Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: 113/114 - 2001

113
2011/11/09, Button factory, Dublin
Discretion grove
The hook
Planetary motion
Us
Love is like oxygen

It almost seems like every concert of the fall 2011 tour was recorded/videotaped/YouTube'd, such is the overload of material. In the abundance of recordings, the Dublin Button Factory isn't the most striking night, setlist or performance.

'Planetary motion' doesn't alter much from night to night. 'Love is like oxygen' isn't as catchy and precise anymore as the first time it appeared (all the way back at Webster Hall, note 97). But keep practicing for my wedding, Stephen!

The most surprising performance is a deconstructed, elongated take on 'Us'. The arrangement tests every possible way to pull the carpet out from under the song. It's curious, but I'm not convinced it's for the best. Still, these kinds of re-arrangements, I'm all for more of them. Sometimes they hit, in this case not quite (yet).

114
2011/11/14, Koko, London, UK
J Smoov
Wild Thing

There are a lot of fragments from this night up on YouTube (London, right? Everyone's connected to the net.), but I picked up on the two songs that interest me the most.

'J Smoov' is a great performance – check out the solo's especially. Stephen knows this is one song you shouldn't fuck up with some carefree tomfoolery. Unfortunately the sound of the clip is problematic – starts off nice but drifts off in crackles and muffled sound. I keep it, because I can hear how good it must've sounded right there.

And 'Wild thing' – another song for that '60s covers EP. This one's all crunch and abandonment. Sensory overload. Do they even remember half the song? Impossible to tell. They rip it up and let it hang in the wind.

Damn, they really should record that EP.