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Rating: There are bands that suddenly break up, leaving you with that bitter taste of a missed opportunity to see them play live again. Then they magically reappear: some for money, some tied to commercial operations, and some still for the desire to reignite the spirits of their most demanding fans.
I think the motivation for this reunion is mostly linked to the promotion of the remastering of the first four albums of the Jesus Lizards. Yet we know from hearsay (at least as far as I'm concerned) that this is one of those bands that is quenched only by the physical contact of their audience.
Nervous. Before their live performance, I certainly am, for someone who has practically consumed and metabolized "Goat" and "Down" for years, it can't be otherwise. Then suddenly I calm down as I decide to smoke a cigarette outside the venue, noticing a very calm guy minding his own business and not at all interested in the slowly increasing crowd. That guy is David Yow, composed, definitely in better shape than I imagined, intent on staring into the void while greedily drawing on one cigarette after another.
It will take another hour or so before the beginning, it's unbearably hot inside, the small room is packed to the rafters, there's the smell of sweat, steam begins to slowly trickle down the walls. This scene is very similar to what I’ve seen over and over on their DVD recorded at the Milo Club in Boston in 1994. We are about to see one of the most important and influential bands of the early '90s!
Suddenly the lights go out and before even a single note is played, Yow is already being supported by the hands of the crowd, a warm, welcoming crowd that knows what they want to see and will be rewarded with music for an hour and a half.
The concert starts with "Puss", an astonishing blow: in the middle of the room, it's chaos, David flies from right to left, the fans create a frenetic but absolutely safe, non-invasive barrier. It seems that the Jesus know how to explode the anger of those present and then manage to control it without anyone getting hurt.
The band is in exceptional form, David Wm. Sims is a fantastic bassist, Duane Denison creates circular notes that are beautifully supported by Mac McNeilly's syncopated rhythms (what a pleasure to see him behind his band’s drums again). And Yow? What can I say... It's like being at a Stooges concert in Detroit towards the late '60s. Only Iggy vented his rage by self-harming and repeatedly pushing every limit, this instead spits in your face how disgusting living in Chicago or some other hellhole of the world can be, but he does so while managing to contain the risk that might arise from hyper-exciting a crowd of people.
A track by track of the setlist seems out of place to me, also because the set of songs created a mass of slimy, unhealthy, corrosive noise blasted at more than acceptable volumes. I enjoy remembering David Yow being dragged in stage-diving to the exit door outside Spazio 211 and there, while the band keeps playing, he stops to chat with some guys who are quietly smoking on their own.
For the more demanding, I remember that "Seasick", "Bloody Mary", "Boilermaker", "Mouthbreather", "Chrome" (just to mention a few classics) were played with a precision I did not expect from them, probably influenced by the words of a friend of mine ("I saw them live in '94, they are devastating but not so musically precise"). Probably the barbiturates have served their time, so much the better: we have a great band among us again. For how long?
PS: At the end of the concert, I left with a smile on my face seeing David Yow talking calmly with his fans, as if he were an old friend of theirs. Thanks also because with this show I was able to fully appreciate an album that I dodged for too long, namely "Liar".
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