Tag: Gonerfest 15

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Music Record Reviews

The Sore Losers: A Monstrous Mash-Up Rises From The Grave

One of the highlights of last year’s Gonerfest 15 was the screening of director Mike McCarthy’s The Sore Losers at Studio on the Square. Having received the full remastering treatment, it jumped off the screen as never before, combining the best of modern digital clarity with the richness of its original analog film stock. The film, first released in 1997, is an often hilarious Zippin’ Pippin ride through exploitation, low budget sci-fi, and B-movie tropes. But it also provided a portal into the (then) unheralded underground music scene of the era.

Last November, the soundtrack was released on vinyl via Goner Records and Portugal’s Chaputa! Records. It’s barely left the turntable since. For what this double LP offers is nothing less than a reanimated, full-strength Frankenstein’s monster of ’90s garage rock, retro rock, and lo-fi experimentalism.

If the movie itself is a brilliant hodge-podge of styles, so is the album. The tracks are not just lo-fi, they are different varieties of lo-fi, from the late Jack Taylor’s bashed-out title song, to the terrifying/thrilling onslaught of Guitar Wolf, to the quavering homespun charm of Poli Sci Clone. Satisfyingly snotty vocals and chugging/chopping guitars abound, as in contributions by the Makers, the Drags, Gasoline, and Los Diablos del Sol, but many artists you might think you have pegged defy formula altogether.

People were already nostalgic for the Gories by 1997, but Mick Collins avoids that familiar territory with a kind of minimalist crime jazz built on the prominent sax work of Jim Spake. Nick Diablo’s track is reminiscent of Can’s “Ethnographic Forgery” series, with Diablo channeling a lost field recording of some aged Delta harp player. Tracks from ’68 Comeback and Jack Oblivian are littered with wah-wah guitar, organ, and synth hiccups that are true to the flick’s sci-fi universe. Or, in the case of Jack Oblivian’s back-shed funk “Vice Party,” the flick’s soft porn universe. 

Dan Ball

The Clears

One gem, highlighted at the film’s Gonerfest 15 premiere in the form of a 1997 music video that was never released, is “We Are a Rock & Roll Band” by synth pop trio the Clears. Also known as “Rock & Roll Band” to fans of the Clears’ standalone album, the different title may be appropriate, as either a remix or a remastering has given the soundtrack version considerably more snap and crackle. Jack O and Chris Clarity also mine that back corner of the garage where grandpa stores his synthesizers.

Mingled in with all these sonic adventures, we also hear some first rate songwriting. The closer, of course is the 1953 chestnut, “Look Me Over Closely,” (later popularized by the White Stripes), but we also hear the neo-classic swamp pop of the Royal Pendletons, whose “I’m a Sore Loser” is perhaps even more a definitive track than Taylor’s. 

The Royal Pendletons

And finally, in stark contrast with so much clamor, side three closes with the simple, haunting “Bad Man” by Greg Oblivian/Greg Cartwright, all mellow guitar, toy piano, and disembodied, over-the-phone vocals. The recurrence of that track through the film anchors it in a seemingly incongruous mood of regret and heartache. Though it no doubt surprised many Oblivians fans at the time (for this was well before the Reigning Sound), it’s an especially fitting cornerstone for a film built on, and reveling in, incongruities.

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We Recommend We Saw You

Gonerfest, Best of Memphis party, and more!

CREDIT: Anne Scott Barrett

Anne Scott Barrett

In addition to hearing great music, Gonerfest is a chance to see old friends. In my case, I ran into filmmaker Geoffrey Brent Shrewsbury, chef Brett Shaggy Duffee from New Orleans and, in the background, musician Abe White, who now lives in New Orleans.

Anne Scott Barrett probably spoke for many Gonerfest fans when she said, “This is my Easter. This is my Christmas. This is my holiday.”

Barrett, who was at the Afternoon Blowout Sept. 29 at Murphy’s, is a Gonerfest regular. “This is my fifth year to do this,” she says.

Murphy’s was jam-packed. Bands performed on stages inside and outside.

More than 40 different acts performed at this year’s event — Gonerfest 15 — that began September 26th and ended September 30th, says Eric Friedl, who co-founded Goner Records with Zac Ives.

“I think it was a more diverse festival in terms of having hip-hop and different types of artists playing,” Friedl says. “And it was probably the best received I can remember.”

Michael Donahue

Eric Friedl and Zac Ives at the Afternoon Blowout.

Michael Donahue

A Weirdo from Memphis at the Afternoon Blowout.

Michael Donahue

Pat Kerr Tigrett at the Best of Memphis party.

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Pat Kerr Tigrett wore a Memphis Flyer T-shirt to the Best of Memphis party, which was held September 26th on Mud Island. This is the annual event where Best of Memphis winners in  various categories are honored.

“I’ve been a part of the Flyer since it was first developed,” Tigrett says. “I love it. I think it’s just great. It’s informational, but it’s also a bit of a twist in many ways.”

Dale Watson was the headliner at the event that featured music by McKenna Bray, the 30 Days of Opera performers from Opera Memphis, and a performance by the Collage Dance Collective.

More than 2,000 people attended the event.

Michael Donahue

Dale Watson and Celine Lee at the Best of Memphis party.

Michael Donahue

Anna Campbell and Zach Sloyan represented Gibson’s Donuts (Best Donut Shop) at the Best of Memphis party.

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Michael Donahue

David Parks at the Best of Memphis party.

Best of Memphis bartender meets Best of Memphis restaurant.

Veteran Memphis bartender David Parks is now a bartender at Restaurant Iris, which was voted Best of Memphis Best Restaurant and Best Fine Dining, is owned by Best of Memphis Best Chef Kelly English.

Parks, who attended the Best of Memphis party, says, “I’m excited about it. The wine list is great. Larin Culp has done a great job with the cocktail list. Very small inventory of liquor but it’s all carefully chosen.”

Says English: “There are a few people in town that don’t need a resume in an interview. And Parks is in that handful of people. He immediately makes any team stronger and we are exuberant to get to see him everyday. He and Larin will make a formidable team and I could not be more thrilled for them and our guests.”

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Michael Donahue

Andy Cates and Eric Barnes at the Daily Memphian launch party.

Guests sipped beer from commemorative Fireside Ale cans bearing the name “Daily Memphian” at the online daily newspaper’s launch party, which was held September 28th in the courtyard at Overton Square.

Daily Memphian staff was introduced, Memphis Grizzlies’ Grizzline Drummers performed, and Gary Goin G3 provided the music.

“It was a great event that seemed to speak to the desire people have for another news source in Memphis,” says editor/publisher Eric Barnes. “We had more than 500 people show up to celebrate local news. That’s amazing.”

………

Michael Donahue

Kappa Sigma fraternity art show at Pimento’s

Kappa Sigma fraternity at University of Memphis raised $1,000 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital at its art show, which was held September 26th at Pimento’s Kitchen + Market.

Kappa Sigma member Doug McClew is an intern at Jordan Enterprises, where he is executive assistant to CEO Trey Jordan. Jordan Enterprises owns Pimento’s Kitchen + Market as well as Holiday Deli & Ham.

“Through my involvement with Kappa Sigma as grand master of ceremonies and a member of the executive board, I was able to get us partnered with St. Jude and Up Till Dawn at University of Memphis,” MCclew said. “It’s a student-lead organization They orchestrate a series of fundraiser events for St. Jude.”

The four artists represented were jazz pianist Tim Stanek, photographer Ally Perkins, and painters Steven Heard and Kyle Owens.

“Tim was at his piano and we set aside some part of the restaurant to display the paintings and photographs. And Steven brought a guitar that he painted.”

The event was the first of a weekly artist showcase McClew has planned at Pimento’s.

“Right now we’re working with Visible Music College to expand our artist showcase program.”

The next St. Jude fundraiser will be on October 26th at Pimento’s.

McClew also is the drummer in Jordan Pierce Music.

Michael Donahue

Penny Hardaway painting by Steven Heard at Kappa Sigma art show.

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Michael Donahue

Southern Heritage Classic

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland hosted the Southern Heritage Classic “Classic VIP Party,” which was held September 6th in the Heritage Ballroom at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown.

Representatives from Jackson State University and Tennessee State University attended.

The purpose of the party was “to bring everybody together to get a kickoff for the weekend,” says founder Fred Jones.

Unfortunately, there was no kickoff at the football game this year because there was no game. “The game was cancelled for the first time,” Jones says. “The weather killed us. We couldn’t do it this year. Everything happened but the game.”

But, he says, “Almost immediately people started talking about next year.”

And, he adds, “Next year is our 30th anniversary. Right now we’re just going through the process of refunds.”

………..

Michael Donahue

Green Dot reception.

California-based Green Dot Public Schools launched its Tennessee Ambassador Program at a reception, held September 5th at Mollie Fontaine Lounge.

Green Dot ambassador Cecilia Walker hosted the event, which featured Marcella & Her Lovers, Lucky 7 Brass Band, Ashton Riker, and Ziggy Mack.

Green Dot, which has five schools in Memphis, provides opportunities for students by implementing innovative learning tools and building supportive administrations.

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MIchael Donahue

Bratfest

“Bratfest” had nothing to do with naughty children. It had to do with bratwurst.

Leaves weren’t falling and the temperature wasn’t chilly, but guests enjoyed German cuisine as if it was October. The event was held August 29th at Calvary Episcopal Church.

“Bratfest is Calvary Episcopal Church’s annual kickoff event to begin the Fall Wednesday night dinners and classes for all ages,” says Calvary director of communications Robyn Mauldin Banks. “It’s a fun night of enjoying German food, great music, and learning about the formation offerings at the church ranging from yoga to a class on faith and politics in preparation for the midterm elections.”


In addition to bratwurst, guests dined on potato salad, local beer, root beer, and frozen treats.

The event was “a festive night of celebration.”

……………….

Michael Donahue

100 Women Who Care

DeNeuville Learning Center was selected as the nonprofit to receive funds from 100 Women Who Care at a meeting, held September 18th at Madonna Learning Center. It received $17,500.

The organization nominates, selects, and funds a variety of nonprofits. Members meet three times a year to listen to presentations of representatives. They then vote. The non-profit that receives the most votes receives a check for $100 from each member.

“We’ve obviously surpassed the 100 members,” said board member Madelyn Gray.

DeNeuville, Through the Roof Pediatric Therapy, and the Girl Scouts Heart of the South were the three nonprofits nominated to receive funds.

Lori Jones represented DeNeuville.

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Gonerfest, Best of Memphis party, and more! (2)

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Music Music Blog

Gonerfest 15: Saturday & Sunday

CREDIT: Michael Donahue

For this time-worn punter, nearly 12 hours of straight rocking out can seem intimidating, but in hindsight my Goner-rific day zipped by without a hitch. The daytime action, of course, is at Murphy’s Bar. Typically, I make straight for the outdoor stage, but the eerie pop sounds of Pscience stopped me in my tracks. Blending what could be classic big beat sixties tunes with odd harmonics and noise, this group, who only just had their first show earlier this month, has certainly hit upon a good psonic compound in their New Orleans-based laboratory.
Alex Greene

Negro Terror

Then Negro Terror appeared outside, and we heard a whole other kind of eerie. Their chords of doom revving up, the trio was perhaps the most cathartic band of the festival, as they directly addressed the ugly elephants in the room: recent stress over the the rise of fascist groups, and violence in the city. Singer Omar Higgins started with a dedication to Phil Trenary, the beloved president of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce who was recently murdered. “Phil came to our shows. He understood the message,” said Higgins, before launching into raging hardcore riffage. He also reflected the general rage over the recent shooting of Martavious Banks by Memphis police officers, with the anthem, “All Cops Are Bastards (ACAB).” Higgins then dedicated their cover of Detain’s “Capital Punishment” to rapists, and quoted General Patton on the importance of killing Nazis. “Nazis!” Higgins called out, his hand raised in salute, until it became a thumbs-down. “Raus!!”

Michael Donahue

Exek

One longtime Gonerfest-goer commented later, “It’s been good to hear so many political songs at this Gonerfest. They usually have such apolitical punk, and the apathy always bugged me.”

But those in search of escape rather than confrontation didn’t have to wait long, for soon Australia’s Exek took the stage with a subtler sound. They betrayed no emotion as they earnestly led the crowd down a hypnotic spiral, sounding like the love child of Stereolab and early Wire. Propelling it all was a powerful bass and drums that at times recalled Sly and Robbie, sans any hint of white reggae. A fascinating blend.

Alex Greene

Exek

Then, even the most sedentary fans piled in to the bar’s smokey interior for one of the festival’s most anticipated shows, A Weirdo From Memphis (AWFM), backed up by the Unapologetic crew. DJ’d platters and a live band meshed seamlessly as AWFM proved his freestyle mettle, laced with satisfying expletives that caught the mood perfectly.

Michael Donahue

AWFM with fellow Unapologetics and Crockett Hall (far left).

Then it was back outside to hear the afternoon’s closer, Robyn Hitchcock. Given that all of his previous Memphis appearances, going back to 1990, were solo, this show, featuring a crack East Nashville band that included Wilco’s Pat Sansone on bass, arrived with heightened expectations. And they delivered, as the combo never missed a beat amid the jangling 6- and 12-string guitars, vocal harmonies, and driving Brit-pop beats. As with his old bands, the Soft Boys and the Egyptians, Hitchcock’s surreal lyrics cruised effortlessly above the delicate, yet pulsing, rock sounds.

Recalling his first Memphis show, 28 years ago, Hitchcock then tried to imagine what the world would be that many years hence. “No doubt they’ll be releasing the iPhone 21 around then. I may be gone, but I’ll live on in an app, so my ego can have the last laugh. You’ll be able to have the app compose songs exactly as I would. Or you’ll be able to mix and match songwriters, so it’ll compose in the style of, say, me, Tom Petty, and Joni Mitchell.”

The fading day echoed with many such flights of verbal fancy, in a wide-ranging set that included the Soft Boys’ “I Wanna Destroy You” and the Egyptians’ “Element of LIght” and “Listening to the Higsons.” They echoed up and down Madison Avenue as darkness fell, and all the little Goners readied themselves for the night.

Alex Greene

Robyn Hitchcock

Goner

NOTS as portrayed on Gonerfest 15 poster.

Not being quite ready for a long night myself, and being a teetotalling tea head, I supped some strong brew and victuals, missing out on Oh Boland and Amyl & the Sniffers, alas. Arriving at the Hi Tone as the NOTS played, I took some considerable hometown pride in the audience’s rave reaction to what the Goner program guide calls the city’s “synth/guitar squiggle punkers.” They did not disappoint, though it was tough to wedge into the packed room.

And then came a blast from the past, the fabulous Neckbones, once rightly hailed as rock’s saviors some 20 years ago. Newly reunited, they were in true form as they pummeled the crowd with what can only be called maximum R&B, old school rock-and-roll grooves amped up to 11, attacked with genuine ferocity by the Oxford, MS, quartet. Tyler Keith channeled a Southern preacher with his between-song rants, and drummer Forrest Hewes yelled out his gratitude for the audience’s frenzy in flurries of swear words.

Alex Greene

Neckbones

After that, Melbourne’s Deaf Wish, in the unenviable position of following the Neckbones, rose to the occasion with their thorny post-rock rock. There was plenty of noise and wiry, dissonant guitar, but the driving rhythms rocked hard, befitting a band just wrapping up a month long tour. They seemed elated to be ending their U.S. venture on such a Goner note. 
Alex Greene

Carbonas

And so the night’s endgame began, as the Carbonas, who gained much love in their prime over a decade ago, took the stage in their one-night-only, Goner-fueled reunion. Time seemed meaningless as they immediately regained all the chemistry that dissipated when they broke up. Though drummer Dave Rahn’s shirt implored us to “Kill the Carbonas For Rock and Roll,” it was the group that killed it on this night. A friend and neighbor confessed between songs that “this group helped me survive grad school,” and even this fan from back in the day was not disappointed. Nor was the still-packed house, all sporting happy faces as they filed out. 

R.L. Boyce

For some, the night raged on, of course. Eric Oblivian, not content to co-manage the festival, play with the Oblivians, and oversee the Murphy’s show with a child on his back, played Saturday night’s/Sunday morning’s after party with his old outfit, the AAAA New Memphis Legs. And then came Sunday at the Cooper-Young gazebo, featuring R.L. Boyce and Lightnin’ Malcom, as festival-goers bid adieu to their comrades until next year (?), or made plans to convene at Bar DKDC that night, to the groovy, basement-dredged sounds of Memphis’ own Hot Tub Eric. Farewell, Gonerfest 15, and many happy returns!

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Music Music Blog

Gonerfest 15: Friday

CREDIT: Jesse Davis

Day two of Gonerfest 15, the annual celebration of punk, garage, and other off-kilter forms of rock, took place in two locations: at Memphis Made Brewing, during the afternoon hours, and Hi Tone on Cleveland late into the night. The daylong festivities featured a songwriter session from Harlan T. Bobo, psych-blues-punk from Chicken Snake, the dark and deranged disco extravaganza of Cobra Man, and a breakout performance from indie-pop band En Attendant Anna. 

Gonerbraü by Memphis Made

Memphis Made produced a limited cream ale, the Gonerbraü, to commemorate this year’s festival. The light, fizzy beer seems like the best bet to help get into the Gonerfest spirit, so, Gonerbraü in hand, I weave my way through the crowd to the small stage on the back patio of the Cooper-Young-area brewery and catch Harlan T. Bobo’s acoustic set.

“I wonder if there are many people who get engaged at Gonerfest,” Bobo muses. “Or get divorced at Gonerfest — or at least because of Gonerfest.” The crowd laughs, and Bobo begins playing “I’m Your Man,” a love song from his 2007 album of the same name. Gone is the demented showman who, backed up by a full band, closed out the festivities sometime after 2 a.m. the night before, and in his place is an indulgent father, a humorist, and a day-drinking, guitar-wielding teller of truths.

Bobo jokingly tries to calm a crying child hiding beneath the wooden stairs, tossing a rolled-up T-shirt down to the kid in an attempt to distract him. Then he brings guitarist Jeff “Bunny” Dutton onstage to add commentary to a song Bobo wrote about Dutton, who so ably backed him up on lead guitar the night before. “He don’t drink water and he don’t eat. He lives off alcohol and nicotine,” Bobo sings as Bunny smiles and nods, unable to contest his bandleader’s claims. The crowd laughs, and the kid beneath the stairs is busying himself dragging a plastic chain around. Later, the same little boy will run haphazardly up and down the loading ramp in front of the venue, narrowly avoiding spilling my Gonerbraü.

Out front, New Orleans-based Chicken Snake take the stage, ripping into a swampy, blues-inspired punk set. The drummer sports a goth-glam mane as she attacks the drums with a frenzy. Sneering, strutting guitar licks call to mind the pioneering work of The Sonics or Roky Erickson. “Baby, don’t you give me them walkin’ blues,” the singer implores.

Jesse Davis

Cobra Man

Later, back at the Hi Tone, L.A. synth duo Cobra Man blends seemingly disparate elements of punk and disco, crafting a spooky dance atmosphere. Their sequined jackets flash in the green lights. During the rising energy of the repeated line, “I want it all,” audience members begin crowd surfing. By the time the singer begins chanting, “I’ve been living in hell with you,” Goner fans are taking turns clambering aboard a large wooden plank and riding it like a surf board across the waves of outstretched hands. The lights change to red, and the rhythm shifts into cut time. The Goner fans dance, revelers in a disco of the damned. Cobra Man’s set is wild and dramatic, and I hope the next band can top it.

French indie-rockers En Attendant Ana follow the depraved rave that is Cobra Man, and far from being overshadowed by the L.A. disco duo, the Parisian quintet make their set look easy. Their Gonerfest performance marks the end of a two-and-half-week U.S. tour in support of the band’s debut album Lost and Found, out on Trouble in Mind. Their tour has taken them through Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Boston, landing them on the main stage at the Hi Tone. They begin, and a wave of jangly guitars and trumpet blasts washes over the crowd, prompting an immediate reaction, as the collected bodies begin to move to the beat. The young indie-rockers ride the wave, all clean guitars, synths, and breathy, urgent vocals, before crashing to a halt.  

Jesse Davis

Margaux Bouchaudon of En Attendant Ana

A smile tugs at the corners of singer and guitarist Margoux Bouchaudon’s lips as the crowd cheers their support. Grinning, she ducks her head as lead guitarist Romain Meaulard introduces the next tune in a thick French accent. En Attendant Ana’s music sounds like euphoria feels. It’s bright and optimistic, like the ideal soundtrack to kick off a road trip. The clean guitars, trumpet, and dreamy rhythms call to mind Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura, but there’s a punk urgency that adds an edge the Scottish indie-pop legends lack. The Parisian quintet’s set seems to pass in an instant of pop nirvana. “This could be the end, oh, this could be the end,” Bouchadon sings on “This Could Be,” backed up by Meaulard and by vocalist/guitarist/trumpet player Camille Fréchou. The song is insistent and anthemic, and I don’t want the lyrics to be true. I hate for the set to end.

I catch three or four songs by New York-based Surfbort, a pure punk explosion, all alcohol-sweat and frantic guitar wrapped in a revealing bodysuit. They’re Gonerfest gold, but I can’t get En Attendant Ana out of my head, so I make tracks toward the merchandise room to find the band and ask them about their tour. I find Fréchou and Bouchadon, who are game for a quick interview.

“We’ve been [in Memphis] for six or seven hours, but tomorrow we stay all day long,” Bouchaudon says. She’s wearing a flowing red coat she bought on tour, and she and Fréchou lean close and speak into my recorder. “This will be the first town in which we can relax and visit. We want to go to Sun Records,” Bouchaudon says. “I would like to go to Graceland,” Camille Fréchou adds, “But I don’t think we are going to.” “Non,” Bouchaudon interjects emphatically. “I will go to Graceland, and you will come with me.” The nearly three-weeks-long tour marks the band’s first time in the U.S. “Every day was like, ‘I’m going to move here,’” says Fréchou, who assures me that Americans have been “really friendly.”

Jesse Davis

En Attendant Ana

En Attendant Ana recorded an EP to tape two years ago, releasing a limited run on cassette, which caught the attention of Canadian label Nominal Records. “[They] asked us if we were okay to release the EP on vinyl, and we said ‘Yes!’” Bouchaudon says, emphasizing the affirmative. The group then recorded their full-length debut, Lost and Found, which they released on Trouble in Mind. After a successful tour with label-mates (and fellow Gonerfest 15 performers) Ethers and a day and a night spent being “the best tourists ever,” Bouchaudon says the band will “go back to France, [and] go back to work.” She says they will spend some time playing in the West of France before getting down to the business of a follow up to Lost and Found. “And then we’ll have some time to make new songs,” she says. “And a new record. And another, and another,” Fréchou chimes in. Personally, I hope Fréchou is right. After only one concert and a brief conversation in the alley behind the Hi Tone, I’m already looking forward to the band’s next release and U.S. tour. Gonerfest 16, maybe? We can only hope.

Jesse Davis

Oblivians

I make it back inside in time to catch The Oblivians, Gonerfest royalty, who deliver their raunchy garage-rock excellence to a packed mass of sweaty music fans. After two days of nearly nonstop music, I settle in to enjoy the show. The rhythm section is tight and powerful. The guitar tones are crunchy and snarling, as befits a late-night set helmed by Jack Oblivian, star of Memphis filmmaker Mike McCarthy’s psychedelic punk odyssey, The Sore Losers, screening Sunday afternoon at Studio on the Square. With two days of Gonerfest memories fresh in my mind, I relax, thankful for the 15-year-old festival that brings so many diverse and distant musical experimenters to the Bluff City.

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Music Music Blog

Gonerfest 15: Thursday

A week ago, the man in the chainmail and shimmering cape would have been broiling in the Memphis heat, but rain swept in on cooler winds, and the first night of Gonerfest 15 is just cool enough for the assembled punks, rockers, and music fans to break out their denim jackets — or, in some cases, chainmail.

The emcee takes the Hi-Tone stage just after 9 p.m., wearing sunglasses and leather, and says a few kind words about Chris Beck, Goner’s “Muddy Spear,” who recently passed away from brain cancer. Members of the crowd shouted that they wished Beck could be there, displaying a communal spirit central to the festival.

Music fans come from the world over for Gonerfest, and there always seems to be a happy reunion happening in the parking lot or by the bathrooms. Then the emcee kicks off the night’s festivities, introducing the “King of the Gras,” who “tours in a cage on wheels … just take it  — Bênní!” Then the man in the chainmail hood smiles and steps onstage and up to a stack of keyboards and synthesizers. And he conjures magic.

Allison Green

BÊNNÍ, master of analog synths

Bênní’s set is dark and hypnotic, but there’s a touch of humor in his deadpan stage patter delivery as he sets up each synthesized swirl of sound. He speaks (and sings) into a talk box, explaining that the diamond man character was a vision that haunted him until he put it in a song: “This is who I am — a diamond man.”

The New Orleans-based musician plays an instrumental song in 6/8 time. It sounds at once sinister and rising, like an old-school video game theme played on a church organ at the bottom of a well. “I haven’t played that one in a while,” Bênní says casually. His delivery is wry, as if to nudge the audience and say, “You know we’re just getting started, right?”

Between sets, the garage-rock true believers slip outside to smoke cigarettes or scarf down barbecue from a smoker pulled behind an RV. Cincinnati-based Bummer’s Eve take the stage after a quick turnover, summoning the crowds with violently strummed guitar. The band is raucous and bopping, fuzzed-out punk. They crash into a noise breakdown, a wall of feedback and distortion, before plunging seamlessly back into the rhythm of the song. Where Bênní’s set pulsed, Bummer’s Eve shakes and rattles. Their set seemed to end far too soon.

The Hi Tone, already crowded for opening sets on a Thursday night, swells with the addition of late arrivals. There is a constant sense of rising energy throughout the night, a shared knowledge that this is only the first night of the festival. Conversations buzz and grow louder as the ever-growing mounds of beer cans in the trash continue to rise, and people fight to be heard over each other and the ringing in their ears. People dance and bop, and Memphis-based Aquarian Blood and Tampa party-rockers Gino & the Goons continue to escalate the energy. Aquarian Blood wails, frenetically running chromatic scales up their fret boards, urging the party to a wilder pitch.

Aquarian Blood

Aquarian Blood build a bomb, and Gino & the Goons light the fuse. They’re party punk, solid songs punctuated by grunts of “ooh!” and “uh!” The Florida-based band plays on as the singer shouts from onstage, “You’re not dancing, we’re not stopping!” Then the rhythm changes, and the singer rips into a chorus of “hip-hip-hypnotic” before everything crashes to a stop with a squall of feedback. Lydia Lunch Retrovirus is up next.

Lydia Lunch, backed by a band so tight they seem telepathic, is the penultimate performer on the opening night of Gonerfest. Dressed in black and laughing, she warns the crowd of her band’s “nasty,” “raunchy” ways. Her guitarist strikes a deft balance between crunchy, palm-muted riffs and wild, dissonant squeals of noise. The rhythm section is locked in, propelling the performance forward through moments of angry, brittle complexity and explosive breakdowns. Red and green lights seem to drip from the Hi Tone sign above the stage. Lunch’s voice floats above it all, singing, screaming, and crooning. Local singer and multi-instrumentalist Luke White leans in to shout in my ear, “She’s pretty badass” before admiring the guitar and bass tones.

Jasmine Hirst

Lydia Lunch

White is waiting to go onstage with Harlan T. Bobo, who is closing out night one of the festival. Lunch’s vocals rise, casting a dark spell, while the band pulses with barely restrained energy and she chants, “There’s something witchy in the air.” The music rises to a final crescendo, and Lunch, a master performer, relinquishes the stage with a shouted, “Start the disco!”

Harlan T. Bobo’s set is magnetic, hypnotic. He looks like a man possessed, his eyes going wide as he sings, his smile like Conrad Veidt’s in The Man Who Laughs. He has the strangely compelling charisma of someone who hears holy voices.

His band crafts a dark atmosphere, making them a perfect bookend to Bênní’s darkly filmic opening set, a complement to the eclectic lineup. Frank McLallen’s bass lines are expert, a framework on which to hang the keyboard swells and whine of a slide guitar.

Bobo’s second song is “Human,” the simmering opening track from his new A History of Violence. The song builds to an electric instrumental ending, setting a fevered energy level that the band maintains for several songs, before Bobo pulls out a harmonica and eases up on the gas slightly, giving the captive audience a moment to catch its breath.

It’s the briefest of moments, though, before Bobo starts up a swinging, country-inflected song. It’s an inspired performance, and a fitting end to the opening day of the festival.

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Robyn Hitchcock and Lydia Lunch Highlight Gonerfest 15

As the always unpredictable Gonerfest has grown over the past 15 years, it has cast its nets ever further afield, spotlighting bands that one doesn’t see at other festivals. Though we’ll hear plenty of that trademark Goner slam-and-bash (as with Aquarian Blood, NOTS, Negro Terror, the Carbonas, the Neckbones, Ten High, the Oblivians, and others), there’s a true smorgasbord of other styles and sounds (including many beyond category). Landing two major artists as different as Robyn Hitchcock and Lydia Lunch is a major coup for this most DIY of festivals, and yet the contrast between them can’t obscure their shared quality of bucking trends, even punk, since the ’70s. One of them does it through a tenacious and ever-inventive historical stubbornness; the other through a kind of “musical schizophrenia.”

Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock

The ascent of Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians in the 1980s, with such albums as Element of Light, marked the ascent of his previous work as well, as college radio junkies went digging through bins to find LPs by his first real group, the Soft Boys, and the solo albums that followed. While the former were full of slashing and chiming guitars, and the latter were more intimate affairs, all his work had the common thread of harking back to the perfect marriage of guitar jangle, harmonies, and songwriting that first peaked in the late ’60s. The genius was in the way Hitchcock’s songs subverted classic rock cliches by embracing surrealism and weirdly pointed lyrics.

Memphis Flyer: When you were starting with the Soft Boys in Cambridge, did it already seem like the ’60s were antique? In hindsight, Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd had only started 10 years earlier.

Robyn Hitchcock: It seemed like that kind of music was not there, or accessible. But that was the vein I wanted to work in. I wanted to play 1966-67 music, whatever that was. It wasn’t exactly psychedelic. It’s a bit of a misnomer. I suppose it’s more accurate than saying I was a punk or something industrial. But there was never an exact definition for what it was, and there still isn’t. You could say “It is that which was played by people in 1966-67” — it was when pop became rock. And like all movements, it was unstable. It existed in transition. It existed really in motion.

If you come see me at Gonerfest, I’ve got three Nashville guys backing me up. It will have that sort of sound, the spangling guitars and the harmonies, which we had in the Soft Boys. The Soft Boys had more intricate arrangements than my more recent material, but all of it is now absolutely vintage. It’s like an old car, and it has some of the beautiful qualities that old cars have. It may not be that reliable and you can’t travel that far in it, but it should make it to Memphis. And you’ve got the old street cars there, so I’m kind of a complement to that, really. I’m the equivalent of a vintage street car.

Do you feel like an anachronism, being an English psychedelic folk-rocker living in Nashville?

No, it’s very appropriate, because Americana itself is a throwback. Americana is basically white music before punk happened. Punk is never gonna happen. It’s always 1974. People are playing “Cortez the Killer,” you know? Gram Parsons is still touring. That’s what East Nashville is. I was even touted as an Americana artist last year, which you would think is a misnomer, but 10 years ago, Americana was alt-country, and 10 years before that it was alternative. As I used to say, if the Beatles had come out in 2004, they’d have been an alt-country act.

Still, the Beatles’ songs may last a long time, because they were so good. Through some freak of nature, they just happened to have three great songwriters, and they made each other greater through competition. It was sort of like an egg with three embryos in it. But sooner or later, there will be no Paul McCartney or Bob Dylan or Rolling Stones. That generation that were born in the early ’40s will be gone. People like me will be the seniors about to go over the waterfall.

I’m not really, technically rock anymore. Essentially, I’m a folkie. It’s all music that’s written without a click track. But no definition really covers me very much. So you could say, well, he’s a psychedelic folk singer, but what does that mean exactly? And I think it’s hard to sell things if you can’t define them. Is that a banana or an apple? What are these fruits you’re selling me? Do you eat it with a skin, do you cook this, or where does it go? And I think I’m one of those unidentified fruits, you know?

Jasmine Hirst

Lydia Lunch

Lydia Lunch

This multi-media subversive has been on music fans’ radars at least since the 1978 Brian Eno-curated collection, No New York, which featured Lunch’s band Teenage Jesus & the Jerks. Not long after that, though, she took a stylistic left turn with her jazzy debut LP, Queen of Siam, and ever since she’s followed unexpected muses, while always keeping a taste of the downtown New York performance art scene, and its radical politics, that first nurtured her. Memphis Flyer: Who were your greatest inspirations when you started playing in the 1970s?

Lydia Lunch: They were all writers. They weren’t musicians necessarily, but writers like Henry Miller and Hubert Selby. The Marquis de Sade, more for his philosophy. His outlandishness was just painting a picture of what goes on behind closed doors in parliament, for instance, or the White House.

You played dissonant noise in the No Wave days, but your debut solo album was very jazzy. What inspired the change?

Well, as a musical schizophrenic, I was always trying to contradict what came before it. There are many sides to express. Actually, half of the album is big band jazz, the other is nursery rhymes. I was listening to a lot of cartoon music at the time, and just wanted to do something that was just totally in a different vein. Something kind of noir and sassy. And then, bringing Robert Quine into the mix was just a highlight of my life. My favorite guitar player. He played with Richard Hell and Lou Reed and produced some of Teenage Jesus.

Then you quickly moved beyond that big band sound …

But I’m actually back in it now. I came back around to it with an album called Smoke and the Shadows. And I’ve just finished recording an album with Sylvia Black, who is a very diverse musical schizophrenic herself, out of L.A. We’ve almost completed a totally jazz noir album that’ll come out sometime at the end of the year. It’s like swamp rock; I come in and out of it. And jazz noir as well. And also psycho ambient.

And at Gonerfest, you’ll be upping the rock noise quotient again, playing your Retrovirus material.

I’m constantly flipping the script. What’s interesting about Retrovirus is that it’s chaotic, but somehow there’s a cohesion when you hear it all together. The band somehow unites the mania into a different beast altogether. That’s what I’ve been focusing on the last few years. Working with Weasel Walter is great. It’s a fun, maniacal musical mayhem.

Gonerfest 15 runs from Thursday, September 27th to Sunday, September 30th. See www.goner-records.com for the full schedule.

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September Brings Cool Outdoor Music Galore

CREDIT: Michael Donahue

On good nights, the cool air of autumn is already whistling in. And other tones are floating in the air as well, with the fall outdoor concert season, already underway, really hitting its stride this weekend. Not only do we still have the Delta Fair & Music Festival, this weekend will see the launch of the fall season’s River Series at the Harbor Town Amphitheater and the Levitt Shell Orion Free Music Concert Series.

Of course, it all pales before tonight and tomorrow’s International Goat Days in Millington. There will be a classic “battle of the bands” and other live music, along with other family fair fun…plus goats! Meanwhile, if you really want to see dancing in the streets, check out the Orange Mound Parade, this Saturday morning at 8:00, where marching bands give it their all  from Melrose High School to the Lamar-Airways Shopping Center. It’s the grandest preamble that the Southern Heritage Classic could hope for. 

Memphis Pride Fest

Other fairs and parades ensue through the month, culminating in the 15th Annual Memphis Pride Fest, sure to bring a host of bands out to Tom Lee Park. For even more music with that street carnival flair, check out the diverse lineup of the Mid South Fair, September 20-30, now held at Landers Center in Southaven.

Los Kumbia Brothers

This year’s fair boasts a special celebration of Latino music, presented by Radio Ambiente, with six bands playing from noon til 10:00. And let’s not forget Memphis legends 8 Ball and MJG. That show, like most others, comes free with your fair admission.  

Meta and the Cornerstones

Meanwhile, back to the present, the weekend is exploding with sit-down outdoor shows. Not long ago, we gave you a rundown of the full fall lineup at the queen of outdoor venues, the Levitt Shell. If you missed last night’s Devon Gilfillian, there’s still time to plan on this weekend’s especially international sounds, with Havana’s Orquesta Akokán tonight and the Afro-pop/reggae/soul blend of Meta and the Cornerstones tomorrow. Reba Russell closes down the weekend on Sunday.

Earlier that day, there’s even more music, including a special pop-up sunset jazz event at Court Square with the Bill Hurd Jazz Ensemble. Meanwhile, the River Series at the Harbor Town Amphitheater, aside from being smartly curated, also boasts one of the most beautiful vistas of any outdoor music experience. Perched on the steps of an amphitheater in the style of Ancient Greece, you gaze on shores of the city and the hyper-reality of our gigantic metallic pyramid.

Harlan T. Bobo

Both of the artists jump-starting the River Series season on Sunday, Harlan T. Bobo and Paul Taylor, evoke the city very specifically in their music. Bobo, who recently captivated an audience at the Memphis Music Mansion, might even sing his instant classic, “Must Be in Memphis,” as the city floats out in the night; and Taylor may treat audiences to his new, and very groovy, Old Forest Loop music. The River series then continues with Cameron Bethany & Kid Maestro on September 23, and Teardrop City and the Limes on October 14.

Elsewhere around the city, the Live at the Garden series continues tonight, with the big, rich tones of Big & Rich echoing through the sublime environs of the Memphis Botanic Garden. Although that show will mark the end of the summer series, look for CMT Music Award winners Dan + Shay with special guest Michael Ray at the end of the month.

Of course, Midtowners are already readying for next weekend’s Cooper-Young Festival, and the event’s three stages will feature some choice performers. Highlights on the main stage include FreeWorld with the legendary Dr. Herman Green, followed by Fuzzie Jefferies. The other stages are great ways to check out the many and diverse sounds coming out of Memphis these days, from Laramie to the Switchblade Kid to the current
kings of Memphis hardcore, Negro Terror.
Michael Donahue

Negro Terror at Our Scene United

And finally, we can’t forget Gonerfest 15. While much of the music will happen in clubs around town, the festival does offer some choice opportunities for open air listening. Indeed, it’s bookended with performances at the Cooper-Young Gazebo, with D.M. Bob on Thursday, Sept. 27, and R.L. Boyce on Sunday, September 30. And, as usual, both the Murphy’s Bar interior and patio will be hopping with far out sounds all afternoon on September 29, culminating with a show by Robyn Hitchcock.
Laura E. Partain

Robyn Hitchcock

Fast on the heels of Gonerfest, of course, we’ll wake up and it’ll be October. Check the Flyer that week for a special report on the Mempho Music Festival, which will play host to the likes of Beck, Post Malone, Phoenix, Nas, and Janelle Monáe. But heck, that’s a whole month away. For now, dust off your camping chairs, pack your coolers, break out the bug spray, and get ready. The nights grow cool and the musical creatures are coming out to play.