Out today on Eagle Vision, the 91-minute Live Voodoo documents the reunited band's 2009 Halloween concert but, minus the confines of a sweaty club, Perry & Co. can't seem to generate sufficient energy to make the viewing experience memorable.

By Jose Martinez

A Jane's Addiction concert is always a special moment, so you'd think the release of the band's first-ever live DVD and Blu-ray concert, featuring the original lineup, would be stellar, but not quite so. Filmed during a 2009 performance at Voodoo Experience in New Orleans on Halloween night, this had all the makings for an unforgettable concert souvenir but watching the solid performance now leaves a bit to be desired.

We see and hear the band, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins, in fine form, but it's charismatic lead singer Perry Farrell, one of rock's most dynamic showman, who misses the mark at times. Slightly off kilter and looking somewhat ridiculous, even by the singer's own out-there standards, and keep in mind it is Halloween night, he looks part space cowboy/part court jester, and his long cape only seems to get in his way of really being able to rock out. When he finally does ditch the hindering cape he looks like a Jack LaLanne wannabe and that certainly loses cool rock points.

As far as the music is concerned, the band tears through its groundbreaking catalog delivering 13 solid favorites, including "Mountain Song," "Three Days," "Ocean Size," "Summertime Rolls" and "Jane Says." It would have been nice if this was the concert in its entirety but that's not exactly the case as sometimes half the fun is listening to what quirky ramblings Perry Farrell will banter in between songs.

The two extra bonus songs - "1%" and "Ocean Size" taken from two separate Los Angeles surprise reunion gigs - may have actually made for a better DVD release as seeing the band perform in such a tiny, intimate setting, literally in front of its rabid, hometown fans, is really spectacular. Having actually seen Jane's Addiction in concert on Halloween, I do know just what a treat that really is but that excitement is missing on Live Voodoo, and the chance to see the band perform once again in a small, hot and sweaty club would be priceless.

Issued last month in the UK by Universal (but with no US release in sight), a three-CD edition of the Teardrops' classic 1980 debut does more than just stand the test of time - it literally stops time in its tracks. Check out the video, below.

By Ron Hart

English post-punk legends The Teardrop Explodes famously copped their strange handle off an obscure panel from a particularly odd issue of the Marvel superhero comic book Daredevil, which found DD teaming up with The Amazing Spider-Man while both are suffering through relationship issues with their respective girlfriends amidst becoming embroiled in a hero vs. hero battle with Sub-Mariner. 

How Daredevil No. 77 correlates with the acid-tested brilliance of the post-punk, new wave and psychedelia cross-section that the Teardrops - singer/bassist Julian Cope, then-guitarist Mick Finkler on guitar (who was replaced by Alan Gill), drummer Gary Dwyer and original keyboardist Paul Simpson - created in their short tenure together constitutes one of the great mysteries of rock ‘n' roll. Nevertheless, the group remains the mad geniuses of an era in UK jive that also spawned the likes of The Chameleons, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, Gang of Four and Public Image Limited, not to mention U2 in Ireland and Orange Juice in Scotland. And somehow, the Teardrops managed to sound like the sum of all their parts, albeit rolled up in a sunshine pop joint hand-dipped in Piccadilly Square's most potent strain of liquid LSD.

Originally released in the fall of 1980, the group's enigmatic full-length debut Kilimanjaro fully lived up to the scrappy promise of their early singles on Zoo Records, the co-owner of which, David Balfe, had joined the band after Simpson left and whose keyboard prowess is featured all over this bona fide post-punk masterpiece. But while the album was a smash in the Teardrops' native Great Britain, spawning five singles including a Top 20 hit with "Treason" and saw the LP reach No. 24 on the UK album charts, they barely rose above underground cult status here in the United States. The band was cherished by an elite colony of in-the-know tastemakers and educated music fans [among them, the future editor of BLURT. - Ed.] thanks in part to the moderate airplay of Kilimanjaro's closing track "When I Dream" on progressive radio stations like WLIR in New York and KROQ in Los Angeles. But otherwise, they hardly registered a blip on the American mainstream, particularly in comparison to the wildfire success of rivals like Bono and the boys and Duran Duran, both of whom considered the Teardrops to be their stiffest competition across the pond.

However, in the three decades since the album's initial release, that elite cult colony of fans (both of the Teardrops and frontman-turned-solo artist Cope) has grown considerably in these parts. And while their popularity is certainly not enough to merit Universal's releasing it stateside, the mind-blowing 30^th anniversary of Kilimanjaro - at least for serious fans of the band - is undoubtedly worth every penny you might lose on that dollars-to-pounds exchange rate to purchase it as an import. Of course you get the original 11 tracks fully remastered and restored to their originally intended running order following some inexplicable shuffles on earlier reissues. But better yet, this generous deluxe version of the album also includes a second disc that compiles all of the Teardrops' early Zoo singles and the post-Kilimanjaro Top Ten hit "Reward", as well as their subsequent b-sides along with a variety of alternate and live tracks, including a nine-minute version of "Sleeping Gas" from a particularly wild December 1981 performance at Club Zoo in Liverpool that finds a clearly tripped out Julian barking like a dog, recommending a John Cale album to the audience in mid-song and doing what he called a "face solo". And, if that wasn't enough, hidden within this new set's gorgeous gatefold packaging that vividly restores the album's classic zebra cover is a third disc containing the group's BBC sessions with John Peel and Mike Read leading up to and following the release of Kilimanjaro, eleven tracks in all.

Add some intriguing liner notes from Cope, Balfe, Dwyer, veteran UK music mogul and close band friend David Bates (who was key in signing the Teardrops to Phonogram Records) and legendary British publicist Mick Houghton and you have yourself the only version of this already essential masterstroke of 1980 that you will ever need.

Held last weekend, Aug. 26-28, as a nod to the city's decadent glory days, the festival included Smashing Pumpkins, Lemmy, The Head Cat, Semi-Precious Weapons, Fergie (!?!), a tribute to Slash - and the return of the mighty Kix!

Text & photos by Jose Martinez

For the third year in a row, the Sunset Strip Music Festival has celebrated the vibrant local music scene with an oversized nod to the city's decadent glory days. Last year the powers-that-be chose to honor rock icon Ozzy Osbourne but this time around they really got things right by honoring former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash.

Synonymous with the Sunset Strip scene, who better reflects the attitude and energy the L.A. club life represents than Slash? During an invitation-only tribute ceremony Thursday at the House of Blues, friends and peers honored the guitarist. Hosted by local DJ icon Jim Ladd, attendees relished the hour-long open bar before the likes of Nikki Sixx, Lemmy, and Jerry Cantrell praised Slash.

Declaring Slash to be the "most celebrated guitar slinger of all time," Ladd, in his laid back style, kept the evening moving along while Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx recalled the two musicians "killing a Jack Daniels" together.

(Nikki Sixx)

Meanwhile, Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister pointed out that Slash indeed "is British" (born in Hampstead and raised in the city of Stoke-on-Trent), adding, "I think he died once."

While everyone praised the former GNR and Velvet Revolver guitarist, Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell shared a story about how he made his way backstage at an early Guns show in Seattle and handed singer W. Axl Rose an Alice In Chains demo. As he was walking away he admitted he saw Axl throw the tape in the trash. Maybe that's just one more reason to love Slash.

As the City of West Hollywood declared August 26, 2010 as Slash Day, the guitarist confessed, "I'm speechless. I didn't prepare a speech." But in typical Slash fashion he entertained before Lemmy and friends, including Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats, took the stage with his band The Head Cat. With Slash adding guitar on "There's Good Rockin,'" the band tore through some Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, and Ricky Nelson favorites.

(Hillbilly Herald)

Over the course of the weekend a slew of artists (from buzz bands like Semi Precious Weapons, to a band from back in the day like Rattlesnake Shake, to newcomers like Hillbilly Herald, to Adler's Appetite featuring former GNR drummer Steven Adler) and thousands of fans made their way to several venues to see all kinds of rock bands, including a sold out show at the House of Blues Friday night with late ‘80s favorites Kix.

According to guitarist Brian "Damage" Forsythe, now also with Rhino Bucket, this marked the band's first local show in nearly 20 years.

"Our very first show [in Los Angeles] was at the Troubadour opening for Guns N' Roses before they even had their debut record out," Forsythe recalled. "We were first on the bill and it was crazy because there were a lot of people to see us because we've never played here, and Guns N' Roses were big too, so the line went all the way out the door and around the block."

With Kix frontman Steve Whiteman still scary fit all these years later, while pointing out that everyone in Los Angeles wants guest list and VIP privileges, it was entertaining watching a band still in peak condition making sure their audience left satiated.

(Steel Panther)

(Slash w/Fergie)

Saturday afternoon saw, for the second year in a row, the famous Sunset Strip shut down to host a street festival where thousands besieged landmarks like The Roxy Theatre, Whisky A Go-Go, and the Rainbow Bar & Grill while makeshift outdoor stages featured sets by local favorites Steel Panther, Travie McCoy, Slash with special guest Fergie, and headliners The Smashing Pumpkins.

While you can question the Pumpkins spot on the bill, maybe it was the organizers way of making sure this isn't looked at as just a local event, especially as last year saw a headlining set by Ozzy Osbourne, but the Pumpkins aren't a band with locals ties to the Strip so it did seem out of place. But either way, it was a blast and welcome treat to listen to Billy Corgan's feedback wail through Sunset Blvd.

Timeless 1982 classic is now augmented by 11-song bonus disc, extensive booklet.

By Blurt Staff

With Richard Thompson's new live album (of all new material, no less) Dream Attic hitting the bins this week and Thompson also prepping for a tour with his band that will run from Oct. 2 into the first week of November, word also arrives of the impending Deluxe Edition reissue of Thompson's landmark album Shoot Out The Lights, originally released in 1982 by Thompson and his then-life Linda. Rhino Handmade drops it on Oct. 12 and the remastered released will now boast a bonus CD featuring 11 unreleased live performances from the tour that the duo embarked upon shortly after its release.

Here are the details, courtesy Rhino:

***

The circuitous path of Shoot Out the Lights began in 1980 when Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty-who'd toured with the Thompsons that year-produced and financed the album, hoping it would earn the unsigned couple a new record contract. Failing to secure a record deal, the album was eventually shelved.

The Thompsons persevered, signing with producer Joe Boyd's independent Hannibal Records the following year. They quickly returned to the studio with several musicians from the Rafferty sessions-guitarist Simon Nicol, drummer Dave Mattacks, and bassist Pete Zorn-and rerecorded six songs from the previous sessions plus two new songs. In contrast to the drawn-out sessions with Rafferty, Boyd recorded the album live in just three days, an approach that highlighted the band's spontaneity and gave the songs a palpable edge. In the reissue's liner notes Zorn quips: "The album's so good, we did it twice!"  

The release and a planned U.S. tour were put on hold until 1982 to give Linda time to recover from the birth of the couple's third child. Sadly, when the tour finally began that spring, the Thompsons' marriage was over.

The bonus disc documents the tumultuous tour with 11 unreleased live performances, all but one taken from shows in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, California. The songs draw from the Thompsons' records together, including three from the album, "Back Street Slide," "Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?" and the title track; "Borrowed Time" from Sunnyvista (1979); "Pavanne" from First Light (1978); and "For Shame Of Doing Wrong," "Dargai," and "Dimming Of The Day" from Pour Down Like Silver (1975). Several covers are also featured: Hank Williams' "Honky Tonk Blues," "I'm A Dreamer" by Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny, and Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It With Mine," a song Richard covered with Fairport Convention on 1969's What We Did On Our Holidays.

The set's accompanying 40-page booklet includes details about the album and tour from Richard, Linda, the band, and Boyd, who recalls the fraught tour: "Linda kicked Richard in the shins during a guitar solo in Providence and threw a bottle at him in the Buffalo airport, but sang with an intensity I'd never heard before. Gone was the hesitant tone; the heartbreaking ballads poured out of her and mesmerized audiences. The band, meanwhile, kept their heads down and amazed the Yanks with their precision and power. Richard was his usual genius self, only more so."

Track Listing

Disc 1

1.       "Don't Renege On Our Love"

2.       "Walking On A Wire"

3.       "A Man In Need"

4.       "Just The Motion"

5.       "Shoot Out The Lights"

6.       "Back Street Slide"

7.       "Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?"

8.       "Wall Of Death"

Disc 2 - Live

1.       "Dargai"*

2.       "Back Street Slide"*

3.       "Pavanne"*

4.       "I'll Keep It With Mine"*

5.       "Borrowed Time"*

6.       "Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?"*

7.       "I'm A Dreamer"*

8.       "Honky Tonk Blues"*

9.       "Shoot Out The Lights"*

10.   "For Shame Of Doing Wrong"*

11.   "Dimming Of The Day"*

*Previously Unissued

Oval, Autechre, Thom Yorke, Tour Tet and numerous others....

By Blurt Staff

Apparat - aka Sasha Ring - takes a little time out from his busy schedule of late (which has included three albums on the Shitkatapult label and the collaborative full lengths with Ellen Allien and Modeselektor as Moderat on Bpitch Control) in order to program what just may be the mother of all DJ-Kicks titles from !K7. It includes tracks from Oval, Autechre, Thom Yorke, Tour Tet and others, as well as a pair of exclusive Apparat tunes and an unreleased Telfon Tel Aviv cut. The full tracklisting is below and it speaks for itself.

"I didn't want to make this kind of "smart" mix, that's eclectic and sounds like it's done "on purpose;" but I need to do different things to keep myself motivated," Ring explained, in a statement. "At first I wanted to make a collection of influences, all kinds of old songs, but then sometimes with those mixes it's hard to keep some kind of flow and they're just not very easy to listen to, so I ended up using good new music; music that almost gave me hope that there's more out there than boring minimal techno.

"The mix isn't that balanced when it comes to melody I guess. There's a lot of sweetness on there, but it is dark and mysterious at points. I guess the bittersweet-ness has long been kind of my thing and with this mix I was just trying to spice it up a bit."

It'll be in stores Oct. 26.

Tracklisting:

1.         Apparat - Circles
2.         69 - Rushed
3.         Telefon Tel Aviv - Lengthening Shadows
4.         Apparat - Interlude
5.         Luke Abbott - More Room
6.         Oval - Legendary
7.         Patrice Baumel - Sub
8.         Martyn - Miniluv
9.         Ripperton - Echocity
10.        Cosmin TRG - Tower Block
11.        Scorn - Falling (Autechre "FR 13" Remix)
12.        Born Ruffians - I Need A Life (Four Tet Remix)
13.        Pantha Du Prince - Welt Am Draht
14.        Phon.o - Intervall
15.        Burial + Four Tet - Moth
16.        Vincent Markowski - The Madness Of Moths
17.        Ramadanman - Tempest
18.        Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill
19.        Spherix - Lesser People
20.        Oval - TV Power
21.        Joy Orbison - The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow
22.        Apparat - Sayulita (DJ-KiCKS)
23.        T++ - Worn Down
24.        Tim Hecker - Borderlands

Blurt shutterbug Scott Dudelson attended the kickoff of the August 26 Sunset Strip Music Festival in Los Angeles - it included a Slash tribute @ House of Blues whereby Aug 26th was officially named "Slash Day"and on hand were Headcat (Lemmy of Motorhead, Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats), Slash, Nikki Sixx, Jerry Cantrell and KLOS DJ Jim Ladd. We've got a selection of his photos, below. (You can also check out Dudelson's photoblog for BLURT elsewhere on our site.)

(above) Lemmy & Slash

Danny B. Harvey

Jerry Cantrell

Jim Ladd

Lemmy

Nikki Sixx

Slash

Slash Award Presentation

Slim Jim Phantom

"I Wanna Be Adored": any questions? Check out the video, below.

By Blurt Staff

The latest video and track release and video directed by Cass Bird & Molly Schiot in celebration of Dr. Martens 50th anniversary is none other than the Raveonettes covering the Stones Roses classic "I Wanna Be Adored." It's part of the ongoing series from Dr. Martens which thus far has featured some intriguing takes on vintage material - among them, the Noisettes doing "Ever Fallen In Love With Someone You Shouldn't've", the Duke Spirit with "If The Kids are United" and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club tackling "Dirty Old Town."

You can nab the tunes for free download at the Dr. Martens site - coming up are Verbal and the MC5's Mike Davis w/D.O.A.

Chronicle of the never-ending I And Love And You Tour.

By Blurt Staff

Incoming on Oct. 5: Live, Volume 3 from the Avett Brothers. The material was recorded on the I And Love And You tour and will be available on both CD and DVD. 

The 16 songs are taken from a longer (25-song) concert in Charlotte, NC, on August 8, 2009. Watch BLURT for a special feature on the Avetts - the cover subjects of our 3^rd print issue, last fall - around the time of the release date.

Track Listing:

1. Pretty Girl from Matthews
2. Talk on Indolence
3. Ballad False Start
4. The Ballad of Love and Hate
5. Colorshow
6. I and Love and You
7. Shame
8. When I Drink
9. Murder in the City
10. I Killed Sally's Lover
11. Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
12. The Perfect Space
13. Paranoia in B-flat Major
14. Distraction #74
15. Kick Drum Heart
16. Salvation Song

Monthlong tour preceded by split single with the Black Lips.

By Blurt Staff

The Pierced Arrows have announced an upcoming North American tour that begins September 30 at 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis, MN. The ex-Dead Moon veterans will play 21 dates across the US before closing out the tour in Weed, CA on October 23rd.

The jaunt comes in the wake of Pierced Arrows' recent split 7" with labelmates Black Lips, released in July via Scion A/V. In keeping with the other releases in the Vice-curated Scion Garage 7" series, both bands debuted new songs on the single. Pierced Arrows' offering is titled "The Doorway" and you can check out a stream of it right here.

 Scion A/V also recently released the band's first proper music video for "This is the Day" from their most recent full length Descending Shadows - take a gander at it, below.


Tour Dates:

9/30/10        Minneapolis, MN        7th St. Entry
10/1/10        Milwaukee, WI           Cactus Club
10/2/10        Chicago, IL                 Subterranean
10/3/10        Cleveland, OH            Beachland Tavern
10/4/10        Rochester, NY            The Bug Jar
10/5/10        Albany, NY                  Valentine's
10/7/10        Brooklyn, NY               Knitting Factory
10/8/10        New York, NY              Mercury Lounge
10/9/10        Philadelphia, PA          Kung Fu Necktie
10/10/10      Washington, DC          DC9
10/12/10       Baltimore, MD            Golden West Cafe
10/13/10       Pittsburgh, PA             31st Street Pub
10/14/10       Columbus, OH            The Summit
10/15/10       Bloomington, IN          The Video Saloon
10/16/10       Columbia, MO             Mojo's
10/17/10        Lawrence, KS             Jackpot
10/19/10        Denver, CO                 Hi Dive
10/20/10       Salt Lake City, UT        Urban Lounge
10/21/10       Reno, NV                     Tonic Lounge
10/22/10       San Francisco, CA        Rickshaw Stop
10/23/10       Weed, CA                     Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture

Scion A/V Video: Pierced Arrows - This Is The Day from Scion A/V on Vimeo.

Band also collaborates with Lee Scratch Perry

By Blurt Staff

San Diego's The Black Heart Procession are releasing a limited edition mini-album October 12 called "Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit" on Temporary Residence Limited. Along with 3 brand new BHP songs, the 40-minute EP includes a collaboration with the godfather of dub himself, the immortal Lee "Scratch" Perry. Additionally, "Blood Bunny / "Black Rabbit" features a titanic 10-minute orchestral reconstruction of "Drugs" by ambient mainstay Eluvium.

Check out an MP3 of "Blank Page"

To celebrate the release of "Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit", The Black Heart Procession will tour this fall with Temporary Residence labelmates the Books!

Track Listing:

1. Blank Page
2. The Orchid
3. Silence (Remix by Mr. Tube)
4. Devotion
5. Freeze (Remix by Lee "Scratch" Perry)
6. Heaven Below (Remix by Mr. Tube)
7. Drugs (Remix by Eluvium)
8. Drugs (Remix by Jamuel Saxon)

Tour Dates:

Sep 28 @ Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
Sep 29 @ The Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA w/ The Books
Sep 30 @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC w/ The Books
Oct 1 @ Shaefer Theater, Duke University, Durham, NC w/ The Books
Oct 3 @ Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA w/ The Books
Oct 4 @ Square Room, Knoxville, TN w/ The Books
Oct 5 @ Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville, VA w/ The Books
Oct 6 @ Rams Head Live!, Baltimore, MD w/ The Books
Oct 21 @ Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA w/ The Books
Oct 22 @ Pearl Street Nightclub, Northampton, MA w/ The Books
Oct 23 @ Cabaret Mile End, Montreal, PQ w/ The Books
Oct 24 @ Capitol Music Hall, Ottawa, ON w/ The Books
Oct 25 @ The Mod Club, Toronto, ON w/ The Books
Oct 26 @ Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac, MI w/ The Books
Oct 27 @ Ladies Literary Club, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI w/ The Books
Oct 29 @ Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL w/ The Books
Oct 30 @ Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN w/ The Books
Nov 29 @ Music Box At The Henry Fonda, Los Angeles, CA w/ The Books
Nov 30 @ Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA w/ The Books
Dec 3 @ Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR w/ The Books
Dec 4 @ Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA w/ The Books
Dec 5 @ Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC w/ The Books