Negativland - "Live at Lewis's, Norfolk VA, November 21, 1992" (concert)

Terry finally uploaded to Youtube one of my favorite videos of his from back in the day.  Almost exactly 21 years ago Negativland played at Lewis's in Norfolk, right outside of the Colonial Place neighborhood where I live.  Lewis's was a nondescript seafood restaurant that often featured bands in the evening.  Eventually it became Enrico's, a pretty good Greek restaurant, which eventually closed in a dispute with the landlord and in it's place came Phoenix Bar and Grill, which lasted less than a year (we never even tried it).  The building (4012 Colley Ave.) is currently inactive.   Of course, at the time neither Terry nor I were living in Norfolk, and I think Danette had just moved here. 

The point is that both Negativland and Lewis's are amenable to someone like Terry recording the entire event.  We were both big fans of Negativland, and this was right in the middle of their struggle with U2, Island, and SST (see my reviews of "Guns" and "U2" for background info).  I must have watched this video 20 or more times; but since he recorded it on S-VHS, I never got a VHS copy.  And although I've watched it enough that it seems like I was there, I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I missed this concert and attended a VT-UVa football game instead (although Terry has it marked as "October 21", I'm pretty sure this was actually November 21, 1992).  Fortunately, Terry took my copy of "Guns" and got Mark Hosler to autograph the inside fold (see above pic).  Apparently Mark did not approve of my choice of weekend entertainment either (also, it rained and VT lost -- a bad choice all around).

So I wasn't there, and most likely you weren't there either (it's not a big place), but thanks to Terry it can seem like we were there:



I don't normally embed videos, but this one deserves it.  You really should watch the whole thing, but some highlights include:

• 26:20 -- "Time Zones"
• 31:05 -- "Black Lady of Espionage", segueing into "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
• 1:04:10 -- "Christianity is Stupid"
• 1:11:20 -- Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA"
• 1:24:40 -- Terry interviews Mark Hosler (while Mark has a post-show fish sandwich)

Craig Baldwin used part of this concert footage in his film "Sonic Outlaws", earning Terry a credit in the liner notes.

Also, instead of reviewing it as a LP, I'm starting a new series simply called "concert". 

Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe" (forgotten song)

In recognition of an entire week of government furlough, I'm reaching back to 1981 with Red Rider's "Lunatic Fringe", their single from the LP "From Here to Siam".  I loved this song when it came out in 1981 and still enjoy it. 

Why "Lunatic Fringe"?  Because about 30 people are holding hostage the function of our government, cowing those who should know better.  

Lunatic Fringe
I know you're out there
You're in hiding
And you hold your meetings
...
Cause you gotta blame someone
For your own confusion

Yes, I know the song is a rebuke of neo-Nazis, and yes I know about Godwin's Law but Ted Cruz went there first.  I'm not saying the Tea Party should be compared to Nazis, I'm just saying their minority ideology is a cancerous fifth column that threatens the Republic.  How?  Let's review:

1.  The legislative branch passed the ACA.
2.  The executive branch signed it into law.
3.  The judicial branch upheld it as constitutional.

That's a constitutional hat trick, and it's the law of the land*. 

Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe"
 


* For those who are unclear about this, I invite you to recall the Schoolhouse Rock videos "I'm just a Bill" and "Three Ring Circus".