Shirley Manson of Garbage at Roseland, New York City, April 24, 2002 Photo by Glyn Emmerson, © 2002 NY Rock

When Susan Powter, I mean, when Shirley Manson took the stage at Roseland on Wednesday, April 24, 2002, the screams could've charred earlobes. Dressed in a white cut-off undershirt, cropped white pants, black combat boots, and two red wristbands on her right forearm, Shirley looked like a hip G.I. Jane who couldn't wait to stomp on your ass-cheeks. She prowled around the stage, circling guitarists Duke Erikson (with a beard, the guy looks frighteningly like Eric Clapton) and Steven Marker. The band had a stand-in bass player so Marker could rip on guitar. Butch "You Can Thank Me for Your Favorite Albums of the '90s" Vig flailed behind his magenta drum kit (props to any man who plays magenta drums) but never lost composure, which is unusual for a drummer. But back to Shirley Manson – she was prowling and had a stone-cold glaze in her eyes as the band opened with "Push It" from 1998's Grammy-nominated album Version 2.0. Actually, this tour might as well have been called Version 2.0 2.0, because the band played more from 2.0 than their recent offering, BeautifulGarbage. I guess they figured out what everyone else figured out – it wasn't the gem that 2.0 was.

Shirley Manson of Garbage at Roseland, New York City, April 24, 2002 Photo by Glyn Emmerson, © 2002 NY Rock

During the first few songs ("Temptation Waits" and "Androgyny"), Shirley dodged forward and backward, egging on the crowd with her newly exposed butchiness. But then she saw some unfriendly activity in the crowd and got pissed. "Don't let it crush your fuckin' vibe," she warned in her thick, ungodly sexy Scottish accent. Between songs, she was extremely chatty, and she had good reason to be: "I had a whiskey before I got onstage tonight." Shirley hadn't been drinking because she's recovering from bronchitis, but she figured it was New York City, it was a big night, so hell, have a drink. "And, of course, it went straight to my head!" she laughed. Glancing into the crowd, she pointed out some of the outfits that caught her eye. She said she rips off her fans' styles. She sees what her fans wear to Garbage shows, and then she goes out and buys similar outfits. How's that for role reversal? Speaking of which, another reason Shirley is so awesome is because she's so blatant in her love of sex and her outspoken belief that women deserve the big "O" as much as the men. So when one girl shouted out "Girl don't come!" Shirley looked down at her and said with a very straight face, "Oh, I come. Yes, I do. I assure you. Regularly," and then gave a barreling laugh when she realized the girl was requesting the Garbage B-side, "Girl Don't Come," the song.

Garbage wrecked their way through favorites like "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Vow," "Hammering In My Head," "Special," "Parade," and "When I Grow Up," with Shirley offering up the mic for the "ba-ba-ba-ba" chorus. The crowd was dancing as much as the space allowed, and that inevitably led to problems. Scene: the instigators were big, burly guys who acted so agitated and inconsiderate when they were dancing, you couldn't help but figure they haven't gotten any in months. Bad idea to come to see Shirley Manson when you're holding that much pent-up sexual frustration. So they're all shoving forward, repeatedly knocking into Shirley-loving females who are getting more and more pissed. Finally, two women turn around and shove this huge dude and tell him to fuck off. Right then, Garbage breaks into "Stupid Girl," and everyone loses their head and starts slamming into one another.

Tommy Walter of Abandoned Pools, Roseland, NYC, April 24, 2002 Photo by Glyn Emmerson, © 2002 NY Rock

Personally, I was having a grand old time until I felt hands grab my waist from behind. It was some skinny, smelly indie rock boy, very drunk, very close to my face. "Hey," he slurred with a smile, "will you get mad if I hang on to you?" Yes, dear, Jeanne Fury will indeed get mad if you hang your body weight on her when she's trying to dance with Shirley. "Oh, well, it's your loss then," he wheezed and pushed his way in front of me and made friends with some portly dude in a polo. Maybe Portly Dude let Skinny Boy hold his waist.

Things slowed down a bit when Shirley dedicated the somber "So Like a Rose" to the victims of September 11, and when someone interrupted her speech, she yelled "Shut up, if you don't like what I'm saying you can leave." Right on.

Garbage ended their concert with an encore of two B-sides that failed to do anything besides trip them up. But near-perfect performances of "Supervixen," "Milk," and "Only Happy When It Rains" capped off their bristling set.

Leah Randi of Abandoned Pools, Roseland, NYC, April 24, 2002 Photo by Glyn Emmerson, © 2002 NY Rock

Opening band Abandoned Pools isn't exactly a band, per say. Tommy Walter (ex- of the Eels) is Abandoned Pools, and he recruits a band to tour. ("They're very naughty," according to Shirley.) The beautiful compositions are a blend of aggro-rock with trippy, cut-and-paste electronica. The debut album Humanistic was one of the more intriguing releases 2001 had to offer. Think early Filter with a salient melodic side. Walter digs back to the days of shoe-gazing bands like Ride and Slowdive. He's almost motionless in front of the mic as a cavalcade of noise rushes around him. The songs are a great mix of hard-hitting drums and whirring melodies, and I can't say Abandoned Pools have anything in common with many rock bands out there. I mean, how many shoe-gazers get radio airtime? The music sucks you in, and the crowd definitely dug it. Highlights included "The Remedy," "Sunny Day," "Mercy Kiss," and a cover of Bjork's "Army of Me."

"Everyone's a rock star, look how cool and dark you are," sang Walter, and I couldn't wipe the smirk off my face.