CRASH TEST DUMMIES – NORTHCOTE THEATRE – MELBOURNE – 06.04.2025
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: David Harris
Sunday night saw us making our way to Northcote Theatre in Melbourne to see Crash Test Dummies ‘God Shuffled His Feet’ 30th Anniversary World Tour. It was their long-awaited return to Australia for the first time since 1992.
1993 was the fated year when Crash Test Dummies (CTD) released their sophomore album, God Shuffled His Feet and featured their #1 single Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, which remains synonymous with the band. I was living overseas at the time and clearly recall how popular both the song and album were in the UK. I played this album as I travelled around the UK and Europe loving the deep baritone vocals and unique quirkiness of their song lyrics such as Afternoons and Coffeespoons, Swimming In Your Ocean, God Shuffled his Feet and my personal fave, the absurd How Does A Duck Know?
Crash Test Dummies (CTD) are Canadian alternative folk-rockers from Winnipeg, Manitoba. They formed back in 1988 and the band name was a joke reference to the diagnostic mannequins which had become known to the public in ads on TV and in magazines about car safety testing and the importance of seat belts. I read where People Magazine described their brand of music as neo-folkie, pseudo-hippies, sort of Celtic, dryly humorous, exceptionally literate pop band. I can resonate with this too. It’s no ordinary band as they are very experimental with their music, mixing things up on their albums and with their instrumentation, always keeping things interesting for fans.
Band members:
Brad Roberts – Lead vocals / guitar
Ellen Reid – Co-vocals / accordion / tambourine
Dan Roberts – Bass / Backing Vocals
Mitch Dorge – Drums / Percussion
Leith Fleming-Smith – Keyboard
Stewart Cameron – Guitar / Backing Vocals
CTD were never a hugely commercial band, instead holding true to their own authenticity, writing music that fell more into the alternative folk rock-pop genre with lyrics that cut to the bone of social issues that many bands seeking fame at the time shied away from. Looking around the theatre, it was unsurprisingly an eclectic bunch of fans of all ages that they had attracted to the gig.
CTD opened with THE GHOSTS THAT HAUNT ME from their debut 1991 album of the same name with Reid on the accordion and co-vocals providing the song with a wonderful opening folk rock sound. The sound wasn’t quite right for the first few songs as Roberts vocals were on the softer side, with the crowd struggling to hear him. Thankfully this technical issue was resolved quickly.
IN THE DAYS OF THE CAVEMAN followed which is from the 1993 album God Shuffled His Feet. This song reminds me of past camping trips, getting out amongst it and being in touch with nature and trying to create a good firepit. In the beginning of this song on the album you can hear a duck quack and I noticed there were yellow plastic ducks sitting on top of the amps and keyboards as I peered at the stage set up.
Hearing Brad Roberts deep, velvety, bass-baritone tones highlighted he has lost none of his tone quality through the years, treating fans to the whole of his vocal register. He also had a beautiful warmth about him, constantly smiling and engaging with the audience. CTD played 9 of the 12 songs that appear on the God Shuffled His Feet album. I THINK I’LL DISAPPEAR NOW with the opening lyrics: “Running into you like this without a warning, is like catching a sniff of tequila in the morning.” This song is about running into an ex and trying to get away from them and the lyrics are hilarious. I love how deep Roberts’ voice is in the second line. HOW DOES A DUCK KNOW? is hilarious with lyrics: “How does a duck know what direction South Is? And how to tell his wife from all the other ducks?
The opening title-track GOD SHUFFLED HIS FEET is another quirky song about God with quirky lyrics like people asking God: “Do you have to eat or get a haircut in Heaven?” SWIMMING IN YOUR OCEAN is a joyous song showcasing Roberts’ deep baritone vocals Reid’s co-vocals provided at once a strong contrast and an unobtrusive musical blending of harmonies. Her contributions to the band (playing the accordion, tambourine and backing vocals) were key to the rich sound produced by the band.
Watching Ellen Reid unrepentantly rocking the accordion like they were an everyday inclusion in bands of the 90s … not so. These days, bands across various genres include such instruments to infuse their music with a variety of different tone colours. CTD were doing this 30 years ago … amazing!
THE PSYCHIC has a wonderful guitar intro and gospel sound. TWO KNIGHTS & MAIDENS and FLYING FEELING saw all band members singing along with acoustic guitar and accordion. AFTERNOONS & COFFEESPOONS is in my opinion one of CTD best songs. Roberts vocals shine in this song backed by Reid’s beautiful backing vocals with quirky lyrics like: “Someday I’ll have a disappearing hairline, Someday I’ll wear pajamas in the daytime, OH, afternoons will be measured out, Measured out, Measured with coffee spoons and T.S. Elliot.”
Also from The Ghosts That Haunt Me (1991) album they played a cover of The Replacements ANDROGYNOUS. This song was released back in 1984 and was ahead of its time as the song is about a romantic relationship between two gender non-conforming individuals, and expresses hope that in the future such people and their personal relationships will be more accepted.
They also played another cover being XTC’s THE BALLAD OF PETER PUMPKINHEAD, with Ellen Reid co-singing the main vocals on this song with Roberts. This song features in a favourite comedy film of mine, Dumb and Dumber. A great soundtrack worthy of a listen!
The sounds coming off the stage were easy listening, mellow vibes at their best. CTD mixed it up with some faster, rhythmically driving songs that kept the crowd’s attention and generated some bopping in the crowd.
Another fan favourite was SUPERMAN’S SONG from their debut album The Ghosts That Haunt Me (1991). This single appeared in the TV series ‘Due South’ which put the band on the map and won them a Juno Award for Group of the Year back in 1992. They also included a more recent song, SECRET ALPHABET released in 2023 which had a beautiful intro by keyboardist Fleming-Smith. Roberts’ baritone vocals in this song was akin to listening to a Nick Cave track. A very dark and moving song which points to new and emerging music from these veterans of the rock-pop music scene. More is to follow, with a new album perhaps?
CTD played a 3 song encore starting with HEART OF STONE, a dark, brooding ballad. The stage plunged into darkness with two rear spotlights shining down on Roberts and Reid creating a silhouette affect. HE LIKED TO FEEL IT from the 1996 album A Worm’s Life which was a bit up-tempo compared to all the other mellow tracks and had the keyboardist perform a solo on a keytar. A fitting finish to the show was the dark poetry of MMM MMM MMM MMM, which still remains just as popular today as it did 30 years ago. It was a wonderful, chilled, mellow evening taking a trip down memory lane and I praise Crash Test Dummies for their originality and uniqueness, which clearly is adored by their devoted fans.
SET LIST:
The Ghosts That Haunt Me
In the Days of the Caveman
Flying Feeling
I Think I’ll Disappear Now
How Does A Duck Know?
God Shuffled His Feet
Swimming In Your Ocean
The Psychic
Androgynous (The Replacements cover)
Two Knights & Maidens
The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (XTC cover)
Superman’s Song
Sacred Alphabet
Afternoons & Coffeespoons
Encore:
Heart of Stone
He Liked to Feel It
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
