It's no secret that I'm a fan of the band Information Society and have been for a very long time. Followers of our podcast know that band founder Paul Robb recently reconstituted the group along with his former bandmate James Cassidy. Kurt Harland (who posts here as vector) elected not to participate, having a recently-born human to take care of with his wife.

So I was pretty stoked to hear that InSoc would be playing live in Portland, Oregon. Portland is a short hop from San Francisco International Airport, making a one-day trip a possibility. So that's what I did.

The show was preceded by Echo No Echo and Son of Rust. (Incidentally, Son of Rust's Keytar player is hot.)

In the absense of Kurt, vocals were provided by Christopher Anton. Sonja Myers joins the band on keyboards. Wozo returns as the band's drummer. I have obvious biases regarding the lead singer role, having known Kurt approximately forever. Having said that, I think Chris did well. His vocals hit the mark well, and rather than trying to be a Kurt imitator, he was clearly making an effort to make the role his own. I still missed Kurt's charismatic performance, sense of humor and cheeky one-liners. I suspect the more Chris works with the band, the more free he will feel to explore and play on stage. Sonja was absolutely awesome. She was energetic and vibrant, smiling, dancing and obviously having a good time throughout the show. A fantastic addition to the band, she's the type of chick I'd almost go straight for. Almost.

The band did a mix of old and new, with some curious selections of old, electing to perform Repetition, Something in the Air, Mirrorshades and How Long. All great songs, mind you (though Mirrorshades was never my favorite), but I'd rather have heard Lay All Your Love On Me, Going, Going, Gone and Can't Get Enough (not to be confused with the Depeche Mode song of a similar name). (And Seek 200, but as that's basically Kurt's tune, it's understandably omitted.) Still, this did not negatively impact my enjoyment of the show in the slightest. Don't let my personal preferences dissuade you! (These choices make sense in a way, too; Repetition and How Long both have videos, Something in the Air got a reasonable amount of airplay, and Jim sang Mirrorshades.)

One of the best parts about the performance of the older tunes is that they've been updated a bit for the 21st century. Mind you, they don't sound completely different-- they've just been tweaked a little, and for the better, not in a George Lucas/Star Wars way. Yes, the originals were great, but the originals plus a 2006 twist are even better. Also nice were some of the very extended mixes of some of the songs, treating the audience to hearing a tune they're familiar with in a new way. (Who wants to go to a live show and hear something that sounds exactly like the CD they already have at home anyway?)

Earlier in the evening I had brought Paul a morons.org t-shirt and a box of Nilla Wafers (listen to the podcast interview with Paul for the significance of Nilla Wafers). Much to my amusement, Paul brought the Nilla Wafers on stage and sat them in front of his stand.

James was a bundle of energy, and I wish I knew where he got it from so I could find some too. Wearing his Oregon State "SOIL" shirt (James teaches soil sciences there) he never seemed to be in the same place for more than the blink of an eye, rousing and delighting the crowd as he plucked away at exotic electronic stringed instruments that roughly resembled bass guitars. At one point I saw a group of what must have been his students spell out "SOIL" using tubular glow lights.

It was quite gratifying to see how much the crowd adored Burning Bridges. You might recall we had an exclusive preview of that song here on this site, only in an unfinished state from a demo that Kurt and Paul had recorded. It's been one of my favorites since the first time I heard it, and I think if one song off the upcoming Synthesizer album is going to be a hit, it'll be Burning Bridges. I'm mainly stoked that finally a large number of people have heard this fantastic tune!

After the show I spent some time with some other hardcore InSoc fans and with them enjoyed an impromptu magic show presented by Adam the Great on the sidewalk, aptly in front of a bar called Cassidy's. (Many thanks to Elizabeth for the photos.) I'm not great with names, so I apologize to all concerned for forgetting them. You know who you are, and it was a delight meeting and spending time with you all. One of the best aspects of InSoc fandom seems to be the friendliness and charm of the fan community!

All told, I had a fantastic time. Many thanks to Paul, Jim, Chris, Sonja and Wozo for a great show. Extra thanks to Tyler for getting stuff to Paul and arranging our meeting. And be sure to check out Adam the Great if you're in Portland.

Brazil, prepare yourself! You're in for a treat!

Be sure to check out Information Society's MySpace site for upcoming shows and more information.

---Nick