Jet Blue. Best fly I've had in a long time. Baustin to Austin. Good leg room. Tolerable free snacks.
Got picked up in a stretch limo - we always travel on the
maximum stylization principal. We accept nothing less. (except the
next day when 4 of us were in the back seat of a Camry....).
A couple hours and sleep-delays later we played an internet
radio show for WOXY - we don't like that kind of thing much, but we're
told it's useful. Besides 3 of our own "songs", we played our version
of the Yardbirds' astounding "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", their
last hit, probably '66. What's most remarkable about this song is that
it is 150% psychedelic, yet by referring to Clairvoyants and
memory/sleep, it side-steps the actual use of psychedelic drugs. A
very natural Burma cover.
We cut the interview portion as short as possible to make sure
we caught The Jesus Lizard. Rockabilly meets King Crimson with Capt.
Beefheart ranting stories. Or..... Led Zeppelin meets the Birthday
Party. Or..... I could add another 501 comparisons, but you gotta give
up and realize the more influences buried in there, the less each one
weighs. At that point one just yelps: "They sound just like The Jesus
Lizard"!
On the first beat Yow hurled himself into the audience and sang
the entire first song on his back, held up by crazies. "Hello Dallas!"
Guitarist Duane D. looked identical to Jimmy's dentist and their bass
man looked like he'd kill the goddam dentist if he even went near his
teeth. As the sound swirled and crystalized, the rain started pouring
down. We were warned that Barton Creek may flood, but no one prepared
us for the influx of fetid animals crawling up the slippery grassy
slope. Girls screaming with their legs covered with water-bugs, and
our hands were useless in batting away hysterical birds and bats
buffeted by the wind. Over the water skipped these insane lizards. Oh
my god, those are The Jesus Lizards! The entire festival was shut down
early, and we were glad to just get the fuck out of there and back to
our hotel beds. An auspicious beginning for our short tour of duty.
RM