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Rating: To understand Tav Falco, it's useful to start with an anecdote passed down by a frightened Lux Interior, who tells of being in the recording booth to lay down the vocal track for "Zombie Dance," when a demon-possessed Alex Chilton storms in, presses a gun to his temple, and yells, "Now sing it better," almost like Bud White shoving his gun's barrel down a punk's throat during interrogation to make him spit out where the kidnapped girl sold by their gang is hidden.
Tav Falco and Alex Chilton are great friends.
They have known each other since 1978, when Alex attended a "art-action" performance during which Tav, completely ignorant of any musical theory, blew and blew and blew into a whistle and then shredded a guitar with a chainsaw, to the notes of "Bourgeois Blues" by Leadbelly.
Tav names these performances "art-action" to satisfy his artistic and intellectual cravings, with references to Antonin Artaud, Marshall McLuhans, and the beat generation.
Alex sees a spark of talent in this madman and draws him into his shadow until he convinces him to form a band, the Panther Burns, in which Alex himself is co-opted, and hundreds will pass through from 1979—the year of its establishment—up to today. More prosaically, beyond Tav's pretensions, the Panther Burns are three-quarters Cramps and one-quarter Gun Club.
It seems like a story destined to end soon, yet through about twenty releases between studio albums, live albums, and EPs, Tav Falco and the Panther Burns reach our days, but without Alex Chilton, who in 2010 returned to dust.
34 years have passed between 1981's "Behind The Magnolia Curtain" and 2015's "Command Performance," a perpetual tribute to the Cramps' attitude but not only, because the sound of the Panther Burns, from the cacophonous neo-noise of the beginnings, has evolved into one of the most diverse receptacles, from soul to tango; and while it's their norm to stage fiery sessions to the notes of Robert Lee Burnside, much less predictable is the revival of pop standards from the Fifties and Sixties, not shunning detours into the realms of Frank Sinatra.
On the occasion of the decade anniversary and to celebrate the event, in 1989 the Panther Burns recorded a double live album, "Midnight In Memphis," released the following year by the French record label New Rose.
The formation of the Panther Burns is among the best that have rotated over the years, with Tav playing regularly alongside Alex, Ross Johnson, and Doug Easley, and prestigious guests like Jim Duckworth and Jim Dickinson; and even if the inspiration isn't what it was in the best days—the concert takes place in the aftermath of the release of "Red Devil," an album that is subpar compared to the previous and beautiful "The World We Knew"—live, the Panther Burns always dazzle.
Eighteen tracks drawn from "Behind The Magnolia Curtain" and "Blow Your Top," from the aforementioned "The World We Knew" and "Red Devil," albums that have made the (secret) history of a sound that still resonates vehemently today thanks to Blues Explosion, Oblivians, Gories, and other worthy acts; not to mention even the unlikely such as Spacemen 3 and Primal Scream have cited the Panther Burns as a source of inspiration.
For those wanting to get to know Tav Falco, perhaps this live record is the ideal approach, faithfully reflecting the sonic evolution of the group in their first ten years of activity, from the compulsive punkabilly of "She's The One That Got’s It" to the straightforward electric blues of "Same Thing," to the lively sixties pop of "Girl After Girl," to the pure rock'n'roll of "Memphis Beat."
No other advice than to play it at the highest volume.
Tracklist
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