I saw Cris Kirkwood/Meat Puppets Thursday and Saturday!

[GregC]

I hope there are fellow TBers out there who will find this interesting. I was fortunate enough to attend the SXSW festival last week in Austin, and got to see the Meat Puppets--with Cris Kirkwood back on bass--twice!

Man, it was great to see the Kirkwood brothers together again. (Original drummer Derrick Bostrom declined to return, so Ted Marcus--no previous credits that I know of--has taken over quite ably.) They played Thursday afternoon for a crowd of several hundred (that was the venue's capacity); the set lasted close to an hour. They kicked off with a few slow, newer songs that were primarily (I believe) from the album they just recorded, which is expected to come out in June on Anodyne Records. Eventually, they played some of the old favorites, including "Up on the Sun", "Plateau" and (the finale) "Lake of Fire". Curt engaged in a few extended guitar wigouts (some too long, IMO), but they started to jell in the second half of the set. Cris looks somewhat worse for wear--but who wouldn't after a decade as a junkie and spending 18 months in jail?--but I thought his playing and singing were really strong, and he clearly enjoyed himself. Although his facial expressions took some getting used to--someone captured him perfectly:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/birzer/...7600007306165/
I'll say this: When he first sang harmony with Curt, it was one of those "Aaaahhh" moments that rarely occur for me at shows.

They played again Saturday night in a bigger room, and they really blew people away this time. They were much tighter and more energetic, and the set was more focused; they also played more of the older songs. Here's a partial list: "Up on the Sun", "Plateau", "Lost" (with Cris dancing maniacally at the beginning), "Backwater", "Sam", "Lake of Fire", "Attacked By Monsters", "Oh, Me". The crowd really did go wild during this set. Someone has already uploaded a clip frm this show:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hh8Zy0j-GwU

I should mention two things here: Cris, like his brother, played through a Peavey combo at both shows--it was OK, but the 15" speaker was on the muddy side. I couldn't always hear what he was playing, even though he was all over the fretboard at some points. Nevertheless, I'm excited and happy that they're back together, and hope the new material can come close to what they released in their heyday. They're supposed to mount a national tour soon, but I haven't seen dates listed yet.

Greg

[winston]

I was just talking to a friend about the Meat Puppets last week and wondered how Cris was doing. Always been a big fan of the band and I feel that Cris is one of the most underrated bassists in rock. The interlocking guitar/bass on songs like "Up On the Sun" really perks up my ears whenever I hear it.

Funny about the Peavey combos--the one Puppets show I saw (early '90's at Lounge Ax in Chicago)--featured a bigger backline and is probably the loudest show I've ever experienced.

[scottice]

Very cool! Thanks for the links.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by winston

I was just talking to a friend about the Meat Puppets last week and wondered how Cris was doing. Always been a big fan of the band and I feel that Cris is one of the most underrated bassists in rock. The interlocking guitar/bass on songs like "Up On the Sun" really perks up my ears whenever I hear it.

Funny about the Peavey combos--the one Puppets show I saw (early '90's at Lounge Ax in Chicago)--featured a bigger backline and is probably the loudest show I've ever experienced.

Couldn't agree more, Cris has never really gotten his props. I was also surprised that more wasn't made of their reunion. When a guy sobers up after more than a decade in the absolute gutter and his very infuential band gets back together, that seems like a classic rock'n'roll comeback story to me. And I agree, they were loud as hell when I saw them in '88 (wow, that was long ago); not sure why they downsized so radically, I'm pretty sure Curt at least has money.

Originally Posted by scottice

Very cool! Thanks for the links.

My pleasure, I was happy to come across those links--they're getting passed on via e-mail as well.

[GregC]

Bump in case there are any other Pups fans out there.

[ducknturtle]

Count me in!

[Mark Wilson]

Meat Puppets?
the Qintar would be proud!!!

[Disc]

Aw man, had no idea they where getting back together! Meat Puppets, Husker Du, and Minutemen are my favorite bands of all time, being able to see them live would be great. I kind missed them when they where big (not being born and all). I got a few Q's for whoever can answer them:

New CD!? Whens it coming out? I was afraid they would be sloppy and suck it big time but from the youtube link they are as good or better as ever before!

Anyone have a link to the tour dates? If they are coming through San Francisco I am there.

Last, and this one isnt that important, but what was the age group that was at the concert? Sometimes I feel like the only young person who gets it, and everyone I show it too shrugs it off with a "meh, they are ok i guess".

Edit: I also have a new thread in tabs on meat puppets song, if anyone wants to contribute.

[wyrtti]

All right! The Meat Puppets with Cris again! This was really great news. I've been listening to their albums and the live shows available on their web site and feeling nostalgic. And now this.

Thanks for the gig reviews. I'll probably never get to see them live, living here on the edge of the world, but it's good to know they're making music again.

Life is good!

[78Stingray]

SSTravaganza in '85 SWA, Sacharrine Trust, Meat Puppets, Minutemen, and Husker Du shared the stage. (Yes kids, they had electicity back then)
That was my first time hearing/seeing the Meat Puppets (I came to see the Minutemen ). They were in the stratosphere. Saw them a few times after that. But man those brothers had an interplay that night that made me an instant fan (the Minutemen also were smoking that night).

After reading an article about the state of the brothers Kirkwood about 7 years back, I thought the next time I'd hear about Chris was in an obituary. Glad to see them back together.

Stay off the junk and enjoy the CLEAN BASS HIGH!

[GregC]

Originally Posted by Disc

Aw man, had no idea they where getting back together! Meat Puppets, Husker Du, and Minutemen are my favorite bands of all time, being able to see them live would be great. I kind missed them when they where big (not being born and all). I got a few Q's for whoever can answer them:

New CD!? Whens it coming out? I was afraid they would be sloppy and suck it big time but from the youtube link they are as good or better as ever before!

Anyone have a link to the tour dates? If they are coming through San Francisco I am there.

Last, and this one isnt that important, but what was the age group that was at the concert? Sometimes I feel like the only young person who gets it, and everyone I show it too shrugs it off with a "meh, they are ok i guess".

Edit: I also have a new thread in tabs on meat puppets song, if anyone wants to contribute.

I'm pretty sure Curt said the new record's coming out in June, but there's no way to confirm that. They've apparently already recorded the whole thing. Similarly, there's talk of a tour, but no dates yet.

I think it's great you're into 3 of my favorite bands of all time--BTW, I also saw Bob Mould do an acoustic solo set and Mike Watt w/Iggy and the Stooges at SXSW--and I don't think you're the only young'un like that. I saw plenty of people in their 20s at the Pups shows. I believe many people your age now recognize the influence those bands had, even though they didn't sell a lot of records back then.

To take a different example, the Pixies were more famous in the early '90s than the SST bands in the mid-80s, but they definitely played to much bigger crowds on their reunion tour than they did back then.

If I catch wind of tour dates for the Pups, I will definitely post them here; hopefully others will, too.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by 78Stingray

SSTravaganza in '85 SWA, Sacharrine Trust, Meat Puppets, Minutemen, and Husker Du shared the stage. (Yes kids, they had electicity back then)
That was my first time hearing/seeing the Meat Puppets (I came to see the Minutemen ). They were in the stratosphere. Saw them a few times after that. But man those brothers had an interplay that night that made me an instant fan (the Minutemen also were smoking that night).

After reading an article about the state of the brothers Kirkwood about 7 years back, I thought the next time I'd hear about Chris was in an obituary. Glad to see them back together.

Stay off the junk and enjoy the CLEAN BASS HIGH!

Ah, memories. I saw Saccharine Trust open for Black Flag in '82 (yep, I'm old), the Minutemen in '84 headlining (incredible) and '85 w/REM. The Huskers in '87 were a disappointment--they played Warehouse in order, and that's about it. And I saw the Puppets in '88--they killed.

Agreed about Cris, I thought sure he was a goner. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[Disc]

Originally Posted by GregC

I'm pretty sure Curt said the new record's coming out in June, but there's no way to confirm that. They've apparently already recorded the whole thing. Similarly, there's talk of a tour, but no dates yet.

I think it's great you're into 3 of my favorite bands of all time--BTW, I also saw Bob Mould do an acoustic solo set and Mike Watt w/Iggy and the Stooges at SXSW--and I don't think you're the only young'un like that. I saw plenty of people in their 20s at the Pups shows. I believe many people your age now recognize the influence those bands had, even though they didn't sell a lot of records back then.

To take a different example, the Pixies were more famous in the early '90s than the SST bands in the mid-80s, but they definitely played to much bigger crowds on their reunion tour than they did back then.

If I catch wind of tour dates for the Pups, I will definitely post them here; hopefully others will, too.

Thanks for the info man. I forgot Mike Watt is palying with the stooges, I should check them out sometime.

Finding a concert to go too is really hard for me, most of my favorites are disbanded or dead and all the new bands I like are british and never tour America .

[deesonic]

I know this is an old thread but I'm digging it up anyway! I met Chris Kirkwood last night after the Pups show at Zydeco in Birmingham last night. They played a great set, a little messy at times though (but it wouldn't be the Pups if they weren't). What fun to see the brothers on stage again and Chris clearly was having a great time, clear headed and all. He was low in the mix and during the encore of "Backwater" he was visibly frustrated by the lack thump in his monitor. They had a very simple set up, as I think someone mentioned before. Both playing Peavey combos, Chris a 1x15 and freakin' Squier PJ! I noticed Kurt plays Strats now instead of the Les Pauls, which is interesting to see. They played lots of old tunes from II and Up on the Sun and Too High as well. Oddly, I don't think they played anything off the new album. They played one song off the last Kurt solo album 'Snow' (which is a fantastic album by the way).

So anyway, talked to Chris afterwards and he is just as gracious and nice a guy as you'd ever want to meet. Totally sober, drinking bottled water all night and smoking the occassional cig. I told him it was a great to see them again after so many years and of course, he said "thanks." Then I looked him in the eye and said, "It's especially great to see YOU tonight." I could tell he was moved by that and said he felt extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to play again. I got my picture with him on my cell phone with each of us throwing 4 fingers in the air for the thumpers. I'll post it if I can figure out how to put it on the computer. Great guy, great bass player. Thank God he's alive and ragin' again.

[GregC]

I saw the Pups again tonight. Cris had a better rig and bass this time--a Daphne Blue P with a Tele neck, and an old GK head into a '70s fridge. (Curt had a Blues Deville combo this time.) Cris looks to have lost some weight, and he was dancing around a good bit.

I expected them to be tighter after steadily gigging for close to 18 months, and they did not disappoint! They were more energetic, too. A 90-minute set (roughly), and they pulled out songs from all over the catalog, such as a super-fast Looking for the Rain (including the coda in double time!), and a couple of obscure country covers. (The second one morphed into a loud, intense cover of Tomorrow Never Knows.) Sure, they finished with Backwater and Lake of Fire. But the encore was Good Golly Miss Molly, as crazed as I would have hoped. All told, a great show that left me with a big smile on my face.

[kevs]

I caught the Pups at the Visulite in Charlotte earlier this week. What a show. Cris has his blue P bass (gorgeous by the way) and was wailing away. I can never say enough about Curt's playing...totally underrated. Shandon was filling in on drums and he did not disappoint. Best $15 I've spent in a long time.

[winston]

Good to hear! I busted out "Up On the Sun" during an impromptu DJ set at a party last weekend...ah loves me some Puppets. Glad that Cris got his life back together.