Damn, what a collection of catchy tunes and cool cuts the old ‘pod spit out this time.
*’s by the ones I’ve seen live…
- “Kiss Off” – Violent Femmes* – Violent Femmes
- “Bill and Ben” – Catherine Wheel* – Ferment
- “Transmission” – Joy Division – Substance
- “Vitamin K” – Scala – Slow Death in the Metronome Factory
- “Sparkle” – Phish* – Rift
- “She Sells Sanctuary” – The Cult – High Octane Cult
- “Bookends” – Simon & Garfunkel – Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits
- “Nightclub Jitters” – The Replacements – Pleased to Meet Me
- “Flat Backin'” – Brother Jack McDuff* – Moon Rappin’
- “Tohu Bohu” – The Slip* – Does
I don’t know how many times I saw the Violent Femmes back at Liberty Lunch before it became the Austin City Hall, but rockin’ shows was a far better use of the space.
I saw the Catherine Wheel at the Bomb Factory in Dallas back in ’93. Matthew Sweet, The Lemonheads and Tony Bennett (yes, you read that right, Tony Bennett) were also on the bill. The Catherine Wheel opened with a very cool rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” Bennett did not cover the Floyd, but he was really good.
I don’t know how many times I’ve seen Phish, but I always loved them. The last few shows, though, they sounded like a reincarnation of Zappa and the Mothers. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.
I had a chance to see The Replacements on the All Shook Down tour. I figured I’d catch them the next time. Stupid me. I learned my lesson, though. Perhaps that’s why I drove 2000 miles to see the Grateful Dead when I began to worry that Jerry wasn’t going to be around much longer.
Brother Jack McDuff’s Moon Rappin’ is one of the very best jazz funk organ albums ever. It’s up there with Jimmy Smith’s amazing Root Down. In ’99 I knew that Hitler and Jesus were the ones cut from the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. That knowledge won me tickets to an organ summit where Brother McDuff, Smith and Jimmy McGriff were all playing. McDuff and Smith have since died.
The Slip was an ACL Fest discovery a few years back. They impressed me enough to buy three CDs.
James Brush is a teacher and writer who lives in Austin, TX. He tries to get outside as much as possible.
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