Punk
Remembering Joe Strummer / Live Clash from Jamaica
Dec 22nd
Today marks the seventh anniversary of Joe Strummer’s untimely death at the age of 50 (due to a heart defect). To mark the occasion, and to celebrate the legend – born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey – here’s a nice boot from the Clash at the height of their popularity.
Touring behind their hit album Combat Rock
According to the Clash resource Black Market Clash, the “Bob Marley Centre” was nothing more than an immense gravel parking lot with a stage at one end. Earlier acts of the evening included Rick James, Jimmy Buffett, the English Beat, and Bob Weir’s band, Bobby and the Midnites. By the time the Clash came on, it was closing in on dawn.
So enjoy the show, and pass it on to those snot-nosed shits who think they know music, but can’t tell you who Joe Strummer is.
Rest in Peace Joe…
The Clash at the Jamaican World Music Festival
Bob Marley Centre – Montego Bay, JA
November 27, 1982
Introduction
London Calling
Police on My Back
The Guns of Brixton
Magnificent 7
Armagideon Time
The Magnificent 7
Junco Partner
Spanish Bombs
One More Time
Train In Vain
Bankrobber
This is Radio Clash
Clampdown
Should I Stay or Should I Go
Rock the Casbah
Straight to Hell
I Fought the Law
My Night With The Pogues (@ the Marquee Theater)
Oct 22nd
Check another one off of my bucket list – I have now seen the Pogues.
Last night’s show at the Marquee Theater in Tempe was their first stop in Arizona. Ever. And it was my first chance to catch a band I’ve long admired – a legendary British band masterfully playing Irish folk music since 1982. A band fronted for most of their years by the notoriously erratic and often [always?] inebriated Shane MacGowan.
This was the 7th show of a relatively short swing across the West and central U.S., and reports in from their Los Angeles show a few nights ago had me reconsidering the steep $60 ticket price. Shane wasn’t in great shape at the Nokia Theater – stumbling and fumbling around, falling down multiple times; at one point finishing a song lying on his back.
But Shane is like that box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. He has his good days and his bad days, and I wasn’t about to miss the chance to see these legends.
After a couple pints of Guinness at my old haunt, Casey Moore’s Oyster House (I lived around the corner for five years back in my single days) – it was off to the Marquee Theater across the Mill Avenue bridge.
It was a little after 10pm when the band sauntered on stage to the sounds of the Clash’s “Straight to Hell” on the PA. 10-15 seconds after his bandmates came out (just enough time for the crowd to think “Uh oh” to themselves), Shane MacGowan – drink and cigarette in hand – shuffled out to center stage in a seasoned drunkard’s stagger.
Then the opening notes of “Sally Maclennane” kicked in, and there was no looking back. My friend Todd and I spent the show front and center, just on the outer edge of the drunken mosh pit that would vary in intensity throughout the evening (but was never still). Even during songs like “Dirty Old Town” and “Rainy Night In Soho”, there were at least a few testosterone-laced brutes jostling around.
As the show progressed, a pattern began to take shape: a couple songs with Shane, and one without – while Shane took a breather side stage (I assume). But like clockwork, Shane would make his way back to center stage, grab the mic in his signature style, and sing the great songs of the Pogues. Unlike his earlier shows in San Diego and L.A., he stood the entire time. It seems funny to be thankful that an artist you paid $60 to see was able to simply stand for a whole show. But this is Shane MacGowan we’re talking about. I’d be interested to know if Shane has ever been sober for a performance.
Clearly it was one of Shane’s “good” nights. Maybe it was the Arizona sunshine at the Biltmore luxury resort, where the Pogues stayed; or maybe it was the U2 concert in Glendale the night before, where Shane was in attendance, and prompted a shout out from Bono himself (and a segue into “Dirty Old Town”). Maybe the U2 show inspired Shane to pull it together for his fans.
Whatever forces of nature were in place, it resulted in over 90 minutes of unbridled Irish-inspired joy and revelry. The crowd – old and young alike – swayed, danced, and most notably, smiled. This was one of those live music experiences where time stood still. Before I knew it, the final song,”Fiesta”, was playing, Spider Stacy was smashing a pizza pan against his forehead, and Shane was leading the crowd in a singalong:
“Come all you rambling boys of pleasure / And ladies of easy leisure / We must say Adios! until we see Almeria once again”.
And then it was over.
I may never see the Pogues again. God willing, Shane MacGowan will continue to defy all odds behind his self destructive behavior, and he will continue to front this amazing band. But I thank the Music Gods I had an opportunity to experience the spirited majesty of a Pogues show.
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On Twitter: well, people do read the Twitter ramblings of @ickmusic! Check out this Phoenix New Times article.
On Youtube: 1123Mozart captured this great quality video of “Rainy Night in Soho”..
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Set List – Marquee Theatre – Tempe, Arizona – 10/21/2009
Sally Maclennane
Streams of Whiskey
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Broad Majestic Shannon
Young Ned Of The Hill
White City
A Pair of Brown Eyes
Tuesday Morning
Transmetropolitan
Kitty
Sunnyside of the Street
Repeal of the Licensing Laws
Body of an American
Old Main Drag
Thousands are Sailing
Dirty Old Town
Bottle of Smoke
The Sick Bed of Cuchulain
Star of the County Down
Rainy Night in Soho
Irish Rover
Paddy on the Railway
Fiesta
Ick’s Pick: Laughin’ and Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat
Sep 24th
Jim Heath and his power psychobilly trio Reverend Horton Heat are like the damn Energizer bunnies of rock & roll – they keep on a goin’. It wouldn’t surprise if they’re out on the road 300 days out of the year. And this has been going on for 20 years… I’ve seen ‘em many times, and it’s always an experience.
The Rev’s 11th studio album, Laughin’ and Cryin’ with the Reverend Horton Heat was released just a few weeks ago, along with its unsettling cover (especially for you coulrophobics out there… yeah, had to look it up). The new record is stocked full of the types of tunes and lyrics that endear him to his cult following. Songs about drinkin’ and cigarettes, Vegas, using his growing belly as a beer holder…even an ode to Arizona’s Saguaro cactus.
With Jimbo slapping hard on his stand-up bass, and the Rev pickin’ mean on his Gretsch, the album gives us high dosages of rockabilly, punk, and the ever-present humor. A case in point found in this tune, featuring the standout line: “His dirty feet might dangle like it’s [??] / But it’s not a grocery basket if there’s booze inside”. Kudos to whoever can nail those missing lyrics there…
Reverend Horton Heat – Please Don’t Take the Baby to the Liquor Store (mp3)
Buy Laughin’ and Cryin’ with Reverend Horton Heat
Links: Official Site | MySpace
Oh hell, if you haven’t heard “400 Bucks”, then you need to… this song is the best part about seeing the Rev live, in my humble opinion.
Reverend Horton Heat – 400 Bucks (mp3)
From the still amazing 1993 album, The Full Custom Gospel Sounds of the Reverend Horton Heat
Dananananaykroyd
Jun 10th
Photo by Lucy Johnston
Seriously. Do you think I’m going to come across a band named Dananananaykroyd and not share it with you? Don’t even think twice.
The guys are from Glasgow, Scotland. They have a pretty hard/post-punk edge to them, and have been compared to Los Campesinos. Another unique feature along with their name is that they have two drummers bangin’ away. Nice.
I just downloaded a few from their full length debut, Hey Everyone, off eMusic – and this one immediately caught my ear. Turn this one up LOUD, folks…
Hear: Pink Sabbath (mp3)
Buy Hey Everyone on the Banquet Records site or 
Visit: Dananananaykroyd on MySpace
All You Gods and Goddesses: Bloc Party @ First Avenue
May 5th
Bloc Party
May 4th, 2009
First Avenue, Minneapolis
“Hello, Minneapolis! We almost didn’t make it.”
Kele Okereke shouted this from the stage last night from First Avenue right after they finished their opening number, “One Month Off” from their new album Intimacy. One month off indeed. Bloc Party was originally scheduled to play 1st Ave on March 30th in what was to be the kick off for my six date Brit Rock Spring Wank with gentle ball cupping (Keane and Doves still to come). When they canceled due to Kele losing his voice, I checked their tour schedule to see if they could swing back through at a later time. I saw several dates in Canada and since we are basically part of that country, I thought it still could happen.
It did.
And it was bloody marvelous.
Right off the bat one could see that the boys in the band felt bad for missing us on the original date. Kele promised a thunderous AND extended set. They fucking delivered playing nearly all of their new album and several tracks from their first two albums. Since I missed them the first and only other time they came through in 2005, it was great to hear them play “Blue Light”, “Like Eating Glass” and “Positive Tension” from Silent Alarm; and “Flux” from A Weekend in the City really got the pit swaying around.
In addition to fantastic performances of “Mercury”, “Ares” and “The Prayer”, Kele and the rest of the lads charmed the crowd… carrying on conversations with people in the audience, flirting with girls (natch!) and chastising people for walking out during the encore which saw “She’s Hearing Voices” tacked on just for us Minneapolitans.
This last bit prompted Kele to say, “Alright, that’s it! I’m coming out there.” And he did…gloriously allowing all of us to body pass him around the pit and eventually to stage left where he proceeded to run up the steps to the upper level! He paused on the area of the steps that has always been known to elicit cries from staff saying, “You can’t stand here, dude!” Well, he not only stood there, but found a woman to dance with – continuing to run around all areas of the club with the roadie following behind him, frantically trying to give him more slack on the mic cable.
Sure I would’ve liked to hear “Biko” from the new record and my fave Bloc Party tune “Tulips” (a shiver and a sigh), but the energy from the band and the crowd more than made up for it. Sadly, this is the last North American show for Bloc Party. They are off to Europe though, so all you Ickmusic readers there should go to see them. It will be a corker!
Links: Bloc Party’s Official Site | MySpace
Buy their latest: Intimacy
Ick’s Pick (Week X): Cursive – ‘Mama, I’m Swollen’
Mar 11th
This week I thought I’d adventure off to unfamiliar territory again. I just couldn’t get myself all geeked up to listen to the new Kelly Clarkson or Chris Cornell / Timbaland over and over. So I decided on Omaha’s Cursive, mostly because of their label, Saddle Creek, which was founded by Conor Oberst.
I can affirm, after a few listens, that:
- Cursive do indeed rock. And…
- Their drummer’s name is Cornbread Compton. That’s reason enough to buy this album as far as I’m concerned.
The album kicks off with “In the Now”, featuring a feedback/effects laden intro, and launching into the repeated chorus “Don’t wanna live in the now / don’t wanna know what I know”; followed up later with “So history repeats / ‘cause present won’t repent”. It’s short, simple and ferocious, like a lot of moments on this record. I find it pretty cathartic myself.
“From the Hips”, which the band kindly offers up gratis on their web site, starts off slow, before singer/guitarist Tim Kasher’s squealing “right?!” brings in the up tempo, double beat madness.
“I Couldn’t Love You” has Kasher channeling his inner Robert Smith – which makes sense – Cursive was picked by the Cure to open for them on their 2004 tour.
You won’t believe how soft and pleasant they can make a song called “We’re Going To Hell”. But there’s also an underlying doom and creepiness. The song has sort of a Pixies-like vibe going on too.
And the boys get downright evil on “Mama, I’m Satan”:
I’m writing out a confession
My fathers and brothers
Raped your sisters and mothers
We are the sons of butchers
All in all we’re pawns
The darkness of mankind stirs in us all
Songs like “Mama, I’m Satan”, “Let Me Up”, and “Mama, I’m Swollen” – and really the feel of the record – take the listener into the darkness – some ugly fugly places. I feel like taking a shower and finding a church, and I’m not even that religious. Holy smokes…
For those looking for some quality power-indie-post-punk, and aren’t afraid to step into the shadows for a while, this album fits the bill.
Links: Official Site | MySpace (be sure to listen to “Dorothy at Forty” – one of the rockin-est grooves I’ve ever heard) | Last.fm
The Gaslight Anthem
Jan 31st
I got a note in late September alerting me to a band from New Jersey called The Gaslight Anthem. In the note was mention of Springsteen and the Clash. So naturally, I went to eMusic and downloaded ‘The ‘59 Sound’ right away. I have to be honest, I struggled with it for a while. The music was passionate and filled with great riffs and catchy hooks. But lyrics-wise, I thought they were trying a little too hard to pay obvious homage to Mr. Springsteen. Case in point: “Meet Me By the River’s Edge”…
See I’ve been here for 28 years.
Pounding sweat beneath these wheels.
We tattooed lines beneath our skin.
No surrender, my Bobby Jean.We’ve been burned by all our fears.
Just from growing up around here.
Our father’s factories marked our cars.
While Eden burned against the stars.
And with song characters like “Sally”, “Janie” and “Mary” throughout the album, well, though I could appreciate the idea that they were hugely influenced by the Boss, it initially grated on me a bit.
But over the last few weeks, I’ve been softening, and opening up more to them. Drawing me in especially with the very affecting song “Here’s Lookin’ At You Kid”.
The Gaslight Anthem – Here’s Lookin’ At You Kid (mp3)
And then, they showed up on Letterman last night. And they played “The ‘59 Sound”. And they played it with such passion and intensity… The bass player striking Paul Simonon poses. The drummer pounding hard with some amazing fills. And lead singer / guitarist Brian Fallon as the ultimate front man.
Last night on Letterman, I “got it”. What a performance (and Dave was obviously impressed too)… I am fully converted now. Locked in.
Buy The ‘59 Sound
ACL Highlight: Gogol Bordello
Oct 12th
What a fun &%#$ band! High energy bohemian gypsy maniacs.
Gogol Bordello was high on my list of must-see acts at the ACL festival a couple weeks ago. Like a lot of people, I first came to know of them during Madonna’s performance at Live Earth last summer (7/7/07). She brought guitarist and lead singer Eugene Hütz and violinist Sergey Ryabtsev out to join her for “La Isla Bonita”. If you were able to ignore Madge’s annoying backup dancers, you got a glimpse of these two eccentrics, and they spurred you into finding out more about them.
The original members of Gogol Bordello met at a Russian wedding in Vermont in 1997. From there, they played up and down the isle of Manhattan and, in the process, got banned from the Mercury Lounge, CB/GB, Fez and the Bowery Ballroom for “being too over the mothefucking top”.
They set up residence at a performance art space called PIZDETZ, on the lower east side. Eventually, they ended up at Menahata, a Bulgarian bar, also on the lower east side, where their weekly gig. ‘DRINK LOCALLY! FUCK GLOBALLY!’, put them through the roof, and turned Menahata into the CBGB of the Gypsy Punk scene.
A couple months before ACL, I picked up Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike, their second album. The album, coupled with some good YouTube festival footage, got me primed for the show. On Friday afternoon at 4:30, the opening day of ACL, Gogol Bordello took the AT&T stage, and Entertainment ensued.
I could watch frontman Eugene Hütz all damn day – such manic energy, and that great Eastern European accent flavoring his lyrics. But then there’s the seven others, including Sergey on violin, an accordion player, and Elizabeth and Pamela, the two crazy-sexy dancers who leaped and bounded to all ends of the stage.
The ACL program put it best: if you like the Clash, the Pogues, and the Gypsy Kings, then you’re in for a treat. They tour all over the world now, so get out and see ‘em!
Here are a couple of my (and my two daughters’) favorites:
Gogol Bordello – I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again (mp3)
Gogol Bordello – 60 Revolutions
ACL Set List – 9/26/08
Ultimate
Sally
Not A Crime
Supertheory Of Supereverything
Wonderlust King
Mishto!
Tribal Connection
60 Revolutions
American Wedding
Start Wearing Purple
Think Locally, F’ck Globally
Visit: Gogol Bordello’s Official Site | MySpace
Check out a couple Gogol Bordello albums…
My, What Cute Lepers
Aug 5th
Okay, well, this band hasn’t grabbed hold of my love handles like the Hawaii Mud Bombers, but the Cute Lepers (besides the catchy moniker) lay down a nice brand of retro pop-punk. Their debut album for their new label, Blackheart Records, just came out, and they’re in the midst of a tour across this great land of ours.
“Terminal Boredom” is their first single from the album. The affectations of lead singer Steve E. Nix – yeah, I said it – may remind you of Green Day’s Billie Joe. And if you’re like me, the verses will most certainly remind you of the Clash’s “Safe European Home” (which I listened to very loudly in the shower this morning – TMI? Perhaps).
Do you like? Do you hate? Is it crappy, is it great? You tell me. The comments have been a tad dead lately. Liven up the joint.
By the way, the band photo up there? The one on the left? Hands off. She’s mine.
Cute Lepers – Terminal Boredom (mp3) [thanks to Shorefire for clearing the mp3 with the label. I'm too legit to quit!]
Links: Official Site | MySpace | Buy Can’t Stand Modern Music
The Ramones in London: the spark that lit the fire
May 22nd
The British punk explosion of 1976-77 can pretty easily be traced to one night in London: July 4th, 1976. That was the night the Ramones came to town. It was their UK debut, opening for the Flamin’ Groovies at the Roundhouse in Camden.
In attendance were current and future members of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Buzzcocks, and the Damned, among countless others I’m sure. The quality is pretty bad, but it’s still amazing to listen in on such an important night in music history. A 35 minute set that shaped the future of music. Pretty sweet.
The Ramones
Live at the Roundhouse, London
July 4th, 1976
Intro / Sound Issues
Loudmouth
Beat On The Brat
Blitzkrieg Bop
I Remember You
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
Glad To See You Go
Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment
53rd & 3rd
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
Havana Affair
Listen To My Heart
California Sun
Judy Is A Punk
I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You
Today Your Love Tomorrow The World
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