Had a good work week, and followed that quickly with dinner/drinks with a friend on Friday. Later that night I went to a weekly event at Lee's Palace called Biff! Bang! Pow! OK, it's named after a song by The Creation, that's promising. And it's described as mod/soul/indie rock. Even better, I thought. And... they played tunes such as "Don't You Want Me" by Human League and "Play That Funky Music" by whichever band graced this earth with that tune. Not exactly what I was expecting. I was there a little over an hour, and the only song really fit for a mod/soul night was "Heat Wave" by Martha & the Vandellas. Ah well, maybe I can DJ again somewhere.
On Wednesday, after a basketball victory (finally) and in the midst of a snowstorm, I went to said Lee's Palace to see From The Jam, which consists of 2/3 of The Jam, AKA the 2/3 not named Paul Weller--Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton. They're on top form, as are their hired gun guitarists/singers. They opened with "In The City" and "This Is The Modern World," and went on to play a fantastic set. Besides obvious choices like "Town Called Malice" and "Eton Rifles," they also played covers by The Kinks ("David Watts") and The Who ("So Sad About Us"). Alas, no "Beat Surrender." The crowd loved the set, too, and it made for a great night.
Here's The Jam near the end of their existence with a different cover, "Move On Up" by the late, great Curtis Mayfield:
I dug out my DVD of The Rolling Stones Rock 'N' Roll Circus this weekend, which was filmed in 1968 but not released until the 90s. It has some interesting performances, but it's painful to watch an out-of-it Brian Jones in his last public appearance with the Stones. I was reminded of this promo clip (from when only a few bands were starting to do promo clips) of "We Love You," reflecting the drug arrests that Mick, Keef and Brian had recently experienced. Brian was fast drugging and alienating his way out of the band he'd formed and named, which is pretty obvious considering the clips of him that Mick and Keef put in the video. He was off his head on quaaludes, a downer. It's a quirky song that features Brian with a weirdo Mellotron part and a great piano riff from session man Nicky Hopkins. Notice Marianne Faithfull's appearance as well:
I've always liked Brian Jones, for a bunch of reasons. First and foremost, of course, he founded The Rolling Stones. Also, I admire versatility in others, especially musicians, and Jones could play almost anything. He was a great slide guitar player, and taught Mick how to play harmonica. When he got bored with guitar, he'd find new things to play. This would grow to include sitar ("Paint It, Black"), marimba ("Under My Thumb"), dulcimer and harpsichord ("Lady Jane"), recorder ("Ruby Tuesday"), and the list goes on. He managed to play a saxophone part on a Beatles B side. Now, he was known for being a bit of a jerk, which got worse as he became a hopeless drug addict, but I must admit that another factor in my appreciation of him is that he's the only well-known musician to whom I bear some resemblance, according to others. Mind you, I hope that's based more on the mid-60s Brian Jones than on the version in the video above! Last but not least, the odd but intriguing modern band The Brian Jonestown Massacre combine his name with the final act of the Jim Jones-led death cult...
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