Arts & Entertainment
 

Jackson puts on mundane live show

After ‘Lovers,' fans expected more from Australian musicians

by Dusti Rhodes
The Daily Cougar

The most disappointing thing a band can do is not live up to its album in a live performance. On Monday at Fat Cat's, The Sleepy Jackson did little to recreate the great sound of its album Lovers with a performance that was little better than mediocre.

The 2003 album, with its eclectic blend of yesterday and today's popular sounds, earned critical praise. Although Jackson has been compared to acts like The Strokes and The White Stripes, lead singer Luke Steele said he thinks the songs that win high acclaim today are not exactly the best songs out there.

For example, critics rave about the garage-rock duo The White Stripes, but Steele said many of the group's songs are overrated.

"I listen to them, and I think they are pretty boring," Steele said.

Jackson came straight to Houston from South by Southwest in Austin, where Steele said the band played seven shows in three days. Before the show the band members looked tired, but on stage they seemed a little more alert ? maybe it was the bright lights.

Steele said that, like John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, he likes to have complex songs and instrumentation on his albums but enjoys the raw sound of the live performance as well.

"You have to let the songs bleed," he said.

Although the sound system at Fat Cat's is anything but perfect, Jackson could hardly be compared to Lennon or Hendrix on Monday. However, the band did play a handful of promising new tunes along with a number of tracks from Lovers.

Steele said the band rarely works on new songs but will most likely record when it finishes its United States tour in about a month. Steele said he is undecided whether the new album will be a collaborative effort with Jackson's new members or if he will take the lead once again and write a majority of the tunes.

In the past, Steele has been at the front of the creative line for the most part, but many of the new songs were a joint effort from the band's current lineup.

It is easy to see that the band isn't a group of bad musicians ? it just seemed a bit tired and, at times, bored. When Steele took the stage alone, the rest of the members sat to the side and seemed pretty disinterested with the frontman's solo numbers.

Steele's onstage antics didn't make sense at times, either. At one point, he hung a sort of switchboard around his neck. It was hard to tell what purpose the device served aside from shocking people who had never seen a Lite Brite or flashing Christmas lights.

The small crowd did seem relatively pleased by Jackson's performance, cheering and shouting song requests. Steele showed appreciation to the crowd by bumping beer bottles in toasts with those standing at the front of the stage.

After Jackson played its last song, the band took center stage for final bow and exited to the begging calls of a small but appreciative audience hoping for an encore.

The Sleepy Jackson

Fat Cat's, 4216 Washington Ave.

The verdict: Not Lovers, but not bad.

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