Live And In The Flesh
Mindless Self Indulgence - December 9, 2003
2003 turned out to be a big year for Mindless Self Indulgence. The New York City-based band just released their first live album late 2002 and were pretty heavy into touring. We had actually caught them back in February that same year at Babylon in Ottawa for their Alienating Our Audience Tour. Needless to say we were blown away with their first performance; so much that we couldn’t miss their second run through the very same venue that winter. Despierta Los Niños, the first six-song EP from the group, dropped on Halloween of 2003 as well. The band was tuned up and running on all cylinders by this point in their career and they weren’t to be missed! With two more full length albums of material to choose from, there were plenty of songs for the band to play while out on the road. Their latest full length from 2000, Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, was getting some pretty steady airtime in the car. MSI were simply in a league of their own with their sound and style. We were all pretty familiar with their tunes by now and couldn’t wait to catch them live out on the road again!
December 9th finally came and we made our way to the city of Ottawa for the show. I had only been to Babylon for one other show previous to this one, and it was the MSI show back in February. It seemed like a pretty solid venue the first time through, and we were pumped to hear that they were making their way back. A few of us met up with a couple more familiar faces down at the venue for some pre-drinks before the show began. It was nice having the booth to be able to sit back, relax and do some catching up before the show started. MSI brought along Tub Ring, a Chicago-based rock band who the band had been touring pretty heavily with recently. They actually opened for them the first time we caught Mindless Self Indulgence, so it was a nice surprise to catch them again. They were actually pretty good, and had us warmed up for the headliner in no time.
It wasn’t long before the band came out in a fury and stormed the stage. Right out of the gates they busted out a few of their classics from Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy with Bitches, Clarissa and Backmask firing everyone up! The energy that this band brings to the stage is unbelievable, and Jimmy Urine is certainly a frontman with a force to be reckoned with. I don’t know how he was able to keep it up throughout the entire evening, but he never stopped bouncing off of the walls throughout their whole performance. The band seemed to be loving every minute up on stage. Their energy fed right into the crowd, which in turn was fed right back into them through the relentless screams and cheers from the fans.
Mindless Self Indulgence threw in a couple of their latest tracks off of their Despierta Los Niños EP and Alienating Our Audience album; Brooklyn Hype and Revenge, before taking us back to Frankenstein for a few more classics. I was pleasantly surprised to hear so many tracks off of their debut 1999 album, Tight throughout their set as well. They played just about half the tracks off that album by the time the night was over, tossing in Diabolical, Molly, and Grab the Mic to name a few.
It was one energy-filled track followed by the next down at Babylon. With a capacity of about 450, there didn’t seem to be an empty corner in the room. Everyone was up in the pit jumping around and loving every minute of their twenty-two song setlist. MSI wrapped the evening up with two of their most notable tracks; Tornado from their Tight album, and Faggot finishing everything off from their Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy album. To top the night off, the band even stuck around the venue once the show was over to do a bit of a meet and greet with any of the fans who wanted a chance to chat it up. It’s hard not to love a group of musicians who take the time to show their fans some appreciation for getting them to where they are today. Jimmy was an animal onstage, but definitely one of the nicest and most approachable lead singers I’ve had the opportunity to meet over the many years.