20 years ago, on August 15, 1995, the self-titled debut album from Garbage was released, starting an odyssey that would encompass 5 studio albums, 1 greatest hits package, and 1 live DVD concert video.  To celebrate, the group scheduled a small tour for this fall, called the 20 Years Queer tour, where they would perform the first album in its entirety along with other B-sides and rarities from that era.  Saturday night, that tour rolled into Chicago.

The show was at the Riviera Theatre, which was the site of my first Garbage show all the way back in 2002.  To gear up for the show, I listened to a recent Nerdist podcast with singer Shirley Manson, which got me in the mood without having to listen to the same songs I was about to hear.  The opening act was Torres, a band I had never heard of before.  Shockingly, I actually liked some of what I heard, so I may try to listen to their music going forward.  To date, though, I haven’t found a playlist from them, so I don’t know which songs I enjoyed.

The Garbage portion of the show started with a short video, with accompaniment by the B-side Alien Sex Fiend, projected on the curtain, followed by a mixture of songs from their debut album.  The order was mixed up, mostly, I would assume, to avoid burning through the hits halfway through the show.  The main portion of the show ended with a rendition of #1 Crush, from the William Shapespeare’s Romeo + Juliet soundtrack.  The encore consisted of 2 more B-sides, including a cover of a Vic Chestnut classic, followed by later hits Cherry Lips and, to close the show, Push It.

This was my 5th Garbage show, and my first since 2012.  Rumor has it that they are also working on a new album due out next year, so they may be coming through town again next year.  Assuming my poor feet recover from the experience, I hope to be there to see them again.