Canadian rockers Crash Test Dummies visit Nottingham's Rescue Rooms on June 7th. Kerenza Hudson offers her perspective.
The Canadian Rock band Crash Test Dummies set off their UK tour for the 25th anniversary of
their hit album God Shuffled His Feet, as well as the reunion of the band, within Nottingham’s own Rescue Rooms. The crowd itself (in which I was a lot younger than the majority of those attending) were seemingly reliving the band's rise within the 90s and were full of dedication, welcomed the band back to the UK.
The setlist was compromise mostly from their breakthrough album being celebrated, starting off with the eponymously named song God Shuffled His Feet. The band is synonymous with a folk-rock sound with great story telling lyrics, with their hit Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm telling the lives of three children with strange experiences that to them felt normal.
"The band is synonymous with a folk-rock sound with great story telling lyrics."
The band played a few songs from different albums throughout the years, scattered throughout the
set, with the lead singer Brad Roberts and co-vocalist Ellen Reid joking about the crowd not realising
"that there was even a fourth album". The band had great crowd interaction, even calling on a couple
of fans who had travelled from Australia to see them as well as one particularly dedicated fan being
hand-given a set of drumsticks.
The reunion of the band clearly brought joy to each of the members throughout this tour, and despite
having a varied number of different members, the chemistry between all of the members was steadfast and allowed them to deliver a show that allowed fans to feel alive.
An anecdote for their song The Psychic was given, with the story of Roberts' trip to a breakfast
diner and being approached by a woman who was said to tell him he had an ‘aura of outpouring
music’ in which he joked about the fact at the time, he looked like a stereotypical musician with long
hair and eating breakfast in the afternoon.
"The chemistry between all of the members was steadfast and allowed them to deliver a show that allowed fans to feel alive."
Their sound is particularly unique with a focus on Roberts' deep baritone vocals, which translated very well into a live performance. The encore brought out their hits, Superman Song, and the forementioned Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, which won the Juno award within the 90s, were definitive crowd pleasers. It was great to see the band had reformed to pull off such a great performance, despite the album being released now almost 30 years ago, and was a treat for many of the fans who had seen or heard of the Crash Test Dummies during their heyday.
Kerenza Hudson
Edited by: Jodie Averis
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