Something 4 The Weekend # 82

Firehose: Ragin', Full-On: "Under The Influence Of Meat Puppets" [mp3]

Meat Puppets: Mirage: "I Am A Machine" [mp3]

One of the five best concerts I've ever attended would definitely have to be the Meat Puppets and Firehose show I witnessed at Shank Hall circa 1991, and as I type that, I'm actually kinda impressed with myself, in the same way I was always impressed when one of my HS social studies teachers, Mr. Schill, talked about seeing some great classic rock band of the '60's and '70's...The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, T. Rex, Lynyrd Skynyrd...

Now, you might never lump Firehose or the Meat Pups onto that list with those great, moldy old bands, but I certainly would...The Meat Puppets were/are extraordinary musicians individually, and together, one of the tightest rock trios to ever lay it down...They mattered to a certain number of us back in the 80's and early 90's, and in our eyes, they are every bit as important and legendary as The Doors are to somebody else...

Speaking of trios, Firehose, of course, contained the Minutemen's rhythm section - drummer George Hurley and bassist Mike Watt...Along with guitarist Ed Crawford, they were pretty damn impressive and tight in their own right, even if they never quite lived up to the Minutemen's high standards, or even the Meat Puppets...The night of the Shank Hall show, Watt was rocking his Fidel Castro look, with the beard and fatigues and fat ol' cigar sticking out of his word hole...As usual, he was out on the floor, amongst the hoi polloi, shaking hands and making with the talk with all the fanboys who adored and idolized him...When it was time for Firehose to play, he walked up onstage, out of the crowd, like it was yr cousin's lame bar band...But of course, it wasn't...It was Firehose, and they jammed econo...

After their set, and sometime before the Meat Pups hit the stage, there was Watt, back out on the floor, now with a towel hanging around his neck, there to witness the incredible desert weirdness that were the Meat Puppets with the rest of us afficianados...

And of course it was a brilliant and beautiful show...Bassist Cris Kirkwood hadn't yet fully fucked himself up on heroin and crack, and so he was locked in sooo fucking tight with not only drummer Derrick Bostrom, but his brother, guitarist Curt Kirkwood...Together, the three of them laid down their intricate brand of progressive cowpunk jazz, and on that night, there was no way I could ever envy Mr. Schill seeing Cream...

The simple fact of the matter is that Curt Kirkwood is one of the very finest guitarists in rock'n'roll history, a fact that is sadly unknown by too many people...Oh sure, his singing is a bit suspect, an acquired taste perhaps, but his playing and songwriting is undeniable...

Yeah, there is greatness in every generation of rock'n'roll, and some of it rises to the top for everyone to enjoy, and some of it just kinda floats there, in the middle of the pop culture landscape...Curt Kirkwood's greatness and reknown will never rise to the top, like Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen, but he'll never fully sink into obscurity either, and in the end, that's not so bad, I suppose...

But who's out there now? What genius guitar player is turning on the kids today?

I guess I'm partial to Marnie Stern, myself, but I fear she'll go the way of Sylvia Juncosa...

Anybody remember Sylvia Juncosa?

She wasn't pure greatness by any stretch of the imagination, but she had the balls to name a tune "Lick My Pussy, Eddie Van Halen" and then have enough chops on the guitar to actually back it up...

Almost...I mean, we're talking about Van Halen here, you know?

Anyways, time's a bitch, but we've always got nostalgia...

Hotcha! Hank