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Posted in music | pictures on June 16, 2008
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics (night 1)
photos by Lori Baily
Mission of Burma took the stage and singer bassist Clint Conley exclaimed "Let's get this out of the way . . . [opener] Neptune kicked our asses!" They launched into a few old tunes to warm up then busted into their 1981 EP Signals, Calls, and Marches. Highlights included "Academy Fight Song," "Max Ernst," and of course the highly covered "That's when I reach for my revolver." Roger Miller rocked like a twenty year old punker using some crazy custom pedals, which made his guitar screech and wail along side of Bob Weston's tape manipulations and Peter Prescott's precision drumming. The band had the crowd jumping up and down and signing along with all the tunes off Signals, Calls, and Marches. [kevchino]Mission of Burma played through full albums twice this weekend at Bowery Ballroom. More pictures from night one (June 14, 2008) below....
In the decades following their demise, Burma's reputation grew to nearly legendary proportions. Contemporary music critics point to their work as a pivotal turning point in North American independent music. Many bands have cited Burma as an inspiration, including Nirvana, Superchunk, Jawbox, The Grifters, R.E.M. (who regularly covered "Academy Fight Song" on their Green tour), Sonic Youth, Drive Like Jehu, Throwing Muses, Yo La Tengo, Fugazi, Pixies, Sugar, Guided by Voices, Catherine Wheel, Graham Coxon, Pegboy and Moby - the last four of which have covered Conley's "That's When I Reach For My Revolver." It should be noted here that when Moby covered the song for an MTV video, he changed the lyrics to "That's when I realize it's over." When questioned why, Moby responded that he did not want to promote gun violence. [Wikipedia]Michael Stipe gave a shout-out to Mission of Burma at R.E.M.'s Boston show on Friday.
Posted on June 16, 2008 11:21 AM
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Comments (13)
Thanks for the pix of a truly awe inspiring band. Vs. will always be on my top 5 record list.
Posted by I Bust Sic Disco | June 16, 2008 11:32 AM
i saw them last night with Vs. i picked up a cheap ticket on craigslist and strolled in by myself at 10. they absolutely were amazing. just a totally tight band. i love Vs. but never appreciated it as much til i heard it live.
very very impressed.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 11:36 AM
how cool is Lori Baily? fucking amazing.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 11:48 AM
saturday night was a great show. they really continue to blow most contemporary bands away in my book.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 12:45 PM
that was one of the best shows i've been to. the band was great and the crowd was the best i've been around at bowery.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 1:17 PM
basically they came out last night and schooled every band I've seen in the last three years, except maybe Sonic Youth. so awesome to see a band in control of their songs and the stage. in fucking credible.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 2:15 PM
I'm not sure who was more appreciative, the audience or the band. Very humble guys, considering how great they played.
Encored with Max Ernst and Academy Fight Song too.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 2:29 PM
These were amazing shows - I am glad both of them were near or at capacity because they weren't sold out before the weekend.
I saw someone on the balcony taping both nights - any clue who that was or how to get it? I don't think it was nyctaper because he/she didn't mention going to the show on his site...
Posted by litigioushipster | June 16, 2008 4:29 PM
Neptune rules.
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 5:00 PM
Neptune was fucking amazing.
So much love for Burma though, it was pure love for the band. Between them and Swervedriver last week, they just completely rocked NYC. Shows what real bands can do. The rest are just amateurs.
Posted by JUGGERNAUTridesagain | June 16, 2008 9:05 PM
Saw both nights in Boston. Both nights were great, but the second night with Vs. was AMAZING.
I love that they're one of the loudest bands around still!
Posted by Anonymous | June 16, 2008 11:50 PM
incredible show. i think new nails was the highlight for me, but it was all good. roger had a really nice solo in einstein's day.
funny watching from the balcony as that one guy tried to mosh through the first half of the show. looked like he got an ear full from a few people.
Posted by nate | June 17, 2008 11:21 AM
NEPTUNE!
Someone sign this band!
Posted by sam | June 18, 2008 5:05 PM