Chrissie
Last night Punaise and I had a discussion about the Pretenders. There are not a lot of bands that have to be seen live, but Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders are one of them. If they get anywhere near you, go see them, they are that good.
Here is a really good sample. Get past the drum solo, because this performance is really kick ass.
USC was not that good last night. Not sure it was a surprise, the Utes beat USC earlier this year, and totally beat the Trojans down last night.
Talk some trash and have some fun. And, yes, the baby blue Tele is hot.
I’ll see your Chrissy, who is of our generation, and raise you with Samantha, who is of our children’s. The contrast between the grungy blues and the sassy dress makes the punch that much harder. And she drives a Delany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL9rBAjut2g&t=215s
And of course there is the unbelievable skillset of Susan Tedeschi.
I was entertained by Samantha Fish, Amanda Fish, and Walter Trout separately at the W C Handy Blues Festival in Henderson KY in 2021. Sat in the shade of large trees overlooking the Ohio River. Samantha Fish had the crowd by hook, line and sinker. And Walter Trout was a keeper, too. All of them were on a Saturday lineup. It’s a multi-day festival. Free. Late June every year. As an aside…we did a lot of Fish cheers. Just not the one by Country Joe and the Fish.
sounds like I need to investigate this band.
There’s some great live footage of Walter Trout live in Europe on youtube. And saw a Pretenders show in Boston maybe 25 years ago on Landsdown Street in the Fenway, behind the Green Monster.
Susan Tedeschi doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for her talent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GkdCiqsFUI&list=RD6GkdCiqsFUI&start_radio=1
TTB just dropped a four album set that’s well worth a listen if you have the time.
I spent most of my life in Boston and have been to may half a dozen shows of Sue. She had a second female guitarist (Adrienne?) that was pretty amazing too.
Fish is not bad. Wow!
Hey bmaz, I love yer taste in music!
Samantha Fish is extraordinarily talented (check her out also with the equally talented Marcus King…oh, and Elle King, if you can). She is also an eloquent teacher. If blues is your thing, Josh Smith can still be seen in small clubs; something of an heir to Danny Gatton.
We should throw in an honorable mention for Tal Wilkenfeld while we’re discussing talented female artists, and it’s her birthday as well.
Tal blisters on bass. Love her chops!
So true. Check her out on Jeff Beck’s Exhaust Note album/concert at Ronnie Scott’s in London.
And with Herbie Hancock (teamed with the estimable Vinnie Collaiuta, who is on that Beck album, as well as being a Zappa alum).
Besides Jeff, Tal and Vinnie, it was Jason Rubello on keyboards. He also had several guests, including Beth Hart, Eric Clapton, and Imogen Heap. The concert is on video which is amazing to watch. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were in the audience. Read that Jon bon Jovi flew in just to be there as well.
It seems QB Williams pulled a hamstring but was left to limp through the rest of the sad defeat. So notwithstanding a new coach, 26 portal players and lots of money, USC goes down.
And, yes, Chrissie is good although her politics are somewhat bent.
US lost to the Netherlands in the World Cup, ending their run. The US team didn’t get blown out, but simply couldn’t get it done today. To me, while there were player lapses, the overarching lapses belonged to Gregg Berhalter, the coach. He was still trying to figure out his World Cup lineup in the “friendlies” played ahead of time, rather than putting his 11 out there together for a couple of game to help them gel as a unit before arriving in Qatar. During the WC, the US played well in the first half but never made the adjustments at halftime to put games away. Instead, it was the opposing coaches who adjusted and the US who suffered.
I’m waiting for US Soccer to hire someone like Megan Rapinoe to coach the USMNT.
I agree Berhalter’s second half tactics were sub par. He also approached the Iran and Netherland matches the same—full-out press and blistering pace—that worked against the weaker team but was taken advantage of on the Dutch counter attack. But perhaps the biggest US flaw has nothing to do with the coach: there is no American stone-cold natural-born finisher on this team. Which means one does not exist (yet). This has always been the American flaw and has been since my college playing days (40+ years ago). But I did love watching this team especially the great dominating midfield play, the talent of the outside defenders and the old guy Tim Ream.
May we have a moment’s silence for Christine McVie. Memorable songs but a deliberately understated stage presence. The world is the poorer for her passing.
exactly.
i was such a fan of hers and that incredible voice and songwriting talent.
Yes. Exactly. Christine McVie was all that.
When I saw the headline, I thought bmaz was referencing McVie, though I never heard her called Chrissie. Yeah, she was great, I liked her singing much more than Stevie Nicks.
When I saw the headline, I was momentarily worried something had happened to Hynde.
I saw Christine with Lindsey Buckingham and the unbelievable Jimmy Paxon on Halloween eve 5 years back touring for their Buckingham McVie album. About 4 songs in, after reveling in Christine’s amazing vocals and Lindsey on guitar, I wondered who this guy was with stones big enough to sit in for Mick.
Holy hannah. If you aren’t familiar with Paxon, google him up. He’s got some serious talent.
What bookends, in a way. When I was young, as still in high school, I saw this up and coming new act….Buckingham Nicks. And wow, they were great. Joined Fleetwood Mac not much later. This was apparently recorded in Alabama, but I saw this same show in Phoenix.
And on the back end, not all that long ago, you saw Buckingham McVie. And I very much wish I had seen that too.
Stevie: “And… don’t play it too fast.” Lol
First heard the Pretenders back in 1979, finally saw Chrissie Hynde in concert at The Masonic in SF 5 years ago. She and her group put on a show to remember.
I remember Christine McVie from earlier, 1970. She did the album artwork for Fleetwood Mac’s Kiln House (always worth a look). Then joined them for Future Games. Show Me a Smile.
Beautiful voice.
Saw her in concert with Fleetwood Mac a couple of times in the 70’s when they were Big; finally a couple of years ago in San Jose when she toured with Lindsey Buckingham. Her songs and her voice have always been very moving to me. RIP Christine Perfect.
Thanks for the great clip of the Pretenders, bmaz. Beyond the great instrumental sound, Chrissy’s voice is warm, crisp, and powerful. Not powerful as in over-amped, over-mic’d, and over-blown, but powerful as in it grabs you, pulls you in, and won’t let you go.
That its kind of the thing about Hynde, isn’t it? She does not over sing, but if she is at the microphone, she just owns it. It is effortless and beautiful.
“Middle of the Road” comes on the radio while driving and it’s pretty hard to avoid all of a sudden finding you’re now doing 90.
Once caught an interview with Chrissie wherein her/Pretenders early days in the UK punk scene came up. She remarked to the effect that it was hard to stay punk, where the ethos was bad/discordant music was equally if not more valid than conventionally “good”/harmonious. The reason being, the more you played the better your skills got and you couldn’t help it.
She’s obviously played a lot.
Miss Chistine McVie. Hard to believe she was 79. Still performing. Sad.
Won tickets to see the Pretenders from WXRT in Chicago about thirty years back. Great time was had by all. Watching the US game reminded me of my days as a coach. I’m screaming at the TV mark up, weak side, mark up! They never listen to me.
Was that Pretenders show at The Vic? Spouse and I had some free tix (probably from XRT) somewhere around that time. We like Hynde, but at this particular show she made the crowd wait about an hour past showtime in afternoon summer sun. Having gotten there early, we probably stood around for close to 2 hours.
Oh well, first world problem and all that…
WXRT was the font of my musical maturation. What a radio station it was in the early ’70’s. AOR, jazz, and a heavy dose of the blues. Which explains why I posted Samantha Fish upthread.
I will never forget the Xmas arrival at my grandmother’s house after moving back to ChiTown to start my ‘professional’ career, when a version of Pachelbel’s Canon by George Winston. First I had heard of him, and now I own a half dozen of his albums. December (with the Canon) is a wonderful album.
WXRT in the early 80s was a regular part of the Chicago music background to my college experience at Northwestern, along with WFMT (esp the Midnight Special). Good good stuff!
Spelling nerd here: it’s “Chrissie”, not “Chrissy”. Got it right in the head, got it wrong in the body of the article. One or the other.
Gosh, you know, spelling and punctuation scolds are always the finest people on the face of the earth. Find a better hobby.
Reading your posts and comments *is* my better hobby. k thx
Woe be unto yo’ ass if you misspell “Marcy.” 🤣
From Marcy earlier this week, regarding certain media outlet’s shoddy journalism:
Those pesky spelling scolds.
/s
So says the panda who eats, shoots, and leaves.
Bruce sets the world on fire with Night Shift
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4LOa0PXUEc
Riffing off the Google Geofence post… in a somewhat technologically-related development, earlier this past week the Colorado ACLU, representing a 77-year-old grandmother, filed suit over a search of her home warranted on the basis of Apple’s “Find My” iPhone app — which identified “an area spanning at least six different properties and parts of four different blocks”.
The complaint’s reference to an interview with 9News points to a Nov 2 feature story–
https://www.9news.com/ article/news/local/denver-police-swat-raid-of-grandmothers-montbello-home-angers-neighbors/73-2d6fc6f7-a57e-4d47-b7ed-b75c4163ca19
[Broken url, in an abundance of caution, although istm I’m being hypervigilant on this.]
That 9News feature story is worth checking out, as it contains readable photos of the actual warrant affidavit.
Pretenders, Devo, Joe Walsh, Black Keys, and many others. The Akron/Kent area has produced some great acts.
Sure have. And please keep them coming.
The World Cup may get turned on its head, as reports out of Brazil are that Pelé has gone into hospice care. From The Guardian:
Ha! A few days ago, I listened to Brass in Pocket because one of the posts made me think of it for some reason. As a student and employee at Kent State in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, I used to go to The Kove occasionally to see and hear 15-60-75 The Numbers Band. Terry Hynde (Chrissie’s brother) played sax.
Terry Hynde sax solo – “Look on Yonder Wall” w/15-60-75
https://youtu.be/g0T4tkaTxeM
“The Unsinkable Chrissie Hynde” –
Kory Grow, July 17, 2020
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/unsinkable-chrissie-hynde-140452891.html
As someone from Oklahoma to the USC Trojans: the sound of a solitary raspberry farting.
As someone who went through the CA public colleges/universities (community college, two quarters at a UC, then Cal Poly Pomona), I agree.
Wow, they’ve still got it. I’ve never seen anybody use the plexiglass baffle for the drums – probably massaively improved the live mix – it certainly sounds clean on the video.
Chrissie sings standards with the Valve Bone Woe Ensemble:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLDtuu7KqRo
Pretty cool, thanks. One of the comments there:
“She is still one of the coolest musicians/performers/people ever. I’d listen to her read the phone book.”
Long ago I saw her go on stage with her husband Jim Kerr at a concert in LA. GREAT time then.
The live album “The Isle of View” is a great way to hear these songs.
Mystery Achievement features maybe my favorite guitar solo of all time.
saw Chrissie and band on the 1984 “Learning to Crawl” tour at S.F. Civic. as a young woman who loved rock, hard to articulate the power of seeing a woman at the center stage mic, guitar strapped on, leading her band. cut to decades later and The Pretenders opening for Stevie Nicks on her 24 Karat Gold tour – while some of the players had changed, Chrissie and her band were as locked in and she as sharp and rocking as before. and now i must to my office and my record collection…
That is the thing though, Chrissie simply owns the stage when she is on it. Which is why you have to see it live.
Puttiing a twist on your self-declared penchant for declaring “you gotta see them live”, are there any artists you would say have disappointed in concert? Van Morrison comes to mind, from what I’ve heard (especially factoring in exorbitant ticket prices). .
Too late to prove me wrong, but circa ’79, the Dead played Boulder Sat/Sun. Of course our university cohort were there for both. Leading off was Warren Zevon.
His show was great day one, but day two, it was exactly the same show, down to the point in the show where he took off his shirt. Kinda left me flat, as he was touring with the masters of free form, and he seemed to be on programatic.
That said, I’m glad to be able to say I saw him live.
We got to see Van live at the Royal Albert Hall, 2001. He and his entire band were on Fire. He was in incredibly voice and just put on one helluva show.
Alice Russell, anyone?
Punaise: Yes. Early on, Steely Dan was one. Fantastic studio musicians, but absolute shit live. To their credit they did not tour much for a long time and were much better when they returned.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. First time I saw them, they opened for The Tubes and were just dreadful. Am pretty sure I could play guitar better than Tom Petty back then, and as Mrs. bmaz will eagerly tell anybody, I truly suck. Petty and the Heartbreakers also got MUCH better.
Walked out of an Aerosmith show once, but think that was just a bad night for them, saw them before and after and they were good.
Am trying to think of others but, really, live music is usually good, even if occasionally a little rough.
Honorable mentions for the “not good” category; While Alex Lifeson was really good, did not enjoy Rush at all. Huey Dewey and Louie, i.e. America, were absolutely terrible. Probably should not count because I only went because of a date, but Neil Sedaka was awful. Neil Diamond pretty good though (also a forced date, but a good one!).
I like Neil Diamond and got to see him live. He had a fantastic backup band. His “Hot August Night” album was a live recording that I listened to MANY times.
Could have been the same Hot August extended tour, not sure. But, yeah, it was WAY better than I was expecting. Really great.
A friend went to see Dylan – said it really sucked.
He was great in the late 70’s (In the Wake of the Flood tour, and then the Rolling Thunder tour). I last saw Dylan 15 years ago, and he was beyond awful. I have a friend who has seen him 50 times and still thinks he’s fantastic. That’s when you know you’re in a cult.
I got dragged to a Roger Waters show recently. He’s still energetically full of piss and vinegar at age 79. The music (mostly Pink Floyd stuff for which he gave himself full credit) was fine, and the staging was excellent – except for the huge screens assaulting the audience with his odd mix of paranoid pacifist messaging – which I subsequently learned had expressed itself as pro-Russia in Ukraine.
It was fun, but I’m done with him after this. He’s a misguided pompous ass.
Saw Frank Zappa at Maples Pavilion (Stanford) back in the late 70s (?). I’m sure it was musically brilliant, but it was headache-inducing loud and intense.
“The Pretenders opening for Stevie Nicks . . . ”
That phrase alone makes me shiver.
The hub saw them at the Capital Center, right after Rumors came out, 9th row, center. He remembers the ticket was $7.00!?!
I was at that show (I believe), in 1976. I think Jefferson Starship (!) was the opener. FM were incredible, and yes, Christine McVie was it for me.
Great topic; thanks for bringing it forward, bmaz. There are some great resources to check out from y’all.
Here’s the comment thread from yesterday.
A few related ramblings:
Some time not so long ago, I was having a friendly debate about who the coolest living person is. My answer was Chrissie Hynde.
I’ve only seen The Pretenders live one time, but was fortunate enough to catch the “Last of the Independents” tour that reunited her and Martin Chambers beginning in 1994. I saw their stop at The Warfield in San Francisco. I can’t recall another performer who led their band, controlled yet served the crowd, entertained and delivered the way she can.
Martin may not be the greatest drummer, but is one of my favorites. He’s a big influence as a performer if not a player. A tremendous showman. My favorite gag of his is bouncing the sticks off the floor tom as part of a fill and continuing the rhythm after catching them.
Lastly, the absolute two biggest influences for my playing have recently made the news. Rodger Taylor (Duran Duran) was inducted into the R&R HOF a week after the passing of D.H. Pilegro (Dead Kennedys).
Just want to say — and with no irony or subtext — that I LOVE those two such disparate guys being your foundational influences.
I didn’t manage to see DKs in the heyday and now regret that I electively avoided more recent post-Biafra shows.
I DID randomly get to know Rodger’s band’s singer (uh, some guy named Simon) a bit when working on a software project for his kid’s school in South London. A very nice and approachable soccer/football dad, he was.
Yeah, I saw the Pretenders when they came around in the 2000s opening for The Who and this is a correct take.
On Chrissy Hynde, I remember the first time I heard Chrissy and the Pretenders. I hated her voice. I thought it was fake or a put on. Soon after I loved it but could never figure it out. So let’s see. For 40 years I watched and listened to interviews with her or articles about her, which all delt with her wild younger years in London and the people in the scene. Nothing about her music. Then this year I heard a sort of explanation. She is very tone deaf and she can’t keep time very well. Quite a resume for a musician. No wonder it doesn’t sound like anything else. I’ve still never learned when she learned to play, to sing, to write songs. No, you can be sure if you see an interview it will be about her wild younger years.
I’ve always gotten a kick out of the fact that the ‘tough chick’ attitude with the leather clothes writes mostly about romantic love and her embrace of and desire for it. Go figure.
Chrissy does demonstrate that some good things do come from Ohio.
In a somewhat similar vein, the seminal LA punk band X always said they wrote such odd vocal harmonies because they had no formal training and just generally didn’t have any idea what they were doing. They just went with what felt right. For the overwhelming majority of people, that approach produces unlistenable results, but for a blessed few… magic.
Speaking of great live bands, X is starting a little west coast tour this week. I saw them a few years ago at this little club where I’ve seen dozens if not hundreds of bands young enough to be their grandkids, and X still bests just about all of them even on a legacy-blind, pure and simple rock the F out level. Just absolutely blew the doors off. Not bad for a bunch in their 60s and 70s(!).
Was it at the Whiskey? Saw X there long ago, don’t even think they had an album yet (could be wrong about that), but their much later Live At The Whiskey is truly a classic.
“She is very tone deaf and she can’t keep time very well. Quite a resume for a musician.”
As was said of Keith Moon, he could do anything but keep time😁
He was masterful, but would’ve sucked with any other band. Townsend knew how to work with virtuosos since along with a lead singer and lead guitarist, The Who had a lead bass and lead drums😁
The singer and guitar player, by my recollection, might have had different roles originally.
It’s interesting to listen to Townshend’s Who demos on *Scoop* and “Another Scoop* to realize that he wrote many, even almost all, of Entwhistle’s most well-known bass lines.
My theory is he did it as lead bass because, a. he’s a guitarist, and b. to match Moon, knowing that he (Townshend) would have to be the rhythmic anchor.
It’s interesting to listen to Townshend’s Who demos on *Scoop* and “Another Scoop* to realize that he wrote many, even almost all, of Entwhistle’s most well-known bass lines.
My theory is he did it as lead bass because, a. he’s a guitarist, and b. to match Moon, knowing that he (Townshend) would have to be the rhythmic anchor.
(deleted and re-pub’d with correct handle)
“Scoop”!! I haven’t listened to that in years. definitely heading down to my office and my record collection and pulling it out and onto the turntable.
Her autobio explains a lot. Some brief notes (may or may not be in the bio, I’ve been a fan a long time) include that she started out as a music critic for NME, and that her first on-record performances were backing vocals for Johnny Thunders (NY Dolls, JT & the Heartbreakers) and also Chris Spedding (Roxy, Jack Bruce, Brian Ferry).
Apologies that autofill and the clock got me on the name above …
[fixed it /~Rayne]
Saw Willie Nelson some years back at a large club show in Boston. He is unbelievably good in concert. His guitar playing is really, really masterful with hints of world music coming through from out of the ether. He is truly a world class musician.
Also saw Dolly Parton on her farewell tour. She enjoys her fans and they enjoy her back, which makes a real difference. Lots of women in cowboy hats and boots came out for her, again in Boston. What impressed me was how deep her songbook is. She is a fine songteller (as she likes to put it) and I believe the one award she’d appreciate more than any other is the Gershwin Prize for songwriting. Give her the award already. She’s earned it twice over at least.
We already gave Dolly the Kennedy Center Honors (along with Spielberg, Smokey Robinson, Zubin Mehta and Andrew Lloyd Webber) back in 2006!! Gershwin should be easy-peasy.
https://youtu.be/f98zNGz-TII
Saw Brass in Pocket, a Pretenders cover band, here in RVA a couple of weeks ago. “Night in my Veins” sounded like the real thing.
Too late to prove me wrong, but circa ’79, the Dead played Boulder Sat/Sun. Of course our university cohort were there for both. Leading off was Warren Zevon.
His show was great day one, but day two, it was exactly the same show, down to the point in the show where he took off his shirt. Kinda left me flat, as he was touring with the masters of free form, and he seemed to be on programatic.
That said, I’m glad to be able to say I saw him live.
I never saw them in person, but this live show at the Delaware River Bluesfest of Savoy Brown performing “Tell Mama” is a masterpiece of musicianship:
https://www.youtube(dot).com/watch?v=9uXhGdczbco,
I saw Chrissie and The Pretenders a while back, a great show indeed. She rocks. They were the middle act between The Straycats and ZZ Top (I was there for Chrissie, though Brian Seltzer was amazing (soloing while doing a backflip off the bass drum!)). Chrissie got booed by a bunch of cowboys there for ZZ Top, when she spoke out against the slaughter of cows in Texas, but that didn’t stop her. I loved it!
Lizzy McAlpine.
https://youtu.be/2ScNNmzlFmk
I have always loved music, mainly rock. An early memory was listening to Arnie “Woo Woo” Ginsberg on WMEX Boston on my transistor radio after bedtime on a grade school night. Many years later my wife dragged me to a concert I had no interest in because it was “country” music. Well, seeing Dwight Yoakum perform his songs was amazing, quite the performer.
Dwight Yoakum is fantastic.
Agreed. Saw him open for Husker Du in NYC, 1986. Weirdly perfect match up at the time.
Also, that same year saw this Bad Brains show at The Ritz. Seen a lot of music over the years, but this was probably one of the most intense and formative.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=19NNI_38pt0
Forgot to mention- must be something in the air because I pulled out my Pretenders vinyl this last week for the first time in ages. I’ve a turntable at work and periodically rotate my listening stock. I was slightly appalled with myself when I realized how long it had been since they were in the rotation. Fell in love all over again!
Mystery Achievement is a pure kickass rocksong. Chrissie and James Honeyman-Scott were are massive force. Chrissie still is. Thanks for posting about her.
Chrissie Hynde’s singing is ‘special.’ That breath control and effortless projection, she can sing like that forever.
Have never been a fan of big production, big venue music. I love local live music. There are so many wonderful musicians. Being up close and personal with them while they play with their hearts, vulnerable and direct, cannot be beat. Not saying that the featured ladies are not great; just not the same feelings for me.
Two supreme music experiences:
A neighbor in the Lower Ninth Ward had a birthday party where he set up a piano in his shotgun double. His uncle, Tuts Washington (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuts_Washington) played. For quite a while as people were circulating and socializing, I was the only one with him. It was personal; it was beautiful; I was in awe and mesmerized in sound.
Many years ago, James Booker had a regular Tuesday night gig at the Maple Leaf on Oak St. Although way across town, I always tried to make it. In those days you could get a drink, do your laundry, and listen to great music at the Maple Leaf. Anyway, Tuesday night was not a popular night out and Booker’s shows were not always well attended. One night I was the audience. He played with passion, incredible skill and beauty. He occasionally looked over at me with his good eye without saying anything conveying a piercing kind of thanks. In the words of Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), he was “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced”
https://www.popmatters.com/new-orleans-piano-professors-2495654316.html
In terms of “entertainment” – My personal top three (or four) concerts are: Paul McCartney (with Wings) on May 27, 1976 at Riverfront in Cincinnati and “solo” on Nov 12, 2005 at Anaheim where Paul did a live, uplink to the International Space Station crew; Springsteen on Dec 15th, 1978 at Winterland in San Francisco and; The Pretenders on March 16, 1984 at the Coliseum in Austin Texas (we were front row).
I am originally from Akron where Chrissie’s older brother, Terry Hynde, co-founded the Numbers Band at Kent State. A blues – rock ensemble (Terry played Sax) they influenced Chrissie and an entire generation that became the proto-punk “Akron Sound” in the late 70’s and captured on Stiff Records. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcwxHBpO9rU
The Akron music scene was separate from the one thriving in nearby Cleveland and originated in Kent (the epicenter was a a small upstairs place called JB’s) where Joe Walsh got his start. Walsh played my high school gymnasium for only fifty cents as I remember it. The scene included artists like Devo, Rachel Sweet (B-A-B-Y), The Waitresses (I know what boys like) and others with record deals that were huge locally but never “broke through” (eg, Rubber City Rebels, Hammer Damage, Tin Huey, Chi Pig,The Bizzaros, Unit 5) This was the generation before the Black Keys (Ralph, Pat Carney’s uncle played Sax in Tin Huey and Dan’s older cousin, Pat Quine, was a guitar player in several Akron bands before going to NYC to play with Lou Reed (Rolling Stone ranks Quine in the top 100 all-time).
Chrissie was not in a band (or even very good at singing along at the local shows as I recall) while in Ohio. Like the Black Keys and Rachel Sweet, she was from Firestone, my neighboring high school. She was at Kent State on May 4th, 1970 where she roomed with Pam Bracken, Bruce Springsteen’s New Jersey girlfriend. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/local/2013/02/25/springsteen-s-former-girlfriend-was/10434116007/
Chrissie left shortly after the shootings and eventually relocated to London in search of Ray Davies, her teenage crush. After first dating Stevie Winwood, Chrissie had a daughter with Davies. https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-kinks-the-pretenders-and-the-story-of-a-song-that-started-a-family
Lol, “If It Ain’t Stiff It Ain’t Worth A Fuck”.
Cannot remember what the connect was, but one of my neighbors in Boulder circa 1980 or so had a father that had something to do with Stiff records and sent a box of those shirts. Would kill if I still had it, though would probably not fit that well anymore.
Just for you, bmaz ….. T shirts – all sizes for only 25 GBP @ https://shop.ifitaintstiff.com
Don’t think it was from that site, but I sent one to a friend in LA this year. But the original one came straight from Stiff, and that is the one I wish I still had.
Thanks for reminding me of JB’s. I was trying to remember what it was called, but I misspoke above when I said I saw the Numbers band at the Kove. It was actually at JB’s. Though both of them are gone now.
My Kent years are very fuzzy. I was there on May 4, 1970, too. It really messed with my head for a long time. But little did I know, a lot more crazy was going to happen in my life between then and now.
“Music’s ‘center of the universe’: Kent’s rock ‘n’ roll history detailed in new book” – Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal, 11/18/22
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2022/11/18/kents-60s-and-70s-music-scene-recalled-by-those-who-were-there/69636850007/
I was mostly around JBs and The Bank (in Akron) back in the day! Thanks for the link to the new book! I was there for some of it but can’t recall most of it! So I need to get it!
I recall “Boys Like” as done by, eh, Tony Basil? She had the colorful video …
It’s *Robert* Quine, RIP – I was listening to Richard Hell and the Voidoids just last night … I think *The Blue Mask* is Reed’s best album, Quine was his best guitarist. Also look for him on Matthew Sweet’s *Girlfriend* album where he rips it up with Richard Llloyd (TV) and Greg Leisz (everybody) – phenomenal leads on that one and the Reed record. He’s a big influence on me.
I think Tracey Ullman (among others) covered it. Maybe you are remembering her version? I don’t know about Toni Basil though. A link to the Waitresses MTV video back in the day… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyewLg6v6fA
Thanks for then correction on Robert (not Patrick). I guess I had *Patrick* Carney and the Black Keys on the brain… I am sure you are aware that Robert tragically took his own life. Ironic because his favorite quote of mine referring to musicians and bands of influence is “If they’re not dead, I’m not interested.” He was a big influence on more than a few guitar players besides Daniel Quine Auerbach. Here’s a link to a very revealing interview from 25 years ago. https://www.furious.com/perfect/quine.html
“They tied his arms behind his back to teach him how to swim…” The Blue Mask is my second favorite Lou Reed album (Rock n’ Roll Animal is #1). The title track’s swarming, barely controlled guitar noise is absolute ear candy. My brother and I saw Lou with Robert Quine at the Capitol in the 80’s—a great show! The Jim Carroll band and Run DMC were also on the bill.
More Whistleblowing please
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/12/03/business/biogen-whistle-blower-who-received-266-million-said-people-who-report-wrongdoing-are-an-anomaly/
A long and winding road before Biogen pays the piper.
It pisses me off when DOJ refuses to answer why they didn’t prosecute.
I think we know the answer.
A painful looking play by DOJ — we need some authentic answers to why they dimmed the bright line against Corporate America
Yes, Chrissie is a gift that keeps on giving, and not just as a singer, guitarist & songwriter—she’s also a huge animal activist. I’ve always loved her husky voice and pulsating, flat-to-pitch vibrato style. Chrissie is still doing what she loves & aging gracefully!
This is a great thread, I have to say I am a fan of nearly all musicans mentioned here. Rock trivia stays in my head for an unreasonably long time. When Chrissie hooked up with Ray Davis, another fave, I was tickled. Further down the road when they had split, I read that at a Pretenders show she dedicated the Kinks song Stop Your Sobbing to Ray. She is definitely her own person.
On my u tube feed the Austin City Limits clip was followed with the 2005 Hall of Fame with Chrissie and Neil doing My City was Gone. That in turn brought to mind the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary show with all the great guitarists present featuring a Neil and Chrissie duet on All Along the Watchtower. I could not find a utube link for this one. Chrissie was strong in front of all those guys!
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Here is My City Is Gone with Chrissie and Neil.
This “might” be the the cover of Watchtower at MSG, not positive.
Loved Chrissie ever since she first patched together a band that could rock in 7/7 time (as she put it at the time), though I’ve never had the privilege of a live show. She was part of the first generation of women who really ruled rock, writing their own songs and leading their bands. (I did manage to catch Patti Smith and Siouxsie Sue, though not Poly Styrene.)
In today’s generation, Shilpa Ray is one to catch live if you do nothing else all month. (The video that follows isn’t live but seems suitable to our host’s professional interests.) \
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNit8Ql4dIM
Oh, go see the Pretenders if you can. Is even worth a little travel.
Agreed. Not sure how I’ve missed them, actually. Except that I was off the concert scene during the 80s and 90s. Not much of an excuse.
Been playing so much of these linked artists and songs that I never thought to comment. So thanks for all that music. But what’s been running alongside all that was the constant beat of the music and memories from my life.
1977 Saw Elvis Costello’s first show in America at the Old Waldorf in SF. Remarkable. And then went back the next night. Utterly remarkable. If the answer to the query Greatest Songwriter After Dylan? is anything other than “Who is Elvis Costello” we can never be friends. Shipbuilding is in the Top 2 of anti-war songs.
2011 Moogfest in Asheville. Great talent and lots of synthesizer. My brother and I met Brian Eno and invited him to lunch. He joined us at 12 Bones, the rib place Obama loved. After ten minutes of almost-silent eating, Eno said, “Excuse me, but we’ve driven here, waited for a table, sat down, been served, and you haven’t asked me, “What’s so and so really like?” and I’d just like to thank you for that.” and he raised his glass to us. I couldn’t resist and as I raised my glass I said, “Well, now that you mention it…” (It’s always either Phil Collins or Van Morrison anyway.)
Patti Smith at CBGB’s. The New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center – the building that collapsed. They said the vibrations from the Doll’s music may have finally knocked the pre-war foundations down. Probably right.
1975 the Dylan show at MSG in support of Hurricane Carter, the wrongly imprisoned boxer and subject of Dylan’s song, “Hurricane”. Because he brought out Muhammad Ali to help with the song and my two cultural heroes in one place and I’m here for a great cause and I need to get to writing to be a part of that culture. A few months later I left for California and the writer’s life.
And twice in the past few years, the Blues savant, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, here in LA and again in DC at the historic I Street Synagogue. A showman, a prodigious player, and not-to-be-missed.
Righteous stuff re Elvis and Eno. Saw Elvis at the Santa Cruz Civic way back when (pre- Imperial Bedroom, an all time fav), then again much more recently at the Greek in Berkeley.
Eno/Byrne is a topic for another day.
I have a reel-to-reel tape from the radio (a bootleg was released at some point) of Pretenders at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium at the end of their first US tour. The rigors of the road did them good. They were *on fire*. James Honeyman-Scott (RIP) was stretching out. Glorious.
1979, I got dragged to see her at a small dance hall venue with a tiny stage. ‘Poor man’s Patti Smith was my initial thoughts. But they had something special. A great gig. A few months later, Brass in Pocket was at number 1 in the UK charts, and their LP was top of the album charts – but they still honoured a contract to re-perform at the same little venue.
I remember having to drive a van from Valencia down to South LA in 1980, and the DJ decided to play all of the Pretenders’ Hollywood Bowl (?) live recording – was such a perfect soundtrack for a long freeway haul, left a permanent impression.