OPO: Mekons

Tons of fun tonight. Played some songs I haven't heard them do for a while ("Prince of Darkness"), plus a song from "ME," which I forgot existed. Sang a belated happy birthday to Rico, then Jon's son Jimmy passed out cake to the crowd.

https://scontent-atl1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/11539761_10153451968539935_841966120589811668_n.jpg?oh=60d5a0a6bc65a01155ca2b1c203305a1&oe=565C5557

closest shows to me are Friday night in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Saturday night in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Not sure I will make the 2 plus hour drive for either.

Tonight in Mekons deep cuts: the male Mekons singing "Powers and Horror." Also, Lu Edmonds leading the ribald Billy Cotton novelty song "I Lost My Little Yoyo:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGwEzgiIzDg

at the Poetry Foundation he sang "The Hole in the Elephant's Bottom"

going Tuesday

Very very envious!

― Jaq

seconded

Greatly looking forward to seeing them tomorrow night! A mere five minute walk from my apartment, too.

Funny note from Saturday's show: Sally made a Spinal Tap reference, immediately recognized her mistake and dutifully accepted what appears to be a band ritual of spinning around four times.

Did not make the several hours journey to see the closest Mekons gigs to me (as wife had made prior committments). Did see pics of the Rehoboth beach Dogfish Ale show and they made me wish I was there. Plus a pal who did go, also posted photos of hanging out the next day at the nearby place of former Maxwell's owner Steve Fallon.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/17/mekons-tour-diary-episode-one-in-which-lu-goes-awol/

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/20/mekons-tour-diary-episode-2-beached-in-rehoboth/

Writing new songs in the van...

excellent, thanks

well they are recording an album at the gig... Thursday

all those deep cuts ment'd above in the touring repertoire

from 2008

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1X8P5nZiII

a magic moment from Tuesday night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z0P1hu1ljM

Yeah, watch Rico tumble over the amp around a minute or so in!

"I remember when I had my first pint, Eric."

i was looking elsewhere when that happened so it's nice to have video.

Sally Timms on her Facebook page: "One of the greatest moments in mekon history at 1.40, laughing till I cried."

i havent gotten deets on recordmaking gig last Thurs

You know what I've always wondered? Why a band composed of so many visual artists and artists in general is always light on t-shirts and such. They were selling tour posters at one of the gigs I went to, and it would have sucked as an ad in a free weekly.

http://www.nyctaper.com/2015/07/mekons-july-21-2015-bowery-ballroom-flacmp3streaming/

i still have an intact white-on-black tee w/ a Langford-distressed portrait of Patsy Cline.

(20+ years old)

Yeah, I've got a couple, too - just a plain Mekons on black, as well as a I Heart Mekons shirt. But I'm afraid to wear either anymore, since they are falling apart. Langford once gave my daughter a yellow kids Mekons shirt, but dunno what became of that ...

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/27/mekons-tour-diary-episode-three-where-we-please-everyone-by-playing-like-utter-bloody-garbage/

The opening band is called the UnGnomes (strangely healthy looking hardcore punks, average age 17) and they introduce their final song (possibly “Kill Rahm!”) by announcing that the old people will be up next. I accidentally channel too much punk spirit and mosh our accordion player Rico off the side of the stage during our 23rd encore. He is caught by our bass player’s wife and is undamaged, but this is a prelude of things to come!

UnGnomes is Langford's son Jimmy.

notes on the recording of the live record: http://killingthebreeze.com/mekons-this-is-what-punk-and-survival-look-like/. "The band repeatedly reminded us that they’d “never done this before,” and it soon became clear that they had never played many of the songs through before."

Nice piece. One of my favorite aspects of the Mekons is that almost every piece you read over-romaticizes and emphasizes the punk stuff so much that when neophytes finally hear the band, and hear stuff not totally unlike crossover Clash or the Pogues plus a bit of Johnny Cash (Langford's Waco Brothers were once ingeniously and accurately described as "part Cash, part Clash"), I can imagine them taken aback by the fun, hooks, relative accessibility. The pre-"Fear and Whiskey" stuff, sure, that's a mess, but almost everything since has been relatively straight forward and/or rousing.

couple of ex-ILXors were at the rekording

The pre-"Fear and Whiskey" stuff, sure, that's a messthe best

fixed this for u

It's both! A mess and ... well, I won't call it best at all, but it's great.

part the last

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/07/29/mekons-tour-diary-the-season-finale-mekonception-in-redhook/

man "psycho cupid" is a wholesale rip-off of "on some faraway beach" but I can find only one reference to this similarity on google??

new album on Nov. 27th RSD

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-robbie-fulks-and-cowpunkers-the-mekons-wild-beaten-and-broken-20151105

So there will be two new Mekons albums then? This collaboration with Fulks plus the one they recorded live in July in NY?

as I understand it, yes - this new one is news to me

Yeah, this isn't a Mekons album, per se, so much as some of them and Fulks as recorded in ... Scotland I think? The other album, recorded live in NYC, is a proper Mekons album.

http://www.npr.org/2015/11/10/454998315/songs-we-love-the-mekons-go-from-my-window

Lu Edmond's touring the US now with PIL again.

Debating seeing the min-Mekons on Fulks this weekend. Let's see if this pastes ...
https://video-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xtp1/v/t42.1790-2/10496296_310934385733849_360339034_n.mp4?efg=eyJybHIiOjc5NSwicmxhIjo1MTIsInZlbmNvZGVfdGFnIjoibGVnYWN5X3NkIn0%3D&rl=795&vabr=442&oh=29fb804280002972b2be023829a01900&oe=564E5B00

Have a copy of "Jura" I'll listen to tomorrow. In the meantime, show tonight was slight but fun. Jon, Sally, Rico and Robbie Fulks, the last of whom told stories of subbing for Tom on their Scottish sojourn, only to have Tom (who he did not know) show up and steal back the spotlight. Amusingly, Will Oldham was on hand tonight singing some backup on "Last Dance," meaning not one but two past or current Tom substitutes were performing.

I'd settle for that version coming to my locale

Just gave "Jura" a listen. It's pretty nice. Sort of the group (or parts of the group) at its most folky - strumming, droning harmonium/fiddle/accordion, harmonica, no drums, sea shanties and ditties, lots of nautical themes, a few lovely ballads. Fulks (though I am not usually a fan) gives it a novel (for the Mekons) musicality.

(To be clear, Tom ambushed the band during the recording, not last night.)

btw on 2nd viewing I am pretty sure i am dark but prominently left in a floor-level audience shot in the documentary for about 3 seconds (didn't note the timestamp)

really liked the short personal Lu Edmonds and Susue Honeyman scenes

There's a new Waco Brothers album coming in late February

yep---haven't had time to listen yet, but here's info:
https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/album/going-down-history

https://www.bloodshotrecords.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_large/public/BS233_cover_0.jpg?itok=gUMezGqR