Live review: Renegades reunite at The Earl
October 17th, 2008 by Chad Radford in Music news
On the evening of Thursday, October 16th, the Black Lips plus Die Slaughterhaus Records owner Mark Nauman took the stage at the Earl to resurrect the now legendary Renegades — the short-lived, pre-Black Lips incarnation … the one that earned them the rowdy reputation that kept them off of most stages in town for a long long while.
The group appeared onstage after sets from opening bands Jack of Hearts, Goodnight Loving and Stolen Minks.
After giving a shout to their original drummer Bradley Harris, who died from an accidental overdose a few years back, Jared announced “the last time I played these songs I could not grow facial hair.”
This was the first time the Renegades’ name had even been uttered in town for nearly a decade.
If not for the one and only sleeveless and posthumous 7-inch the group released via Die Slaughterhaus a few years ago there would be nothing more than rumors and exaggerated memories to prove that the band ever even existed.
At the show Nauman threw handfuls of generic-looking old Renegades cassette tape recordings into the audience, but they were snatched up just as quickly as they flew through the air. A few tapes even clashed against in-coming beer cans and geysers of beer spray erupting from the tumultuous crowd.
This photo looks like a mess and it is. The speckled orbs in the air are actually little droplets of beer that exploded from a can that bounced off of Nauman’s head only seconds before the shutter clicked.
The following two photos feature Cole Alexander and Jared Swilley performing as Renegades. Since their catalogue consists of only one single, the set was short and to the point. But after a five minute break Cole changed costumes and the group returned minus Nauman to play a sneak preview of several songs from the forthcoming Black Lips album due out on Vice Records in February.
Judging by the shotgun performance the Black Lips’ new material promises to be a fiery and concise batch of songs, complete with a savage back and forth of call-and-response shrieks. The new songs they played were short, sharp numbers that tussled between garage rock primitivism and more sophisticated pop structures, which really shine amidst the air of chaos that unfolds at their shows.
(Photos by Chad Radford)
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