick & Keith weren’t the only target of Pollard’s slurring vitriol and he also took stabs at Bruce Springsteen, (“If he’s the Boss, I quit”), the record industry in general (“I don’t want to make 6 percent!”) and Radiohead. Also, unlike the stint in 2010, he let the audience finish off his handle of tequila, so his barbs were more discernible.
Although the first hour of their set showed more audience enthusiasm during the Bee Thousand tracks—”Gold Star For Robot Boy” was an early spark plug—the show really took a turn when opening act and latter-era GBV guitarist Doug Gillard joined the band for “Teenage FBI.” Even the rest of the band seemed to enjoy Gillard’s presence onstage—guitarists Mitch Mitchell and Tobin Sprout played the song within two feet of each other and Mitchell gleefully mouthed along with the words despite the cigarette that did not leave his mouth.
Although Pollard stated that their show would last for two and a half hours, indeed the show capped out at just over two hours, which was still a 43 song set. They back-loaded the triple encore with several tracks from Propeller and Alien Lanes, daring the crowd to keep up with their endurance. They ultimately closed the night with the double shot of “A Salty Salute” and “Motor Away,” but even though the assertion that “The club is open,” was clearly the signal that the band was done, easily 80 percent of the attentive, sold out and inebriated crowd could have kept going. It finally feels like Guided By Voices is back.
