Art-punk rockers Clinic will headline the Wexner Center for the Arts’ second show of its fall black box series on Sunday at Mershon Auditorium.
Aside from their icy take on post-punk music, the Liverpool quartet is known for its unusual on-stage costuming, which includes donning surgical scrubs and doctors’ masks.
“They’ve got a defined look. They try to make their performances stand out as a real occasion, as something special,” said Charles Helm, director of performing arts at the Wexner Center.
“The whole thing with the doctors’ masks and surgical scrubs, in essence, sort of creates a mystique, a strong identity,” he said.
The band derives its artistic sound and performance from bands like Can, Suicide, the Velvet Underground and the Psychedelic Furs. It formed in 1997 and has gained much popularity in the past five years.
In the summer of 2000, after the release of its first album “Internal Wrangler” on Domino Records, the band toured with Radiohead and performed at such notable events as Scott Walker’s Meltdown and the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. “Internal Wrangler” was released in the U.S. in 2001, and the band’s second full-length album “Walking With Thee” followed a year later.
Joining Clinic will be Denver’s The Apples in Stereo and Portland natives The Standard.
A mix of psychedelic pop like the Beach Boys and West Coast post-punk like X and the Vaselines, The Apples in Stereo enter this tour with a new record to promote. “Velocity of Sound” takes on a more garage-rock inspired sound than the band’s three previous full-length releases on spinART Records – the label it has worked with since 1994.
SpinART’s owner, Jeff Price, recalled when band frontman Robert Schneider presented him with the ideas behind the new album.
“One day Robert said, ‘I have a surprise for my new album … I want to make a record that sounds like the Ramones meet the Feelies,'” Price said. “We told him to go for it.”
According to Price, The Apples new garage-rock album was inspired by the popularity of retro bands the Strokes, the Hives and the Vines.
“It’s nice to have rock back,” Price said of the movement.
Relative newcomers to crowds outside of the Pacific Northwest, The Standard has two album releases to its credit, 2001’s self-titled debut and 2002’s “August,” released on Touch and Go. The band’s music exemplifies Portland’s garage sound.
All of the season’s remaining shows will be held at Mershon Auditorium in black box format, meaning that both the band and audience will be on stage together. Tickets are still available for Sunday’s show, but advanced ticket purchases are strongly recommended.
“We are anticipating a full house,” said Karen Simonian, spokeswoman for the Wexner Center.
Sunday’s show starts at 9 p.m. and all tickets are standing-room only. The cost is $14 for students and members, and $16 for the general public.
