Jane's Addiction - December 11, 1988 - T.T. The Bear's, Cambridge, MA

Date: December 11, 1988
Location: T.T. The Bear's, Cambridge, MA
Recorded: Audio (audience)
Status: Confirmed
Type: Concert
Lineup: Perry Farrell
Dave Navarro
Stephen Perkins
Eric Avery
Artwork:
 

Setlist:

Kettle Whistle
Obvious
Whores
1%
Idiots Rule
Ain't No Right
Ted, Just Admit It...
Standing In The Shower... Thinking
Trip Away
Summertime Rolls
Ocean Size
Mountain Song

Show Information:

The Bags opened.  All ages show.

Boston Globe
October 28, 1988
IVAN NEVILLE MEETS THE ROCK WORLD
Author: Steve Morse, Globe Staff

A surprise addition to rock playlists is Ivan Neville, the 29-year-old son of Aaron Neville of the New Orleans group the Neville Brothers. Instead of following his dad's New Orleans footsteps, Ivan has headed into the rock world, playing on Keith Richards' solo album and releasing his own LP, "If My Ancestors Could See Me Now." It features the fast-rising radio hit "Not Just Another Girl."

Neville is a brilliant new talent. His songs are hard-edged, almost metallic at times. And his voice is a raspy cross between John Hiatt and Huey Lewis. "I've started gargling with roofing nails and smoking Kools," laughs Neville, who makes his Boston debut on Nov. 11, opening for Robert Cray at the Wang Center.

Until now, Neville has been known only as a keyboardist. He toured with Bonnie Raitt for two years in that capacity. "All the new keyboard technology is just driving me back to basics," he says, describing why his music has turned toward rock.

His biggest supporter is Richards, who met him when the Stones played with the Neville Brothers in 1981. "Keith is great to work for," says Ivan, who expects to tour with Richards later this fall. "We kick him in the butt and he kicks us right back."

TEMPTATIONS STILL ROLLING: "We mix it up. We don't like to get caught in a time warp," says Otis Williams, founding member of the Temptations, who play with Mary Wilson at the Berklee Performance Center tonight (two shows) and tomorrow. "We find we now appeal to people from 8 to 80. Parents from the '60s who loved our music are now bringing their kids. We even invite young kids up to sing 'My Girl.' You'd be surprised at how many of them know the song."

The Temptations no longer have their original singers Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin, who rejoined for a reunion tour in 1982, then went their separate ways. The Temptations have carried on with an occasional change since. (Ollie Woodson is back in the group after Dennis Edwards, who had a dependency problem, was fired in September.) The group has persevered for 28 years and will be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in January. As Williams says, "You can look at all the new technology -- the Linn Drum, Synclavier, all those things -- but you can never remove the human voice."

NEW CONCERTS: Bad Company at the Orpheum (tickets on sale Monday); and Eddie Money at the Orpheum Dec. 2 (tix on sale Monday). Folk survivor Arlo Guthrie at Symphony Hall Dec. 7 (tix on sale Tuesday, but none will be available at Symphony Hall except for night of show). Also, some club goodies: Jane's Addiction at T.T. the Bear's on Dec. 10 (for the over-21 crowd) and an all-ages afternoon show on Dec. 11. And try this -- Bongos, Bass & Bob, a rock trio featuring Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller . That's headed to Nightstage on Nov. 9. Performance artist Danny Mydlack will open.

SITAR POWER WITH STYLE: Indian sitar-rocker Ashwin Batish, wearing a hat that said "Sitar Power," was a total delight at Johnny D's on Tuesday. The rising World Beat star gave a new spin to the instrument, playing high-speed melodic solos atop a prerecorded rhythm tape. An appreciative crowd turned out -- and Batish hopes to bring a band for his next Boston visit in March.

TAM'S 10th ANNIVERSARY: The Brookline club the Tam, a bedrock club in the local scene, had a lively 10th anniversary party on Monday. T.H. & the Wreckage cooked on stage, while co-owner Michael Burbank, ever the pundit, said that the last 10 years have "sometimes felt like 60." It's been a remarkable decade for the Tam, which has snaked more than a few big acts, including bluesman Robert Cray.

TOUGHER THAN LEATHER: The new rap-music film, "Tougher Than Leather," starring Run-D.M.C., will open at Cinema 57 a week from today. There have been worries stemming from a recent Detroit incident when violence erupted and one youth died. The film was subsequently dropped at five Detroit theaters. "We're still going to open it in Boston," says a USA Cinema spokeswoman. "We like to think people are more educated here."

BOSTON COMPUTER SOCIETY CONCERT: Need a change of pace? Tomorrow night the Massachusetts College of Art hosts a computer concert by Paul Lehrman, James Romeo, Scott Van Dyne (using a 576-key microtonal keyboard) and Juvenile Amphibians in Formaldehyde. We kid you not about that name.

BITS AND PIECES . . . Led Zeppelin visions: Jimmy Page at the Centrum tomorrow, Robert Plant on Sunday with Joan Jett. Plant has reportedly changed his show and is lately doing Zepp's "The Immigrant Song" . . . Cheryl Wheeler, who opens Sunday for Sweet Honey in the Rock at the Berklee Performance Center, just had her song, "Addicted," become a No. 1 country hit sung by Dan Seals . . . The Strand Theater's 70th anniversary with Cab Calloway on Nov. 11 . . . The Provincetown Jug Band will play at Bunratty's every Sunday night in November and December . . . The Gallery club just passed its first anniversary . . . . . . Memphis Rockabilly Band at Ed Burke's tomorrow . . . Dreams So Real, a popular Athens, Ga., band, at T.T. the Bear's tonight . . . The homecoming of New Edition and Bobby Brown at Boston Garden Sunday and Monday . . . Jerry Jeff Walker at Nightstage tonight . . . Fine Passim weekend: Claudia Schmidt tonight, Bill Morrissey tomorrow . . . Halloween bashes: The Fools at the Channe l tonight; Boogaloo Swamis at Johnny D's tomorrow.

Boston Globe
November 4, 1988
MOTORHEAD'S LEMMY: NO CHANGE, 'NO SLEEP'
Author: Jim Sullivan, Globe Staff

He sings like he's gargling broken glass and whiskey, and for 13 years he's fronted what might just well be the fastest, loudest, fiercest band in anyone's land: Motorhead. He's singer-bassist Lemmy Kilmister, the ageless delinquent who was booted out the space-rock band Hawkwind in 1975 for trying to smuggle speed into Canada. "I used to really enjoy it with Hawkwind," says Lemmy, by phone. "It was a terrible blow to me when I got fired, but, then again, you can't sit around weeping."

Hard to imagine that. And, of course, if he hadn't gotten the sack, there would be no Motorhead and, thus, the whole speed-metal, thrash-metal scene of the '80s would likely not exist. Motorhead, who play with Slayer and Overkill tomorrow night at the Orpheum, pioneered the whole shebang. "You never know these things at the time," says Lemmy. "It's only in retrospect you can say that was the start of something."

Lemmy is what you might call uni-talented. "There's not much else I can do," he says, offering a verbal shrug. "I wouldn't have minded being a rancher or something, 'cause I can ride horses. That's what I was gonna do when I first started; I was gonna be a horse breeder." (The UK's horses breathe a collective sigh of relief.)

Motorhead, who just released the live album "No Sleep at All" (GWR/ Enigma), has been through a series of lineup changes. A writer once best described the group as "Lemmy and three guys who aren't Lemmy." Today's lineup, reasonably stable, includes guitarists Wurzel and Phil Cambell and drummer Philthy Phil Taylor. Always, though, with Motorhead the basic idea is to suspend normal ideas about melody, variety and range, and enjoy the giant juggernaut. Motorhead today? "Much the same as the old one," says Lemmy. "I don't want change particularly. I don't see why you should change for the sake of it. If you do something raw, keep doing it."

In their native land, Motorhead goes in and out of style. Today's take? "I dunno," says Lemmy. "They like us all right. We're kind of like the old chap who lives upstairs and they bring us down now and then and give us a cup of tea and send us back upstairs again. Trouble is, this old chap brings a knife down with him."

Former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts has been in the spotlight and on the sidelines. Spotlight: the '70s, when Southern rock exploded. Sidelines: The '80s, after the genre took a nosedive. Betts, a fluid player who's adept at country-blues, last made a record in 1981.

Until the current "Pattern Disruptive" (Epic), that is, featuring the track "Rock Bottom." "Well," says Betts, on the phone, "we've had a little slack time over the years. I made some attempts at fitting in with the disco-rock thing that's been going on for the past six years and they were pretty half-hearted attempts at making music. There wasn't much magic in it and the record companies weren't very impressed either."

So, imagine Betts' surprise when an Epic executive phoned him at his Florida home a year ago and told him he wanted some "good high-energy Southern blues-based rock 'n' roll."

Betts' response? "Is there something wrong with my phone? Would you repeat that?"

It came to be, and Betts, who plays the Paradise with his band Sunday, is alive and kicking. (He, like ex-band mate and reunited friend Gregg Allman, kicked a substance abuse problem some time ago.) Betts figures the time for music has come around again, with folks such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Robert Cray paving the way this time, much like the Allman Brothers Band did 15 years ago.

His aim? "To be energetic and feel like you're doing something new."

Does the Allman Brothers Band shadow loom large?

"It does kind of hang over you," Betts says, noting some folks will say, "This is good, but why don't you put the Allman Brothers Band back together?"

That's in the past. "It's nice for me and Gregg to get together and jam, and keep it fun. But to try and regroup and call it the Allman Brothers Band -- that's kind of a fantasy."

WHAT IS FREDDY KRUEGER DOING IN A ROCK COLUMN? Well, if you haven't noticed, there's a fair overlap between the rock and horror fields, and, thus, ) actor Robert Englund -- Freddy Krueger of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series -- was the guest MC at the Channel last Saturday night for the Fools concert. (Boston was one of four Halloween stops for the busy guy.)

Turns out Englund -- a 39-year-old character actor -- is quite a funny fellow. He signed posters prior to his brief stage appearance, signing some from Freddy and others from Robert. "If I sign Freddy," he said, "I can say something nasty. It's sort of fun for an adolescent male to have something like that."

Englund also chatted up the new "Freddy's Nightmares" TV series on Ch. 25. "I look at is as a violent 'Twilight Zone,' " he said, although admitting TV doesn't permit the sort of anything-goes-gore possible in film. Still, he said, "the people that get it deserve their comeuppance -- materialistic yuppie types."

Other bits: Yes, it looks like there'll be a "Nightmare: Part 5"; Englund defended charges that Freddy's gotten too camp; and then he took the stage to hiss a few obscenities and entertain the Halloween crowd.

COMING UP: The Voice -- no, not Sinatra -- Roy Orbison returns to the Channel Dec. 2, in what promises to be more than the usual "greatest hits" set. (Not that those are bad, mind you -- no one can express loneliness like Mr. O.) But he's riding the current wave of the Traveling Wilburys (Orbison, Dylan, Harrison, Petty, etc.) and Orbison will include selections from the album in the show. . . . The only band to rival Motorhead for ferociousness, the BH Surfers, return to the Channel Nov. 17. African singer-activist Fela Kuti at the Channel on the 20th; England's newest hitmakers the Primitives on the 22d; Ministry Dec. 15. . . . Holy batwings! Ozzy Osbourne brings his schtick to the Centrum Dec. 10 with Anthrax in support. Tix on sale Monday . . . The Nov. 11 Toni Childs/Steve Forbert/Johnny Clegg date at the Orpheum -- a triumph of eclectic booking -- has, unfortunately, been scrapped, as has the whole tour. Problems within Childs' band, we hear. Speaking of scrapped: Etta James did it aga in Wednesday at the Paradise, which makes three consecutive area cancellations. Cause: Illness. It is fair to say the woman is not enjoying the best of reputations, so the rumor mill was grinding away. Considering that, "we sent a doctor over there and s he defintely had laryngitis," said Tea Party Concerts Jodi Goodman. Another date will be announced shortly. . . . Blues with Roy Rogers and Paul Geremia at Johnny D.'s Nov. 9; same club, next night for the local debut of George Gritzbach's Killer Blue . . . The love 'em or hate 'em wailers Jane's Addiction has a second show at T.T. the Bear's Dec. 11, all-ages, 7 p.m. show; a second, 11 p.m., show for Richard Thompson has been added at Sanders Theater Nov. 13 . . . Nothing definite, but look for the Cramps to make an appearance near the year's end. . . . WGBH-FM begins "Afropop," a 52-week African music series starting tonight at 9 p.m. with "Sounds of South Africa."

ANYONE WHO WANTS TO POKE FUN AT RICK ASTLEY won't run into any roadblocks here, but what about Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon protesting today's scene as "like being back in the Bobby Vee era with all this bubblegum pop and guys like Rick Astley." Excuse me. Is the pot calling the kettle black?

ALARMING NEWS: Alert reader Nancy Nigro of Boston writes that, upon reviewing the last Alarm concert at the Wang I noted that singer Mike Peters promised a live album coming from the date, and wrote, " . . . Hold him to it. When the disc comes out check to make sure every song comes from this concert." Son of a gun. Every song is from the show, though it's not an album per se -- just six songs. And, it still sounds like U2-for-beginners.

Boston Globe
December 9, 1988
SIX-ALBUM SET SHOWS CHUCK BERRY'S VERSATILITY
Author: Steve Morse, Globe Staff

Rock pioneer Chuck Berry is back in the spotlight with a new six-album, three-cassette, three-CD boxed set featuring a whopping 71 songs that sprawl across his 35-year career. As the most comprehensive package ever released on Berry, it includes his expected hits along with many obscurities and six previously unreleased tracks.

Berry the rocker is well-represented with the likes of "Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Johnny B. Goode," "Reeling and Rocking" and "You Can't Catch Me" -- many of the songs that influenced the Beatles, Rolling Stones and just about anyone who picked up an electric guitar and started banging out chords.

The previously unreleased tracks, however, suggest that Berry was much more than just a rocker. He was equally adept at Western Swing, country music, Hawaiian guitar, Latin swing and slow blues that makes the skin curdle. While many of the rock tracks become repetitive (Berry created a formula and hammered it into the ground), the unreleased songs indicate that his versatility has for too long gone unnoticed.

ROY ORBISON'S NEW HAMPSHIRE CONNECTION: Singer Roy Orbison, whose Tuesday night death is still reverberating around the country, spent last Saturday in Hooksett, N.H., prior to playing that night at the Channel in Boston. He visited John Danos and Linda Kagan, two friends who run a car dealership, Corvettes Unlimited. He often stayed with them when he was in New England, and once bought from Danos a red 1967 Corvette convertible which he liked to drive down the Pacific Highway in Los Angeles.

ANITA BAKER'S PLUG FOR COLLEGE RADIO: Anita Baker, who plays Boston Garden with Luther Vandross next Tuesday, is all over the airwaves these days with her album, "Giving You The Best That I Got," which follows her 5-million- selling "Rapture" LP. But in a recent HITS magazine piece, Baker paid tribute to college, not commercial, radio. "One of my first awards came from college radio," she said in a rare interview. "I really owe them a bit of thanks. They supported my career before anybody else. Put it this way: If it wasn't for college radio, Anita Baker might still be working on her typing skills."

DAVID BYRNE SPEAKS: Fans of Talking Heads leader David Byrne have been wondering what he's doing. They can find out in an exclusive 90-minute radio interview, "David Byrne's International Influences," broadcast by Westwood One and picked up on WBCN next Saturday, Dec. 17, at 11:30 p.m. Host Timothy White spent four months preparing the show, which will premier two songs from Byrne's upcoming album, "Beleza Tropical" (one of them, "Andar Con Se," is by Brazilian Gilberto Gil, who plays at Nightstage next Wednesday). There will also be two unreleased Talking Heads songs, "Hey Now" and "Papa Legba."

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: One of the funniest tunes in recent weeks has to be "I'm an Adult Now" by Pursuit of Happiness, a new Toronto group headlining T.T. the Bear's tonight. Sings leader Moe Berg: "I've got the problems of an adult now on my head and shoulders/I don't write songs about girls anymore; I have to write songs about women/No more 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl'/It's more like: 'Man tries to understand what the hell went wrong.' " And then this frank verse: "I can't take any more illicit drugs/I can't afford any artificial joy/I'd sure look like a fool, dead in a ditch somewhere with a mind full of chemicals like some cheese-eating high school boy." Produced by Todd Rundgren, the band's album "Love Junk" has more such cleverly of fbeat pop tunes, though there's also a streak of misogny that gets unnerving. It should be interesting to see what they're like in concert.

IRISH LEGEND PHIL COULTER: Irish pop history wouldn't be complete without mentioning Phil Coulter, who has already sold out the Berklee Performance Center next Friday with Maura O'Connell. His songwriting hits include "My Baby" for Elvis Presley, "Congratulations" for Cliff Richard, and most of the hits for the Bay City Roller in the mid-'70s. "Yes, I plead guilty to those," he says of the latter. These days Coulter, who has also done arranging for Van Morrison, is touring with his Irish Pops Orchestra, with whom he recorded the lovely instrumental album, "Forgotten Dreams" (Shanachie Records). "Most sensible people perform in their 20s and 30s, then become producers in their 40s. But I've reversed the process," he joked during a recent phone interview. In Boston, Coulter will perform Christmas carols, including "Silent Night" in Gaelic.

JANE'S ADDICTION: Los Angeles hard-rockers Jane's Addiction, who hit T.T. the Bear's tomorrow and Sunday, continue to be knee-deep in controversy. Their album, "Nothing's Shocking," has been yanked off some record shelves because of nudity on its cover. And now comes their video, "Mountain Song," which ) has been banned by MTV thanks to nude footage of singer Perry Farrell and his girlfriend in a sort of Lennon/Yoko "Two Virgins" pose, circa 1988.

WESTERN FRONT'S 20th ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEKEND: Cambridge's Western Front, which used to book jazz headliners and now is the most committed reggae club in the area, celebrates its 20th year with a no-cover-charge show Sunday night. There will be free champagne and hors d'oeuvres, plus entertainment by Zion Initation, Danny Chaka and Rhythm Four.

BITS AND PIECES -- Ready for something unusual: 20 Tibetan monks from the Gyuto monastery give a concert of Buddhist chants at the Berklee Performance Center on Sunday night . . . Tickets remain for the AIDS Action Committee benefit at Citi on Tuesday . . . Fine weekend at Green Street Station in Jamaica Plain: Blood Oranges and Busted Statues tonight; and the Unattached headline tomorrow . . . John Sebastian and Robin Lane at the Blackthorne Tavern in South Easton on Sunday night . . . Soul Asylum at the Paradise tonight . . . A Fiddler's Festival with Alasdair Fraser, Seamus Connolly and Rodney Miller at the Fine Arts Center at Massasoit Community College in Brockton tonight . . . Brawling rock with the Georgia Satellites and Del Lords ton ight at the Channel. Del-Lord member Eric Ambel should be especially up since he just released a solo album, "Roscoe's Gang," a fun disc with help from the Morells and Syd Straw.