Category Archives: live

Anton Fier is Dead.

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A very sad and troubled obituary for the drummer Anton Fier, who lived a rocketship of a life full of celebrity and achievement but could not reach escape velocity from his own inner demons. Read it here.

I saw him live twice. He was backing the guitarist Tony Scherr in front of a crowd of maybe 30 15? people in the intimate and far from sold out Living Room on New York City’s Lower East Side. I was there because my friend Walker was a fan of Scherr, who played guitar on at least some of Norah Jones’ records. It turns out I wrote about Fier and the Golden Palominos here in 2014.

“He was playing drums because that’s what he does.” Here he is playing drums with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith in Japan in 1984, ferociously. Rest in peace.

Interview with Robert Fripp

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We’ve featured Fripp’s YouTube videos with his wife Toyah, which they started putting out each Sunday during lockdown.

We loved In the Hall of the Crimson King when it came out, and we love his production of the first Roche’s album, which was so gorgeously perfect it’s hard to imagine better.

So, now he’s on the road with his manager, speaking and giving Guitar Craft lessons, and he just seems like a heck of a guy. Read the interview here.

The Times screws up credit for Frippertronics, so here’s a demonstration:

St. Vincent Sings Nirvana at the R+R HoF?

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No knock on St. Vincent, who is very good at what she does. But I wasn’t expecting this to work. But it does.

Because the song is great, even if it isn’t a standard and easily covered.

Talking Heads in Italy in 1980

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This is a band trying to be the best in the world, without saying so.

Great stuff.

Linton Kwesi Johnson, Fite Dem Back

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The left and right disagree about almost everything.

Are your rights violated because you resist other people or because other people resist you.

Which side are you?

This is a great version of this song.

Yo La Tengo w the Strangeloves, “I Want Candy”

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For Lawr.

Chuck Berry and John Lennon on Mike Douglas

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This clip is another example of Mike Douglas’s magic. John Lennon meets Chuck Berry for the first time and they do a kind of weak Memphis Tennessee because Lennon seems to be insisting on sharing vocals.

On Johnny B. Goode balance is restored.

I’m a fan of Yoko’s, but her mike seems to be cut in the Johnny B. Goode mix. It’s just weird during Memphis Tennessee.

If You Don’t Know Me By Now

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Wesley Morris wrote about this version in the Times today, while making a bigger point. I’ve always thought the Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes version was great, but even if you agree with that you’ll want to watch Patti LaBelle sing it.

https://youtu.be/Tain2OF3Zyg

Little Richard Rocking

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Watch/hear this, from 1973, when all that old rock was called oldies. But there was a push to recognize the masters. Little Richard was a master.

https://youtu.be/6OIkfEdll0E

Amy Madden, The Red and the Blue

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There’s an excellent story in the NY Times about Amy Madden, who I wouldn’t have known about if Ginia Bellafante didn’t write about her.

You can read it here. And you can hear an excellent song by her here, with her playing the guitar and Jon Paris playing harmonica.

Here’s a clip of her playing bass in Jon Paris’s band. Which gets funner as it goes along.