Garbage puts on a Beautiful show at 9:30 Club

Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club was sold out both Monday and Tuesday night this week as Garbage came to an old haunt to support the band's third album, Beautiful Garbage. So, on Monday night, I was mere feet away from one of the most brilliant minds in modern rock - Butch Vig (the producer behind Nirvana's Nevermind) - and even closer to one of the most powerful and sexy female vocalists in all of rock history - Shirley Manson. The last time I had seen Manson, Vig and bandmates Duke Erikson and Steve Marker, had been in 1996, back when Manson was still a redhead, at D.C.'s RFK Stadium. Eight years later, Manson is a blond and the band is on a new label, but that hasn't changed the fact that Garbage puts on an electrifying show.

The lighting and set design were amazing, and the only thing that marred the performance was the distortion that accompanied many of the songs and threatened to overpower Manson's voice. This was not an issue, however, when Garbage performed softer songs such as "So Like a Rose." For "So Like a Rose," Manson strapped on a gorgeous white guitar with a magenta rose matching the design on Vig's drums, and sang with subdued accompaniment from the band. On all of the songs, Manson's voice was as loud and edgy as any man's, but throaty and sexy as only a woman's voice can be. Going from aggressive to contemplative to playful, Manson and the band covered songs from all three albums, putting welcome new touches on old favorites, and drawing the encore entirely from the band's eponymous debut album.

To top in all off, the in-between songs witty banter was actually witty, and the interaction between the band and the audience, and the band members themselves, was one of the highlights of the show. Particularly entertaining was when Manson asked a fan who repeatedly requested a song that he knew was not on the set list if he was "daft" - but something tells me he was not too insulted. (Plus, Manson oblidged by singing about half of "Medication" before going on with the next planned song.) As fun as it is to see a band of divas who have let rock stardom inflate their heads - almost any of the nu metal bands will do - it's more refreshing to see a band that, after eight years of stardom, is still genuinely thankful and appreciative of the fans.

When a band puts out a strange, genre-bending album, which Beautiful Garbage is, it can expect that the radio stations and MTV will, for the most part, keep away from the music, which they did. It's the fans, then, who have to support the band, and if the sold-out 9:30 Club shows were any indication, Garbage fans are standing behind the band.