CONCERT REVIEW: Cornershop, San Francisco
- Robin Lapid
There were a lot of good things going for Cornershop's performance at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre. It's always nice to hear the echo of sitar rise through a cavernous concert hall and the dance-friendly chants of Cornershop's latest release, the groove-laden near-masterpiece When I Was Born for the 7th Time. Singer Tjinder Singh's voice translates perfectly live, with a funky lilt that melts from English to Punjabi, half-rapping and half-singing. Singh and his bandmates delivered faithful renditions of their music, sort of a cross between psychedelic English pop and Beck on acid, but with nowhere near the stage presence of an artist like Beck.
Singh stood stock-still, occassionally drifting out of the microphone's range to watch the stage screens (alternating between pictures of various European women in traditional garb and guys break-dancing), or to stare at his bandmates. I'm reminded that Cornershop recently opened for the equally-stoic Oasis on their last U.S. tour. With bongo drummer and sitar and keyboard players in tow, the five-piece dove into their most recent work, starting with the smooth grooves of "Sleep On the Left Side," and getting their biggest hit, "Brimful of Asha," out of the way as the third song of the evening.
Near the beginning, a computerized Stephen Hawking voice intoned, "People in the Bay Area, raise your hands in the air like you just don't care." That bit of amusement aside, the evening was punctuated with good dance grooves that went down well with the crowd, and a seemingly endless psychedelic wankout for an encore, with Singh absent throughout most of the finale. The audience didn't seem to mind (although I did spy three yuppies get up and leave, followed by a group of anxious club kids without backpacks - there's a difference). It was more like going to a dance tent at a rave, where you're not really meant to direct your attention toward any stage, but just slip into the vibe as befits your mood. Cornershop the band were a success, as the evening brimmed with sample-heavy dance beats, but Cornershop the live act faltered in the charisma department, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste at show's end.
