Mission of Burma’s members walked on stage and picked up their instruments with little ceremony, like true punks. The fans packed the Paradise Rock Club to capacity and gave the local-yet-legendary band all the fanfare needed.
Their shouts and applause were soon cut off by the first song from 2006’s Obliterati, “2wice.” Clint Conley’s bass guitar was scraped in places to raw wood, like the side of a derelict house, but the fast, driving sound coming from it proved the instrument anything but abandoned. It was a suitable emblem for a post-punk band that played for only four years, mostly around Boston, and then took to the stage almost two decades later without missing a beat.
The clear plastic shield set up around one side of Peter Prescott’s drumset was a reminder of the rock-induced tinnitus of guitarist Roger Miller, the reason MoB cited for disbanding in 1983.
The volume was not turned down Saturday night, as the three musicians pumped out songs from their entire fragmented career to the cheers of a hometown crowd. The only change in lineup was in the balcony, where Bob Weston now works the tapedecks instead of Martin Swope, recording his bandmates and reintroducing looped (and even reversed) vocals and instrumentation to the mix.
Most of the harmonies were created live by the musicians on-stage, all of whom sang at one point.
After pounding out three from Obliterati, the band played “Mica” from 1983’s Vs. and had the crowd moving within the first two seconds.
Everyone joined in on the chorus of “That’s When I Reach for my Revolver,” and afterwards someone shouted, “You rule!” “Trust me, it would be a much different place if I ruled,” Prescott answered.