DVD Review: Joe Louis Walker: Live in Istanbul

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2015
Images from the Internet

Joe Louis Walker: Live in Istanbul

Directed by Unknown
MVD Visual
85 minutes, 1995 / 2015
www.JoeLouisWalker.com
www.mvdvisual.com

More often than not, Joe Louis Walker goes by the moniker JLW, and so I will respect that. He is usually referred to as a blues artist – which is hardly surprising as he has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame – but seriously, that is a bit short-sighted.

JLW crosses genre boundaries left and right, fret by fret. Sure, there is a definite undercurrent of electric blues with JLW at the helm on his flashing guitar, but his style sways to boogie, blues rock, funk, soul and so on. He’s part Prince, part Jeff Beck (or any of the other Yardbirds' guitarists…do I seriously need to name them?), even a bit of Hendrix, and a smattering of Joe Tex.

He starts off strong here, but for me, it really starts to roll on the second song, the blues rock “Rain in My Mind,” followed by the rockin' R&B of “You Got To Lose.” Of course, every song is punctuated and taken to an aerie place on the tips of JWL’s fingers and he does not just finger his guitar, but takes it to a whoh-nutha-level.

Listen, I’m not one for endless guitar solos, and usually tend to find them kind of whatever, but JLW’s fretwork is more than impressive. A good example of that is “I Don’t Know,” whose solo is nearly as long as the rest (and for some reason, part of the solo is shot from the back). But that’s not to say that the band, the Roadmasters, just backs him up, as they also have their moment to shine, especially during the band member intros of “Funkin Blues,” including Mike Eppley playing the Hammond XB-2 (he’s talented, but man, the only place I can truly appreciate an electric piano is on ‘60s style garage rock and Tex-Mex), who has a wailingly long time to strut.

On rhythm guitar –also getting a chance to show off – and is Tom Rose, who may look like he stepped out of the ‘70s, but holds his own on guitar. Bassist Tony Saunders shows off some funkification right down to the classic wah-wahs, though I could have done without the orgasmic face and tongue action, honestly (Eppley is guilty of this, as well). He starts of a bit perfunctory, but Saunders knows his stuff and through employing a series of petals, he takes the bass into many different strata, all of which have a wow factor. Similarly, drummer Curtis Nutall starts with a simmer and brings it to full boil.

“Bluesifyin” could have been right out of the BB King playbook, with its screaming guitar that you can’t take your eyes off of, not that you would want to do so. Walker’s finger slide works overtime in Bonnie Raitt style (as a descriptor). “Play’em Where They Lay” is straight-from-the-1980s rockin’ boogie R&B. I can easily have seen this song up as music video from back then.

After that heavy number, they come back for a two-song encore, starting with “Lost Heart” and finishing with “Hidden Feelings,” both of which has a strong, later Motown vibe. With a leaning towards the Four Tops, they made me smile.

The sound is exceedingly clear, but the visuals are a bit fuzzy, seemingly shot on VHS. That being said, the further back of the room the camera is, the harder it is to see, and that seems to be from cigarette (hookah?) smoke. I remember those days, trying to take pictures of bands in clubs as the air visibly drifted by, in a way reminiscent of the bathroom scene in Rock and Roll High School.

The songs are all upbeat, bypassing the ballad for the quicker pace, making this eminently danceable at the most, and some serious foot tapping at the least. I may have made some comments about the physicalness of some of the musicians, but it’s kind of a moot point, because if you plug this in and just listen to it like an LP (or its digital equivalent), it’s the sounds that come out of the speaker that count. With the resonance being jacked and the music worthy of multiple listens, that’s my strong recommendation on how to get the most out of this DVD.

Band:

Joe Lewis Walker: vox / guitar
Tom Rose: rhythm guitar / back-up vox
Mike Eppley: keyboards / back-up vox
Tony Saunders: bass
Curtis Nutall: drums / back-up vox

Set List:
Can’t Get You Out of My Mind
Rain in My Mind
You Got to Lose
Street People
I Didn’t Know
Bluesifyin
Funkin’ Blues
Play’em Where They Lay
Encore:
Lost Heart
Hidden Feelings

DVD Review: DEVO – The Men Who Make the Music / Butch Devo & the Sundance Gig

Text © Robert Francos / FFanzeen, 2015

Images from the Internet

DEVO – The Men Who Make the Music / Butch Devo & the Sundance Gig

Directed by Chuck Statler and Gerald V. Casale

 MVD Visual

114 minutes, 1981 / 2014

www.mvdvisual.com
 

I’m sure there are going to be those who are interested in this mix of live and video footage, but I’m going to do something rare and actually start with the bonus film, called Butch Devo and the Sundance Gig. This is a 65-minute live concert the band did in nearly two decades ago in 1996, at the overhyped (sorry but it’s true, Redford) Sundance Film Fest.

Introduced and patted down by Robert Rodriguez film star Cheech Marin (much more interesting to me than that stoner “comedy” duo he was in), Devo appears on stage in 1920’s prison uniforms and jumps right into the music.

With both standard instrument, some cool ones (Gerald Casale’s headless bass), and some modified (three pedals embedded directly onto Mark Mothersbaugh’s guitar), the troupe (including the late Bob Casale, d. 2014) keep their classic dit-dit-dit sound as they pound through their bigger and lesser known repertoire. The concert lasts more than an hour, and is filled with flights of fancy, some theatrics and non-dance choreography, and other madness. To me, this is more of what makes this DVD enjoyable. I just sat back and enjoyed the show, which was visually decent and had a clear sound taken straight off the boards.

I never noticed before just how much their material is in some sideways way similar to They Might Be Giants, but with more of a lean towards the industrial and less in the Bohemian. Both groups like to take the unusual road and, again use theatrics, though TMBG feels more organic and less rehearsed. Also, I hadn’t realized how much of Devo’s sound is actually centered on drummer extraordinaire Josh Freese.

The crowd is enjoyable to watch as well. There isn’t much moshing or stagediving as much as pogoing, but it’s interesting to see people body surfing to songs like “Mongoloid” (query: why does Mothersbaugh grab his own crotch every time the lyric “Brings home the bacon” comes up?).

Yeah, the usual mix-up of their songs like “Satisfaction,” “Everybody Wants a Good Thing,” and “Whip It” makes their presence, but that doesn’t mean it’s all predictable. For example, they do a slow, emo version of “Jacko Homo” while sitting on stools.

Of course, Booji Boy makes an appearance at the end.

The main feature is 49-minute glom of music videos (all of which had been collected in a previous DVD release called The Truth About De-Evolution, released originally in 1993, and then released in 2014; reviewed HERE), and varied live performances from 1978 through 1979. The boys are a lot younger, obviously, and much more mobile onstage. Yes, they still moved quite well in 1996, but by that show, they were around 50 years old, as opposed to being in the late 20s/early 30s, so energy levels are definitely different. Also, Mothersbaugh has kept his voice, which is easily identifiable, but it was much stronger in the early footage.

A lot of the live songs from 1996 are also performed in the early 1978-79 footage, such as “Praying Hands,” which again makes interesting comparisons. Truthfully, most of the music video footage was okay, but it’s same-old-same-old that I’ve seen before (and yes, I did sit through all of it again); it’s the live performance that make this for me. In all, they wear their now iconic yellow jumpsuits (aka onesies) and/or black shorts and tees as they jerk around the stage.

Whether you like Devo or not, and I do to some extent, their musicianship is undeniable, such as those mentioned above, and I also need to give credit to guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, who sadly has a tendency to be drowned out by the electronica.

Which brings me to the next thing: when Devo first struck it big, they actually had a very large influence on mainstream music (thanks in part of constant rotation on MTV), being one of the forerunners of the ‘80s sound that would mix pop, electronic and industrial together, in the same way Blondie was in the lead bringing punk into vanilla pop overproduction. While Devo became famous talking about De-Evolution, they actually revolutionized radio, and also brought then-futuristic technology (computers, for example) into their media. Even more ironically, in rear-view mirror looking, the quality of the images here are not that great, being shot on video in the pre-HD world, including the 1996 footage which looks better, but is still a bit muddy.

This is an interesting collection of old and new, live and video, and if you’re a D-E-V-O fan, it’s a M-U-S-T have.

Song List:
Jocko Homo (Music video, taken from "The Truth About De-evolution")

General Boy 1 (talking video)

Wiggly World (Live)

General Boy 2 (talking video)

The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise (Music video)

Roll Out the Barrel (AKA "Rod Rooter's Big Reamer")

Praying Hands (Live)

General Boy 3 (talking video)

Uncontrollable Urge (Live)

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Music video)

General Boy 4 (talking video)

Jocko Homo (Live, partial performance)

Secret Agent Man (Music video, taken from "The Truth About De-evolution")

Smart Patrol / Mr. DNA (Live)

Come Back Jonee (Music video)

General Boy 5(talking video)

Red Eye (Live)

Devo Corporate Anthem (video)

 

 

DVD Review: Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Live at Rockpalast1982

Text © Robert Barry Francos/FFanzeen, 2013
Images from the Internet

Kid Creole & the Coconuts: Live at Rockpalast 1982
Directed by Christian Wagner
MIG / WDR, 1982 / 2012
Disc 1: 116 minutes
Disc 2: 125 minutes
MIG-music.de
MVDvisual.com

Y’know, I often complain about how so much of the music related to the Top 10 charts over the past few years is actually theatre, and is essentially the same song with compressed sounds over and over, often using the same dance moves. I mean, Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha are pretty interchangeable, with no aural va va voom.

However, theatre and music (as opposed to musical theater) can work. One prime example is, say, Alice Cooper during his Billion Dollar Babies and Welcome to My Nightmare period of the mid-‘70s. But for sheer entertainment value, it’s hard to top Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Sure, David Johansen tried to step on Creole’s stylistic wave in his Buster Poindexter phase, and while he became more successful thanks to his stints on Saturday Night Live and the infectious “Hot, Hot, Hot,” it was a rip-off of KCatC – albeit a joyous and totally enjoyable one.

With an incredibly large multicultural and pan gender band including three backup singers / dancers called the Coconuts, August Darnell is in control with his zoot-suited character, Kid Creole. The music is mostly Latin based, with a touch of reggae and even a smattering of disco-influenced rhythms and proto hip-hop; there is lots of dancing, movement, storylines, and a whole lot of fun.

While I don’t think it would be fair to say that there is a narrative that goes through all the songs, there certainly is a motif, with each one is acted out using different characters, including the songs led by band co-founder Andy “Coati Mundi” Hernandez.

Many of the songs are humorous, such as “Table Manners,” “Mr. Softee” and “Annie (I’m Not Your Father),” where the Kid tells the titular girl, “If you had my blood / You wouldn’t be so ugly.” This, like most of the material, is a rave up, everyone is pretty drenched in sweat early on, but they never let up. Even with the rare slow numbers, the energy level is high, such as the lovely “Dear Addy,” which shows off the strength of Kid’s singing.

The camera keeps up with the action without doing that MTV-style quick editing that is so annoying (and always has been), which is commendable on many levels; there are also no claustrophobic close-ups of nose-hairs and the like. Plus, considering when this was recorded, the image is incredibly crisp without that dated video fuzz, and the 24-track music is sharp and clean. This is especially true considering this was probably transferred from the PAL format.

This release is actually a double DVD, with each one averaging two hours. That is a whole lot of finger and toe tapping for the viewer. There is lots of interaction between band members, the Kid, and the Coconuts (one of whom includes Darnell’s ex-), who have quite a few costume changes

The first disc is the second recorded show, starting on October 16th, 1982, and lasting into the next day. It’s filmed at the huge German showplace, Grugahalle Essen, in Cologne, part of a Rockpalast-sponsored festival. The enormous crowd, who aren’t seen too often, are obviously into the sound when the camera does focus on them. During the last samba song, “Malaise D’Amour” (translates as “Love Sickness”), the band conga lines through the audience, who joyfully join in… well, those who don’t dance on the stage, that is.

The second disc was recorded a few months earlier, on June 3, 1982, at the much smaller Sartory Halls, also in Cologne (seems to be about the size of Irving Plaza, in NYC). Story goes that this show was so well received, they were invited to play again at the much larger hall of the first disc. Despite the high energy, the sound quality for this show is a bit lacking compared to the first, though the high energy is definitely present and easy to get into the groove; the image is also a bit grainy and occasionally has the blue horizontal lines wavering. However, note that there is something intimate and gratifying about this performance, though the later show may be considered more of a definitive record.

It’s a consistent party over the two discs, with the songs being long, averaging around 6 minutes, though there are a couple that are a few that last well over 12 minutes per. And yet it all goes by so fast because it’s so much fun. This is even good listening with the sound alone. As a sidebar, it’s a joy to cook while it’s on (which I did my second time through).

The two extras, one per disc, are the trailer for the set, and a 10-minute-plus pre-show interview at the Sartory Halls, which is a humorous mix of English and German.

Band:
August “Kid Creole” Darnell: Lead vocals
Adriana Kaegi: Vocals
Cheryl Poirier: Vocals
Taryn Hagey: Vocals
Andy “Coati Mundi” Hernandez: Vibes, flute, vocals
Mark Mazur: Guitar
Miss Carol Colman: Bass
Al Mack: Drums
Bongo Eddie: Percussion
Ken Fradley: Trumpet
Lee Robertson: Trombone
Charles Lagond Sax (disc 1)
Alan Ross: Sax (disc 2)

Disk 1 Set List:
Intro
Turkey Trot
Going Places
I’m a Wonderful Thing, Baby
Mr. Softee
Loving You Made a Fool Out of Me
Ain’t You Heard the News?
Don’t Take My Coconuts
Annie I’m Not Your Daddy
No Fish Today
Que Pasa
Table Manners
Dear Addy
Stool Pigeon
Encore:
Gina Gina
Imitation
Maladie D’Amour

Bonus Disk Set List:
Adnaloy
You Had No Intention
Gina Gina
Mr. Softee
With a Girl Like Mimi
Turkey Trot
Que Pasa
Schweinerei
Any Time is Party Time
Table Manners
I’m a Wonderful Thing, Baby
Ain’t You Heard the News?
In the Jungle
Encore:
Don’t Take My Coconuts
Stool Pigeon
Latin Music
I Am