words & photos by Keith Marlowe

Scratch Acid @ Webster Hall

In lieu of a review of Monday night's Scratch Acid show at Webster Hall, their first NYC show in many, many years, writer/photographer Keith Marlowe presents this open letter to the band's frontman:

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Dear David Yow,

I love you. I've always loved you. I've never felt about other singers the way I feel about you. You gave me "HEAD" with the Jesus Lizard, and I want to return the favor. I want to marry you and have your babies. We both hit the sauce hard, so they would probably be all crazy and hideous, with foreheads so huge we could attach windshield wipers. If we ever got bored with our deformed skull babies, we could give them to some shitty no-talent shock-rock band like Slipknot to use as stage props. Or NAMBLA. I don't care, really. Do you think any of the dudes in NAMBLA have fetal-alcohol-syndrome fetishes? Let's find out together.

I wouldn't expect you to be monogamous, because I figure you treat lovers like you do bands. You've been in long-term relationships with Scratch Acid, the Jesus Lizard, Qui, and had one night-stands with the Melvins, Helmet, Shellac and Cop Shoot Cop, among others. I've caught you numerous times when you've flung your body violently into the audience, so you can trust me to catch you during tough emotional times too. I'll always be there for you, no matter what kind of project you're involved with, even that western you acted in starring the Insane Clown Posse.

It's not just about your music either. I'm very physically attracted to you. I've seen your dick a bunch of times over the years, and I think it's super hot. You make great art too, and if the money ever ran out we could live off all the free booze and cheese at your openings, like the one you just had at the Fuse Gallery right here in NYC.

I love you David, and I hope that someday, you'll love me back. Because that would be the "Greatest Gift" of all.

Yours truly,
Keith

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Noveller, who has opened for Jesus Lizard in the past, was added as a last minute opener to the NYC show. More pictures and the setlist, below...

Continue reading "Scratch Acid played Webster Hall (pics, setlist & an open letter to David Yow)"

Sorry for all the Scratch Acid posts in a 24 hour period, but as someone pointed out, David Yow updated their upcoming dates again, and this time they contain Mon 11/7 Webster Hall, NYC, NY. Stay tuned for ticket info. Updated tour dates below...

Continue reading "UPDATE: Scratch Acid playing Webster Hall in NYC"

Atlanta is in fact the first date so far, but not the only North American date anymore. David Yow has revealed another 7 Scratch Acid dates, including LA, Chicago, Toronto, and DC. No NYC yet, but stay tuned UPDATE: NYC announced. All announced dates below...

Continue reading "more Scratch Acid tour dates announced"

by BBG

David Yow with Jesus Lizard at Irving Plaza (more by Lori Baily)

No offense to the enigmatic frontman of The Jesus Lizard, etc, but the first thought that comes to mind when thinking of the sweaty high-octane vocals of David Yow isn't fine art. Yet the great vocalist will showcase his fascinating work at "GLASS GAS MASK", his solo art show that opens at Fuse Gallery in NYC TONIGHT (8/24) with an opening reception at 7PM. The exhibition runs through September 21st.

Working both digitally and by hand, artist and musician David Yow produces a body of work that has a keen compositional sensibility often combined with a dark sense of humor. He utilizes design elements of line, texture, and shape in conjunction with found images and objects to enhance, alter and create graphically bold imagery with an edge. In his digital works, Yow delineates images to exaggerate an emotion to absurdity; and in the paintings, he integrates acrylic, collage, charcoal, pencil, spit, hair, crayon, wood, etc. to craft a deviant somewhat biomorphic creation, that is, or was, living - whatever it is, is very difficult to discern.

While having an illustrious music career in the bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard, David Yow also has a long time passion for visual art. In his pre-punk college years, David completely submerged himself in painting and drawing, but music soon emerged as a form of creative expression he couldn't resist. He has recently returned to art-making. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally in Berlin, Los Angeles and New York.

Despite being previously featured in other exhibitions in the NYC area, tonight is Yow's first solo venture in our fair city. Preview some more of his work at his website.

In other David Yow news, we previously mentioned that Scratch Acid are getting back together to play ATP in Minehead this fall and other US dates TBA. Still no word on those.

Continue reading "David Yow art exhibition opening @ Fuse Gallery (tonight)"

photos by Lori Baily

"How can it be that in the wake of the ten year absence of this band, there's really yet to be a front man as captivating, ferocious, unnerving and entertaining? Sure there's Matt Korvette of PISSED JEANS and Eugene from OXBOW as current torch bearers, and I'm not sure that the world needs another GG Allin. Actually, scratch that...I am sure we don't need another GG. But those bands can't hold a 5W bulb to the music of the Jesus Lizard, and Yow's the propellant that gets it all going. He spent probably as much time in/on the crowd as on stage, and never missed a note while singing propped up by the hands of strangers. Highlights? Truly, there were no lulls. How can there be when you've got the mutated hybrid of "Chrome" coming at you, or the manic "Bloody Mary," or the insistent throbbing of "Gladiator"?" [Big Takeover]

The Jesus Lizard came to town. Night one pictures and discussion HERE. Night two setlist picture and more discussion HERE. Pictures from when they played a show on Halloween HERE. A whole bunch of pictures from the secomd night at Irving Plaza (11/17), with opener Noveller (aka Sarah Lipstate who also plays in Parts & Labor), below...

Continue reading "Jesus Lizard & Noveller @ Irving Plaza (night 2) in NYC - pics "

Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin - Nov 7, 2009 (by Chad Wadsworth)

There have been plenty of chances to catch The Jesus Lizard since they reunited. They've played Europe and a bunch of festivals. They played the Pitchfork Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fun Fest, and even ATP NY just a short drive north of the city. They even played in NYC on Halloween at a Vice party. They have not however yet played a completely public show as a reunited band in NYC. That is until tonight, 11/16, at Irving Plaza with Skeleton Key (and tomorrow at the same venue with Noveller). Tickets are still available for both shows (though only a "handful" left for tonight at the door).

If you stand close to the stage, be ready to catch David Yow. He is known to jump the second they hit the stage. Above picture from Day One of Fun Fun Fun Fest. Video and all dates below...

Continue reading "Jesus Lizard are here! See David Yow jump (at Irving Plaza Monday & Tuesday night) (and other tour dates) "

photos by Tim Griffin

David Yow rides the crowd as beer flies

Titus Andronicus drama aside for a second, I was worried that the "party" crowd wouldn't be a good audience for the Jesus Lizard and Bad Brains. But as security pointed out, the audience very much treated the show like the "concert" it was. It got crazy for Jesus Lizard, energetic front-man David Yow included...

"The Jesus Lizard performed a ferocious set, with singer David Yow crowd diving and singing noise rock anthems while sweaty hands held him aloft. Meanwhile, the line outside on North 10th Street snaked around the block, as hundreds of costumed revelers waited in the rain to get inside." [The Wall Street Journal???]

The crowd was ferocious too, but ironically they were 10 times more ferocious for Bad Brains whose front-man just stood there in a white hoodie. Luckily for security (who after a few songs of frustration just let the show be), Bad Brains played a lot of reggae jams. That kept it relatively calm. Bad Brains setlist below. The Jesus Lizard will be back for two more NYC shows later this month.

The bands played upstairs in the two-level warehouse on North 10th Street between Berry and Wythe. Downstairs, and between bands, there were DJs. I was especially appreciative of all the classic 90's techno hits (at the 1994-themed party). The music mixed with the warehouse location, lights, and smoke machines probably made the Vice event more Maskarave than the actual Maskarave happening across the river. That felt especially true late night, after Bad Brains which was when the majority of the crowd left (and they weren't letting anyone else in). I don't know a lot of song names, but Moby's "Thousand", Josh Wink's "Don't Laugh", and "Percolator" were at least three of the more popular ones I remember hearing during the DJ sets from Dave 1 from Chromeo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Nick Catchdubs, Rub-N-Tug, and/or Blu Jemz. Earlier in night there was also lots of classic hip hop, sometimes accompanied with the song's video.

As promised, there was a skate ramp with skaters too (and all the alcohol was free) (I wish they had more porta potties though). More pictures below...

Continue reading "Jesus Lizard & Bad Brains @ Vice's Halloween Party - pics"

photos by Ryan Muir

Make Major Moves: When we've talked in the past, I remember you saying that there was no way the Jesus Lizard would ever reunite -- mostly because you didn't think [drummer] Mac [McNeilly] would do it. And you said the same thing about Scratch Acid, and then Scratch Acid did that little reunion in '06...

David Yow: Well, I think that doing the Scratch Acid thing helped me learn to quit saying never, because I used to say never all the time and I think that it's bitten me in the ass a few times and made me look kinda foolish. I'm not even certain how this came about. I guess [guitarist] Duane [Denison] had played with Mike Patton, and Mike was curating All Tomorrow's Parties in England and he asked Duane if we could get our shit together to play ATP. So there was e-mail going around and stuff...and Mac said he was into it, but there wasn't time from the point that Mac said okay until the ATP thing, so we just kinda blew it off. And then Touch & Go started talking about wanting to do these reissues [of the first four Jesus Lizard albums] with all this extra stuff and we thought, "Well, what the fuck? Okay, let's do some shows." And originally it was just gonna be like three or four shows and it's built up into a total of 35 or 40.

The Jesus Lizard headlined the first night of the ATP festival at Kutscher's in Monticello, NY last night (9/11). More about their set shortly. More pictures from it below...

Continue reading "The Jesus Lizard @ ATP NY 2009 - pics "

The Jesus Lizard @ the primavera festival - May 2009 (Miss Rosa)

"Touch & Go Records is going to reissue the Pure EP and the albums Head, Goat, Liar, and Down on September 22, 2009. These records have been remastered and sound noticeably better than the original releases. All of the albums will include songs from the 7' singles and other rarities as bonus tracks." [David Wm. Sims]

More Jesus Lizard dates have been confirmed, and as hoped, but expected, there are shows in NYC (2 of them!). Slightly unexpected is that those city shows will come over two months after the band make an appearance further upstate at the ATP festival (which is a month after they play a show for Pitchfork in Chicago).

The NYC shows are November 16th and 17th at Irving Plaza. Tickets for the first one go on sale Friday, June 19th, at noon. The second is isn't listed at Live Nation yet. The Jesus Lizard are also playing the 9:30 Club in DC on November 19th. All dates and reissue track lists, below...

Continue reading "The Jesus Lizard - reissues & 2009 tour dates (2 NYC shows!)"

DOWNLOAD: Qui - Prison Braid (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Qui - I Love You (AIFF)

The Jesus Lizard's David Yow @ ATP UK 5/10/09 (Terekhova)

The Jesus Lizard: How a man nearing 50 can possess more energy than entire bands made up of younger souls is beyond us, but David Yow was never less than possessed during the legendary grungers' brace of Centre Stage sets on Saturday [5/9] and Sunday... 'Puss', 'Gladiator' and more were rocked out to for the first time since their break up in 1999. [Clash Music]

The Jesus Lizard, who reformed to play two ATP UK shows on May 9th and 10th, will keep the reunion going with shows scheduled through the fall. Those dates include Primavera Sound on May 28th, Pitchfork Festival on July 17th, Seattle's Capitol Hill Block Party on July 24th, ATP NY on September 11th and more (though still no NYC). They're also one of the first bands to confirm for the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin on November 7th and 8th.

Singer David Yow's other band, Qui, played ATP UK too. For that appearance, the band released a limited-edition 7-inch, The Little Golden Blanket, on Infrasonic Sound. The 7-inch's two tracks, posted above, are from a forthcoming Qui LP, due in late 2009. Check 'em out.

Videos of The Jesus Lizard at ATP UK (with examples of David Yow's prodigious stagediving skills) and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "the Jesus Lizard played ATP, playing Fun Fun Fun Fest - reunion continues (all dates) ++ new Qui songs (MP3)"

As fun as a good old reunion can be, it’s a deeper pleasure when longtime collaborators repurpose their energies. Chicago’s Miracle Condition features guitarist Mark Shippy and drummer Pat Samson, formerly of U.S. Maple, one of the most genuinely peculiar bands of the ’90s. While that outfit plied slinky, queasy noise rock, this trio favors tranced-out beauty. Shippy’s penchant for creepy dissonance remains, but he and fellow guitarist-singer Matt Carson stretch out over Samson’s loose-limbed vamps, yielding dreamlike yet ominous textures. Likely to amplify those moods are Miracle Condition’s collaborators for its first local shows: ambient sound artist Jeffrey M. Robinson and former Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow. The latter seemed restless at a recent gig by his new band, Qui, but it’s hard to imagine him not drawing inspiration from players as poised and eccentric as these. —Hank Shteamer

Miracle Condition, David Yow, J Robinson
Jan. 26th @ Glasslands Gallery
Jan. 27th @ Union Pool (w/ Stars Like Fleas)