Peace on Earth. And Chickens

WBCN XMAS RAVE

OUR LADY PEACE

JIMMIE'S CHICKEN SHACK

at

The Paradise

Dec. 1

Rock radio station WBCN 104.1 took over the clubs of Boston on Dec. 1 for its annual Xmas Rave, an event that had nothing to do with either Christmas or raving. Although most of the action took place on Landsdowne St., the two most notable shows spilled over elsewhere, including Our Lady Peace and Jimmie's Chicken Shack playing at the Paradise.

However, apparently everyone with interest opted for tickets to another show, because the crowd was dead at the beginning, dead at the end and only showed signs of excitement briefly in between.

Entering from the freezing temperatures of Commonwealth Ave. into the Paradise venue was like moving from one frigid environment to another. The club was fairly packed while The World is My Fuse thrashed and moaned, but most just stared blankly at their drink or attempted to participate in the well-worn "I'll scream in your ear, then you can scream in mine" concert conversation technique. Yes, The World was not enough.

The entire set was muddled with the worn-out sounds of songs divided into soft verses and hard choruses. The lead singer thrashed around the stage like a tough guy but wore a shirt, pants and hairstyle that seemed designed for Ricky Martin. Granted, the group played a decent riff once in a while and certainly were not the worst bad ever to grace the dingy Paradise stage, but they were all but ignored. Even Jimi Haha, lead singer of Jimmie's Chicken Shack, picked up on the unfriendly vibe, saying towards the beginning of their set "Who's the best band at the BCN Xmas Rave? The World is My Fuse! Yeah! Who the fuck are those guys?"

Jimmie's Chicken Shack got the venue bouncing, dancing and laughing more than the other bands, but this was not achieved without significant prodding. After opening with two unpopular tracks from their new album Bring Your Own Stereo, Haha decided to be honest with the uninspired onlookers: "Look, you have two choices. We can either play the song you know--the one you are probably already sick of--and then leave, or you can stay for a whole concert and act like you are already sick of all of our songs!"

In a sign of appreciation, the crowd jumped and swayed to a few tracks from the previous Jimmie's Chicken Shack album, Pushing the Salmonella Envelope, but the energy didn't last for long. Midway through the set, guitarist Jim McD tried but failed to lead the crowd in a simple rocking dance accompanied by a repetitive two-note riff. McD jokingly responded with "This is the easiest fucking dance in the world! What is wrong with you people?"

WBCN XMAS RAVE

OUR LADY PEACE

JIMMIE'S CHICKEN SHACK

at

The Paradise

Dec. 1

Rock radio station WBCN 104.1 took over the clubs of Boston on Dec. 1 for its annual Xmas Rave, an event that had nothing to do with either Christmas or raving. Although most of the action took place on Landsdowne St., the two most notable shows spilled over elsewhere, including Our Lady Peace and Jimmie's Chicken Shack playing at the Paradise.