On June 16th, 1988, the Henry Rollins Band returned to Maxwell’s a little more than a year after their last performance there in May of 1987. By this point, the band had released their debut album, Life Time, which was produced by childhood friend Ian MacKaye. The band played really fucking loud at this show, so watch the volume levels.
On June 13th, 1996, Screaming Trees played at the Trocadero in Philadelphia! Screaming Trees emerged out Seattle in the late 1980s amongst fellow grunge pioneers Mudhoney, The Melvins, Soundgarden, and Green River, releasing their first four albums on SST Records before jumping to major label Epic Records in the 1990s.
In 1996, the band released their final studio album, “Dust.” Following this tour, the band went on hiatus for frontman Mark Lanegan to begin work on his third solo album, “Scraps At Midnight,” which was released in 1998. Thereafter, the band recorded a few demos in 1999 for their next studio album. However, the band ultimately disbanded in 2000.
On June 8th, 1996, Cows played at CBGB’s! Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cows were a post-hardcore/noise rock band known for their infamously raucous live performances. After forming in 1987, the band released a whopping nine studio albums before disbanding in 1998. Right around the time of this show, the band released their penultimate LP, Whorn. In an attempt to capture their notorious live performances, Cows recorded the entire album in a “live sound” style, playing together as a whole band instead of recording their parts individually. After breaking up in 1998, front-person Shannon Selberg went on to front The Heroine Sheiks.
On June 3rd, 1988, Die Kreuzen played at Maxwell’s! The Milwaukee band was touring in support of their third studio album, "Century Days.” which was released in July of 1988 on Touch and Go Records. After working with Corey Rusk on their first two full lengths, the band hired Butch Vig to produced “Century Days.” He’d also produce their next EP, “Gone Away,” and their final LP, “Cement.”
On June 2nd, 1986, a Japanese television crew filmed a live performance of The Feelies at Maxwell's. Unfortunately, the VHS was quite moldy, so the video quality is poor. However, I wanted to digitize it in its current state before I made any attempt to clean it. The documentary includes film of the band performing, but also shots of the crowd and other random stuff, like the exterior of Maxwell's and the interior of the front room. It also includes interviews with owner Steve Fallon and the band!
On May 25th, 1990, Lunachicks played at CBGB’s! This New York City punk rock band originally formed in 1988, when Theo Kogan Gina Volpe, and Sydney "Squid" Silver were students at New York City's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. The group gained the attention of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth after seeing the band perform. Through their efforts, the band landed them a deal on Blast First. The group released their debut full length, Babysitter on Acid, in 1990. The band would go on to release another five LPs before disbanding in 2000.
On May 3rd, 1988, Rollins Band played at Maxwell’s! Shortly after the breakup of Black Flag in 1986, Henry Rollins began formed Rollins Band with guitarist Chris Haskett, bassist Andrew Weiss, and drummer Sim Cain. Live sound engineer Theo Van Rock was also usually credited as a band member. The band released their first album, Life Time, in 1987. This tape also includes what appears to be a sound check, but it’s at the end of the tape!
On April 29th, 1985, Jim Carroll performed at The Bottom Line! Jim Carroll wore many hats throughout his career, but he is best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries and for his poetry. On this night at the Bottom Line, Carroll read a series of original poems. The Bottom Line was a major performance space in the Greenwich Village from 1974 until its closing in 2004. It hosted performances from Eric Clapton, Carl Perkins, Linda Ronstadt, The Police, Prince, Pat Benatar, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Van Morrison, The Stone Poneys, Chuck Mangione, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, Barry Manilow, Dire Straits, Grayson Hugh, Dolly Parton, George Jones, The Pointer Sisters, Ravi Shankar, Ramones, The Brecker Brothers, Gato Barbieri, and Miles Davis. Lou Reed and Bruce Springsteen performed at The Bottom Line on many occasions. Lou Reed recorded his live album, Take No Prisoners , in May 1978 at The Bottom Line.
On this day 20 years ago, D-Generation played at Coney Island High. This was the band’s final performance before reuniting over a decade later in 2011. In February 1999, the band released their third studio album, Through The Darkness, which was produced by Tony Visconti.
Thanks, Jack Silbert for noting that singer Jesse Malin owed the club, and unfortunately, Coney Island High closed a few months later due to financial issues.
Subsequent to the band’s first breakup in 1999, frontman Jesse Marlin and Joe Rizzo formed the band PCP Highway with guitarist Esko Poldvere. The band recorded a number of demo tracks and toured the east coast of the United States in the early aughts.
On April 20th, 1989, Firehose played at Maxwell’s! Last year, The Mckenzie Tapes shared Firehose’s late set from this date in 1989, and now we’re pleased to share the early set! Mike Watt dedicated the set to Bob Mould. Later in 1989, Firehose would release their third album, Fromohio.
Set list (courtesy of Jerry Schumacher):
Under The Influence Of Meat Puppets {…into},
It Matters, 3.
Operation Solitaire
Time With You,
Whisperin' While Hollerin',
Backroads
Chemical Wire,
For The Singer Of R.E.M
Riddle Of The Eighties
Honey, Please,
In My Mind
From One Cums One
Some Things
If'n,
Me & You, Remembering
On April 15th, 1984, Elvis Costello played at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. This set is an acoustic solo set and features stripped down versions of some of Elvis’ best stuff, inlcuding “The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes,” “Green Shirt,” “Lip Service,” and “Allison.”
On April 10th, 1986, Gone and Painted Willie played at Maxwell’s! Greg Ginn originally formed Gone as a Black Flag side project in late 1985 with bassist Andrew Weiss and drummer Sim Cain. The trio released their first album, Let's Get Real, Real Gone For A Change, in 1986 on Ginn's SST Records label and embarked on a six-month tour opening for Black Flag. At the time, Ginn was still playing with Black Flag. On a typical day during the tour, Gone would perform one set at an in-store appearance, then go down to the venue where Black Flag were headlining, set up, and open the show. Ginn's only break in the evening would be when the second opening band, Painted Willie, performed.
Whoa! As it turns out, 1987 was a leap year! On the leap day of February 29th, Richard Lloyd played at Maxwell’s! Lloyd, who was originally a guitar player in the seminal New York City proto-punk band Television, began a solo career in 1978 after the first dissolution of Television. He went on to release two solo albums prior to this gig, Alchemy in 1979 and Field of Fire in 1985. In 1987, Lloyd released his third solo album, Real Time! Enjoy this very excellent sound Maxwell’s tape!
On February 23rd, 1986, Fields of the Nephlim played at the Cat Club! The goth-rock groujp formed a mere two years prior to this performance in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The band's name refers to a Biblical race of giants or angel-human hybrids, known as the Nephilim. This is the third tape in the Mckenzie Tape collection that documents a performance at the legendary Cat Club. These gigs took place shortly after this performance by Field of Nephilim - Hoboken’s The Bongos played at the club in May 1986 and Big Black performance there in August of 1987.
On February 19th, 1986, The Lyres played at Folk City! In 1986, the Boston-area garage rock band released their second album, Lyres Lyres, on Ace of Hearts. Led by Jeff Conolly, the band remained active throughout the 1980s. Folk City was a legendary venue in Manhattan’s West Village, hosting many great acts during the 1980s, including Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, the Replacements, 10,000 Maniacs, and many others!
On February 15th, 1986, Johnny Thunders played at Irving Plaza! In 1985, the former member of the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers released Que Sera Sera, a collection of new songs with his then band The Black Cats, and "Crawfish", a duet with former Snatch vocalist Patti Palladin. According to my research, this tour was originally scheduled for late 1985, but was rescheduled to start on February 13th, 1986 in Philadelphia. I haven’t listened to the tape the whole way through yet, but Thunders is apparently joined by James Brown's horn section towards the end of the show.
Set list:
Blame It On Mom
M.I.A.
Little Bit Of Whore
Too Much Junkie Bizness
I Can Tell
Personality Crisis
14th St. Beat
Joey Joey
I Only Wrote This Song For You
You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory
Cool Operator
Bright Lights Big City
Gloria
Help Me
Help Me (Conclusion)
Give Her A Great Big Kiss
In The Midnight Hour
Don't You Just Know It
Don't Mess With Cupid
Stepping Stone
Pipeline
Hoochie Coochie Man
On February 9th, 1991, Gumball played at CBGB’s! Gumball originally formed in 1990 with Don Fleming on lead vocals and guitar, Eric Vermillion on bass, and Jay Spiegel on drums. The fall of 1990 found Gumball in the studio, and their first release came out shortly thereafter on the Paperhouse/Sire label in England. The release was a 12 inch EP with the songs "All the Time"/"Yellow Pants"/"Gettysburg". Shortly after their formation, Gumball signed with NYC's Caroline Records. They recorded and released the album Special Kiss in 1991 and subsequently toured with Mudhoney, and Sonic Youth
On February 1st, 1987, Henry Rollins appeared on KCR Radio. The former Black Flag frontman performed some of his spoken word poetry live on the air and also answered some questions.
On January 31st, 1987, Pussy Galore played at Maxwell’s in support of The Leaving Trains. That’s right! One of the very first tapes posted as part of The Mckenzie Tapes collection was a rousing performance by The Leaving Trains at Maxwell’s on January 31st, 1987. Guess what? It was the very same gig! It was a memorable performance, and one of my personal favorites, as Dave also documented the night with several original photos. Now, exactly one year later, you can enjoy this January 31st, 1987 Maxwell’s gig in its entirety, as this fantastic recording of Pussy Galore’s opening set is now seeing the light of day!
Later in 1987, Pussy Galore would release their second LP, Right Now!, on Caroline Records. In 1986, the band released an entire cover album of The Rolling Stones’ “Exile On Main Street” on limited edition cassette.
On January 13th, 1978, the Sex Pistols appeared on KSAN Radio! In 1978, the Sex Pistols hopped across the pond for what would be their first and only U.S. tour. The very next night, the group performed their last show of their original run at the Winterland in San Francisco. This much-hyped, sold-out swansong was simulcast over KSAN-FM radio. The evening kicked off with sets by two of San Francisco's finest of the era, the Avengers and the Nuns (which included Alejandro Escovedo).