Iggy and the Stooges – House of Blues (Atlantic City) – August 27, 2010
Please see my full review here.
Negative Approach – Barbary (Philadelphia) – August 26, 2010
Just like last year’s absolutely crushing show at the First Unitarian Church, the newly reconstituted lineup of early ’80s Michigan hardcore legends Negative Approach just destroyed. Opening with “Lost Cause” (their track on the Touch and Go compilation The Process of Elimination), they stuck mostly to their 7” and the Tied Down Lp, throwing in covers of songs by BLITZ (“Never Surrender”), SHAM 69 (“Borstal Breakout”), 4 SKINS (“Chaos”) and THE WEIRDOS (“Solitary Confinement”).
I missed openers COBRA LUNG since I got there too late, but headr that they did a cover of PROJECT X‘s “Straight Edge Revenge”. I would’ve liked to see that.
Dead Kennedys – Live at the Deaf Club (Manifesto)
This came out back in 2004, but I’ve only heard it recently. It’s from a show in 1979 at the Deaf Club, a haven for San Francisco punk rock in the late ’70s where contemporaries like THE MUTANTS, THE OFFS, NEGATIVE TREND and others also played along with touring acts like D.O.A. Two of these songs (“Short Songs” and “Straight As”) were previously released on the excellent compilation Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death, but the rest of these songs (including covers of “Viva Las Vegas” and THE BEATLES‘ “Back in the USSR”) had never been released before. There are early versions of “When Ya Get Drafted” (then called “Back in Rhodesia”) and “California Uber Alles”, both with alternate lyrics, that are fascinating from the standpoint of seeing how they developed before their final versions were laid down to wax. There are also live versions of other familiar songs here like “Police Truck” and a version of “Kill the Poor” that’s missing in the intro and labeled a “disco” version. All in all, though I’m skeptical about any archival releases of Dead Kennedys material given the litigation between their former members, this is a worthwhile and enjoyable release.
Negative Approach – Friends of No One (Taang)
Please see my full review here.
George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (Apple/EMI)
Leatherface – Mush (Roughneck)
No Age – “Glitter” EP (Sub Pop)
While the A-side (also on their upcoming album Everything in Between) is a nice track, its B-side (“Infloresence”) steals the show here. You can stream both of them here and decide for yourself.
Neu! – Neu! 75 (Mute)
The Nerves – One Way Ticket (Alive/Naturalsound)
Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor – Gimme Something Better: The Profound, Progressive, and Occasionally Pointless History of Bay Area Punk from Dead Kennedys to Green Day (Penguin, 2009)
I picked up a copy of this last week and it’s nothing less than the oral history of the Bay Area punk scene from the beginning to the almost present day. Thus, it’s invaluable as THE AVENGERS, Dead Kennedys, FLIPPER, Negative Trend and countless others get the same treatment that the ’70s CBGBs era bands got in Please Kill Me and that LA greats like The Weirdos, THE GERMS, X and others got in We Got the Neutron Bomb.
