URGE OVERKILL rode the wave of Touch and Go far enough to carry them into the teeming waters of the early 90’s that comprised the major label feeding frenzy, even looking and acting like big rock stars before Geffen signed them (I have to admit a certain fondness for the velour jacket and medallion look). Their debut Saturation wasn’t quite fully saturated with punchy, catchy rockers, but it certainly had a handful of songs that pushed that particular button and pushed it hard. Who hasn’t cranked “Sister Havana” from their car on a hot summer day with the windows all down? Their presence got large enough to warrant Tarantino recognition, and when Quentin selected their admittedly awesome cover of NEIL DIAMOND’s “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, their profile shot up faster than an UMA THURMAN speedball. With a much larger budget and seemingly invincible momentum, they continued to write some solid rockers, but also lost their way a bit, in more ways than one. After the disappointing second record Exit The Dragon, they were not heard from again.
I still look at their career as a strange, three-headed beast: the early stuff was somewhat formless noise rock with the occasional brilliant spot (see “Ticket To LA”). The middle part was flawless, with both Supersonic Storybook and Stull unmatched in both songwriting and execution. I caught them capping a tremendous night with UNSANE and TAR during this era that still sits as one of the greatest triple bills I’ve ever seen. The last part of the triptych was somewhat reminiscent of the first, in that they lost the songwriting muse. The production was big and sleek, but the songs were on life support for the most part.
When I learned (via a Flickr groupl, of all places) that UO was back on the road and hitting my locale, I was surprised and more than a bit intrigued. Having no new product to promote on the road, I secretly hoped that lightning would strike twice, and I’d get another delicious dose of what was served up to me in ‘92. If you’d told me before I went that I’d hear exactly two songs from those two records (“The Candidate,” with no shout-out to fellow Illini homie BARACK OBAMA; and “What’s This Generation Coming To?”), odds are fairly high I wouldn’t have even bothered to leave the house. That would have been a big mistake. Despite my misgivings about the dearth of material I consider their peak, both NASH KATO and KING ROESER were ready to rock with what they brought. Nash in particular looks pretty much exactly like I recall him looking like, his tall and angular frame moving around the stage, signature Ibanez guitar slung over his shoulder. Ed was on guitar as well, having farmed out bass duties to MIKE HODGKISS of GAZA STRIPPERS, and the full-on rock sound from two guitars was a good application of muscle being put in the right place. The somewhat small but enthusiastic crowd took in the shoulda-been huge radio hits like “Sister Havana,” “Positive Bleeding,” and “Take Me” with the knowing smiles and head-bobs of rock fans getting what they seek. No material was played from either Jesus Urge Superstar or Americruiser but that didn’t really dampen the mood; I actually went back to Saturation and Exit The Dragon for a re-assessment, and found that I’d given them a bit more short shrift than maybe they deserve. This was also probably the most fun my wife had had at a show in a while; she was rocking out right next to SPRINGA (from boston hardcore legends SSDECONTROL) who would later hop on stage after regular set closed with “Last Night, Tomorrow” to exhort the crowd into an encore-inducing frenzy.
Well, maybe frenzy wasn’t the actual scene, and the hand-written setlist on the stage floor presaged an encore regardless of what sort of noise rang out. Still, Ed and Nate came out with big smiles and cranked out four more songs before taking off into the night (big disappointment that “Emmaline” was not among them; give credit to UO for excellent choice in cover material). Though their shot at rock stardom has passed, some of the trappings remain (the UO logo amp covers; a nifty custom UO pick guard), and the songs still rock with attitude and purpose. So next time you hop in the car on that hot summer day, make sure some UO is along for the ride.
here’s a vid clip from the show of an unreleased song Hollywood
more photos can be seen at www.tinnitus-photography.com
