The (International) Noise Conspiracy (Slim's, 7 December 2005)

Sweden is a socialist country. Besides having beautiful people as citizens (see Nina Persson and Ingrid Bergman as examples), socilaism's core belief is that a society should exist in which popular collectives control the means of power, and therefore the means of production.* Socialism never caught on as much as democracy, but don't tell that to the (International) Noise Conspiracy boys. They're convinced that socialism is the way to go, and that our system of government is going down the shitter.

And these guys aren't poseurs like how some bands are socialists or Marxists just for the sake of calling themselves punk rock. (I)NC really does dish out the goods and it shows. From their merchandise booth full of socialist literature, to the lyrics of their songs and to the way the group interacts and plays on stage, they truly believe in the socialist, working class ethos of trying to create a classless society.

When you look at (I)NC on stage, not one person really sticks out as being better than another band member. First, all of them wore the same clothes as the others. Stylish ones at that. So, they all looked the same in a strange way. Second, when they hopped around like chickens on crack on stage, they all did it in unison and with the same amount of energy as the other. Again, not one scissor kick stuck out from the others. The only thing that really separate Dennis Lyxzén from the other members was that he had a mic that he can play around with.

And oh did he play around with that mic. He has better mic skills than Brett Anderson of Suede and The Tears. Yeah, it's that damn good. He would throw the mic in mid-air and catch it with his chest. He would also do a lasso of the mic and catch it at the right moment.

These antics, among others, made this show one of the more energetic shows this years. The sheer activity going on stage would make a normal person go crazy.

Musically speaking, they wer fantastic and tight. I'm not that well versed in (I)NC stuff, but I have to admit I liked each and every song they played. It was catchy, it was tight and they had the right amount of energy to supplement all of that great musicianship.

So, go ahead. Have a cup of fair trade coffee, put on an (I)NC CD or mp3 and read that 10th edition of Communist Manifesto. All those three things will make sense to you. Just watch out for Joe McCarthy's boys whilst you're doing all three things at once.

Beer Rating:

*Source: Wikipedia