Archive for the ‘Peppermint Lounge’ Category

Kid Congo Powers

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

CrampsGoo, The Cramps, Kid Congo Powers, Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach

CrampsGooB, The Cramps, Kid Congo Powers, Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach

Listen: She Said / The Cramps CrampsSheSaid.mp3

There are not near enough Cramps singles with Kid Congo Powers. There are many members who traveled through the band’s revolving door of a rhythm section (which in the early lineups redefined the term ‘rhythm section’ to mean drums and 2nd guitar/avant noise inventor), but very few were real Cramps. Others might contest my statement, including Ivy herself – and if anyone would know, it would be her. But this is my opinion – and other than Congo, Bryan Gregory, Nick Knox, Slim Chance and Harry Drumdini, there were no other REAL Cramps beyond Lux & Ivy. Well maybe Candy Del Mar, maybe.

The shows I saw with Kid were all priceless, for everything else there’s Mastercard or some such smart ass slogan. Hair, clothes, swirling on stage tornado – he will never be topped.

And talk about a lovely person, with a gentle smile and the sweetest sense of humor. Kid Congo is just a higher form of life.

‘She Said’, Kid’s first 7″ with the band, is so Cramps – it almost out Cramps The Cramps. Like the rest of the band, Kid stripped his contribution to the song of every excess not needed and documented the raw, naked power of primal purity.

CrampsCrusher, The Cramps, Kid Congo Powers, Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach

Listen: The Crusher / The Cramps CrampsCrusher.mp3

PSYCHEDELIC JUNGLE was my favorite of the early few albums, a hard and unsteady position to take when you’re tampering with a few of the wonders of the world. But, yeah, if forced to choose in front of a firing squad, I’d go with PSYCHEDELIC JUNGLE.

‘The Crusher’ was one of the two singles from it, and like ‘Caveman’, will time travel you back to their live shows from ’80/’81- or sadly inform you of what you missed.

CrampsKick, The Cramps, Kid Congo Powers, Lux Interior, Ivy Rorschach

Listen: New Kind Of Kick / The Cramps CrampsKick.mp3

Have a look back at my L7 post from May 4th, 2010. It ends with the following few lines:

“………a song as good as ‘Drama’, which also has one of the two best guitar solos ever committed to tape. EVER. And the other one is..coming soon.”

Well come it has – the world’s other greatest guitar solo ever committed to tape. Yes, it’s the great Kid Congo Powers break on ‘New Kind Of Kick’, B side to ‘The Crusher’, above. B side!!!!!

If I am unfortunate enough to be inflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease, I hope it doesn’t erase my memory of Kid letting it roll out of him as though he were having a simple drink of water, seemingly something anyone could do. When the band launched into ‘New Kind Of Kick’ live for the first time, I stood in anticipation and wonder: how is he gonna pull this one off. Wow. He showed me.

This particular occasion was at the old Peppermint Lounge on 44th Street, the last week of that club’s lifespan at said location. And thank the heavens above – I have a tape of it. So powerful was that show – I’ve never even needed one listen to relive it’s force.

GunClubBeastPS, The Gun Club, Sympathy For The Record Industry, Jeffrey Pierce

Listen: Walking With The Beast (Single Version) / The Gun Club GunClubBeast.mp3

When Kid decided to go back to Jeffrey and The Gun Club, I was not happy. And I doubt I was alone. There was no place for Kid in The Ramones or Suicide, so the only other seminal, world great band, The Gun Club, was the logical move. Their album, THE LAS VEGAS STORY, is flawless, scary almost in it’s greatness. ‘Bad America’, ‘Stranger In Our Town’, ‘Give Up The Sun’, ‘Eternity Is Here’ – forget it. And the US tour in support was debilitating to those not ready, even those of us that were. Kid played flawlessly, all the while swigging from a bottle of…..Pepto Bismol.

It doesn’t get any more Kid Congo than that.

I’ll never forget my lucky date seeing that show: 8/8/84. Another one I have a tape of, now a file, and in between, a cd. When I need to be swept into oblivion, I put it on.

Here’s the 7″ version of ‘Walking With The Beast’ and a very different version from that on the album. You need both.

THE REVILLOS

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

Scuba Scuba / Revillos

Scuba Scuba / Revillos

Listen: Scuba Scuba / Revillos 15 Scuba Scuba.mp3

I always regretted not making that very long drive – about 3 hours – to see The Rezillos open for The Ramones at Cornell University. Talk about a perfect package. Not long after, essentially the same lineup changed their name to Revillos, I think to side step a recording contract with Sire and move on to Virgin, but I may be wrong. Didn’t matter, the sound, songs, look, speed and humor remained. It was only about three years ago that I saw them at all. They luckily came over to New York and were as great as I’d hoped they’d be back then. Drums still being played so fast they didn’t even sound like drums. Faye dancing silly, but lovable too. And so many good songs. Nowadays they play both Rezillos and Revillos gems. I have a bunch of favorites, and really loved the ‘Scuba Scuba’ video the one time I saw it in 1980 on the big screen at The Peppermint Lounge a week before it closed. The Cramps were playing. I was in a youtube late night loop recently and searched for it. The video was up, but has kinda lost it’s punch, with the now outdated effects. Still, the memory was enough for me to pull the single out. Such a nice clean amphetamine sound.