Usually when a band decides to revisit a landmark record of their past, they ramp up a pretty comprehensive tour, supporting it and it generally coincides with some deluxe reissue of the material. Neither were the case when Luna decided to play their second record, Bewitched, in full for a Philadelphia audience. As far as I can tell, they’ve definitely played the entire record in full, but not since 2000’s show in Seattle and this appeared to be a one off, so why not trek down to Philly?
Dean Wareham and crew seem a bit more surefooted on their second record, putting some distance between Galaxie 500 and his solo efforts, though still steeped heavily in tincture of Velvets. And to underscore that point, recruiting the original tugboat captain Sterling Morrison to play on the title track is one way to establish some heavy creds. Wareham slyly nodded to the year of the record’s release and obliquely referencing the present as well. “1994. Nelson Mandela is elected leader of a formerly apartheid nation. Northern Ireland ceases violence. I’m not sure where I am going with this, just glad that the world didn’t blow up tonight.”
If wikipedia is to be trusted, the band enlisted a second famous guest on their next record (Tom Verlaine playing on the title track of Penthouse; does anyone have any intel on whether or not Wareham tried to get Lou Reed to play on “Pup Tent”?) and it’s not hard to see the effect of those New York bands on Wareham’s approach to music. So, it was no great surprise that when the proper record was tucked into bed with “Sleeping Pill,” the remaining songs prior to the encore would have some overlap with Wareham’s heroes.
First up though, the pace was picked up considerably with “Malibu Love Nest,” Britta Phillips’ urgent bass playing locked in with the steady beat provided by Lee Walls. Wareham cut loose in solo, presaging the pyrotechnics that he would lock into with Sean Eden on “Marquee Moon.” I guess I’ve always taken Wareham’s guitar playing as functionally competent but one my eyebrows may still be raised in astonishment. Reed’s “New Sensation” just before was a solid choice, veering from the obvious homages of “Satellite Of Love” or “Perfect Day” for something fresh.
Not be outdone, Phillips took the mic duties for the encore opener of “Drive” by The Cars, another inspired choice and the four degrees Velvet Underground connection remains intact via David Robinson. The economical jam of “23 Minutes in Brussells* lent some Spacemen 3 minimalism to the song, sending us off in a most satisfying way.
Multi-media artist Jeffrey Lewis opened up the evening, joined by Mallory Feuer on vocals, keyboards and violin. Lewis is sort of an antecedent of viral songwriter Jesse Welles, fusing current events into his songs. He also has created a slew of comic books and a couple of his songs had their own visuals to help with the narrative. The homage to Keith Haring was spot on, as was his history lesson of NYC-based punk rock, tracing a crooked line from The Fugs to the New York Dolls and Richard Hell until the UK staged a genre highjacking.
He also had a relevant bit about how you go into a record store and leave with a handful of great records for not much cash outlay, only now it’s CDs instead of LPs. Hop on that train before the market shifts again!
