The Residents at Columbia Theater Berlin / Wednesday, 30.01.2019

Avant-garde psychedelic pioneers The Residents return to Berlin in 2019 for a rare live concert at the Columbia Theater. This truly indefinable band have based their career on breaking boundaries and defying conventional logic. They are one of few groups to achieve mythical status within their lifetimes and their influence is undisputable.

Holding up the underground since 1972, The Residents celebrate four decades of unbridled creativity with “The Wonder of Weird,” their 40th anniversary tour. Having recently come out as Randy, Chuck and Bob after years of anonymity, the group now presents itself in concert as the ultimate offbeat power trio, pared down to guitar, keyboards and vocals. Shrugging its collective shoulders, the band re-interprets and devours its classic material like a hungry horse inhaling hay, while still stumbling along at full speed.

https://youtu.be/MdSlFl5H76A

In addition to showcasing their vast music catalog, the performance also reveals the raw soul of The Residents’ lead singer, Randy Rose. After disclosing that his current life partner is a cat, Rose proceeds to confess the failure of eleven marriages while boldly baring the residue of a life-long sexual addiction. Sex, shrugs and anti-rock’n roll – it’s all there in The Residents’ “Wonder of Weird.” The Residents are an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1974, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs.

Throughout the group’s existence, the individual members have ostensibly attempted to operate under anonymity preferring, instead, to have attention focused on their art output. Much outside speculation and rumour has focused on this aspect of the group. In public, the group appears silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tuxedos — a long-lasting costume now recognized as its signature iconography.