Text and images (c) Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2018 Poster from the Internet
Before moving to Saskatoon, I'm proud to say I vote for Barack Obama. Michelle as First Lady was a bonus.
When former president George W. Bush came to speak in Saskatoon in 2009 via the Chamber of Commerce, it was at the smaller TCU Place, and there was a large protest march of hundreds of people (of which I participated, having moved to the city just a few months before). This time, however, when the former First Lady came through the same organization, it was at the much larger Sasktel Centre (where the major sports and music events take place), it was cheered by all 8500 in attendance, with no protests inside or out.
The tickets were $100 (after the exorbitant TicketMaster fees), which was out of my price range, honestly, but thanks to working at the YWCA and some donated tickets, I was able to score a couple for myself and my partner.
Not surprisingly, there was a bunch of yakking before Michelle hit the stage for her hour-and-a-half by locals, such as radio host Shauna Powers, Darla Lindbjerg (CEO of the Chamber of Commerce), Murad Al-Katib (president and CEO of AGT Foods), and someone representing the Invictus Games for wounded veterans (including two participants).
Rather than a set talk, moderator and Olympic gold medalist Cassie Campbell interviewed Obama, who talked extensively about growing up, raising her daughters, living in the White House, and some of the programs she worked on while First Lady. Despite that, she also avoided politics in general (sans an subtle audience-appreciated swipe at the present White House occupant's ego).
A coworker of mine who was present later said he wished for a more set speech, but I rather enjoyed the banter, and the humanizing of Barack and the joy of their relationship. She showed kindness, humor, grace, and a sense of how the Obama administration all worked together for the general good, things that are currently missing in Washington. It felt like everyone went away after feeling good.
Please note that we were sitting quite far away from the stage, as the first picture will attest. For that reason, the pictures aren't the sharpest, but I'm proud of how they came out in the long run, all things considered.
There are always raging question,
such as “Who was the first punk band?”, or “What was the first punk release?” For me, a more important question is “Which
is the most influential punk album?”
Yeah, there are lots of them, such as The
Stooges, The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Ramones, The New York Dolls, and
Never Mind the Bollocks. The simple
answer is… I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure near the very top of the list is
the Heartbreakers’ L.A.M.F., originally
released in 1977.
Richard Hell-era Heartbreakers
The Heartbreakers were
Johnny Thunders (vox, guitar), Walter Lure (vox, guitar), Billy Rath (bass) and
Jerry Nolan (drums). Of them, Walter is the sole survivor. He’s been playing
with his own band, the Waldos, for decades now. For the 40th anniversary of L.A.M.F.’s release, he decided to play
the album from beginning to end. Of course, it couldn’t be as the
Heartbreakers, but he and Jesse Malin put together an all-star group and named
it after the album to be played. For this gathering at the Bowery Electric
during November 2016, Walter is joined by Clem Burke (drums) of Blondie, Wayne
Kramer (guitar) of the MC5 and Gang War (in which he was a member with
Thunders), and Tommy Stinson (guitar, vox) of the Replacements and Guns ‘N
Roses. In one form or another, I have seen all of them play, including guests Cheetah
Chrome (guitar, vox) of the Dead Boys and Jesse Malin (vox, guitar). The sole
newbie to me is vocalist rocker Liz Colby.
The new line-up played three shows at
this venue, all of which sold out, and this DVD is a compilation of the best of
it. They played the album from start to finish. While I wasn’t there, I’m
grateful to have the opportunity to view this. Plus, the visuals and sound are
crystal clear (with the exception of a few fuzzy images here and there), unlike
the muddled original pressing of the album, thanks to Nolan’s tinkering.
Let’s face it, part of the charm and
importance of the Heartbreakers isn’t the band’s music al clarity. The playing
is sloppy, the vocals are equally so, and the songs range from pretty silly to
drugged out bashing. But it was a combination that so incredibly powerful for just those reasons. I loved to go see
the Heartbreakers. When they were there,
they were a force. That is sort of
what I was expecting: sloppy yet stormy. And that’s just what this is,
thankfully.
Stinson takes the lead with “Born to
Lose,” which has the great lyrics, “Living in a jungle, it ain’t that hard /
Living in the city it will tear out your heart.” One of the names often given
to this Thunders’ masterwork is “Born Too Loose,” and Stinson plays it just
that way, screaming up into his microphone in modified-Lemmy fashion. The man
can’t sing to save his life – not that Johnny was a stunning vocalist, but had
a discernible and unique sound that was endearing. But Stinson has the energy and
heart, matched by Kramer’s excellent guitar riffs. He also covers the next
song, “Baby Talk” which doesn’t quite have the chantable chorus of “Born...”
Damn, I can’t help but compare it to Johnny’s (both recorded and live), and the
melody of the song gets lost here in the way he raspily shouts it.
I have been a fan of Walter’s since
the first time I saw the Heartbreakers. Not surprisingly, he seems really at
ease with one of my fave songs off the album, “All By Myself” While I always
preferred the Live at Max’s version
over the L.A.M.F. one, that’s not to say it’s any less great.
Here, the retired Pharmacist and Stockbroker is in fine form, even though
occasionally his voice sounds a bit scratchy. Shit, I’d still go to see him
play at a moment’s notice. I smiled all the way through it, and even mouthed
along with the song (well, I did that with most of it, but don’t tell anyone).
For the next two numbers, D
Generation’s Jesse Malin (and co-proprietor of the Bowery Electric) hops up on
stage, doing well to channel Johnny in the raucous “I Wanna Be Loved,” and the
ballad “It’s Not Enough.” Jesse is vocally sloppy in a similar way to Johnny,
so it’s a great fit.
For the first time at this point in
the DVD, it’s easy to spot that there is a visual melding all three shows
together as he dressed differently for each of the three shows, even though the
sound is continuous from one of them. The cut-and-pasted images would be
continued throughout the show.
I was at this show
While DeeDee Ramone wrote the song,
and the Ramones also sang it, it was the Heartbreakers that first brought
“Chinese Rocks” to the studio, and it’s rare to hear me say it, the
Heartbreakers did it better. Again, I’m a fan of the Live at Max’s take, in which Walter adjusts the lyrics (i.e.,
making it not radio-friendly), and 40
years later, with Walter and Tommy at the vocal forefront, it still kicks ass.
For this number, Kramer plugs in Thunders’ actual guitar. I’d like to add that
Burke does well matching Jerry Nolan’s stand-out drumming on the song.
“Get Off the Phone” is another Walter
classic, and I use that word sincerely. Walter handles it with aplomb – as
always – again getting everyone to sing along. More than Thunders, Lure usually
wrote songs whose choruses are more enjoyable to sing along with – said with no
disrespect to Thunders’ who wrote some great numbers as well, of course.
Picture disc L.A.M.F.; I have it
Malin is thankfully back doing his
best Thunders with “Pirate Love,” bringing up Cheetah Chrome to join in. Chrome
is an excellent guitarist – always has been – and I’m glad as time has gone by,
more people recognize it (and while you’re at it, check out his excellent
autobiography, Cheetah Chrome: A Dead Boys’
Tale, but I digress…).
“One Track Mind” originally was a
Walter Lure/Richard Hell composition, beginning its life as “Love Comes in
Spurts.” After Hell – err – left the Heartbreakers, Walter changed the song
around a bit and came up with another strong piece that was one of the
Heartbreakers’ tunes on heavy rotation in the old Max’s Kansas City days. It
definitely holds up (as does “Love Comes…” but I guess this isn’t the time or
the place for that). And yes, I sang along. Kramer takes on Thunders’ guitar break,
with Walter taking over at the end. This shows something important about what
made the Heartbreakers so special. Kramer is a stunning guitarist, but he is
quite clinical, without Johnny’s
sloppiness. Walter is as loose as ever, and the contrast here puts firmly why
Walter and Johnny were so great together as they complemented each other. Here,
the sharpness of Kramer and the looseness of Walter sounds a bit strange.
Wonderful, but strange.
Wayne Kramer and Liz Colby
I miss Johnny singing with Joy Ryder
(d. 2015); usually they did “Great Big Kiss.” I bring this up because Liz Colby
brings a dose of feminine rock to Johnny’s “I Love You,” a solid song that
blasts, and she is up for the task, giving it an occasionally smoky, bluesy
texture. She also made me think, “Wow, Johnny never jumped around the stage as
much as she does”; then again, he usually couldn’t. He was more of a stage
roamer with his tongue often doing the most movement.
Cheetah comes back on both guitar and vocals knee deep with “Goin’
Steady.” While it is not as rough as Stinton’s, Chrome’s gritty voice matches
the sound and the mood of the song, doing the Heartbreakers proud. Same can be
said about Kramer, who takes the lead for “Let Go,” a powerhouse of a number.
The rave up has a great chorus, especially when the band sings along.
Appropriately, Burke sings “Can’t
Keep My Eyes on You,” which was a contribution to the album by drummer Nolan. Of
course the song is about fashion, as that was one of Nolan’s (many) specialities.
Burke’s vocals are a bit rough around the edges, buy hey, so was Nolan’s. Still
a great song, though, and it gets the respect it deserves. Same with Kramer
taking on the Thunders cover of The Contours’ “Do You Love Me,” which is a
high-energy song to end the set.
Walter, Cheetah, Tommy, Clem
For the extras, there is a 3:08
minute interview with Clem Burke about how he came to be included, and his
fandom of the Heartbreakers, especially Jerry Nolan. Next up is 3:29 of Jesse
Malin who also discusses his love of the Heartbreakers and Walter in
particular. For 3:10, Stinson fuckin’ talks about how fuckin’ important the
fuckin’ record is and how fuckin’ drugs fuckin’ influenced it. In other words,
he doesn’t really say that fuckin’ much that the whole fuckin’ world doesn’t already
fuckin’ know. Walter’s bit is 4:41, and he discusses the place of the
Heartbreakers in the local musical spectrum of its time, and his relationships
with other Heartbreaker members. Last up is Wayne Kramer at a full 7:04, who
waxes poetic on how Beethoven, Charlie Parker, rappers, etc., were punks, and
how ignorant he was about the Heartbreakers’ music, even though he knew some of
the songs as he was in a band with Thunders and played some of them live
before.
I’m amazed at how young so much of
the audience is in these three sold-out shows, and yet they’re singing along. That
shows the power and influence of the Heartbreakers. My only annoyance – and this
shows my age more than anything else,
is how much of the view is blocked by people taping the show on their
cellphones. Either get the pro cameras higher (if that’s possible or even
realistic), or have a no taping policy. Yeah, I’m a curmudgeon about this,
because I want to see the musicians through the lens of either my own eyes or
the camerapeople, not the blue glow of the cells.
Just sayin'...
Now if I had a choice between seeing
the capture of this reunion show or something like Scorsese’s The Last Waltz, about the last show of the
Band, there is no question in my mind that I would plug in this. The odds are
better of my not falling asleep with Uncle Walter and Co. I care more about being
told to get off the phone than finding out about the night they driving old
Dixie down. Hands down. Now how about a Rent
Party show, Walter?
New Feminist Lecture Series: Praba Pilar "Situated Embodied Resistance to 21 Century Necro-Techno-Colonialism" Images below (c) Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2018 Description and flyer from the University of Saskatchewan
This lecture was held at the Gordon Snelgrove Gallery on March 7, 2018. Introduced by Dr. Marie Lovrod (Coordinator of the WGST Program) and videotaped by the Marcus Miller (Director of the Snelgrove Gallery), it was described as addressing "how contemporary technological corporations such as Facebook, Google and others from a global apparatus of surveillance capitalism; this is ...necro-techno colonialism that adapts the 'salvation narrative' to proclaim a future of liberation ad instrumentalize faith. In this way, online data brokers convert biological life into an extra-judicial colony in service of exploitation, dominance and control."
Essentially, this can be viewed as a Media Ecological view of how the use technology can be used to control aspects of a users life in a way they were not expecting. While she did not use the term, it falls close to the "First we use technology, and then technology uses us" way of thinking.
After the lecture was a performance by Pilar which fell into three segments, the first being aggressive, the second passive, and the third was giving maize products to indicate life, all for viewing the militancy of technology, and the earth's forgiveness (at least that's my interpretation of it).
There was a question and answer period afterwards.
Currently living in Saskatoon (email at RBF55@msn.com for address). From 1977-88, I used to publish a print version of a music magazine in New York called FFanzeen, which dealt with the wide-ranging independent music scene. I also photographed many bands from the period (and since). Now I write this blog. And the beat goes on.
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