CORNERSHOP
THERE’S no band quite like Cornershop.England’s transcendental raga-rock outfit has zero stage presence, a handful of catchy melodies, exotic instrumentation – and yet a loyal cult following in this country.
At Irving Plaza Thursday, the program was split between the new Staxx/Booker T. sound of the group’s latest disc, “Hand Cream for a Generation,” and the traditional Indian/dance mix of its groundbreaking 1997 album, “When I Was Born for the 7th Time.”
The band’s new material – like “Wogs Will Walk,” “Lessons Learned From Rocky I to Rocky III” and “Heavy Soup” – kept the house swaying, but the fireworks ignited when the quintet dipped into “When I Was Born for the 7th Time.”
Cornershop also peppered a cover of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” with the East-meets-West flavor of that earlier album. It was strange to hear Beatles lyrics in Punjabi, but by the song’s end, front man Tjinder Singh’s vocals didn’t seem so jarring.
Yet after the band performed its international hit “Brimful of Asha,” the best-known song from “7th Time,” a fair portion of the crowd split. Enough, in fact, that the crush of people on the floor diminished to a comfortable, almost danceable level.
The stars of Cornershop aren’t the players, but the songs. Consider that the band’s sitar player, Anthony Saffery- who dominated the instrumental solos with remarkable dexterity – never left the rear corner of the stage. And that front man Singh – who is only a fair singer and barely got by on guitar – moved about as much as an iguana.
The show might have bombed in a larger hall – but at the intimate Irving Plaza, the evening felt like a high school dance, where the music was more important than the band.