VOM: MABUHAY GARDENS, SAN FRANCISCO, CA. 4.28.78. SOUNDBOARD RECORDING

I’d be wiling to bet my bottom Quaalude that the emblematic naissance of the Los Angeles punk scene originated from Richard Meltzer’s arrival from New York sometime in early 1976. After reading his anti-intellectualist prose in ‘72’s Gulcher, it’s obvious to me that he was bound to actualize himself as the thinking man’s Peter Laughner. This type of lowbrow deconstruction was also ostensible when Meltzer was hired as the master of ceremonies for the final Sex Pistols gig at the Winterland during the start of ’78. Based on an earlier altercation, the show’s promoter barred him from the club. In an act of mythic proportions, Meltzer purportedly turned his leather jacket inside out, slinked past Graham and let loose an inundation of profanities onstage. This brand of treachery toward the farty old dinosaurs was utilized more like a weapon in the seminally brilliant punk group Vom.

The funniest thing about Vom (short for “vomit” of course) was that they were profoundly unfunny on a level that kitsch had not progressed (regressed?) to in Hollywood yet. This self-described “beat combo” formed quickly upon Meltzer’s arrival in Los Angeles. They quickly started terrorizing audiences with their gratuitously stupid sounds and iniquitous stage exploits: their initial sets consisted of launching assorted cow parts from the stage in the direction of the helpless audience.

Vom also consisted of Gregg Turner on vocals, along with Meltzer, “Metal” Mike Saunders (under the stage name of "Ted Klusewski") on drums (both would go on to form the Angry Samoans, the next logical progression both musically and ideologically after a stint in Vom), Dave Guzman on “tuneless rhythm guitar”, Phil Koehn on lead guitar, and Lisa Brenneis on bass. They’d go on to issue the “Live At Surf City” EP on White Noise during the summer of ’78. This offering included such go-nowhere epics like “I’m In Love With Your Mom”, “Too Animalistic” (later retouched by the Samoans), “Punkmobile”, “God Save the Whales” and the record’s best track: “Electrocute Your Cock”.

The latter began with a Ramones-esque drum beat and showcased the lyrics: “Electrocute your cock, electrocute your cock / Looking for a hand job? Stick it in a clock”. This is unbelievably strange considering that Saunders was the first to coin the term “heavy metal” (in a review for Humble Pie’s “As Safe As Yesterday Is” in a 1970 issue of Rolling Stone) and has a graduate degree along with Meltzer being considered one the premier rock writers of our generation and the fact that he had a graduate degree from a stint at Yale.

Let me get to the point: here’s a wonderfully slapdash set from Vom recorded live on stage at the Mabuhay in San Francisco on April 24, 1978. I received this recording many years ago from an old school San Francisco punk tape trader who claimed it was a low generation copy straight from the soundboard master. This gem of an artifact includes tracks not recorded for the “Live At Surf City” EP.

Track list:

1) My Eyes Have Seen You

2) Louie Louie

3) No Surf Commies

4) Have My Baby

5) Broads Are Equal

6) Pogo Child

7) Punkmobile

8) Dare To Be Dumb

9) (I Am) The Son Of Sam

10) Gimme Nothin'

11) I'm In Love With Your Mom

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THE GO-GO'S: THE WHISKEY, HOLLYWOOD, CA. 10.4.78. AUDIENCE RECORDING.

Despite their ubiquitous presence in the annals of new wave and 1980s cultural consciousness, the Go-Go’s began life as a punk rock group. Sharing the same circuit as influential Los Angeles punk groups such as X (they shared a rehearsal spot with them early on), the Germs (Belinda Carlisle was even a transitional early member under the pseudonym of “Dottie Danger”), the first 18 months of the band showed they hadn’t yet reached the seraphic lullabies of their debut album and what was to follow. This lineup featured Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Margot Olaverra (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums). They were a Masque stage mainstay and lived at the Canterbury Apartments, a Los Angeles punk flophouse hangout for key scene players and a variety of criminals, pimps, junkies, newly arrived immigrants, and crazies.

Here they are in all of their coats of glorious baby fat, the Go-Go’s in their infancy, way before they were a visual 1980s new wave affirmative action outfit featuring an array of two sassy punk rockers, two cheerleaders, and one tomboyish metalhead. This performance was recorded live on stage at the world famous Whiskey a Go-Go (fitting, isn’t it?) located in West Hollywood. Perhaps what is most interesting is how this shows you the great contrast between what the group was when they started when compared to when they gained mainstream prominence.

The recording is from an audience source and the quality is rough but listenable. This show consists of several unreleased tracks that have not been (officially) reissued in any form. Part of this show has been bootlegged onto vinyl as a double 7” entitled “Kellogg’s Punk Tarts”.

Track list:

1. We're Here Now

2. B-Movie

3. London Boys

4. Robert Hilburn

5. (Remember) Walking In The Sand

6. Don't Hang Up

7. Fashion Seeker

8. Screaming

9. Party Pose

10. Our Time Has Come

11. Just A Number

12. Living at the Canterbury

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NERVOUS EATERS: WCOZ-FM, THE RAT, BOSTON, MA. 7.23.78. FM BROADCAST.

It’s no accident that the Nervous Eaters formed in 1974 from the ashes of an unsuccessful band that they dubbed the Psycho Punks. This is most true when you consider their two exemplary punk singles that still sound quite powerful thirty years later. Instigated by local legend Willie Alexander (who played in the Velvet Underground for the blink-of-an-eye while they elicited a faint death rattle in late ’71), the Nervous Eaters played their first ever gig at the Rat in during 1976. They promptly became a much-appreciated local act due to their high-energy live shows which displayed their infectious enthusiasm. The Rat appreciated the Eaters enough that owner Jim Harold offered the band an opportunity to release a record. “Loretta” came out on his own Rat label and was quickly followed by “Just Head” shortly after. The former was a promising debut that has aged quite well. The latter is simply one of those all-time punk shredders. Both “Just Head” and it’s flip “Get Stuffed” embrace the crudity that the Real Kids were too self-conscious to put forth, thus making it (amongst several other reasons) the best Boston punk 45 released to date. When Steve Cataldo was asked about the period in which the “Just Head” 45 was written and recorded he claimed, “We were stoned all the time. Jesus, we smoked a lot of dope then, come to think of it…. I’m lucky I have any lungs left”.

The self-titled full-length album that arrived in 1980 on Elektra is an effort that is often rebuffed by fans that favor the earlier material of the Nervous Eaters. Undoubtedly the material that predated the LP is vastly superior (well, of course it is considering it’s also better than 90% of the greater body of punk rock ever released worldwide… just sayin’) when you compare both parts of their catalog. If one can possibly eliminate the memories of the Eaters two perfect singles and can listen to this LP with an open mind, it’s not as ghastly as everyone claims it is. Sure there's some really embarrassing moments where the vocals enter a no forgiveness zone due to shamelessly executed falsetto, a handful of the tracks are fairly listenable if one considers this to be a soft power pop affair from the start. Undoubtedly the band was relatively perplexed toward their full-length considering they had a brass ring hanging in front of them for the grabbing; Fred Lewis managed both the Eaters and the Cars (thus helping them achieve superstardom) while Nicky Hopkins, Harry Maslin, and Steve Cropper contributed to the full-length effort. These figures were amongst those who dug serious rock and roll gold of yore while their buddies (the Cars) were polishing up their new Corvettes. To say that they were under some strain would be putting it rather lightly.

This superb FM soundboard recording (meaning the master source was derived from a recording of the original FM broadcast) is a fine illustration of how dangerous the Eaters were at their crest before their so-called new wave contamination. The introduction and the consequent upsurge into “Get Stuffed” has yet to be unsuccessful in giving me goose bumps after countless listening experiences and the set sustains this level of eminence until it burns itself out. This set is also a decent example of the band performing the LP tracks without the sterile production and flaccid performances. Some of these tracks almost have an early Jim Carroll feel to them (yes, this is a complement), especially when you listen to “Have It With Your Coffee”. Overall, this is a great recording and truly captures the sarcastic punk essence of this classic band.

Track listing:

1. Introduction/ Get Stuffed

2. Last Chance

3. After Your Goodtime's Gone

4. Have It With Your Coffee

5. By Yourself

6. She's Going To Be My Baby

7. On The Avenue

8. Just Head

9. Fantasy Girl

10. Hot Steel And Acid

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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UYMQKY3P

THE AVENGERS: AITO'S, BERKELEY, CA. 10.27.78. AUDIENCE RECORDING.

The Avengers began allegedly as an excuse to display then stylish punk fashion. When all was said and done, they were arguably the best pure punk band in all of San Francisco, let alone all of California. Like fellow Dangerhouse artists X without any of the artistic pretentions, Penelope Houston and her savage backing band elevated a simplistic form of rock and roll to a considerably higher potential. Houston was America’s indomitable rock and roll woman of the late 1970s before Chrissie Hynde came along and dethroned her. Regardless of the fact that the band never stuck around long enough to collect conventional mainstream achievements, they left a great posthumously collected album in their demise. It’s a minor tragedy that producer Steve Jones never actually wound up fully mixing it’s tracks.

This audience recording was made shortly before the Avengers folded in 1979. The recording quality is respectable, stemming from an above average audience source. The performance is ferocious, with Houston’s voice being the strongest point throughout. It’s interesting to hear the handful of songs that were excluded from the full length performed live. Some of these tracks have made it onto the two different collections that have come out since 1999. "Second to None" is introduced as "Baby", thus giving it yet another song title considering the Jones' Professionals called it "1-2-3" on a single B-side.

Overall, this show is a nice glimpse of what the Avengers could deliver live on stage.

Track list:

1. The American In Me

2. Open Your Eyes

3. Uh Oh

4. No Matyr

5. Lonely Girl (Jones)

6. Thin White Line

7. Promised Land

8. End Of The Word

9. White Nigger

10. Second To None

11. I Believe In Me

12. C'mon Everybody (Eddie Cochran)

13. Car Crash

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http://www.mediafire.com/?iyfqnry1vle

LES PUNKS: ELECTRIC BALLROOM, LONDON, ENGLAND, 9.5.78. AUDIENCE RECORDING.

Towards the close of 1977, the Damned were promptly self-destructing. Guitarist Brian James had expressed interest in adding an additional guitar player to round out their sound. Robert “Lu” Edmonds was drafted for this purpose immediately before the sessions for “Music For Pleasure”. Although I like this album, it’s terribly mediocre when compared to their debut release. It probably didn’t help that the group was falling to piece and the drummer of Pink Floyd was behind the controls for “Pleasure”. February of ’78 saw Scabies walkout. Several different drummers tried to fill his shoes (even Jon Moss later of Culture Club) but this was the first nail in the coffin of the Damned. When Brian James quit soon after Scabies, they were finished.

In August of ’78 the Damned reformed with James to play a proper last gig at the Rainbow in London. They smashed their instruments during the climax of the performance and the punk world thought this was unquestionably the conclusion of the Damned.

The individual members of the Damned had a try at solo efforts that went nowhere. Thus, the Les Punks (also later known as the Doomed) were formed. Brian James had copywritten the Damned name preventing Vanian, Sensible, and Scabies from using the name to perform. Before Algy Ward (previously of the Saints) joined the band, friend and supporter Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead on bass. Thus, the lineup on this recording is Dave Vanian on vocals, Captain Sensible on guitar, Lemmy Kilmister on bass, and Rat Scabies playing drums.

The source of this show is an audience recording. The quality is slightly better than average considering it's source and the probability that it's fairly generated from decades of trading hands amongst collectors. Regardless, it's a scarce historical document of the Damned with Lemmy sitting in.

Track list:

1. Jet Boy Jet Girl (Elton Motello)

2. Stretcher Case

3. Anti-Pope

4. Second Time Around

5. Problem Child

6. Silver Machine (Hawkwind)

7. Burglar

8. Looking At You (MC5)

9. Help (Beatles)

10. Kill (Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias)

11. Stab Your Back

12. City Kids (Motorhead)

13. New Rose

14. I Feel Alright (The Stooges)

15. Neat Neat Neat

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