atlanta concert review

harmonious return of the trashcan sinatras

atlanta journal-constitution

by nick marino
september 17, 2004

The long-dormant Scottish pop band Trashcan Sinatras played Tuesday night at Variety Playhouse, and the handful of fans who caught the show are probably still floating.

The band was rusty --- at one point singer Francis Reader shyly quipped, "Sorry about the songs" --- but rustiness is forgivable after an eight-year layoff, and this tour-opening performance rekindled the wit, charm and grace that the cult-favorite band shared with a too-small audience in the early- and mid-1990s. For those of us who've relished the band's jangly catalog since then, Tuesday's show delivered many private stabs of joy.

With three guitars a-chiming, TCS drew from its improbable new record, "Weightlifting," and, by request, dipped into its obscure past. At least one person requested "The Safecracker," from an album not even released in the States. The song's opening notes extracted a squeal of delight from a woman near the emergency exit, who spent much of the night merrily dancing alone.

Originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.