88 by gary@garylucas.com

published on 2020-08-14T18:23:08Z

Gary Lucas Live at the Town and Country Club London 11/12/88 On Nov. 12th 1988, Gary Lucas, who in early June of that year had begun his live solo career with well-received concerts at NYC's Knitting Factory and at the Berlin Jazz Festival, took to the stage of London's Town and Country Club as an un-billed last minute guest of Vernon Reid and Living Colour. With his friend and collaborator Rolo McGinty watching from the wings and mixologist extraordinaire Adrian Sherwood in the audience, Lucas proceeded to do a 10 minute opening set solo electric with effects, and definitely got the attention of the crowd, who really didn't know what hit them--beginning with Lucas's opening salvo "King Strong" (an homage to Zappa's "King Kong"); Bernard Herrmann's theme from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"; and a Lucas original, "Blue Rondo a la Hatton", a mutant mash-up of all sorts of themes including the opening of Mahler's First Symphony on into a vicious stab at The Nice's "Rondo" (itself a re-working of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turque"). The gig was a triumph for Lucas, who was hugged warmly by Vernon Reid after he finished his set. Sound mix from the board is by Living Colour's sound mixer Judy Mareiniss. The image above is from a profile of Gary Lucas in UK weekly music newspaper "Melody Maker" written by Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke, which references Lucas's Town and Country Club appearance. Photo in the Melody Maker article by David Gahr