On May 3, 1986, Mojo Nixon and Skip Roper brought their psychobilly jams to Maxwell's! The two paired off in the early 1980s in San Diego. Roper mostly The two released their first album in 1985 on Enigma Records, "Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper." There's a whole bunch of back and forth banter between the crowd and Mojo/Skip in this tape!
On May 2, 1997, the Jayhawks played at Irving Plaza! The group was touring in support of their fourth studio album, "Sound of Lies," which was released on April 22, 1997. Check out that Chris Bell cover to round out the set!
Their latest album, Paging Mr. Proust, was produced in Portland with Peter Buck and Tucker Martine. The group also served as Ray Davies' backing band for his April 2017 release, "Americana."
Celebrate Brooklyn! just announced that the Jayhawks will be headlining a concert at Prospect Park on June 16. Mandolin Orange and Parsonfield are also playing!
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On May 1, 1999, the "punk poet laureate," Patti Smith, played with her band at the Bowery Ballroom! This would be Smith's seventh of many appearances at the lower east side venue, as in 1998, she began a string of New Year's Eve performances that lasted until 2012. The Bowery Ballroom began hosting concerts in 1998, so Patti played a whopping seven gigs at the joint in it's very short existence!!!
On April 30, 1989, Bob Mould played his first ever post-Husker Du solo gig at Maxwell's. Wow! He enlisted a backing band of some of the area's finest, including Anton Fier on drums, Chris Stamey on guitar, and Tony Maimone on bass. Bob Mould had just released his debut solo album, "Workbook," and would spend the remainder of 1989 touring the United States. He even made his way back to Maxwell's in December of that year!
Bob Mould was very fond of Maxwell's, as his various projects played countless gigs there over the course of 30+ years. When Maxwell's closed in 2013, he remarked to Vulture magazine:
Maxwell's is sort of my CBGB. For R.E.M., the Feelies, the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, all the bands of that era — that was our room. Bear in mind, I never played CBGB. In early ’85, I called up and tried to get a gig there. They were like, "Never heard of you." Really? You didn't hear Zen Arcade or New Day Rising? Maybe you should go read The Village Voice or something.
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On April 26, 1987, Tom Verlaine played at the Ritz! He played a bunch of songs from his 1987 album, "Flash Light" and threw in some Television classics to round out the set. His band at this point in time consisted of Jimmy Ripp, Fred Smith, and Jay Dee Daughterty. That's straight fire!! The apex is the freeform coda to an 18+ minute “Kingdom Come” wherein the quartet simulate a cacophonous train wreck!
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On April 25, 1991, the Butthole Surfers played at the Marquee! The group was touring in support of their fifth studio album, "piouhgd," which was released in February 1991 on Rough Trade.
On April 25, 1992, Henry Rollins and his band played a raucous set at CBGB'S! Although it's not included in the recording, Tool get the festivities going as the opening act. The group was touring in support of their 1992 double album, "The End Of Silence."
On April 25, 1998, Nashville Pussy and Gaunt played at Coney Island High! Following the initial 1997 breakup of Kentucky covpunk band Nine Pound Hammer, guitarist Blaine Cartwright formed Nashville Pussy where he would take up vocal duties in addition to guitar. The band remains active, most recently releasing "Up The Dosage" in 2014.
Gaunt was a pop-punk band from Columbus, Ohio, who released five full length albums before breaking up shortly after this gig.
On April 24, 1987, Sonic Youth played a second consecutive night a Maxwell's! On the 24th, Dinosaur opened - this is before they added the "Jr.!" The group essentially played an identical set from the previous night, containing exclusively song from their upcoming fourth LP, "Sister," which was released in June 1987. Sister was partly inspired by the life and works of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (the "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth, and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life). Sister was also the first Sonic Youth album to crack the Top 20 of the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll.
On April 24, 1997, Son Volt played at Irving Plaza. The group had just released their second studio album, "Straightaways," two days earlier and were uber pumped to play songs from their new record! Jay Farrar even threw in some cover songs of his old band, Uncle Tupelo, for good measure!
The New York Times did a nice write up of the show in their April 26, 1997 edition. Neil Strauss wrote:
Son Volt's newer songs, like those of Mr. Buckner, were more moody and impressionistic than structured, with sweeps of pedal-steel guitar, banjo and fiddle. This sometimes led to monotony, especially since the band grouped all of its upbeat songs together near the end of the show and saved its shimmering guitar solos for the encore. But it all seemed strategical: As the band sang in its new song, ''Picking Up the Signal,'' it is ''turning away from faster/down-shifting low.''
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On April 23, 1987, Sonic Youth played the first of two nights at Maxwell's. The group debuted never before heard material from their upcoming fourth LP, "Sister," which was released in June 1987. Sister was partly inspired by the life and works of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (the "sister" of the title was Dick's fraternal twin, who died shortly after her birth, and whose memory haunted Dick his entire life). Sister was also the first Sonic Youth album to crack the Top 20 of the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll.
On April 23, 1988, Firehose followed up their excellent Maxwell's show with a great gig at CBGB's!
On April 22, 1989, Living Colour played one of the first ever gigs at the newly re-located Ritz. In April 1989, the venue relocated from it's original location on 11th street to to the site of the former Studio 54 on West 54th Street.
This gig was broadcast of 102.7 WNEW - you can hear the station ID at the top! Living Colour rose to fame with their debut album Vivid in 1988. A few month after this performance, they were named Best New Artist at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards and won their second Grammy Award for their follow-up album Time's Up. Additionally, the group would tour with the Rolling Stones in 1989!
On April 21, 1988, Dag Nasty played at Maxwell's! The Washington D.C. group had just released their third LP, "Field Day," in February of 1988 - their first on Giant Records and their second with vocalist Peter Cortner. Dag Nasty actually just came through the NYC area recently, including appearances in Brooklyn at Brooklyn Bazaar and at Crossroads in Garwood, NJ.
On April 20, 1989, Firehose pulled through Hoboken, New Jersey for two shows at Maxwell's. This tape captures the late show, which was a rocking one as the band shredded late into April 21, 1989! The group would release their 3rd studio album, "FromOHIO" in October 1989.
On April 18, 1998, Elephant Six Collective superstars, Apples in Stereo, played at Tramps! The group mostly played songs from their 1995 debut, "Fun Trick Noisemaker," and their second LP (my personal favorite), "Tone Soul Evolution!"
I miss this band a lot. They remind me of my college days - back then I was heavily into Elephant Six bands. Oh, I also recently read that frontman Robert Schneider put the project on hiatus to pursue a career as a mathematician. Sad face. Enjoy!
On April 16, 1987, The Stranglers appeared at The Ritz. The group had just released their 9th album, "Dreamtime" in October 1986. This would wind up being the only Stranglers album to chart in the U.S.
On April 11, 1987, Hüsker Dü played at Maxwell's! This show kicked off a three night stand that included April 12th and 13th gigs at Irving Plaza. Interestingly, this show was not listed on the Maxwell's flier. As you can see below, the show is listed as "Closed For Renovations!"
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On April 11, 1987, Syndney Australia's Celibate Rifles ventured all the way to Hoboken to play at Maxwell's! As a venue, Maxwell's was ahead of the curve when it came to booking up and coming acts from down under - including New Zealand. The local record shop, Pier Platters, had an extensive stock of Australian and New Zealand imports, which kept the demand for live performances from down under bands quite high! Celibate Rifles. The Celibate Rifles played a great 45 minute set to the satisfaction of all in attendance!
On April 10, 1986, Black Flag played one of their last NYC-area shows at Maxwell's. According to Henry's intro, the band was unfortunately involved in a minor car accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the band's PA system and amps were damaged. The photo below is an original taken by Dave McKenzie!
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