Wire – The Mohawk, Austin TX 08/04/11

Wire live shows sell out on principle rather than expectation. The minimal London punks’ reputation has skyrocketed with time, and it certainly helps that their interspersing resurgences (like this year’s callously collected Red Barked Tree) have been consistently great. So am I surprised that a few hundred Austinites made it out to the Mohawk to see the decades-old originators perform? Not really. The demographic ranged from indie elders to scrappy teenaged borrowed-nostalgists who both seemed to be pretty awe-struck that they were about to see a band as legendary in both personal and critical canon perform in America’s southern hemisphere in the still-futuristic-sounding 2011.

Wire on the other hand, don’t seem to believe their own hype – if anything they certainly don’t look like mythical figures. The threesome (and touring foursome) look like a couple dudes who like playing music together, far from the cosmic significance the world has attributed to their revolutionary records. Colin Newman’s glasses refracted purple lights as he dutifully stared down at his guitar, gesturing ever so slightly with his buzzy noise. They stuck mainly to their current work, the odd beaming guitar sounds of Red Barked Tree, a few morsels from Read & Burn, it’s clear that they’re a band yearning to be known for their new work, not their legacy. The few chunks they played from their classics sounded more like random selections they felt like performing, rather than fan service. It sets them apart from most relics. And honestly the half-minute jumps of frizzy guitar brittleness that serves as the definition of their classical period probably wouldn’t translate well in the lush spaciousness of the outdoor club, it’s music for machines not trees.

That might sound like a bad show, most elder bands that avoid what made them famous tend to come off pretentious and stubborn – and to be fair that stigma certainly was floating in the air – but consider the alternative. The relentlessly innovative, and bitingly outsider Wire being transformed into a money-making, endless reunion tour machine would be universally disheartening. Seeing them tagged as a Pixies or a Pavement doesn’t fit their mission objective at all. Their performance was one to be considered rather than one to wax reminiscent memories – you’ll never see the band embarking on a ‘Pink Flag Tour’ or anything like that. Luckily for all of us, the twilight of Wire’s career has produced plenty of relevant music to ruminate over. Unlike all of their contemporaries, Wire is a band, not a caricature of an era – and we should all be thankful for that.