Reviews from
1986-1992, Reviews of 1997, Reviews of 1998, Reviews
of 1999, Reviews of 2000, Reviews
of 2001, Reviews of 2002, Reviews
of 2003, Reviews from 2004, Reviews from 2005,
Reviews from 2006, Reviews from 2007
Reviews from 2008
*** Jon Langford: ***
Jon Langford and his Shrunken 6 play a selection of greatest misses from
down the solo/Waco/Mekon years at:
Maxwell's Hoboken on Sat'day 5th of Jan.
Pete's Candystore in W'burg (6.30pm) on Sunday 6th
and back at Maxwell's for intimate pleasures and arrrttt openings on Monday
7th
LANGFORDATHON '02 DIARY
A report from Neil deMause to Club Mekon:
Got to Maxwell's stupidly early for Saturday's show (note to self: when a
Saturday-night show at Maxwell's says "9:30", get there at 11). While we
waited for the place to fill up, I chatted with Dennis & Lois, the
uberMekonfans, who were staffing the merchandise table. The merchandise in
question was one small sad box of Skull Orchard CDs, but according to D&L,
that could change soon:
* In addition to the new Mekons CD (basically done) and new Wacos CD (very
close), Jon has pretty much completed work on a solo CD, with Alan and
Steve and various other people. Presumably this will include "Green
Valleys," "Verdun," and some of the other unrecorded stuff Jon's been
playing live the last couple of years.
* Plans are afoot for a Mekons 25th anniversary celebration in September,
and some plans they are. Three shows, at CBGBs, Knitting Factory, and
Mercury Lounge, each focusing on a different era of Mekondom: the early
years at CBs, middle years at Knitting Factory, and decrepit old art-punk
gods stage at the Merc. Lois said something about them doing similar shows
in Chicago and L.A. as well, though I'm not sure how far along this is in
the planning stage - it sounded like they were having enough trouble just
finding all the Mekons to see if they're available. ("They think Tom's in
Hong Kong, but nobody's sure.")
As for the show, which didn't kick off until almost midnight: While not
quite as tight as they've been in the past - understandable for the first
night of the "tour" - there was a lot of rollicking good energy as usual.
Similar mix of material to when they played as the Six Proud Walkers here
in 2000. The setlist:
Tubby Brothers
Deep Sea Diver
Joshua Gone Barbados
The Seeds Are Sown aka Little Bit of Help Now (new song)
Green Valleys
I Love The Apple
Pill Sailor
Walking on Hell's Roof
Anything Can Happen
Verdun
Millionaire
Nashville Radio
See Willy Fly By
Sentimental Marching Song
I'm Stopping This Train
Death of the European
Big River
Wild and Blue
Death on the Highway
The set was a bit truncated, it later turned out, because Steve had just
thrown his back out playing squash and was incredible pain the entire
evening. (He drummed for one of the opening bands, Burn Barrel, as well -
can you say "trouper"?) But that didn't stop him from delivering the
unarguable high point of the evening, upon audience request: A rendition
of George Harrison's "Blue Jay Way," in the persona of Peter Sellers doing
an impression of Noel Coward. And to think I had assumed Penn Jillette and
Gilbert Gottfried doing the "Who's On First" routine was going to be the
strangest thing I ever saw on the Maxwell's stage...
- - - - - - - -
Got home at 2:30 am, went to sleep at 5, got up at noon and headed out in
the afternoon for the early show at Pete's Candy Store. None of us had
watches, and it took longer to trudge through the rain in Williamsburg
than we expected, so we missed the first couple songs of Jon's set.
Pete's, a former numbers-running parlor, has a back room for music that's
about the size and shape of a subway car - maybe a dwarf subway car. The
room itself being filled to capacity by about 40 people, a bunch of us
were out the door in a sort of alcove by the restrooms, where we got a
great view of Jon, Alan, and Steve at the end of a long tube, but had to
dodge both swinging restroom doors and the loud conversations of the
people behind us. (Note to concertgoers: Just because you're not listening
to the show doesn't mean other people aren't. Yeesh.)
Sandra's husband Paul said he thought the sound was better than expected
for such a small venue. Maybe, but it was fairly uneven - where we were
standing, at least, we got a pile of bass and very little guitar. (I also
got a pile of bass the last time I was at the Fulton Fish Market - but I
digress.) The band was in good form, though, and charged through a brief
hour-long set that ended when the venue had to set up for the real bands
who were going afterward. Apparently Jon and the boys had belatedly squoze
into the only available timeslot, which explains the 6:30 pm start time.
No setlist, as I wasn't keeping track, but it was most of the songs from
the first night, plus "Old Flames."
(Personal brush with greatness moment: Mindful of the previous night, I
shouted out "Let Steve sing one!" during a lull, and despite me standing
at the end of a train tunnel, for the first time ever Jon actually heard
me. "Let Steve sing one? Okay, Steve's going to recite some Dylan Thomas
for you," he said, and handed his mike to Steve, who promptly intoned: "Do
not go gentle into that. Good night!")
- - - - - - - -
Arrived at Maxwell's the next night right when I thought the art opening
would be in full swing - of course, no one was there yet, and Alan and Jon
were just sitting down to order food. Jon's artwork was mounted around the
bar/dining area, and seemed to be selling well, judging from the number of
items marked "SOLD" on the price list. I ogled a small Johnny Cash print
that was only $250 - some of the big-ticket items were going for close to
$2,000 - but I fear my days as an art collector are going to have to await
my days as an economically secure adult. Any day now, really.
Steve stayed home to rest his aching back, which left Jon and Alan as a
power duo. (We'd been promised a "quiet acoustic set" back on Saturday,
but either they had a change of heart or no one thought to bring an
acoustic guitar, because the set was all-electric.) Since they were
playing in the bar area, we were a bit worried about the sound, but it
turned out to work extremely well - the improvized P.A. sounded fine, and
whether Jon wants to hear this or not, his music works really well in a
quiet, sit-down setting. Not that it wasn't hard not to get up and dance
at times...
Setlist:
Tubby Brothers
Anything Can Happen
The Seeds Are Sown
Nashville Radio
Pill Sailor
I Love The Apple
Millionaire
Verdun
Dollar Dress
It's Not Enough
Death of the European
It was sort of an exhausting weekend - though I should note I'm feeling
easily exhausted these days - but as always when the Mekons or Wacos or
Jon's Sibilant Six or whoever comes to town, it's like a great big family
reunion, even down to feeling when it's over that while you love them all
dearly, it'll be okay if you don't see them all again for a few months.
(Okay, weeks.) It makes me wonder what people do whose favorite bands
never play in bars before just a couple dozen people, and don't hang out
after shows chatting with their fans about square dance calls and
mixology. It must be a sad, dismal existence. I'm glad that's not us.
Finally, I should note that the ticket cost for this entire Jonstravaganza
was a grand total of eight bucks - less than I paid in train fare getting
to and from the shows. Eat that, Fugazi!
And, oh yeah: Jon, Alan and Steve went by WFMU on Monday afternoon to
record some stuff, as well. If Hova doesn't post about it when it's
airing, I'll be sure to.
And now, to bed.
Neil
HONKY TONK SHADOWS (new paintings and prints) by Jon Langford at Maxwell's
from Jan 7th
Toronto at the Horseshoe on February 2nd:
COUNTRY CAPER
JON LANGFORD'S ART HISTORY
BY TIM PERLICH
Jon Langford AND THE SADIES with Bob Egan and Precious Little at the Horseshoe (370 Queen West), Saturday (February 2). $8.
according to jon langford's bestrecollection, there've been at least four occasions when the Horseshoe pencilled in a gig by one of his various combos -- the Mekons, Waco Brothers, Pine Valley Cosmonauts -- that would later be cancelled under mysterious circumstances. So even though the show Saturday (February 2) is confirmed and a contract has been signed in his Welsh blood, people are still skeptical about whether the Chicago alt-country linchpin will actually appear.
The Sadies are certainly counting on it, since besides working as Langford's backing band for the night they're also planning to record a collaborative album while he's in town. As for Langford, he swears what happened in the past won't happen again. And what was that, then?
"Each time I've made plans to play a show in Toronto, somebody's gotten themselves into trouble," explains Langford without getting into the details. "The best way around that was to come by myself, so that's what's happening this time."
He's not coming alone. Langford is bringing a set of reproductions of his now famous, politically incisive portraits of country music stars of the golden era, which will be on display in the Horseshoe's front bar.
Langford gave up art studies at university when punk rock beckoned. His heavily glazed paintings of popular entertainers like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Loretta Lynn are based on publicity photographs, but, according to Langford, the compromising contexts in which they're often depicted are drawn from personal record-biz experience.
He was doing portraits of country artists as gifts for friends when someone with gallery connections in Chicago offered him a show.
"It seemed like a good way for me to use art to comment on the mu
sic industry. A lot of early paintings like Hank Williams signing a contract were really autobiographical. Some of the most pivotal moments in my life came around signing contracts. As soon as you get involved with people who are thinking about what you're doing for their own reasons, that's when things begin to fall apart.
"I've had a few disastrous run-ins with major labels, but I'm not bitter, OK? I am not fucking bitter, and you can print that!"
A report from Hugh Hardy on Club Mekon:
Suffice it to say the show was monstrous. The Sadies lit into every
song with a rabid enthusiasm only true blue, dyed-in-the-wool Jonboy
fans could muster. Sorta like the Judas Priest cover band singer
joining Judas Priest, only in reverse. The Sadies were in their five
man configuration with Critter on the vibes for the whole night which
really enhanced the reggae "Joshua Gone Barbados" and the new "Watch
Johnny Run". Bob Egan of Wilco and Blue Rodeo sat in for the whole
night on ped-steel. Adding in the guest performers, there were more
often than not eight musicians onstage. A veritable honky-tonk
orchestra...
Jonboy? Well, he was three sheets to the wind and obviously having a
grand time. He was a complete savage all night, playing and singing his
heart out.
Anyway, the set-list, sort of in order:
Nashville Radio (uptempo)
I Love Apple
It's Not Enough
Little Ol' Wine Drinker Me
(w/Basil Donavan of Blue Rodeo on guitar/lead vocals)
At the Drugstore (new song)
Cocaine Blues (Travis Good of the Sadies on lead vocals)
Watch Johnny Run (new song)
Joshua Gone Barbados
(two songs that escape me right now...)
Pill Sailor
Sentimental Marching Song
Death Of Country Music
Memphis, Egypt
encore 1 (Travis on bass, Jonboy on guitars)
Walking On Hell's Roof
Anything Can Happen
encore 2 (whole band)
To Love Somebody (Bee Gees cover w/Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo on lead
vocals)
Loved On Look (Sadies cover of an Elvis tune with Greg Keelor on lead
vocals)
Stay A Little Longer
Wreck On The Highway
Big River
In short:
The new material is fantastic. Country-reggae is the closest I can come
to summing it up succinctly.
"Memphis, Egypt" was the best version I've ever heard. The Sadies were
obviously dying to play it and the crowd went absolutely nuts.
Jon was hilarious as usual. Travis forgot a verse of "Cocaine Blues"
which fractured the song's crime and punishment story irreparably. Jon
and the band were laughing so hard, they barely finished the tune. Jon
summed it up saying: "Well, at least it was better than last night when
we had the guy in the gallows before he even commited a crime." He
introduced "Anything Can Happen" as a tune he did with Sally Timms. The
mention of Sally elicited quite a bit of applause. Jon's timing was
perfect. He let the applause die out and deadpanned "I didn't know she
had family in Toronto!" Big laughs. He added: "She's home minding the
ranch tonight."
The crowd went wild for the Blue Rodeo guest appearances. For all you
folks south of the border or in Europe, Blue Rodeo has been one of the
best country bands in the world for the past 16 years. They're huge
here in the Great White North but little known elsewhere. "Five Days In
July" from 1995 is one of the best country albums you'll ever hear.
Basil Donavan, the band's bassist, took up a six string Gretsch and sang
"Wine Drinker" which had Jonboy grinning from ear to ear and chiming in
on the refrain.
Blue Rodeo's leader, Greg Keelor put up the Sadies at his farm to record
the recent "Tremendous Efforts" album and sings the insane "Loved On
Look" from that record. "To Love Somebody" is the lead track on the
just released Blue Rodeo Greatest Hits. Keelor joined the Sadies
onstage for these when I saw them last year. He's a great raspy soul
singer and threw absolutely everything he had into both tunes tonight.
Seeing Jon Langford singing gleeful back ups on a Bee Gees and an Elvis
tune was a new one.
Bought a stunning Langford painting of Johnny Cash. My friend Dan
bought a Hank Williams. I spoke briefly to Jon who complimented me on
the Welshness of my name and thanked me for buying the piece: "It
justifies these extended absences to my wife!"
A great night. The only drag was that the mini-disc player I brought
was too sensitive and the recording I made came out overmodulated. I'll
try, but I don't think it's salvageable. Too bad.
JON LANGFORD:
Thu Feb 21 Berkeley Starry Plough
RICO BELL
Thu Feb 21 Berkeley Starry Plough w/ Jon
Langford
Just returned from SF. All I have to say is Jonboy and Rico are true
Gods. Absolutely great weekend, old fellow Mekons fans, new friends,
great beer, great music, and thanks go to the guys for being a highlight
of the weekend. Ultra thanks to Jon for Death of the European at
Foley's! Caught the whole show there (setlist possibly to follow) and
purchased a piece of art from each of them over at Dylan's but was
pretty much burnt out and didn't stick around for the music and partying
there.
Can't wait for September and the Mekons down here in LA.
Oh yeah, love Rico's new CD, especially Working Class Hero!
Greg
Greg you poor bastard, what an amazing night of music you missed.
For me, it was the most fun I've had at a show since seeing the Wacos at the
Bloodshot BBQ at SXSW two years ago.
I'll just throw out some of the highlights, and leave it to Neo or someone
else to fill in the gaps.
Rico and Jon each played sets not terribly different from the previous two
evenings, though they each threw in a couple of new wrinkles, and you could
certainly call it ragged but right. Then the fun really began. Rico did a
second set that ended with a great version of If I Could Stay Drunk. By
that point there was nary a person in Dylan's who wasn't drunk.
Jon's second set began with a raucous version of 20th Century Boy, followed
by an amazing version of Baba O'Reilly (with Jason from Rico's band on
fiddle) that just tore the roof off the place. Then, just when it seemed it
couldn't get any better, Jon invited Dylan's wee Welshman of an owner, Titch
Jones, do recite some Dylan Thomas. He was as drunk as everyone else, and
he got up on the bar, the band played a kind of funk instrumental, and Titch
danced his ass off. My god, the old guy can shake it. Then Jon and the
boys played Hey Big Spender, and Titch kept shaking it, with lascivious help
from the young woman sitting below him. He finally did recite a bit of
Dylan Thomas (shout is more like it) with punk-noise backing from Jon, Alan
and Steve.
I've never seen Little Willy so drunk. Either just before, or just after
Titch, my memory fails, Steve did his now legendary version of Blue Jay Way,
complete with hilarious body language.
At some point Jon invited Rico up (Rico has a squeeze box, Mindy never
sleeps at night was the intro), they did Millionaire and TINA, and
eventually the night ended with a rollicking Big River.
I can't wait until next year and the 3rd annual art show at Dylan's.
Rick
I found my little scrap of paper with my bad shorthand on it so here's
the set list for Foley's, there was more at the end but unfortunately
everything was a blur after Death of the European:
Little Bit of Help
Nashville Radio
Pill Sailor
Hell's Roof
Anything Can Happen
?
Youghal
I Am the Law
Tubby Brothers
Sentimental Marching Song
?
Deep Sea Diver
Neglect
Millionaire
I'm Stopping This Train
Death of Country Music
Death of the European
TINA
Big River
Hell's Roof, Neglect and Death of the European were the highlights for
me. I don't know if Rick can fill in but I wouldn't mind a memory
refresher.
Greg
WACO BROTHERS:
Sun Feb 10 Chicago Life's Too Short MS Benefit
Fri Mar 1 Cleveland Beachland Ballroom
Sally Timms: Feb 25th: Alverno College, Wehr Hall, 7:30PM Monday night $22.50 adv,$24.50 d.o.s. Advance tix available locally at Atomic Records on Locust St in Milw (w./Richard Thompson)
March 8th: Abbey in Chicago
02-17: Chicago, IL - Old Town School of Folk Music:
Jon Langford, Jeff Tweedy and Red Red Meat alumnus Tim
Rutili
They played from noon to 3:00 p.m. as part of the venue's
"Wiggleworm Dads" series, which are intended for toddlers and their parents.
I attended both yesterday's shows. My son came with me to the
second show, as he slept late and didn't get ready in time to attend the
first one.
Both shows were sold out affairs and were attended mostly by entire families
with small, toddler-age children. As my son is 11, he was older than nearly
all the other kids, but he still had a good time.
The performers all worked together as a band. The three main
singers/guitarists were Tim Rutili (Califone), Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), and Jon
Langford (Mekons, Wacos, etc.) who were backed by additional musicians from
Califone playing banjo and guitar.
This was a rather loose affair, as the singers took turns on a variety of
covers and even a few original tunes. I'll try posting a setlist later.
The second show had a somewhat different setlist. They performed tunes like
Yellow Submarine, We Are the Champions (complete with incongruous Tweedy
vocal), Oranges and Lemons, Big Rock Candy Mountain, Wild Thing, etc.
"Monkey Mess," the song Tweedy wrote with his son Spencer, only got played
at the first show. At the second show Tweedy played "Something Good," a
tune he said they listen to a lot at home.
Lead singers in (parenthesis)
12:00 show
1. Intro
2. The Fox is in the Town-o (Langford) - Burl Ives tune
3. Mama's Stew Surprise (Rutili)
4. Three is a Magic Number (Tweedy) - School House Rock tune
5. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (Langford)
6. Big (Rutili)
7. It's Alright to Cry (Tweedy) - from "Free To Be You and Me"
8. When You Talk With Your Mouth Full of Food (Langford) - poem by Shel
Silverstein
9. Can I Sleep in Your Bed? (Langford) new song
10. This is How They Talk (Rutili)
11. Oranges and Lemons (Langford)
12. Monkey Mess (Tweedy)
13. Esme is a Deer with No Idea (Tweedy) song improvised using suggestions
from the audience
14. Them Bones (Langford)
15. Yellow Submarine (Tweedy) - Beatles
16. Rockin' Robin (Rutili) - Bobby Day
17. Wild Thing (Langford) prefaced tune with reading from "Where the Wild
Things Are"
18. We Will Rock You (Tweedy) Queen cover
3:00 show
1. Intro
2. The Fox is in the Town-o (Langford) - Burl Ives tune
3. Big Rock Candy Mountain (Rutili/Langford/Tweedy) - Burl Ives tune
4. It's Alright to Cry (Tweedy) - from "Free To Be You and Me"
5. A Little Bitty Tear Let Me Down (Langford) - Burl Ives tune
6. Three is a Magic Number (Tweedy) - School House Rock tune
7. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (Langford)
8. Big (Rutili)
9. When You Talk With Your Mouth Full of Food (Langford) - poem by Shel
Silverstein
10. Can I Sleep in Your Bed? (Langford) new song
11. This is How They Talk (Rutili)
11. Oranges and Lemons (Langford)
12. I'm Into Something Good (Tweedy) - Herman's Hermits song
13. Yellow Submarine (Tweedy) - Beatl
12. I'm Into Something Good (Tweedy) - Herman's Hermits song
13. Yellow Submarine (Tweedy) - Beatles
14. Rockin' Robin (Langford) - Bobby Day
15. Them Bones (Langford)
16. Wild Thing (Langford) prefaced tune with reading from "Where the Wild
Things Are"
18. We Will Rock You (Tweedy) Queen cover
David Sadowski
March 4th MEKONS at Fitzgerald's 7.30pm
Several short reviews:
It was only my second Mekons show, so .... But what depravity, what
barbarousness, what pleasure. The two covers with Escovedo playing guitar,
Jessica B. (it sounded like Beely; anyone?) on electric fiddle, the new guy
Eric (or Erik; maybe he was a bit Norse) on bass, and Hector Munoz on drums
were outstanding. Tom, Jon, and Steve wore gold shimmering shirts, glam
look for the glam rock song, "All the Young Dudes." The whole show really
came together for me during "Dudes." And the final 3 songs were intense and
fun. There were a lot of moments: Sally Tom Rico and Steve almost getting
knocked out by a flying microphone (maybe I'm exaggerating a little)--they
were all up front singing and clowning around-- and Sally almost falling
off the stage, laughing, and was it Steve finally pulling Sally's skirt off
after much banter about getting Alejandro out to do the job?
Escovedo's set was fantastic (first time I've seen him--well, my daughter's
finally a preteen so now I can get out more), though one of my friends
thought it wasn't her cup of tea. But he did "Sometimes" to start off and
somewhere in there was "I Wanna Be Your Dog." In a way it was a bit like
the Latin Playboys, lots of rock and mescaline. The Mekons were drinking
margueritas.
Jay
A quick, concise review of the Alejandro Escovedo/ Mekon show from this past Monday. Escovedo and his band of merry men were an ideal choice to open and were in fine form. Alejandro has evolved in uncountable ways since i first saw him with Rank 'n' File (@ the late, lamented Tuts) in the early 80's. Escovedo alternated
feedback/distortion laden smacks to the forehead with folky hymns that quieted the expectant crowd. Senor Escovedo plays around here often and I highly recommend
attending any of his shows. My show highlight was the perfectly logical (and supremely loving) cover of the Ramone's "I wanna be your boyfriend" that flowed into
his (in)famous take on the Stooge's classic "I wanna be your dog". In many respects, the same sentiment. (just kidding dear).
By the time our Mekons hit the smallish stage, the crowd was lubed and ready. As in previous shows, the amount of familiar faces attests to the strange (morbid?) attraction we MekonFans have to our heroes. Langford, Greenhalgh, Goulding resplendant in gold shirts of some hideous man-made material....Ms. Timms and Rico abstaining from the glam look for the evening. Mekon neo-phyte bassist Eric (Carlson?), whom Sally claimed would "washing himself over and over" after his exposure to the band, acquitted himself nicely as did Jessica (still don't know her last name) on fiddle. She's been w/Mekons last couple of times I saw 'em and fits in nicely...and as Sally reminds us, "keeps two sets of breasts on the stage."
Sally began taunting Alejandro Escovedo early, daring/begging him to tear her skirt off....Escovedo would have none of it. The boys and girls tore through some newer material...some unreleased/some from Journey to the End of the Night...as well as standards (Orpheus,Now we Have the Bomb,I Love a Millionaire,et al.) with gusto and the usual inter-Mekon banter and abuse. Greenhalgh seemed somewhat more detached than usual (Flu, bad day...who knows) but Langford and Timms appeared to be enjoying themselves as usual . Encores, which are always interesting (sometimes terrifying! lol) chapters in any Mekon performance, were borderline spectacular. At one point, Escovedo's band crowded onto the stage and joined in a rousing, sometimes mumbling rendition of "All the Young Dudes" which gave way to the "immortal" "Hot Legs" by Rod the Mod...which Escovedo simply tore up and reconstructed as his own. Finally, the combi-band waltzed through "Neglect"
which ended with Langford/Timms/Greenhalgh/Bell voicing the request "gimme 10,000 pounds...pleeeeeaase until their voices gave out. Great way to spend a snowy Monday evening in Chicago (Berwyn actually).
Setlist:
Tina
Last Weeks of the War
I (heart) Apple
Abernant
Chivalry
Hard To Be Human
Dangerous Bibles (new song sung by Sally)
Lone Pilgrim (new song sung by Tom)
Millionaire
Fantastic Voyage
Oblivion
Bastard
Orpheus
Now We Have the Bomb
Curse
Memphis Egypt
encores with Alejandro Escovedo and Hector Munoz:
All the Young Dudes
Hot Legs
more encores:
Last Dance
Neglect
Lost Highway
Saturday, March 23rd
Corgan, Earle, Spector 'Waltz' In Chicago
by Matt Carmichael, Chicago
An eclectic array of artists shared the stage Saturday at Chicago's Metro for the fourth annual Waltz benefit, which organizers said raised $40,000 for Heartland Alliance's Neon Street, a local charity for homeless teens. Performers included former Smashing Pumpkins members Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, Steve Earle, Ronnie Spector, Graham Parker, and a cast of notable local musicians.
The Waltz, which takes its name from the famous final concert by the Band, was conceived by Chicago native Nicholas Tremulis, and his orchestra proved its versatility as the house band for the performance with an extensive horn section, guitars, and percussion. Members of the Chicago-based gospel-rock collective Sonia Dada added backing vocals.
The highlights were as diverse as the artists themselves. The Mekons' Jon Langford teamed up with Chamberlin on a medley of Ramones' tunes, while a youthful Spector took the crowd "back to 1963" for her signature number, the Ronettes' "Be My Baby." Ken Nordine performed his free-form spoken word jazz to a rapt audience, while jazz veteran and Beat poet-collaborator David Amram dusted off music from his original score for "The Manchurian Candidate" for the first time in 40 years, as scenes from the film were projected behind him.
Blondie Chaplin, who has worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to the Beach Boys, let loose a soulful rendition of Sam Cooke's "Change Is Gonna Come." Sonia Dada baritone Paris Delane, whose mother had passed away earlier in the day, fought his own tears as he sung an emotional "Amazing Grace."
Michael Scott teamed up with Corgan and Chamberlin for Deep Purple's "I'm Going Down." In only his second hometown performance since the Pumpkins' demise (the first being last year's Waltz III), Corgan offered some blistering guitar work in and around Scott's soaring vocals. Shawn Christopher pulled out all her diva stops with her club hit, a house version of "Never Knew Love."
The show concluded with the full ensemble, minus Corgan, crammed on stage for the obligatory all-star jam: Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone." Langford shared a mic with Ivan Neville and Alejandro Escovedo, who had played earlier with Tremulis and also with the Metro owner Joe Shanahan. Spector, Earle, and Chaplin took center stage, helping lead the ensemble and the crowd through the classic track.
Spector said she got involved because she feels that while many charities concern themselves with young children, teenagers are often overlooked despite their vulnerability. "Teenagers are the most important because they're the ones who will carry the rock and roll forward for all the rest of us," said the mother of two teenagers, adding, "Besides, it's really the hardest age."
Parker plays very few benefits, but accepted the invitation to perform because he would "rather have kids in a place, you know, than out on the streets f***ing around." He said he relished the chance to work with musicians like Earle that he respected from a distance but hadn't yet seen perform. Some, like Chamberlin were just proud to be a part of a great night. "It was an honor," he said succinctly.
The Pine Valley Cosmonauts and Friends
The Executioner's Last Songs Live
Abbey Pub, Chicago, 5-31-02
Tom Brennan - piano
Drew Carson - mandolin
Steve Goulding - drums
Jon Langford - guitar
Tom Ray - bass
John Rice - guitar
Dean Schlabowske - guitar
Rick Sherry - washboard (on some songs)
Lead vocalists as noted
Intro (3:02)
Gary Gilmore's Eyes (2:55) Dean Schlabowske
The Green, Green Grass of Home (5:55) Kelly Hogan
Great State of Texas (2:52) Jon Langford
Horses (4:34) Chris Mills
The Hangman's Song (5:08) Puerto Muerto
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive (3:37) Edith Frost
Long Black Veil (4:06) Sally Timms
Oh Death (5:38) Diane Izzo
99 Years (3:24) Jon Langford
Love's Gonna Live Here Again (2:49) Jon Langford
Intro (1:00)
Knoxville Girl (4:58) Dean Schlabowske
Trouble in Mind (3:55) Jon Langford
The Plans We Made (7:04) Jon Langford, Sally Timms
The Snakes Crawl at Night (3:12) Janet Bean
Nashville Radio (4:34) Jon Langford
Miss Otis Regrets (5:36) Puerto Muerto
Hanged Man (5:05) Rick Sherry
I Wanna Be Free (3:25) David Yow
Sing Me Back Home (4:24) Edith Frost
Tom Dooley (7:19) Jon Langford, Rick Sherry
Delilah (3:32) Jon Langford
Folsom Prison Blues (7:42) Jon Langford
PVC @ Wells Park Chicago, July 13 2002
"Death disco, that's what we're playing tonight." With that, Jon Langford and friends played an excellent set that ran just over 70 minutes, before an appreciative crowd of thousands in Welles Park. Fortunately, my son Brian and I were there front and center to catch it all for posterity.
This was a somewhat different set than I'd heard in May at the Abbey Pub. This was a shorter set, the instruments were balanced better in the mix (John Rice's lead vs. Drew Carson's mandolin, for example), there were some new tunes, different guests, more pairing up of guest vocalists, and, if anything, less jamming. To a degree, soloing was kept to a minimum as everything had to fit into a prescribed schedule.
The shorter format resulted in a lot less Langford vocals than the May show at Abbey Pub. Had to accomodate all the guest vocalists who came from all over the country (Washington DC, Nashville, etc. etc.) ya know.
The main reason we didn't get a full 75 minute set was the long-winded announcements from festival organizers and a guy running for Congress that preceded their set... but most likely, only one tune probably got cut anywho.
All in all, a really special performance, and what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon on a beautiful day in Chicago? And for only five dollars admission, too (one dollar for Brian)... and I bought him a balloon, too. Later on, Brian said this had been "the best day ever." Not far off the mark.
As Jon put it, "No death on the radio these days... just the loss of virginity... sad, innit?"
The Pine Valley Cosmonauts and Friends Play The Executioner's Last Songs Live
Welles Park, Chicago, 7-13-02 (The Old Town Folk and Roots Festival)
Knoxville Girl - Paul Burch, Dean Schlabowske
Long Black Veil - Sally Timms, Edith Frost
Hanged Man - Rick Sherry
Goodbye Mary Ann - Rebecca Gates (a Charlie Rich cover, at least I think that's the name of the tune)
The Great State of Texas - Jon Langford
The Hangman's Song - Puerto Muerto
The Green, Green Grass of Home - Kelly Hogan
Dying Breed - Lonesome Bob
Miss Otis Regrets - Jenny Toomey
Horses - Sally Timms
Sing Me Back Home - Edith Frost
Oh Death - Diane Izzo
The Snakes Crawl at Night - Janet Bean
I Wanna Be Free - David Yow
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive - Rosie Flores
Walls of Time - Paul Burch
Gary Gilmore's Eyes - Dean Schlabowske and All
David Sadowski
Waco Brothers @ Double Door, 12-07-02
The Double Door show started at 10 and quit at 1:30. I'm not sure how long
WB played but they played with hardly a bit of banter. JL said that they
had to play "economically," since they had gone on for a good while with
the pick-up group before. So, no fucking around, just music. Which was
fine. They opened with "Geronimo" and closed with "Do You Think about Me?"
(still don't like that song), "Plenty Tuff That Union Made" and "White
Lightning."
Highlight: Tracy Dear and JL body slamming Lonesome Bob. TD went high, JL
went low. They bounced off LB like water on a hot griddle.
Jenny Toomey opened with just a fiddle player, a friend from DC, who stayed
on for much of the show-- "the mystery fiddler," said JL. Then JL and Rice
and SG and (ach, sorry, what was his name?) the bass player came on and
various vocalists came on and off, and Carson came on at one point, and
they all did songs from Executioner's Last Song, and others as well. Johnny
Dowd was supposed to be there but ... well... JL intro'd "Tom Dooley" by
saying that Steve Earle sang this one on the cd, but he couldn't be there
tonight. He was on a double date with Dowd at a Chinese restaurant. I can't
remember all the songs they played (just got back from a car trip to
Befuckinmedji Minnesota--Note: last weekend, in case you missed it, in
Walker Minnesota, Journey, Blondie, Deep Purple, the Gin Blossoms, and
others were playing a 3-day outdoor festival. Plus Nazareth played the
Barron County (wisconsin) Fair that same weekend AND Herman's Hermits were
at the Turtle Lake (Wisconsin) Casino (though it looked like they were
playing without Herman)).....
but Dean and Sally and Jon did "GG's Eyes" and Lonesome Bob did "Pardon Me
(I've Got Someone to Kill)" and Sally did "Long Black Veil" (which JL said
would be on vol. 2 of Executioner's Last Songs) and Jon and Sally did "The
Plans We Made" and JL did "Tom Dooley" and Jenny Toomey did a couple of
songs (one of which may have been "Miss Otis Regrets") and JL did "Hanged
Man" and "Knoxville Girl." And Paul Burch came on too at some point and
played about four songs, one of which was a killer version of "Brown-Eyed
Handsome Man."
And a keyboardist ("all the way from Leeds") played, too, and you could
hear him, too, he was good, but, well, ok, I can't remember his name either.
I think JL was onstage the whole time. It was a great great night.
jay
Langford - Timms - Escovedo @ Abbey Pub, 19-07-02
I passed up Janet Reno's Dance Party last night to see Jon Langford, Sally
Timms, and Alejandro Escovedo. I can tell ya that the spirit of rock'n'roll
is alive and well here in Chic-a-go-go.
My evening started at Quimby's Queerstore in the Wicker Park neighborhood,
just around the corner from the storefront used as Championship Vinyl in the
film High Fidelity. (Which never was an actual record store... the entire
building is empty at present and is being converted to condos. It's on the
corner of Honore and Milwaukee.)
Quimby's is a punk/anarchist book and magazine emporium specializing in
obscure 'zines and carries a good selection of Bukowski, Phillip K. Dick and
anarchist porno, whatever that is. It's easy to imagine such a place here
for us Sheep in the Big City, harder to imagine it transported down to, say,
Arkansas nor Indianapolis, except maybe in an alternative universe. Perhaps
it was dreamed up by the empaths in Minority Report... let's put the
Queerstore down the road a piece from the Wal-Mart, shall we?
Last night they were celebrating fifty issues of Punk Planet magazine, and
the founder opined that they started out not knowing what they were doing,
if they had known, maybe they wouldn't have done it... it only worked out by
accident, and if it continues, that'll be happenstance too. In other words,
my life story and probably yers.
Jon Langford and Sally Timms were interviewed in Punk Planet #50 to
celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Mekons. Further, Langford contributed
a cover illustration of Mayor Richard M. Daley. It's a good mag and a good
interview, pick it up if you can. The dynamic duo played about four Mekons
tunes before packing up for their opening slot at the Abbey Pub, where they
played just under 45 minutes.
A couple years ago Jon and Sally put out an eight-song EP on Bloodshot
(Songs of False Hope and High Values) that ranks with the best work they've
ever done. Unfortunately, it's currently out of print, but Sally said it's
about to be reissued in Australia. Most of what they did was drawn from
that, but there was a new song Jon said was about Tom Jones. Jon has a
jones for Mr. Tom Jones but sad to say, no one threw their knickers onstage,
not even me.
Last night's set was notable for Sally's GUITAR PLAYING, yes, it was pretty
basic, but she did strum away on her Danelectro on a few tunes, including
one she sang. During one "hard rock" number Jon cued her to SOLO, in fact,
and some of the chords she played may even have been correct, if a few
seconds too late... finally, she gave up and just continued playing one
chord over and over. If you make a mistake, do it again, and it becomes
jazz.
Sally may be a self-proclaimed "rude bitch" but I love her.
Jon played a beat-up Squire Stratocaster... same kinda guitar that a repair
tech called a "toy" when I bought a Mexican Strat the other day, but I sure
wish I could play it like Jon does.
Next up were Alejandro Escovedo and band, five other guys besides him. He
called it a "new" band and said this was their second gig together. You'd
never have known that, they were very tight and complemented each other
perfectly. He has a new drummer, his regular mainstay is off on maternity
leave.
His lead guitar player had lots of troubles with his effects pedals and for
a coupla numbers tried frantically rearranging the patch cords before giving
up and doing without them. This did result in Alejandro playing some leads
himself though.
Material ran the gamut of Al's various solo records, which have been
reissued and were on sale at the Bloodshot table. They were also selling
the kid's CD "The Bottle Let Me Down" which will be reprised at The Hideout
on Sunday afternoon.
They started with a new track called "13 Days Theme" that he said was
written by his cellist. Al's contribution to "Bottle" was another standout-
"The Big 1-0," which he also played at FitzGerald's last summer.
At encore time, they played Neil Young's "Powderfinger," which would be a
perfect choice to jam on with the Drive By Truckers tonight. Neil wrote
that song for Lynyrd Skynyrd just prior to the plane crash.
Finally, they closed with a fantastic "All the Young Dudes" with Jon
Langford guesting on vocals. I'm a dude man, hope to see y'all at tonight's
show, which may not yet be sold out.
David Sadowski
Just a couple added notes on the Abbey show:
- Jon and Sally did a reworked version of "Closing
Time" from his Skull Orchard LP that was very cool
- They played two Mekes songs: Last Weeks of the War
and Hard to Be Human. Both were great.
War", like much of the show was diminished by the
fucking Al Escovedo fans not keeping their mouths shut
(no offense to Al, but his fans are borderline Black
47 fans)....
"Human" was an unqualified joy right down to Sally's
ramones-esque guitar (three chords and out!).
... I asked Jon later what the line about "I saw a man
hold a chicken to his head" was in reference to and he
said "I'm sure it was something very, very important
at the time it was written, but now it just means that
a man held a chicken up to about here (motioning to
his head)."
I decided after than not to ask why he was waiting for
Spider-Man to catch a plane and fly in "Honeymoon In
Hell".
Na na na naaaa...
A.N.
Forgive me if I've got some of the titles wrong.
Jon Langford (electric guitar, vocals) and Sally Timms (vocals)
Quimby's Queerstore, Chicago, 7-19-02 (Celebrating 50 issues of Punk Planet
magazine)
I Love a Millionaire
Hard To Be Human
The Last Weeks of the War
Mekons Rock and Roll
Jon Langford (acoustic and electric guitar, vocals) and Sally Timms (vocals,
electric guitar)
Abbey Pub, Chicago, 7-19-02
(opening set for Alejandro Escovedo)
Dark Sun
Horses
Anything Can Happen
Randwick Bells (Paul Kelly cover)
Walking on Hell's Roof Looking at the Flowers
The Last Weeks of the War
Closing Time
I Picked Up the Pieces
Tom Jones Conversion (?)
Down From Dover
Hard To Be Human (Sally Timms on "lead" guitar!)
Blow the Man Down
Later that same evening, Jon joined Alejandro Escovedo on lead vocals for
All the Young Dudes (David Bowie/Mott the Hoople cover)
Jon Langford (electric guitar, vocals)
Hideout, Chicago, 7-21-02
(Kid's show for Bloodshot Records' CD release The
Bottle Let Me Down)
Them Bones
Oranges and Lemons
There Was an Old Lady
The Fox
A Little Bitty Tear Let Me Down
Jon also sang background vocals during some of Alejandro's songs that
afternoon.
D.S.
25th anniversary tour: North America
Friday, 30 August: Annex, Madison, Wi.,
I was lucky enough to be in the front row Friday night
for the most awesome debut of their 25th anniversary
tour. They didn't waste time with their revelry, but
I do want to point out that they are missing Susie on
fiddle. Don't let that disuade anyone from going
though as her replacement has sat in with the band
before. I didn't remember her name, but I believe
she's from Chicago and is very talented. The band
also let her stretch out on a number of songs. Here's
the setlist from the stage:
Tina
Last Dance
Millionaire
Abernant
Jerusalem*
Hate is the new love
Rosanne
Teeth
Lone Pilgrim
Fantastic Voyage
Bastard
Oblivion
Orpheus
Apple
Hard to be Human
Curse**
Encores:
Lonely & Wet
Dan Dare
Riot
Corporal Chalkie
Ghosts***
Memphis****
-------------
* This song will leave you wanting to roadtrip to
their next gig, even if its across the pond
** One of my favs, but it is so much better live
*** Sally got me all choked up singing this one
**** This brought down the house as usual
The setlist may not be perfect since I took it from
the stage, but it is pretty damn close. Hopefully a
live recording surfaces. I'll be sure see some of you
in Chicago.
kent
Monday, 2 September: Seattle, WA Bumbershoot Festival (Seattle Center)
Human
Tina
Millionaire
Rosanne
Abernant
Jerusalem
Corporal Chalkie
Bastard
Fantastic Voyage
Last Dance
Orpheus
Now we have the bomb
Apple
Dan Dare
Curse
Memphis
Encore:
Where were you
Tuesday, 3 September: Portland, OR Berbati's Pan
Waycross opened in Portland
Jerusalem
Last Dance
Millionaire
Rosanne
Abernant
Hate
Fantastic Voyage
Tina (also performed at Powell's)
Apple
Corporal Chalkie
Teeth
Orpheus (also performed at Powell's)
Bastard
Human
Dan Dare
-----
Lonely and Wet
Bomb
Riot
Where Were You?
Lone Pilgrim
Curse
Memphis
Thursday, 5 September: Berkeley, CA Starry Plough
Last night at the Starry Plough was sold-out,
packed and singing along.
It sounded like a football match, we weren't singing
along as much as shouting along.
They covered the years 77-85, thru Fear & Whisky.
Tom was introduced as being 5 years old when he joined
the band.
Favourite cover : Gang of Four "Armalite Rifle"
Favourite Clash slagging: "Never Been In A Jaguar"
Encores were new and recent material.
just another great night of traditional folk-rock at
my local, will be levitating for days.
Kevin
Friday, 6 September: San Francisco, CA Slim's (evening)
Saturday, 7 September: Hollywood, CA Troubadour
From LA Weekly:
Mekons at the Troubadour.
You can't say Tom Greenhalgh, one of the Mekons' triumvirate of moody
singer-prophets, didn't warn us a long time ago: "Magic, fear and
superstition/This is the Curse of the Mekons . . . On your stone heads and
leaky hearts/we'll leave our mark." Of course, they've had a quarter-century
to leave that mark, wandering all over the musical and literal map, from
their eccentric early-'80s British post-punk digressions and sea chanteys to
more recent Chicago-based plunges into countryish Americana. Even at their
loveliest and most melodic, for instance on the languid reverie "Brutal,"
the Mekons are always subversive, as Sally Timms lulls with sinuous
imprecations about the CIA. On rambunctious pub brawlers "Bastard" and "Blue
Arse," Jon Langford (the Waco Brothers, the Three Johns) contrasts with
radiant bonhomie, although some of that could be the booze. Anyway,
tonight's show is a mandatory family get-together for orphans, a 25th
anniversary for dropouts, romantic curmudgeons and crackpot revolutionaries.
(Falling James)
I think they played everything tonight that they've played so far on the
west coast except for Armalite Rifle. Highlights for me were Fantastic
Voyage, Teeth, I (heart) Apple, Dan Dare (Rico just belted it out), Rock
'n' Roll, and the rest of the 40 minutes of encores.
Simply fucking amazing.
Greg
I'll see your fucking amazing & raise you a doublefucking transcendent. They
were completely on fire! One of those rock moments when you lose track of time
& feel all mekonized instead of exhausted afterwards.
My personal fave was Rosanne, 'cause I so damn love Mekons Story. & Hard to be
Human Again, 'cause it's the best song written by humans.
Sally-to-audience insult report: "Where were you all the other times we've
been
here?"
Merch report: Laugh's on me for waiting to buy OOOH direct from the band, as
they had run out of it & the soundtrack "Singing Heads" disc. In fact Sal
seemed kind of annoyed that anyone knew about Singing Heads. Prezoomably
they'll restock the merch van in Chicago. OOOH! work shirts are dead cool, if
you can find one in your size. Or even if you can't.
Sally sounded so 'Merican away from the stage. It freaked me out.
There you have it.
I'll behave as I should,
Patrick
What was it did Jon say: "the first time we played here in 1977 there
were 3 people and a dog"?
I should have waited in line for a shirt, I really wanted the "singing
heads" disc (which I hope gets treed) and a work shirt. Everyone loves
the Bloodshot work shirt so I figgered the Mekons one would be just as
admirable.
We'll behave as we should.
Greg
& may I just add that in general LA audiences are total losers. Only a small
percentage of us were bopping noticeably, & were prob thought insane by the
upstairs-seating crowd. & this for the rockinest band in rock? I ax you!
Patrick
My sentiments exactly. I was bopping hard but really wanted to bust
loose even more and create a huge sweaty Mekons-induced orgy at the
foot of the stage. Since I'm a big guy and was a little unsteady last
night I didn't want to offend any delicate LA sensibilities. And on
that not I seem to always have WAY more fun up in the Bay Area for
Mekons-related shows. I wish I had been a little more motivated and
gone up to see the Starry Plough and Slim's shows.
Eagerly anticipating the next Wacos shows or another Jon-Rico-Sally
thing on the west coast.
Greg
Thursday, 12 September: Chicago, IL Fireside Bowl
Setlist
Sadies:
Where Were You? • Fight the Cuts • Dan Dare • American Pageant • Polaroid (I Don't Own I Only Dote) • 32 Weeks • Dance & Drink the Mekons • Letter's in the Post • What Are We Going to Do Tonight • Amnesia
Mekons:
Teeth • 32 Weeks • Rosanne • Corporal Chalkie • After 6 • The Building • Silver & Gold • I'm So Happy • Trevira Trousers • Lonely and Wet • Armalite Rifle • Last Dance • Never Been a Riot • Where Were You? • Dan Dare
encore:
I Don't Care
Maybe time heals all wounds... or, as Nick Lowe put it, time wounds all
heels. Anniversaries have a way of doing that.
In 1938, the last few survivors of Pickett's Charge, all in their 90s,
reenacted it at Gettysburg, 75 years on. Instead of firing guns though, the
blue and the grey embraced each other.
When the lucky ones celebrate the 75th anniversary of punk, will they gob
some spit at each other? Or will they just say "fuck you" or "up your ass"
in a loving spirit? I wonder.
Well, the Mekons' 25th anniversary bash, the first of four local gigs this
week, was quite a love fest. The spirit of punk lives on, yes, and good fun
was had by all. Not a gob in sight, perhaps because, as Langford said, we
may be lacking in teeth nowadays.
The Sadies opened as a Mekons cover band playing late-70s/early 80s material
just like the headliners. There was, I think, one song (Where Were You)
that both bands played. They called themselves Eaglebauer, although they
had been billed as The Melons. At other times, I think they're calling
themselves Nelson.
Whatever you call it, it was still punk... three or four chords and loud
fast rules. As you'd expect, the Sadies (still one of the tallest bands in
Canada) are very good at this punk thing.
After their enjoyable 40-minute set, the real thing took the stage. This
year's Mekons are an 8-piece and sound tighter than you'd expect for a band
that prides itself on playing drunken, shambolic sets. They sounded like
they actually had worked on these tunes (I guess they'd have to, dipping way
back to the beginning of their back catalog) and with eight musicians
onstage including a fiddle and accordion, they have a rich, full sound on
just about every number.
Real punk rock energy came near the end of their 65 minute set, when they
played Where Were You? and followed that with several other numbers of
similar ilk. All this had the packed crowd pogoing and slam dancing with
abandon.
The head of Touch and Go records won the contest for most authentic punk
outfit... a Siouxsie and the Banshees t-shirt and dog collar. He then stage
dove into the audience and lived to tell the tale.
By set's end they left the audience crying out for more.
The Fireside Bowl looks like a place that will be condemned and torn down by
the city pretty soon. It's run down and seedy, although the neighborhood is
certainly ok. Several lanes are roped off (sorry, no chicken wire) and
they've built a stage in the corner... it looks like the roof's leaking in
places.
I think on some other nights, you might actually be able to bowl there.
Tonight, it was a just a lot of hot, sweaty, rock'n'roll fun. Punk rock
don't belong in no museum... it belongs in a place like the Fireside Bowl.
David Sadowski
David Sadowski wrote:
>
> The Sadies opened as a Mekons cover band playing late-70s/early 80s material
> just like the headliners. There was, I think, one song (Where Were You)
> that both bands played.
I think they both played "Dan Dare." And The Sadies offered a preview
of tonight's show by playing "Amnesia."
> After their enjoyable 40-minute set, the real thing took the stage. This
> year's Mekons are an 8-piece
Rico (nice open shirt), Tom (nice suit), Sally (nice hot pants) and Jon
(looking warm in that leather jacket) in front; Lu, Steve, Sarah (very
blonde) and Jessica Billey (sp?) in back.
Jon: This is the under-utilized Sally Timms.
Sally: What do you want me to do, I wasn't around for these songs.
Jon: Jump around some more, pogo!
Sally: You'll have to get me excited to make me pogo.
> Real punk rock energy came near the end of their 65 minute set, when they
> played Where Were You? and followed that with several other numbers of
> similar ilk.
Including Gang of Four's "Armalite Rifle" and the Ramones' "I Don't
Care." Only one song ("Last Dance") last night from _Fear and Whiskey_.
> All this had the packed crowd pogoing and slam dancing with
> abandon.
Including a rather inebriated Tracey Waco knocking into people. Saw
Deano Waco farther back in the crowd.
Sally warned the crowd that they should get permission from their
doctors before jumping around at their advanced age.
>
> The Fireside Bowl looks like a place that will be condemned and torn down by
> the city pretty soon.
I saw a Starbucks a couple blocks away, so yeah, they'll be making room
for more condos for the yuppies any day now.
It was pretty amusing when the kid at the door to the bar carded
(requested identification proving he was 21) Jonboy.
They had a pile of merchandise for sale, including books (Mekons United
marked down to $25), cd's (got the "singing spinning head" for $10)
t-shirts, posters.
TWM
It started out with Jon saying something like, Let's take a trip down
memory lane, twenty-five years ago, we looked like this--pointing to Rico
wearing a black suit jacket, bare chested, with a piece of yellow
construction tape around his neck. Except older. Sally: Not that much
older. Then Lu starts up, and Jon says, "Is it safe? Is it safe?"
It seemed like there was a small group dancing off to the side (until
Tracey Dear tornadoed through the crowd), and the rest of the crowd nodding
and shuffling or standing still. Early on, one of the Sadies said from the
stage that it was the quietest Mekons crowd he's ever seen, so then people
kind of woke up. It got a little wilder at the end.
Sadies played, among other things, What Are We Going to Do Tonight, Where
Were You, 32 Weeks, Fight the Cuts (which was excellent), Letter's in the
Post.
Rico and Tom sang 32 Weeks from a piece of notebook paper. It was great.
They played, yah, Where Were You? Never Been in a Riot, Dan Dare as the
closer (if I remember correctly), Jon played drums at one point while Steve
Sally and Tom played guitar. The highlight for me was Jon singing The
Building, dedicated to Mark White.
Like David S. said, they were tight (for the most part) with a full, big
sound. For a closed up, decrepit bowling alley, the sound was
extraordinary. There's a tarp tacked up on the ceiling to keep tiles from
hitting people (or exposing aesbestos). Maybe it helped with the sound.
Jay Williams
Friday, 13 September: Chicago, IL Chicago Cultural Center [acoustic/lunchtime]
Friday, 13 September: Chicago, IL Abbey Pub
Setlist (CCC):
Last Dance • Rosanne • Millionaire • Lone Pilgrim • Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem • Corporal Chalkie • Lost Highway • Tom reads The Curse • Fantastic Voyage • Orpheus • Wild & Blue • Neglect
Setlist (Abbey Pub):
Sadies:
Where Were You? • Memphis, Egypt • Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet • Ballad of Sally • Amnesia • What Are We Going to Do Tonight • Funeral • The Curse • Polaroid (I Don't Own I Only Dote) • Blue Arse • Fight the Cuts [with the Mekons]
Mekons:
Hard to Be Human Again • Chivalry • Oblivion • Lost Highway • Big Zombie • Wild & Blue • Fantastic Voyage • Abernant • (Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian • Bastard • Flitcraft • Prince of Darkness • The Curse • Memphis, Egypt
encore:
Ghosts of American Astronauts • Shanty • Beaten & Broken • Hey! Susan • Sweet Dreams
I agree. That Fitz show Sat. night was better in some ways than the spring
Fitz Glam Rock Show and in all other ways just as good. Lots and lots of
audience participation. They handed out lyric sheets for Take His Name and
then got twenty or so people from the audience up on stage. THey were
really on from the beginning, but that new song broke the ice. People
handed out money, probably too much money, while they sang, much later,
"give me 10000 pounds." Then the closer, Gin & It, with choreographed hand
gestures, both maxi and mini. (Did they do that during the ME tour?) One by
one they left the stage, until only Sally was left, and then she was gone
too. I don't know how long everyone in the audience, at least it sounded
like everyone, then sang "Belly to belly, back to back, dancing, dancing
round the square," still doing the gestures, maybe five minutes, maybe ten,
but then the band came back and did the first set of encores: Fight the
Cuts (with the Sadies), ?, Dan Dare (who in LA said Rico really dug singing
this? yah, he got into it, almost into the audience), ?, and Memphis Egypt.
Then gone and back with two more songs: ? and Lonely and Wet. Then JL held
his guitar up and looking up saw a metal hook at the top of the stage,
maybe for a stage curtain. He hung up his guitar by one of its tuning keys
and left. Tom did the same. They were gone and two guitars, chords hanging,
dangled in the red dark, a piercing feedback filling the room. People stood
with their hands over their ears.
Here's as much of the set list as I got. I'm sure others have the complete
list.
see above)
The Powers and Horror (Men only; Greg Kott called it a barbershop quartet
styled song in his MOnday morning review, but he must have been drunk when
he wrote that. The guys stood up fron in a row and sang a capella.)
The Abbey Pub show, by comparison, was terrible, but at the time I thought
it was pretty fucking great, but not as good as the Fireside Bowl show
(which now seems really really great). They opened on top of things, really
solid, Hard To be Human, and then, in no particular order, only as I
remember it:
see above
They started out so strong and juiced that Sally said, "Hey, we can't peak
too early." And she whacked Jon on the head with a copy of "hello cruel
world." Which only, one hopes, further increased sales. They dressed
country and JL reminisced about Chicago in 1986 (?) when the audience was
punk and they just wanted to play music from Edge of the World. At some
point JL recited Shakespeare and railed against Bush, Cheney, et al. while
he and Sarah handed out roses to the audience for the encores. Money was
handed out to Sally, who stuck it in her bra. It was fun and all, but the
band seemed to be fighting itself and some individual songs were great,
but, as a whole, not really.
The Chicago Cultural Center show was a little gem. They played in the
Randolph Street lobby, in front of the main staircase, which I guess is now
an eating area. (I used to go their back in the seventies when it was the
main public library.)
All I can say is, Watch out New York.
Jay the Freshman
Saturday, 14 September: CHICAGO, IL Eastwick Gallery (Art Opening 4pm)
Saturday, 14 September: Berwyn, IL FitzGerald's
Sally reads Sympathy for the Mekons • Tom leads group sing for Stonehead • Sarah reads Never Work • Steve reads I Can't Find My Money • Sally sings Hate Is the New Love • Jon reads (A Dancing Master Such as) Mr. Confess • Rico reads Poxy Lips • group sing for Orpheus
accompaniment: accordion and saz
Sadies (Berwyn):
Where Were You? • I Love Apple • Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet • The Curse • Wicked Midnight • Ballad of Sally • Funeral • Point of No Return • Amnesia • Memphis, Egypt
Mekons:
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem • Last Weeks of the War • Tina • Lone Pilgrim • Insignificance • Powers & Horror • Hate Is the New Love • Take His Name in Vain [audience stage participation] • Millionaire • Stonehead • The Bomb • Orpheus • Neglect • Gin & It
encore 1:
[with the Sadies] Fight the Cuts • 32 Weeks • [without the Sadies] Teeth • Dan Dare
encore 2:
Beaten & Broken • The Curse • Memphis, Egypt
encore 3:
Trevira Trousers • Lonely & Wet
Okay, this is the first pass, and I haven't finished uploading all the
photos (haven't put up the ones from FitzGerald's yet, but the setlist
is there), but here are the others -- start here (nav bar at the top and
bottom of each page):
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mhuey/mekons/25fireside/
I may be changing the navigation and maybe the layouts in the next couple
of days, but thought I'd share these now.
If you have a slower connection, be warned that these pages are between
1-2M each.
A few notes: Susie's moving house, so we won't be seeing her this tour
around... Lu's just left for Scandinavia and Germany touring with Billy
Bragg and the Blokes. Mitch, as it appears, got turned into the mummy
doll you see in the Abbey photos because his visa was denied.
It was stated that the Chicago Cultural Center lunch crowd was the largest
they've had, and many in the audience were unfamiliar with the Mekons.
There may be an art exhibition at... somewhere in London (Barbican?) on 18
December.
Something about a recorded program (is it an in-studio?) on WRXT (Chicago)
on Tuesday, 10pm-midnight?
Highlights for me? A couple include the acoustic group-sing of
"Stonehead" at the Thomas Masters Gallery (formerly the Eastwick), the
group sing for "Take His Name in Vain" at FitzGerald's, the Abbey show,
the Sadies' version of "Letter's in the Post"...
Oh, and don't forget that the incomparable jazz sax player Lol Coxhill
turns 70 tomorrow. Tell him happy birthday if you see him... or even if
you don't.
Mary Huey
Music review, The Mekons at FitzGerald's
By Greg Kot
Nostalgia does not become the Mekons.
"Bless my soul, what's wrong with me? I forgot to forget to remember," they blared Saturday at FitzGerald's, closing a three-day Chicago residency that marked the British art-punk band's 25th anniversary.
But if the memories were a bit bleary, the music was sharp and immediate. The octet is at its best when it teeters between irreverence and incoherence, the sublime and the slapdash, and Saturday was one of those nights when the blend of musicianship and mayhem was exactly right. As many as six voices at a time rose up in defiance, the vocalists sharing microphones, howling as if they had just stumbled into the room and were hearing the song for the first time over a couple of pints. The band members are in a remarkable place, seasoned enough that they fire off each other's instruments without thinking, yet still hungry to make the music stomp and soar.
The performance focused on the band's '90s material, during its tenure with Chicago-based Quarterstick Records through the current "Oooh!' album, but the music encompassed a half-century of influences. The band morphed into a barbershop quintet, backed by accordion, enumerating the "Powers & Horror"; they became Middle Eastern vagabonds, dancing and howling amid the ruins of "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem"; they evoked a Lee Perry jam session in Jamaica on "Tina" and 19th Century balladeers on "Lone Pilgrim"; and they were disco dandies, complete with synchronized hand movements, on "Belly to Belly." For the encore, they shot back to their '70s roots in Leeds, England, scratching out two-chord agit-punk rants that mocked the cycles of grown-up ambition: "Get a job, get a car, get a band, get drunk!"
To a Mekons newcomer, the show must have been a bit bewildering, a merger of contradictions: Sally Timms' bell-like voice, suggesting what Julie Andrews might sound like if she were a dominatrix; Tom Greenhalgh's broken wail, the sound of a man who has just fallen down a flight of stairs; Jon Langford's bleary howl, defiance incarnate. With Rico's Bell mournful accordion and Lu Edmonds' saz, a droning Middle-Eastern stringed instrument, the Mekons at times resembled a Salvation Army outfit busking on a street corner. Yet Steve Goulding's drumming and Sara Corina's bass kept the music centered, the serve-the-song propulsion of Goulding's snare and cymbal work suggesting a cross between the Wailers' Carlton Barrett and the Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts.
The band's versatility enables it to shoot in a dozen directions during the course of a two-hour set, and balances the sense of dread and exhaustion that pervades the lyrics. Even the Mekons' considerable humor is tinged by darkness. Their song lyrics deserve a book unto themselves (in fact, the Mekons have just published one) for the way they turn world-weariness into a comic art form. Even better is between-songs banter that would be self-defeating in the hands of a less resilient bunch, so brutal is the band on itself and its marginal role in the pop pantheon.
That humor has served the band well, because the road to 25 years has not been paved in record-company gold. Yet, the band's insistence on forging ahead should not be taken lightly. "Every day is a battle, how we still love the war," Timms sang with stately beauty. It's a line that could apply to the politics of a chaotic world, or it could sum up the Mekons' career. The Mekons don't write love songs, at least of the traditional sort. But their music must be seen as an act of love in the face of indifference, and it is transforming. Here's hoping they're in it for at least another 25 years.
Let me chime in to say that Saturday's show at FitzGerald's was one of those truly great, almost transcendant Mekons concerts, like I haven't seen in a while. And the other two nights were pretty darn good, too. Since the set lists had barely any overlap (only the encore songs from the final night repeated songs from the other shows), it almost fe;t like a single concert stretched over three days... What an experience!
"Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" sounded strong as an opener, with lots of a cappella (or almost a cappella) singing and clapping, so that when the guitars kicked in, it seemed all the more powerful.
It's amazing to think that even with three days of live music, the Mekons still left out a number of songs I wished they'd played ("Sorcerer," more stuff from "Rock 'n' Roll" and "Me"). But I guess that just proves how rich their catalog of music is.
It was cool to see the Sadies get up on stage with the Mekons for one of the encore songs. If those guys don't watch out, they might end up being actual members of the Mekons in a future lineup.
The audience participation on "Gin & It/Back to Back" was great. The audience never really did applaud for an encore because it was so caught up in the singing the chorus over and over and clapping to the beat, and then the band -- starting with Goulding -- just came back and stage and played more of the song. I still keep thinking that if I went down to Berwyn right now and popped into FitzGerald's, there'd be a crowd of people inside the bar chanting "Belly to belly, back to back..."
I do recall something similar happening (I believe the Mekons did the same dance moves on stage) when they did the "Me" tour at Metro in Chicago. Does my memory serve me correct?
For those of you seeing the Mekons later on this tour, the bad news is that Saturday was apparently Lu Edmonds' last show before returning to England to play with Billy Bragg. They gave him considerable shit about this on stage, all in good humor of course.
Robert Loerzel
Monday, 16 September: Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
Eye Magazine Toronto
BY MICHAEL BARCLAY
On 1989's The Mekons Rock'n'Roll album, the band
sang, "I forgot to forget to remember." Now
celebrating their 25th year with a new album, OOOH!
(Touch and Go), the veteran British band are
singing, "I've forgotten more than I care to
remember."
When asked what significance that latter line has
for him, Mekons guitarist/vocalist and founding
member Jon Langford says, "I think of [Mekons
vocalist] Sally Timms. She can't remember most of the
1980s. She has a great memory for telephone
numbers, but no memory for any details of her life:
where she lived, where she went or who with." So
she won't be writing the Mekons biography? "She'd
be the perfect person to write it," Langford
counters. "Lots of fantasy and myth."
While other British punk bands were singing about
anarchy and white riots in 1977, The Mekons
debuted with a single entitled "Never Been in a
Riot" and they've been contrarians ever since. Take, for example, their
first
American tour in 1986, when Langford and co-founder
Tom Greenhalgh debuted a new lineup playing songs from the
country-influenced Fear and Whiskey (reissued this
year on Touch and Go).
"I remember there was a certain polarization in the
audience," Langford recalls. "What was thought of as The Mekons
sound, we weren't really doing anymore. It was more
volatile than things are these days. There was a lot of screaming and
abuse from the audience, and even more from the
band back at them. Things got more genteel from there. But we're going
to change that on this tour by making a point of
insulting the audience. We'll spit on them and scream things like, 'Kick
Jimmy Carter out of the White House!' 'Smash the
system!' Stuff like that."
Toronto audiences haven't seen The Mekons since,
well, since Langford can remember. Because this tour is celebrating
their silver anniversary, he promises the set list
will "span the decades" -- though his syllabic pronunciation on
"decades"
places the emphasis on "decay," which would suit
Langford's sense of humour. "We're playing songs from the first single
right up to the latest album. Having said that, we
don't overburden ourselves with trying to play it correctly."
OOOH! is another return to form after the many
experiments of the '90s ended with 2000's Journey to the End of the
Night.
At the time, Sally Timms joked that she really
wanted the band to make a "good" album for a change.
"Sometimes we feel like that, making something
tighter as opposed to flying off in all directions. This time we decided
to
make a great album," Langford states, with only a
hint of self-importance. "These songs are definitely up there with the
best of The Mekons output, I'd say. Sometimes our
stuff is hard work for people, and that's fine. Some people are rigorous
and like to be put through some hoops, but this is
a pretty listenable album."
OOOH! is an acronym for Out of Our Heads, the name
of a British art project the band was involved with last year. "A lot of
the song ideas came about as a response to that,"
says Langford. "The art show was about heads: shrunken heads,
severed heads, losing your head. A lot of ancient
myths talk about the head that keeps singing after it's been chopped
off.
It's a funny notion, and sometimes I think The
Mekons are like that. We've been decapitated numerous times. It's a nice
idea about the immortality of song."
Most of The Mekons are also visual artists, and
during our conversation they can be heard hammering while setting up an
art show at a tour stop in San Francisco. One of
them lives there, one in New York, three in Chicago, three in London,
and
one in their hometown of Leeds. Langford has lived
in Chicago for 10 years now, and says the indie mecca is a perfect
home for his "geographically challenged" band, who
have always prioritized art over commerce. "It's definitely been a good
town for us; it was from the first time we were
there," he says. "There's a lot of things about Chicago that fit into
the way
The Mekons like to work."
The mother country is another story. "We make a bit
of an effort to play in England every time we put out a record. The
last time we went it was great, so I can't knock
it, but over the years it hasn't been much fun playing in England. It's
definitely improved lately. I think a lot of people
in England have decided we're Americans now, so suddenly we're cool."
Although there have been minor changes, The Mekons
have had a fairly consistent lineup since 1985. The band is a
part-time enterprise: most of The Mekons have solo
projects, and Langford has five projects on the go at any given time,
including an upcoming collaboration with The
Sadies.
While no one's leaving the band anytime soon,
Langford admits, "It'd be nice if we had some young blood. I'm training
my
son right now to take over for me. He's five, so I
have a while to go. I'd like it if we could replace the entire Mekons
over
the years. I think it's time I moved up to
coaching."
Ferocious. Hilarious. Not only the best mekons gig I've seen, but one
of the best shows I've ever seen, period.
Sally and Jon were hysterical as usual, baiting the shit out of each
other. Many jokes about the subtleties of Canadian humour lost on our
neighbours to the south and group sex with the late Queen Mother. Great
aerobics to Now We Have The Bomb.
Line of the night from Jon: "This is a song about shrinking Raquel Welch
and shoving her up your ass...Fantastic Voyage!"
The set, in no particular order at all:
Thee Old Trip to Jerusalem
Big Zombie
Millionaire
Take His Name In Vain
Memphis, Egypt
Dan Dare
Fantastic Voyage
Bastard
Heaven & Back
Rosanne
Hard To Be Human
Now we Have The Bomb
Orpheus
I Love Apple
Tina
Powers & Horror
The Building
Never Been In A Riot
Curse Of The Mekons
Where Were You?
???
???
???
(I'm missing two songs from OOOH! and one from Mercy. Too beat to dig
them up to confirm.)
Hugh Hardy
Tuesday 17 September: Montreal, QC Cabaret
Wednesday, 18 September: Cambridge, MA Middle East
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
Tina
Millionaire
Big Zombie
Hate Is the New Love
Fantastic Voyage
Take His Name in Vain
Teeth
Corporal Chalkie
Bastard
Rosanne
Stonehead
Orpheus
I love apple
Hard to be human again
Curse
Lonely and wet
Never been in a riot
Dan dare
Where were you
Drum solo
Powers and horrors
Neglect
Bomb
Memphis egypt
Thursday, 19 September: New York City, NY CBGB
Roger Troutman
Where Were You?
Never Been In a Riot
Dan Dare
Stay Cool
32 Weeks
Letter's in the Post
Dance and Drink the Mekons
What Are We Gonna Do Tonight
Fight the Cuts (w/Jon)
Mekons:
Teeth
32 Weeks
Rosanne
Colonel Chalkie
After 6
The Building
? Like Spoons No More
I'm So Happy
with Kevin Lycett
Trevira Trousers
Lonely and Wet
Armalite Rifle
Last Dance
Never Been In a Riot
Where Were You?
Dan Dare
with Sadies:
Fight The Cuts
Dance and Drink the Mekons
only Mekons:
I Don't Care
Friday, 20 September: New York City, NY art opening: Galapagos Art Space 7pm
Friday, 20 September: Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
Friday, 20 September: Hoboken, NJ Maxwell’s
Thee old trip to jerusalem • Corporal Chalkie • Beaten and broken • Tina • Teeth • Powers and horrors • The funeral (reading) • Trouble down south (reading) • Take his name in vain • Hate is the new love • The building (reading) • Never want to work (reading) • City of London (reading) • Silver and gold • Stonehead • Dan Dare • (A dancing master such as) Mr. Confess (reading) • Come and have a go (reading)• Lone pilgrim • Neglect • Rosanne • Apple
Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn NY Sept. 20, 2002 /
Art show opening, reading & acoustic performance
1.. Powers & Horror
2.. Amnesia (read by Kevin)
3.. Beaten & Broken
4.. Never Work (Sarah)
5.. The Curse (Tom)
6.. Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
7.. 100% Song (Steve)
8.. The Building
9.. Stonehead
10.. Poxy Lips (Rico)
11.. I'm Not Here (1967) (Jon)
12.. Outer Space
13.. The Letter (Sally)
14.. Q&A session w/audience
15.. Silver & Gold
16.. I Love Apple (Steve as Neville Chamberlain)
Village Voice on Maxwell show
Hey, the Mekons Are in Town
"You know where Mitch is," sneered Sally Timms at Maxwell's on Friday, after a catcall for the Mekons' trickster roadie. (Mitch's visa was lost in the Court of St. James's.) "You were all at the show last night."
Only a band this confident in our devotion would propose an idea as bad as the Mekons' current tour, in which the far-flung fellowship survey their 25-year career over three nights (art exhibit and lyric-reading included). For a few minutes Thursday at CBGB, we convinced ourselves it was a put-on. But alas—just like my 15-year-old mix tape, they opened with their very first single, the anti-consumerist "32 Weeks" (which sometime cover band the Sadies had walloped an hour before).
Here's to a band that has it all: tunes, creativity, humor, politics, brains, reliability, sex appeal (well, Sally and Tom Greenhalgh, anyway). But their charm is predicated on their celebration of their limits, commercial and technical. And despite legendary banter (Jon Langford on gentrification: "CBGB has toilet paper now? I'd brought my own leaves."), they seemed (at least on the first two nights) uninspired by becoming a human box set. It's not like they've disowned previous incarnations, though; as their musicianship has deepened, they've only made the old stuff sound better.
That fighting spirit was evident at Galapagos before the Maxwell's show. Jon's impassioned take on the 1982 rant "The Building"; the beloved "Beaten and Broken," powered by Steve Goulding drumming a barstool with rolled-up Onions; a hot-rod "Jerusalem," from the new one: Now that's exhibition! A rambunctious tot cheered. "Can I see your ID, mate?" Jon asked. "I thought this gig was over-forties only." A classic Mekon quip for their first new fan in years.
—Josh Goldfein
Saturday, 21 September: New York City, NY Mercury Lounge
early show 6pm
Neil deMause wrote for Club.Mekon - the mailing list:
THURSDAY: CBGB's is past its prime. Despite Jon's quip that "even CBGB's
has been gentrified - there's toilet paper in the bathroom," it's still a
hole, and not even a charming hole at that since all the energy drained
out of it about 20 years back. The one saving grace: there's ample room up
front, while in the back you're likely to get stuck sitting on top of the
pool table.
After a brief set of early Mekons tunes by the Sadies - er, I mean "Eagle
Bower" - the Mekons (Jon, Sally, Tom, Rico, Steve, Jessica this night)
took the stage in a reasonable facsimile of 1977 drag: Jon and Sally both
sported black CBGB's t-shirts, while Rico wore a black suit jacket over no
shirt, with gaffer's tape for a collar. It was immediately apparent that
this was not just a Mekons show by an Event: in just my vicinity near the
stage, I spotted two people scribbling in notebooks, two with still
cameras, and one videotaping. The Mekons have been the subject of an
unprecedented media blitz in New York the last few weeks - the New Yorker
ran a cartoon of the band last week, and the New York Post, of all places,
ran two separate stories previewing the shows - and it was clear that a
lot of people were there to document the shows, either because they were
being paid to or not.
I'm the worst person to give recaps of the music they played this night,
because while I've listened to most of the early Mekons stuff, I don't
know song titles for shit. Also, they put a new spin on a lot of the
material, with Sally's rendition of "Corporal Chalkie" especially nice. It
was a fairly short set - about an hour and 15 minutes - but given the
limited amount of songs to draw on and the fact that we were all saving
our stamina for the next two nights, that was about right.
Oh, yes - and Kevin Lycett showed up, and played and sang on several
songs. He looked simultaneously sheepish and having a ball.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* "Cast your minds back to the time when the Mekons were just a bunch of
shambling inept drunks who'd get up on the stage and didn't know what they
were doing."
* Jon: "Fuck Paul McCartney!" Sally: "I already did."
* "Kevin Lycett, on lead guitar! HE WROTE THIS SONG!"
* Jon's drum solo.
* "Outer space is a really nice place. DAN DARE! OH YEAH!" (And Sally's
blissful expression during.)
* "Where's Mitch?"
* And, of course, meeting Lynn John and Jesse from this list at last.
FRIDAY: When I asked a friend about Galapagos, the Williamsburg art space
where the Mekons were to hold their art show/acoustic performance, she
said, "It's actually very nice: First you walk in across this moat..."
Sure, enough, there was a moat, over which was projected video of the
ill-fated spinning head from the OOOH! exhibit. Beyond this, in the bar
area, were the surviving pieces of artwork from the exhibit (various noted
heads of famous headless people - Jayne Mansfield, St. Denis, etc. -
surrounded by snippets of Mekon lyric), along with original artwork and
photos that appear in the lyric book "Hello Cruel World."
Beyond *that* was a small auditorium, where a sea of folding chairs had
been set up, which were completely inadequate to hold the throngs that
pressed their way in. (Overcrowding was to be a theme of the Mekons' visit
to NYC.) As per the setlist Nobby posted, the band alternated between
performing songs (accompanied by Jon's electric guitar, Rico's accordion,
Jessica's fiddle, and Steve playing an upholstered chair with two
rolled-up copies of The Onion) and doing readings of lyrics from the book,
in often hilarious fashion. (You can tell Jon's been getting a lot of
practice doing bedtime readings.)
This may actually have been my favorite show of all: the band was loose
and funny, the songs sounded great in stripped-down form, and the readings
were consistently entertaining. (Listening to the recording later, Mindy
remarked, "You know, 100% Song really works better as poetry.") And best
of all, as befits all us aging camp followers, we got to sit down and rest
our aching bodies for the long night ahead.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* A mostly a-cappella "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem," with "ooohs" courtesy
of Steve and handclaps from Sally and Tom.
* Steve's oratory might on "100% Song" and "I Love The Apple."
* "Yay!" says the Youngest Mekons Fan. Jon: "Can I see your ID, mate?"
* Rico: "I'm getting paid to kill time." Sally: "We're getting paid to
kill you!" Rico: "Not enough, apparently!"
* The Mekon scrum to decide what lyric to read next.
* "Where's Mitch?"
* Sally videotaping much of the action from the stage, including what must
have been a lovely closeup of Tom screwing up the lyrics to "Beaten and
Broken."
LATER THAT SAME NIGHT: The Galapagos set ended at 8:45; the Maxwell's show
was set to begin with the Sadies going on at 10. That is not, to put it
mildly, a leisurely pace to get from Williamsburg across Manhattan and
through the tunnel to Hoboken. By the time we got into Maxwell's, the
Sadies had just launched into their first song - I think it might have
been "Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet" - and the place was already mobbed.
(A word on the Sadies: though they got better as the shows wore on, I've
gotta say that some of their renditions, while faithful enough, were sort
of lacking in, shall we say, panache. Their cover of "The Ballad of
Sally," which sounded like they learned it from a 45 record they'd
mistakenly played at 33, was especially unintentionally funny - or maybe
it was some kind of Canadian "humour" with which I am unfamiliar.)
This, it was clear, was the show not to be missed: you could tell from the
way the median age in the crowd was about 10 years above what it had been
at CBGB's, reflecting who bought their tickets early and often. I didn't
take a poll, but I'd be willing to bet that a fair percentage of those in
attendance had been there for much of the original 1985-91 period,
including possibly the Mekons' very first New York show, at Maxwell's in
1986.
With the room so jammed, I was relegated to the riser at the back, which
actually turned out okay - after years of pressing up against the
Maxwell's stage and hearing nothing but monitor backwash, I was surprised
at how great the mix sounded from the back of the room. And the song
selection... what can I say? As much as I love "OOOH!", these were the
songs that made me fall in love with the Mekons, and there's nothing like
reexperiencing first love:
Hard to be Human
Chivalry
Oblivion
Lost Highway
Big Zombie
Wild and Blue
Fantastic Voyage
Abernant 1984/85
Fletcher Christian
Bastard
Flitcraft
Prince of Darkness
The Curse
Memphis, Egypt
(encore:)
Sweet Dreams
Shanty
Beaten and Broken
Ghosts of American Astronauts
Heaven and Back
Sure, there were omissions - no "Blue Arse," no "Sorcerer," not a thing
from "Rock n Roll" except for "Memphis, Egypt" ("Club Mekon" was on Jon's
written setlist for the encore, but never actually got played) and nothing
at all from "Honky Tonkin" - but it's really impossible to complain. The
band was as tight as I'd ever heard them, the stage patter was hilarious
without distracting too much from the flow of the music (Jon in particular
walked the fine line between drunk-funny and drunk-immature with style and
grace), and the crowd was lovingly soaking it all up, catching each other
to keep from falling as we danced stumbling atop the risers. I didn't
sleep that long after finally arriving home in Brooklyn close to 3 am, but
I slept well.
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Jon's "time spectacles": "I can see Ronald Reagan! He's in the White
House, breast-feeding Colonel Khadafi!"
* "It's 1989: We're signing to A&M Records. There's a contract, and a lot
of food. Here's the contract; there's the food. What's this in my hand? A
lobster claw. I'm signing our contract in lobster's blood!"
* "Dennis and Lois are off following the Strokes? I like the Strokes. I
really like their early stuff."
* Jessica Billey playing a fart of a violin stroke during the quiet bit of
"Prince of Darkness," and Sally laughing so hard I thought she'd pee her
pants.
* "Beaten and Broken" for the second time in one night, in two different
states.
* "Where's Mitch?"
* Standing on the riser at the back of Maxwell's, swaying along with a row
of strangers to "Shanty," wondering why anyone would want to be anyplace
else.
SATURDAY: A word of warning: what I am about to attempt to describe is, in
fact, untranslatable into words. Some moments just have to be experienced
to be ... well, let me try.
I skipped the early show at the Mercury Lounge, figuring five shows in
three nights would be a bit much even for me. According to Dennis and Lois
- who, it turned out, had actually been off selling merchandise for the
Doves, another favorite band of theirs - five shows in three nights was a
bit much for some Mekons as well, and the early show ended up a mix of the
songs from the various nights, with some readings from the book thrown in
as well.
For the late show, again the place was packed, and again the band was in
fine form. Sleep deprivation was clearly taking its toll, though, as the
setlist began fraying at the seams almost instantly, with the stretches
between songs getting longer and longer... and then Susie showed up.
There had been sporadic Susie sightings earlier in the week, so it wasn't
a total surprise when she and a friend shoved their way through the crowd
and set camp right in front of Sally, about three feet to the left of
yours truly. This, clearly, was the moment the night was waiting for so
that all shambles could break loose. One moment Sally was making vegetable
faces (don't ask - remember "untranslatable into words"?) and getting mad
at Susie for giving away the answers to what they represented, the next
Tom was stopping mid-"Stone Head" to announce that he no longer liked
singing it and would only consent to singing the chorus, the next Susie
was up on stage, dancing with Tom and mussing Steve's hair while he tried,
laughing, to play drums, and laughing uproariously at every one of Sally's
pointed barbs about her. ("How can you be embarrassing us? You're not
playing your instrument.") Did I mention it was a full moon?
Jessica Billey turned over her violin to Susie for the encore (prompting
another Sally story of how Susie always complains about her violin levels
then realizes she's forgotten to turn her amp on; more peals of laughter
from Susie), and the Mekons finally broke with the rigid time-period
constraints, playing "Last Dance," "Heaven and Back," "Where Were You,"
"Curse," and "Memphis, Egypt." (Most of us thought at the time this was a
concession to Susie, but in fact all these were on Jon's written list.)
Finally, what must have been more than two hours later, we slowly filed
out, past some extremely bedraggled looking band members sitting drinking
at the Mercury Lounge bar, with Sally especially looking all too aware
that they'd have to get up in the morning, drive to D.C., and do it all
over again. And yet they stayed, happily signing copies of the lyric book
and chatting with those who remained.
SETLIST:
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
Last Weeks of the War
Tina
Lone Pilgrim
Insignificance
Powers and Horrors
Hate Is the New Love
Take His Name In Vain
Millionaire
Stone Head (bits of)
The Bomb
Orpheus
Neglect
I Love The Apple
(encore:)
Last Dance
Heaven and Back
Where Were You
Curse
Memphis, Egypt
HIGHLIGHTS:
* Jon and Steve demonstrating how the hero of "Blue's Clues" can locomote
about just by pumping his arms and letting the scenery scroll by behind
him, while grinning maniacally. (It's not actually clear if grinning
maniacally is an important element of this, but Steve sure thought it
was.)
* Sally (to Jon): "What kind of animal are you now? A yam?"
* "Where's Mitch?" Another audience member: "In London!" Sally: "THANK
YOU."
* Jon signing my book with a cartoon of a flaming skull head, explaining,
"I made you an odd little drawing."
Neil
Sunday, 22 September: Washington, DC Black Cat
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
Tina
Last Dance
Millionaire
Fantastic Voyage
Hate is the New Love
Insignificance
Teeth
Take His Name In Vain
Corporal Chalkie
Rosanne
Bastard
Orpheus
I love Apple
Hard To Be Human Again
The Curse of the Mekons
:: Encore 1 ::
Powers & Horrors
Ghosts of American Astronauts
Lone Pilgrim
Memphis, Egypt
:: Encore 2 ::
Lonely and Wet
Dan Dare
Monday, 23 September: Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Sadies:
Where Were You? • I Love Apple • Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet • What Are We Going to Do Tonight • Dan Dare • (read) Never Been a Riot • (read) Roger Troutman • (read) Polaroid (I Don't Own I Only Dote) • Blue Arse • Ballad of Sally • Funeral • Amnesia • [with Jon] Looking Good for Radio • Memphis, Egypt
Mekons:
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem • Tina • Millionaire • Insignificance • Hate Is the New Love • Fantastic Voyage • Take His Name in Vain • Teeth • Corporal Chalkie • Beaten & Broken • Rosanne • Orpheus • I Love Apple • Hard to Be Human • The Curse
encore:
Powers & Horror • Wild & Blue • [with the Sadies] Fight the Cuts • Dance & Drink the Mekons • Dan Dare
Jon, Rico and the Johnsons at the Mercury Lounge, Oct 6, 2002
Dear me - just when you think you've heard all the possible permutations
of Jon Langford's oeuvre, out pops another one, like so much whack-a-mole.
I'd never heard the Johnsons Big Band except on some live CDs I'd got from
Nobby, so I didn't know what to expect from this show, especially when, at
the last Mekons show, Steve said something about "we'll be playing with a
horn section and I'm not sure who else." I figured at worst it'd be
entertaining mayhem.
I missed most of the Johnsons' opening set thanks to the
ever-transmogrifying Q train*, but was front and center for the start of
Rico's solo set. (It was easy to be front and center, as the show was far
from sold out - did everyone blow their Mekons allowance last month,
perhaps?) As when he opened for Christy McWilson back in April, Rico
eschewed the accordion for acoustic guitar and harmonica, playing mostly
songs off his recent Bloodshot EP and material that presumably will end up
on his next full-length album. (Rico noted at one point that The Onion
wrote he "had two solo CDs that are sadly overlooked - but what they
didn't realize is I have three, so they overlooked that one...")
Then, after a few songs, Rico brought out the Johnsons Big Band - the
aptly named Johnsons Big Band, with something like nine or ten members,
counting the horn section and the tympany player - up on stage for
"Working Class Hero," and *wow*. I've noted before that while I like Rico
solo, I like him exponentially more with a backing band, and this was
quite a backing band: guitar, upright bass, the horns, harmonica, organ,
two backing vocalists. They did several songs in this lineup, and sounded
absolutely great. The setlist:
Cold Comfort
The Ballad of Allan O'Brien
5000 Miles
River Runs Dry
Calling Me Back
Big River II
Working Class Hero
Travelling on the Dark Side
On The Streets
Merseysong
Next up was Jon, backed by the ever-present Little Willy (I shouted "Yay!"
when he was introduced but no one heard me) and the Johnsons' bass player.
Setlist:
Tubby Brothers
Anything Can Happen
Tom Jones Levitation
Little Bit of Help ("This is a new song, but you've probably all heard it
before, 'cause my new songs stay new for like five years")
Verdun
Pill Sailor
Death of Country Music
Millionaire
Tina
Blink of an Eye (new Wacos song - major "chinka-chinka-yeehah" action)
Joshua Gone Barbados
A Rose From Your Garden (Rico)
Deep Sea Diver
It's Not Enough
Nashville Radio
(encore:)
Walking on Hell's Roof
Wicked Midnite
Big River
The full allotment of Johnsons came up on stage starting around "Death of
Country Music," and stayed on through the encore (with Rico wandering on
and offstage, and Steve taking on tympany duty at one point), and
completely rocked the house. No offense to the Sadies, but the Johnsons
are the best Fake Mekons I've yet to hear.
An added bonus was converting two Mekons virgins who'd joined me for the
occasion. ("Are you going to the Jonathan Langford show?" was how my
friend put it when she called on Friday.) They had a great old time being
introduced to our odd little subculture, one asking me in the cab back to
Brooklyn, "Are the other Mekons as filled with charisma as Jon Langford?"
That, I assured her, was an impossible task - but damned if some of them
don't come close.
Another happy convert, then. Just you wait - another 25 years, and the
Mekons will be ready to bust out *huge*...
Neil
25th anniversary tour: Europe
fri nov 8 Crossing Border Amsterdam
fri 8 Crossing Border Holland (book reading)
Crossing Border Festival announces 2 shows on Friday:
Mekons are performing on friday Melkweg Oude zaal 23:45 - 0:45 and
Jon Langford is performing on friday Melkweg Filmzaal 21:00 - 21:30
From CLUB.MEKON:
europe has them back - for a while. First in a row was the Amsterdam show at the
Melkweg yesterday.
I'll write more tomorrow about the show, about really new stuff on the website
etc. (now wacobrothers address you see below.)
So for know you have to be satisfied with just the setlist of the show.
they did a very loose reading and unplugged session plus a very tight show. And
what's more important for the next day: the classic line-up incl. Susie and Lu,
though classic doesn't mean to be good, as jonny pointed out.
Thee olde trip to Jerusalem
Tina
Millionaire
Big Zombie
Fantastic Voyage
Take his name in vain
Teeth
Corporal Chalkie
Beaten and broken
Now we have the bomb
Opheus
Gin and it
Hard to be human again
The Curse
Powers and horrors
Memphis Egypt
Dan dare
so the Mekons played in Amsterdam last night. apparently, they're also doing some
sort of reading there today, but i did not stay around for that. instead, i decided
to drive back home after the gig ended at about 1am, so i got home at 4am this
morning. well, as you.the Mekons appearance was part of the "crossing border"-festival,
which meant that lots of stuff was happening at once. not sure what was going
on while the band did their "reading"-thing in the cinema upstairs,
but too much it seems, as there wasn't very many people there. but it was fun
enough, some lyrics read from the book (including a short dispute between sally
and jon as to whether "the ballad of sally" is in the book and what
they opening lines would have to be), some songs, "the building", "last
dance", some others. rather bizarre, but actually very entertaining - absolutely
unlike
Heather Nova's attempt at "poetry" a few buildings down the street.
Bermuda's finest (ahem) also read some of her "poems" in a rather nice
setting (old theatre) as part of the same festival, but god, that was schoolgirl-writing
at its worst, made even worse (if that's possible) by the seriousness with which
la Nova presented her banalities. yeah, whatever.the Mekons returned to the stage
a bit later, this time in a different part of the same building as before, and
played a great set - but again to a rather small, if enthusiastic audience. _Doves_
were playing in another part of the building, that might not have helped. but
the show was great, if somewhat lacking in the audience-interaction-department.
the dutch apparently like the music, but they're not that keen on the jokes. or
something. if there was any dutch people there, that is - it's Amsterdam, after
all. how many Mekons songs are there that mention the city of Sheffield, anyway
? only two ? well, both were played, then. and some others, including the two
with the dance routines. if you only get to see them every 2 years or so, it's
not that bad. and they played "memphis, egypt", which positively rocked.apparently
it was broadcasted on the radio, i only have my audience recording.Mark
Here's the setlist for the Amsterdam reading:
Hard to be human (Tom)
Can‘t find my money (Jon)
Never work (Sarah)
Jerusalem
100% song (Steve)
Orpheus
Keep on hoppin (Sally)
Stonehead (Lu)
Building (Jon)
Fantastic Voyage (Rico)
Last dance
Prince of darkness (Susie)
Curse (Tom)
Powers and horrors
Dan Dare my comment to the show:
It was a great one. Mark said, it was not bad. I disagree: imo it was really good.
Waoit a week and you can download it (see other mail) I had to work till 5pm and
then drove toam,sterdam along witgh my daughter Sarah, it should be here first
Mekons show. Almost immediately i met Ferl from Vienna an we went along through
the whole enenin, whic was fine from my side. The poor visited reading led Jonny
to say: Greetings to you both. Before we went to the filmzaal, where the reading
was, I had seen David Thomas of pere UBu running around - with no aim or purpose
it seemed. His purpose was the Mekons, as was ours. So there weren't many, but
huge ones <g>. The reading was funny, wrecked and most entertaining. They
completely wrecked Dan Dare, Rico being the only one to be alert. The rest was
more or less fooling, which was ok with me. Sally didn't what to read, so she
asked for wishes - which brought up: Wild and blue (no mekons song) and Ballad
of sally (which isn't in the book.) They didn't know that and were unable to read
the book, which has an alphabetic index in the beginning and is in alphabetical
rder anyway. so they started to look for thwe first-line-index. Jonny found a
song which started: People say I'm happy, but saly didn't agree and said: People
say I'm frightening, which is the first line for Ballad of Sally. The other song
being Can't find my money, which Jon had already read. Next turn was that she
search a song for random (if you can
say so) and she found 'Keep on hoppin'. They thought that was ok and on went the
show.
as I said: quite entertaining. If you ever hear the recording, it's my daughter
giggling all the way. I'm grunting and Ferl is mumbling. The seats in the locatipn
were fine too, so it was really comfortable.Nobby
thur nov 14 Zuerich Switzerland
El Lokal & Monomerz
fri 15 Zurich, Switzerland
El Lokal & Monomerz
sat nov 16 Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Taptab
sun nov 17 Basel, Switzerland
Parterre
Setlists:
Schaffhausen Switz., Nov 16th
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
/ Tina
/ Millionaire
/ Big Zombie
/ Last Dance
/ Take His Name in Vain
/ Bastard
/ Corporal Chalkie
/ Beaten & Broken
/ Now We Have the Bomb
/ Rosanne
/ Orpheus
/ Neglect
/ Hard to Be Human
/ Curse (feat. Mitch)
/
/ Encores:
/
/ Powers & the Horror
/ Memphis, Egypt
/ Dan Dare
/ Where Were You
Basel, Switz., Nov 17th
Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem
/ Tina
/ Millionaire
/ Last Dance
/ Bis Zombie
/ Bastard
/ Corporal Chalkie
/ Beaten & Broken
/ Now We have the Bomb
/ Lonely & Wet
/ Orpheus
/ I (Heart) Apple
/ Hard to be Human
/ Curse (feat. Mitch)
/
/ Encores:
/ Tom Reading Out in the Night from
the Mekons-Book
/ Wild & Blue
/ Memphis, Egypt
From Swiss papers:
© Tages-Anzeiger; 2002-11-16; Seite 51
KulturLegendenSaloon, Pub und Dancehall, alles vereint: Die Altpunker The Mekons
gastierten im El Lokal.
Von Philippe Amrein
Wenn sich Punkangestellte zwischen Johnny Rotten und Jon Langford entscheiden
müssten, sollten sie Letzteren zum Vorgesetzten wählen. Denn der Mann
mit dem Schnurrbart und der gelichteten Silberfrisur verfügt auch nach einem
Vierteljahrhundert als Leader der Band The Mekons noch über alle Attribute,
die ein Mann in seiner Position benötigt: harte Gitarrenfinger, lockeres
Mundwerk und eine gesunde Trinkfreudigkeit. Zudem trägt er hinter seinem
Bierbauch ein verdammt grosses Herz.Diese Grossherzigkeit ist es denn auch, was
die Mekons so einzigartig macht.
Hier finden fast sämtliche Stilrichtungen ihren Ehrenplatz, man baut verhallten
Reggae mit Bratpfannen-Punk zusammen, vereint Stadionrock mit Gospel und greift
zwischendurch flink in die Country-Kiste. Die sechs Stilbrecher aus Leeds und
Chicago verteilen die Songs aus ihrer langen Bandgeschichte mal pfeilschnell,
dann wieder wundervoll wankend in die Ohren der zahlreich aufmarschierten Fans,
gestützt von Schlagzeug, Bass, Gitarren, Akkordeon und von Gesangsstimmen,
die jede Leber zum Schmelzen bringen. Die Party purzelt ihnen aus den Händen,
und wenn Sängerin Sally Timms mit selbst gestrickter Laszivität und
ökonomisch eingesetzter Gestik ans Mikrofon tritt, beginnt der Raum unverzüglich
zu wackeln.Kassettenware für BulldozerfahrtenSchalk und Punk der frühen
Jahre sind den Mekons im Verlauf ihrer ausgedehnten Karriere nie abhanden gekommen,
und so folgen sie auch im neuen Jahrtausend der alten Devise: gut klingen, swingen,
Witze reissen. Jeder Song hat Hymnencharakter, noch immer macht die Truppe eine
Musik, die man gerne im Kassettengerät mitnimmt, wenn man mit einem Bulldozer
die Appalachen überquert. Und als sie zum Abschluss ihres grandiosen Auftritts
noch einmal loslegen wie die Kesselflicker, gibt es keine Fragen mehr.
Verschleisserscheinungen? Keine.
© Wochenzeitung; 2002-11-14; Seite 27, szene 14. bis 20. November
The Mekons
auf Tournee in der Schweiz
Von rabauziger Schönheit
Gelb auf schwarz geschrieben
sind die Begrüssungsworte der Mekons-Website
www.ellipsis.com/mekons/ : «Tony Blair is Evil».
25 Jahre alt sind
sie jetzt
geworden, die Mekons, und noch kein bisschen weniger böse.Die neueste CD
«Oooh! (Out of Our Heads)» der Mekons beweist auf freudvolle
Art, dass die Band weiterhin imstande ist, dreckigen alten Folk 'n' Roll mit
einer Frische zu präsentieren, als hätten sie ihn erst gestern erfunden.
Wer
die Band in einer ihrer mannigfachen Formen jemals live gesehen hat, hegt
keinen Zweifel daran, dass sie ihren einzigartigen Swing auch diesmal wieder
in seiner ganzen rabauzigen Schönheit auf die Bühne bringen wird.Politmusik
fällt, grob gesagt, in zwei Lager. Auf der einen Seite stehen die
pathosgetriebenen Männer und Frauen aus der Folk-Tradition, die Humor für
Volksopium halten und Rock 'n' Roll erst recht. Auf der anderen Seite finden
sich die furiosen Rocker, die mit ihren radikalen Refrains die goldenen
Kälber der bürgerlichen Nation reihenweise abschiessen, aber ins Rotieren
geraten, wenn sie ein Liebeslied kredenzen sollen oder eine schlichte Ode
ans Bier. Die Mekons waren immer anders. Wenn die Kunststudenten aus dem>
nordenglischen Leeds am Anfang auch noch kaum einen graden Ton aus den
Instrumenten brachten, so sahen sie bereits damals kein Problem darin,
Politpointen mit Pints, Zartheit mit Partys und «Frisch-von-der-Leber-weg»
mit Weltperspektive zu vereinen. Schon ihr erster Streich kam einer
Nestbesudelung gleich. Wagten es Tom Greenhalgh und Jon Langford doch, das
weitherum zum punkschen Kirchenlied erhobene «White Riot» von The
Clash mit
der Single «Never Been in a Riot» zu kontern. Dem liessen sie noch
im
gleichen Jahr 1978 das tragisch-trashige Liebeslied «Where Were You?»
folgen
- nicht nur in den Annalen des John Peel ein essenzielles Stück Punkemotion.
Sofort winkte natürlich ein Plattenvertrag, natürlich bei Virgin Records.
Greenhalgh/Langford zogen Verstärkung herbei, um das Debütalbum «The
Quality
of Mercy Is Not Strnen» einzuspielen. Die verfrühte Karambolage mit
professionellem Aufnahmestudio samt Edelkoch und Silberbesteck sowie mit
einer Plattenfirma, die sich bald nicht mehr für die Band interessierte,
brachte ein eher verklemmtes Album hervor und lehrte die Kombo, dass die
Do-it-yourself-Methode ihren Neigungen und Fähigkeiten besser entsprechen
würde. Ein zweites Album nahmen sie in einem Studio bei Halifax auf, das
sie
nur wegen seines Billigpreises aus dem Verzeichnis gefischt hatten. Es war
ein Zufall, der die Weichen für eine der aufregendsten Bandgeschichten
Britanniens stellen sollte. Denn das Studio gehörte Bill Leader, einem
führenden Produzenten und Plattenfirmenkapitän der englisch-traditionellen
Folkszene. Er vermochte die Band davon zu überzeugen, dass ihre spontan
musikalische Anschauungsweise und ihre melodischen Neigungen einen Bogen
schlugen weit zurück in die Geschichte der britischen Folkmusik. Jahre bevor
die Pogues Ähnliches kreierten, warfen die Mekons nun allerhand folkigen
Pfeffer auf den Braten. Ihre Auftritte platzierten sie oft im Rahmen von
Benefizveranstaltungen für Antirassismus-Organisationen und streikende
Bergwerksarbeiter.Der Zuzug von Sängerinnen, Geigerinnen und Exmitgliedern
von Bands wie
Magazine, Pretty Things und Rumour erweiterte die Möglichkeiten dermassen,
dass es - als sich Greenhalgh und Langford in den mittleren achtziger Jahren
in Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons und Hank Williams verliebten - keine
Schwierigkeiten bereitete, auch die Stimmung amerikanischer Traditionen
einzuverleiben. Die gloriosen Albumresultate hatten Titel wie «Fear and
Whiskey» (1985), «The Mekons Honky Tonkin'» (1987) und «So
Good It Hurts»
(1988). Der brachiale politische Erfolg von Margaret Thatcher und den Tories
zeitigte einen kuriosen Effekt auf den britischen Zeitgeist: Auf einmal
wollte man von allen KünstlerInnen, die sich gegen die Tories gewehrt
hatten, nichts mehr wissen, gerade so, als wäre mit ihnen ein Albtraum
verbunden, der den Spass am neuen Konsumboom thatcherscher Prägung
vergraulen könnte. So machten die amüsanten, permabesoffenen Pogues
Karriere, während die Mekons ihr Publikum auf einmal vornehmlich in den USA
fanden, wo Greil Marcus sie für eine der wichtigsten Rockbands der Neuzeit
hielt. Jon Langford und Sally Timms zogen später nach Chicago, Tom
Greenhalgh blieb in London, Kevin Lycett in Leeds. Nach einigen weiteren
unangenehmen Erfahrungen mit Plattenfirmen hat die Kombo seit geraumer Weile
beim Chicagoer Label Quarterstick ein solides Daheim gefunden. Von hier aus
hat sie seither eine Reihe von immer wieder überraschenden Alben
veröffentlicht - darunter eines mit der Schriftstellerin Kathy Acker - und
mehrere multimediale Kunstinstallationen zusammengestellt. Die
Entstehungsgeschichte ihres neuesten CD-Wurfes «Oooh! (Out of Our Heads)»
hat ihre Wurzeln in einer solchen Installation. Hierfür taten sich die
Mekons mit der im englischen Sheffield beheimateten Gruppe Redundant
Technology Initiative zusammen, die mit Recycling-Computern arbeitet. Diese
konstruierte einen sich drehenden Riesenkopf, aus dem ein von den Mekons
eingespielter Soundtrack erklang. Die Ausstellung wurde von Hooligans
zertrümmert, als sie in Manchester gezeigt wurde. Auf der CD finden sich
die
liedhaftesten Stücke, die daraus hervorgegangen sind. Sie drehen sich - wie
die Ausstellung - um Themen, welche die Mekons schon von jeher
interessieren: Geschichte, Mythen, unkonventioneller Widerstand, Lieder, die
noch gesungen werden, lange nachdem der Kopf, aus dem sie zuerst kamen,
gerollt ist ...
Hanspeter Künzler
St. Galler Tagblatt; 2002-11-15 KulturHauptblatt Stets ein
paar Ideen voraus
The Mekons, Rock- und Künstlerkollektiv aus Leeds, feiern
ihre silberne
HochzeitVon Punk bis Country, von Malerei bis Literatur und Oper gibt es nichts,
was
die Mekons[100] nicht gemacht hätten. An diesem Wochenende spielen sie unter
der Flagge«Since 25 Years» in Schweizer Klubs.
Marcel elsenerLegendenbildung am guten Beispiel. Es muss 1991 gewesen sein. Vor
der
populären Sommerbühne im New Yorker Central Park summten gut zwanzigtausend
mit Suzanne Vega die Melodie ihres Welthits «Tom's Diner». Vor allem
den
Eingeborenen unter ihnen tat das wohlige Erschauern gut, es stimmte so
harmonisch. Einige Stunden zuvor hatten irrwitzige Briten den Park
erschüttert; nicht gewalttätig, aber doch für amerikanische Verhältnisse
auf
eine Art provokant, dass man froh war um die nette Frau Vega aus der
Nachbarschaft.Die Mekons[100], als künstlerisch ambitionierte Altpunks angekündigt,
brachten an diesem schwülen Sonntag all das mit, was man knapp Grunge
zugetraut hätte: aufrichtige Rock'n'Roll-Energie, Lärm, Melodien und
garament Sex-Appeal. Gepaart, und das war wohl der Schock, mit Intellekt,
Witz und linkspolitischem Bewusstsein. Die Band spielte ihre Folkpunk-Hymnen
in den Gruselmasken amerikanischer Präsidenten, machte aufrührerische
Ansagen und liess im Fall ihres Gitarristen gar die Zunge über die Saiten
fahren - wie einst Jimi Hendrix.Mittlerweile sind ein paar Jahre ins Land gegangen
und die Mitglieder
jenseits der vierzig - doch von Nachlassen keine Spur. Trotz transatlantisch
verstreuter Wohnsitze hat sich der lockere Band-Verbund um Jon Langford,
Sally Timms und Tom Greenhalgh gehalten. Das Geheimnis ist die Freundschaft,
aber auch die Ausdauer des Widerstands: «The battles we fought were long
and
hard, just not to be consumed by Rock'n'Roll», heisst es bekenntnishaft
im
Song «Memphis, Egypt» auf ihrem besten Album «Rock'n'Roll».
Mekons-Geschichten zu erzählen gäbe es unzählige, beginnend
mit der
Gründung 1977 an der brodelnden Universität Leeds, wo auch die Gang
of Four
zusammenfindet und der Situationisten-Professor Tim Clark lehrt, vorläufig
endend mit den ausufernden Umtrieben ihrer Mitglieder, allen voran Langford,
einst Produzent von The Ex und (Böse Bub) Eugen, der seit 1992 in Chicago
mit den Waco Brothers grossartigen Country spielt und jüngst mit den Pine
Valley Cosmonauts eine feine Platte gegen die Todesstrafe aufgenommen hat.
Der Heldenstatus ist besiegelt, die Stellung im Markt-Offside auch.
Koryphäen der Rockkritik wie Lester Bangs und Greil Marcus, beides erklärte
Fans, haben seitenweise über das Phänomen eines verschworenen Haufens
geschrieben, der «immer ein paar Ideen mehr» hatte. In einem Herbst,
in dem
sich bald jeder Newcomer auf die Buzzcocks und Joy Division beruft, die
originalen Fehlfarben mit neuer Platte touren und sich gar die Könige des
Art-Punk, Wire, live zurückmelden, kommen die Mekons gerade recht. Im
Jubiläums-Rucksack Dutzende geheimer Hits sowie das Album «Oooh»,
thematisch
diesmal William Blake und obskuren Sekten wie den Muggletonians
verschrieben. Der Auftritt wird wie gewohnt der einer fröhlich-polternden,
unberechenbaren Heilsarmee sein.Mekons, «Oooh», Quarterstick/Trost.
| Pictures from Schaffhausen / thanks
to Dieter |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
mon 18 nov Innsbruck, Treibhaus
tue 19 nov Wien, Chelsea Club
thur nov 21 Leeds - Irish Centre
> How's Leeds doing these days, everybody's sleeping??
Recovering!
The first shock was that the Irish Centre was packed - I expected the normal
Leeds/Mekons crowdlet down in the lower hall bu the whole place was opened
up and heaving (not literally - we can hold our drink now).
The sound-board owners were resistant to wiring my minidisc in unless I
found the 'manager' - needless to say I didn't find him so I resorted to
microphone. What was annoying was that halfway through the Mekons set it was
announced that the sound man was a now bald Walter Jaquiss (son of Rico) who
used to go to the school I teach at so I could have button-holed him. Ah
well.
The Three Johns were relentless with singer John wailing like a dervish.
Finished with a cover of Twentieth Century Boy (T.Rex)
Chumbawumba were boppable in their cartoon agit-prop way. They started their
set by pretending to be the Mekons and covered Memphis. They Tubthumped
(only the third time I've heard a top ten single at a concert - following
Ride a white swan and Radar Love)
The Mekons (minus Susie and Lu) but featuring Ken Lycett reading Trouble
Down South and singing Never been in a Riot.
Much fun was had and many a stage light glinted off a balding head.
and yeah, the three johns were great, though i wish they'd played more - saw
them several times in the early eighties and they've been sorely missed in
the meantime... more would be great, but talking to john at brighton seem
unlikely - though he did enjoy it. (and hyatt's another bloody academic too
by the way!)
brighton show was great - better than leeds in my opinion, the band seemed
more relaxed, more chat between songs, and they did two sets... did anyone
get a recording?
russ down south
|
THE MEKONS/ CHUMBAWAMBA
/ THE THREE JOHNS
Leeds, Irish
Centre
21.11.02
A nice irony: your
reviewer’s spent most of the day travelling here from County Cork, just
to make a beeline directly for a venue featuring the Claddagh Bar and
the Avoca lounge amongst other notables. Go figure, I guess.
Still, Yorkshire’s biggest (and coolest) working
man’s club (forgive my anti-PC sins) is as good as any place for the
wonderful MEKONS 25th anniversary, with the original sextet taking the
UK boards for the first time in donkey’s years.
Much more about THE
MEKONS later, but – lest we forget – Jon Langford was also a crucial
component of 80s art-rockers THE THREE JOHNS, who are doing their first
show for 11 years tonight.
And it’s a mixed blessing,
frankly. Although they open with a razor sharp “AWOL”, their abrasive,
drum-machine infused sound hasn’t weathered the nostalgia squall too
well and the caustic, Lydon-esque vocal whine grates rapidly. An effective
“Death Of the European” raises the pulse rate, but although I’d desperately
wanted them to be great, for most of their 40 minutes they sound like
they look: ageing blokes who should’ve knocked it on the head 11 years
back. “See you in 11 years,” they cry as a parting shot. Hmmm…don’t
ring us, guys.
CHUMBAWAMBA, by comparison, have never ceased to
be relevant, and this year’s “Readymades” album is another triumph –
albeit a slightly quieter one than usual. With crazy cozzy changes aplenty
and a disciplined tag team approach to vocal duties, they’re in party
mood tonight, pretending they’re The Mekons throughout and casually
knocking out a set with nods to both their new album and their (yikes!)
greatest hits.
Highlights are many and varied. “I’m With Stupid”
is punchy and no-nonsense; “Jacob’s Ladder” sounds especially resonant
in the current worldwide crisis situation, with Danbert singing the
“and they sent him to the war to be slain” sample live; an acoustic’n’gentle
take of “Don’t Try This At Home” brings Lou stagefront and the inevitable
“Tubthumping” and (hurrah!) “Enough Is Enough” provoke the expected
moshpit mania.
Typically, though, CHUMBAWAMBA have strength in
reserve and even the less obvious material – the Gary Rhodes-bashing
“Passenger List”; Boff’s surprisingly tender C&W lullaby “Wild And
Blue” and the clergy-bashing “Big Mouth Strikes Again” with Alice and
Danbert in clerical garb – sound like deranged successes in this euphoric
atmosphere.
|
Following this was never gonna be easy and considering the way the THREE
JOHNS had floundered earlier, this reviewer was harbouring doubts as
to whether Jon Langford could still cut the Colmans with THE MEKONS.
However, opening with the folky, vocally-inclined
jamboree of “The Olde Trip To Jerusalem”, it soon became apparent that
after a wayward quarter-century, THE MEKONS (back to original strength)
– remain crankily inventive.
Indeed, virtually all of this is taut, tight and
distinctive. The accordion adds an occasional Cajun flavour and Langford
and Tom Greenhalgh’s guitars are joined at the hip.
It’s a joy, also,
too see Sally Timms back at the mic. She does little physically, but
still exudes an indefinable cool and contributes viciously good vocal
lines to one of the most underestimated back catalogues in pop.
Loads of great stuff whizzes past. I’d forgotten
how neat “I Love A Millionaire” was, while “The Last Dance” reinforces
the positive impression and a moving AND defiant “Insignificance” –
delivered by a nostril-flaring Langford – completely banished the early
Three Johns blemishes.
All celebrations and
the party atmosphere notwithstanding, though, tonight proved beyond
all reasonable that at least two of Leeds’ most enduring and uncompromising
cornerstones are still in rude health. Admittedly, the Three Johns’
legacy might be better preserved in aspic at this stage, but both Chumbawamba
and The Mekons clearly have much to offer in the big, bad 21st Century.
(TIM PEACOCK)
|
fri nov 22 Brighton - Dome (pictures: thanks to: Simon Buxton)
sat nov 23 London - Borderline
So, the lost Mekons weekend in Leeds, Brighton and London....
Fragmented recollections and disjointed thoughts dart elusively out from the black abyss of alcohol-induced memory loss like shards of glass glinting pretentiously in a sun-dappled council tip ....
Good to re-meet Oliver, Nobby, Jim and Ferl and to meet Michael, Sally, Dave, Julia, Judith, Ruth, Russ, Tim and Boocock, albeit for a brief exchange through a thick fog in some cases. Do get in touch if you're ever planning to visit the badlands of the Midlands.
All 3 nights were fine ones and I couldn't choose between them. I'd agree that Brighton was the most relaxed Mekons performance. Leeds saw the most impassioned Langford performance...to the extent of almost drowning out the rest of the band at times. Plenty of band banter in London as well as Brighton but more spiky (hopefully a sign of close rather than deteriorating relations !). Musically excellent all 3 nights, if duly laced with the odd bit of chaos.
Three Johns in Leeds were better than anyone could have dared hope after a decade on the shelf and seemed to convince those not familiar with their work. Chumbawumba cracked a few good jokes but were then OK-ish in an unmemorable sort of way. Did anyone arrive in time to see The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash in London?....good name, ludicrously early time to perform.
Leeds was big, full and vibrant (800?), Brighton was smallish, fairly full and lively (100?), London was a small to medium-sized can of seething sardines (seemed like 400 in a venue designed for 275).
I couldn't attempt set lists, even if I wanted to, as many detailed memories have disappeared into the chemically-created void, but the songs from "Oooh!" and "Journey" fitted in well, as did the resurrection of a few late 70s classics ("Dan Dare" is a better encore than "Where were you?", I reckon). Maybe "Honkytonkin" and "So good it hurts" are a little under-used, but so what? Fantastic voyage, indeed.
If you're thinking of buying the new book, I'd recommend it - a lovely little commodity (to be bought like a rock not sold like a roll). Nicely blurs the distinction between high and low culture. Mr Lycett's reading in Leeds worked well too, the high art to Mr Mitch's high camp....what was Jon saying in London about a bad reaction to Mr Mitch in Leeds?; I didn't notice anything untoward but then I don't notice many things. Lycett seems to wear fewer signs of decay than most...is that the fresh air and sunshine of West Yorks or the lack of a rock'n'roll lifestyle in Americay? As for Mr Boocock mounting the stage for his solo performance of "I am the walrus"...well, I just can't believe that really happened...
Enough guff. I reckon my mind and body could handle a weekend like that maybe once a year....perhaps there should be a Euro-Mekonian invasion of Chicago, San Francisco & New York next time...
But for now, a period of calm and silence is called for on my part.
Paul
Jon Langford: Sunday, Dec. 8 at the Cactus Cafe in Austin.
Langford went with just Bill Anderson (TMP) on guitar and Randy Franklin
(Woodpeckers, Wild Seeds) on
mandolin for his low-key gig at the Cactus before a maybe fifty people
who braved the rain and cold (cold is relative - this is Texas). His two sets included most of the
usual (Skull Orchard, Anything Can Happen, Millionaire), with a couple
of tunes from New Deal (Blink of an Eye). I don't remember hearing
him do
Tom Jones Levitation before, but I could be mistaken.
Jo Walston (TMP) joined in on Wild and Blue, Tom Dooley, and (of course)
Hangman. I almost didn't recognize her in just jeans and flannel. I
really wanted Pete (the Meat's mandolin man, seated with his
intimidating posse a
table across from me) to snatch it from Randy. Randy's good, but plays
it like a lead guitar.
Here's the set list from the show Sunday -
I've heard him do the song "A Little Bit of Help Wouldn't Hurt," but
can't find the official title. Am I right in thinking it is part of his
extensive unreleased ouevre?
First Set
Not Enough
Anything Can Happen
Death of Country Music
A Little Bit of Help Wouldn't Hurt
Pill Sailor
Walking on Hell's Roof Looking at the Flowers
Joshua Gone Barbados
Millionaire
Delilah
Wild and Blue
Second Set
Tubby Brothers
When I Get My Rewards
Nashville Radio
Sentimental Marching Song
Blink of an Eye
Long Black Veil
Hangman
Tom Dooley
Tom Jones Levitation
Big River
Encore
Old Flames
Alone and Forsaken
Kevin Coyne & Jon Langford with Sally Timms, John Rice & Pat Brennan of the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
CONCERT
Chicago Tribune
Kevin Coyne's uninhibited set is blueprint of unconventional
By Rick Reger
Recognition can be slow in coming to deserving artists. In fact, it sometimes seems that the better the artist is, the longer it takes to arrive.
For legendary British singer-songwriter Kevin Coyne, fame apparently booked passage on a leaky barge with a crippled motor and has been drifting haplessly in some distant ocean for years. Yet that hasn't stopped Coyne from forging an impressive 30-year career that's encompassed music, poetry and visual art.
To a degree, Coyne's eclectic spirit has contributed to his obscurity. His early records were rooted in earthy folk-blues music, yet for all their robust energy and homespun lyricism, Coyne's penchant for depicting socially marginalized characters using unorthodox song forms kept him from being embraced by some.
Coyne's subsequent records were even more daring and unpredictable, exploring hard rock, free improvisation, jazz-accented pop and more. Yet regardless of its orientation, Coyne's music was often as compelling as it was impossible to pigeonhole.
So the measure of respect accorded Coyne during his Sunday night appearance at the Old Town School of Folk music was long overdue. For the first time since he began returning to Chicago several years ago, Coyne had an opportunity to perform in one of the city's premier venues supported by a large, able band that included his son Robert (guitar, drums) and local luminaries Jon Langford (guitar), John Rice (guitar), Pat Brennan (organ) and Sally Timms (vocals).
Coyne responded with his most uninhibited--and sometimes hilariously unhinged--set in recent years. From the prickly blues riffing of set opener "Saviour" to the bruising hard-rock of the encore finale "Room Full of Fools," Coyne was in peak form, belting out lyrics with the fervor of a backwoods preacher shouting down a legion of demons.
Coyne isn't a singer in the conventional sense; he's closer to a jazz artist in his fondness for tossing improvised lyrics, odd inflections and quirky non-sequiturs into his songs. But rather than sounding disjointed, Coyne's stream of consciousness rants and asides on the barroom blues-rocker "Money Like Water" and the steamy R&B workout "Precious" imbued them with the unique, spontaneous dazzle of Zen sketches.
As good as Coyne's backing band was, he was often most riveting during his solo acoustic numbers. "Blame It on the Night" and "Karate King" mixed rough, aggressive, unorthodox strumming with wild, untethered singing to produce music that was simultaneously primal and almost avant-garde.
Coyne used the same elements to particularly chilling effect on "Lunatic," which drew on his youthful experience of working in a mental hospital. The blend of Coyne's manic barre chords and harrowing lyrical imagery evoked a searing pathos that left the audience in a discomfited silence.
It's exactly that type of unvarnished, almost brutal honesty that's kept Coyne a cult artist for so long. But it's also what will keep anyone who witnessed the concert from forgetting it anytime soon.
Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune:
Waco Brothers: Sat Dec 28 Chicago Schubas
Lined up shoulder to shoulder on the tiny stage at Schubas Tavern Friday night,
cradling their instruments as if they were rifles, the members of the Waco Brothers
looked like the Wild Bunch marching toward their final battle.Like the outlaws
in the classic Sam Peckinpah western, the Chicago country-punk band fits neither
the times nor the place in which they live, operate instead by their own defiant
code of honor and are prone to wreaking mayhem when their backs are against
the wall.Fortunately the Waco Brothers do their damage with guitars, not guns,
although Steve Goulding's drum fusillades often made it hard to tell the difference
during the first of two weekend shows. Combining concussive force with hard-swinging
musicianship, Goulding led the charge. Alan Doughty, coiled like a cobra in
his sleeveless T-shirt and black cowboy hat, kept pace with his supple, plunging
bass lines.Bouncing along on these grooves, the Waco Brothers rode the songs
as much as they played them, the razor-wire shimmer of Tracey Dear's mandolin
mixing with Jon Langford's and Dean Schlabowske's churning guitars as the three
men took turns belting out their pub-bleared anthems. Seated in a shadowy corner,
his face obscured by the long curled brim of his hat, Mark Durante again was
the band's secret weapon, as his sighing, crying and spiraling steel guitar
lines alternately rained down on the music and slashed it to pieces.Nearly half
the music came from the band's new sixth CD, "New Deal," a reminder that for
what started out in the mid-'90s as an excuse for Langford and Schlabowske to
play country cover songs for beer, the Waco Brothers have produced a remarkably
prolific body of substantial, well-crafted songs.For all the alcohol-soaked
recklessness of past performances, the Waco Brothers were sharp and cohesive
as they played with loose, relaxed assurance. Doughty, Dear, Langford and Schlabowske
casually sidled up to their microphones to bellow the barroom choruses of their
songs in perfect unison. The band built a tidal-wave crescendo at the beginning
of "Walking on Hell's Roof Looking at the Flowers," and they frequently ended
songs with thrilling train-wreck jams.Most of the band is made up of British
expatriates, but the Waco Brothers' connection to country music has more to
do with punk rock and country's common roots in working class struggles and
barroom relief. "History is written by the winners, this is a loser's song,"
Langford snarled at the beginning of one song, and the Waco Brothers repeatedly
championed the underdog.They celebrated organized labor ("Plenty Tuff Union
Made"), lamented big business squeezing out the little guy ("New Deal Blues"),
and sang about being left out of the now-faded economic boom ("No Heart"). There
was romanticism amid the social criticism, too, as a just-married couple danced
onstage with the band during the tender-hearted "North Woods." When they began
their encore with the Clash's arrangement of "I Fought the Law," it was a tribute
not only to Joe Strummer, but to every outsider, iconoclast and hard-pressed
working stiff. If the words declared the system's victory, the music proclaimed
the triumph of the Waco Brothers succeeding on their own riotous, contrarian
terms.
norbert.knape (at) ewetel.net
