Photos and review by JULIE ANN SHAW
BOISE, Idaho – If you grew up in the 90’s and 00’s, then alternative rock band Garbage, Shirley Manson (lead vocalist), Duke Erikson (guitar, bass, keyboards), Steve Marker (guitar, bass), and Butch Vig (drums), most likely helped shape your musical adventures into adulthood. They absolutely did for me, so when they announced that they would be playing a few miles away from me, there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity to see them perform live again.
This show was more than just promoting their newest album, “Let All That We Imagine Be The Light,” this was an hour and a half of Garbage’s creative journey so far. They opened with “There’s No Future In Optimism,” and “Hold” from their newest album and then “I Think I’m Paranoid” from 1998’s Version 2.0. Then, Manson stopped the show to make sure a very young member of the audience had ear plugs so her hearing would remain intact, and directed a shadowy minion in the back of the stage with all manners of kindness and grace to bring her a pair.
It may be one of Manson’s last such directives as the band announced earlier that Garbage would be cutting back on touring, because it’s not “sustainable.” Manson said Garbage would continue to play shows on the coasts, and made a plea to a recent audience on the current tour to support independent musicians.
Garbage is just as flawless today as they were when they released their very first single, “Vow,” from “Garbage” in 1995. They continued through their catalog with “Run Baby Run” from “Bleed Like Me,” “The Trick Is To Keep Breathing,” “Not My Idea,” “Hammering In My Head,” and “Wolves,” from 2021’s “No Gods No Masters.”
There has never been a single from a motion picture soundtrack as perfect as the next song, “#1 Crush,” from 1997’s Romeo + Juliet, and there never will be again. Hearing it performed live is just as life changing as it was hearing it for the first time. The set continued with “Bleed Like Me,” 1995’s outsider anthem “Queer,” “Chinese Fire Horse,” “When I Grow Up,” “Cherry Lips (go Baby Go!),” “Push It,” and ended with “The Day That I Met God,” from “Let All That We Imagine Be The Light.”
They wrapped with their biggest hits from their debut album, “Garbage.” Thankfully, they gave us two encores from “Garbage.” First was “Stupid Girl,” and then THE song that made “Garbage” the band we all love to this very day, “Only Happy When It Rains.”
Garbage continues the North American tour, wrapping in Los Angeles at The Hollywood Palladium on Nov. 5. The band plays Mexico City on Nov. 14, then tours Australia in December. Order the new album “Let All That We Imagine Be The Light” here.
