Garbage Gets Aggressive in L.A. Return

“Do that again, and I swear I’ll find you!”

Practically shaking with rage, Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson furiously cursed at the person who lobbed an object at her Saturday, threatening mayhem and dismemberment if she should happen to locate the person in the vast recesses of the Hollywood Palladium. No one dared to fling anything else at the stage.

Returning to Los Angeles after four months on tour, Garbage proved every bit as formidable as its front woman, mesmerizing the crowd with hard-hitting, electronica-flavored rock. Drawn from the band’s two albums, the set was nearly identical to its show at the Palace in May, except for changes in the song order. If anything, the Palladium performance was even more thrilling, by turns fiercer and subtler.

Manson and mates, including drummer Butch Vig and guitarist-keyboardists Steve Marker and Duke Erikson, again made it look like child’s play to conjure up the power and drama of Garbage’s complex recordings in concert. Sticking mostly to the aggressive groove of hits like “Push It” and “Queer,” they seemed more relaxed as a unit, turning in an ebullient performance that felt less introverted than the Palace show.

At a time when pundits like to debate the future of rock, Garbage continues to demonstrate that it’s possible to break new ground and strike a chord with a wide range of fans, from teens to 40-somethings. The band’s secret lies in channeling the primal urges of blues and early rock through a thoroughly modern conduit.

Yet, with its delicate version of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” Garbage showed that beneath its shiny, high-tech skin beats the heart of a traditional rock band. Played on conventional instruments, with no electronic accents, this languid, dreamy number provided a delightful mid-set palate-cleanser, more effective than it was as an encore at the Palace.