1987: Pussy Galore – Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ, US – CANCELLED
w/ Urge Overkill

Poster: Nash Kato

1999: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Benicassim, Spain

2006: The Sadies – In Concert Volume One – released in the US (UK release date was 18 September 2006)

Features guest appearance from Jon Spencer and Matt Verta-Ray on Back Off, Justine Alright, Talking Down, Food, Water, Etc. and Her Love Made Me.

Her Love Made Me is a previously unreleased song by Heavy Trash and Back Off was available as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the debut album .

Recorded live on February 3/4 at Lee’s Palace, Canada by Steve Albini.

2008: Heavy Trash – Glasslands, Brooklyn, New York, US
w/ Witch Hats, Five Dollar Priest and Woman

2009: Phenomenal Handclap Band – released in Australia
Features a guest appearance by Jon Spencer on Give It A Rest

2009: Cat Power (w/ Judah Bauer, Russell Simins, Erik Paparazzi and Gregg Foreman) – Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, US.
w/ The Pretenders and Juliette Lewis

2015: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Supersense Festival, Melbourne, Australia
w/ Marc Ribot

Live Photo (side): Arts Centre Melbourne (https://www.instagram.com/artscentremelbourne/)
Live Photo (front): Tim O’Connor (https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/supersense-review-a-strange-and-intense-experience-not-for-the-dispassionate-onlooker-20150808-giupdg.html)

“The festival-capping Jon Spencer Blues Explosion fell immediately into a hot-wired groove. A US flag hanging vertically behind them, the grizzled New York power trio cranked the volume to match Spencer’s distorted carnival-barker vocals, ever bent on rock ‘n’ roll evangelism.

With strong whiffs of both Elvis and the MC5, their in-the-pocket squalls made for a disconnect with the Playhouse’s more formal setting. But the remaining crowd was rowdy and beery, dancing at their seats and on the sidelines. Beyond the music’s blown-out, consuming presence, the reception itself was, yes, ecstatic.” – Michael Dwyer / theage.com.au

2018: Jon Spencer & The HITmakers – Memphis on Main, Champaign, IL, US
w/ The Dry Look

HITmakers show #11

Live Photo: Lori Kealy Wachtel (https://www.instagram.com/folkartist68/)

1995: Boss Hog – The Rev, Baltimore, MD, US
w/ Railroad Jerk

Poster Artwork: Frank Kozik

2004: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Notodden Blues Festival, Notodden, Norway

2007: Tiny Masters of Today – Webster Hall, New York City, NY, US
w/ Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2008: Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues – Edmonton Folk Festival, Alberta, Canada

2011: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – S.E.I. Festival, Lecce, Italy

2015: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Manning Bar, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
w/ HITS

Live Photo (b/w): Adam Davis-Powell
Live Photo (colour): Kyleigh Pitcher

2018: Jon Spencer & The HITmakers – Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO, US
w/ The Maness Brothers

HITmakers show #10

1994: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Boat, Brisbane, Australia
w/ Beck

Beck has covered the Pussy Galore songs I Just Wanna Die, Constant Pain and Pussy Stomp during his live sets and and in an interview with Buzzy (1994) Beck said “We did Pussy Galore songs, and he would come out and start singin’ em. We wouldn’t even ask him.”

2004: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Notodden Blues Festival, Notodden, Norway

2006: Tiny Masters of Today – McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn, New York, US
w/ The Detroit Cobras, The Legendary Maxine Brown, The Everyothers and Trick and the Heartstrings

Live Photos: Rafe Baron (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rafebaron/)

2007: Tiny Masters of Today – Bang Bang Boom Cake – released in the UK

This album was produced-by and features Russell Simins.

2011: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Les Nuits Secretes, Aulnoye-Aymeries, France

2013: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Entwine, New York City, NY, US

“Last night’s secret Subtwine Sessions show: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion rocked the house!” – EntwineNYC

nb. This was a secret ‘Subtwine Sessions’ show immediately before their Japan tour dates.

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/entwinenyc

2015: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – The Zoo, Brisbane, Australia
w/ HITS

Live Photo: Steven Morgan

“JSBX don’t disappoint. They take the stage and launch into their gutsy rock without taking a breath. This is a well-oiled machine. They have plied their no-frills rock n roll for nigh on 25 years so they know exactly what they are doing and how to do it. Their latest album “Freedom Tower” is the feature of the night. You can smell the grit and guts of New York City that spawned it.

John exclaiming over and over “It’s a blues explosion. Come on”. He practically swallows the microphone as he growls and snarls. I can’t help but wonder if his knees or his voice-box will give-out first, if ever.

Respect to Bauer on guitar for his warm stage presence, musicianship, genuine smiles and high 5’s to the mob in the mosh. Oh, and for your coolness. Nice work.

Thanks JSBX, Hits and the zoooooies for a rollicking, raucous night of damn fine rock and roll.” – Carmel E. Lewis / BlankGC.com.au

REVIEW: https://blankgc.com.au/live-review-john-spencer-blues-explosion-hits-06-08-15-the-zoo-brisbane/

“Jon Spencer is an incredible showman, rarely stationary for a second and taking any instrumental moment to step out onto his monitors and survey the crowd. A mismatched bunch of 30 & 40 something men attempt to dance to the frequently changing rhythms that the band fly through as though that’s how the blues always was.

They fly through songs from their abundant back catalogue as though being paid by the title, turning the encore into a sort of relentless medley that throws in parts of songs like the intro to ‘Bellbottoms’ then moves on before you have a chance to relax. It may not have been the whole song, but I’ll take it.”

“However, the audience is beaming with satisfied faces, even those Brylcreamed types who looked as though the only reason they turned up was because there was ‘Blues’ in the title.” – Steven Morgan / Scenestr.com.au

2017: Bob Bert / Mike Edison / Cristina Martinez / Jon Spencer / Peter Zaremba – Arts & Seizures, Brooklyn, New York, US

Photo: Posted by Bob Bert (https://www.instagram.com/therealbobbert/)

2018: Jon Spencer & The HITmakers – Rock Island Brewing Company, Rock Island, Illinois, US
w/ The Melvins

HITmakers show #9

1987: Pussy Galore – Joel Aid / The Channel, Boston, US
w/ Big Black, Urge Overkill, MC Byron Coley and DJ Debbie Southwood Smith

nb. Last Big Black show.

1989: Pussy Galore – CBGB, New York City, NY, US
w/ Cop Shoot Cop, Honeymoon Killers, The Unsane and The Dust Devils

nb. Last Pussy Galore show (excluding the reunion at Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ on December 23, 2011).

The recordings from this show were remixed in 1997 and released as Live: In The Red on vinyl and CD.

Part of this show was broadcast on The John Peel radio show on 25 July 1990.

Peel Session Tracks:

Dead Meat
SM57
Understand Me
Pig Sweat
Nothin’ Can Bring Me Down
New Breed

Poster Image: alexinnyc (https://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/2006/12/sweet_little_hi.html)

1994: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Playroom, Gold Coast, Australia
w/ Beck and Magic Dirt

“Anybody who witnessed The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on their first visit to Australia and New Zealand in the early nineties as support to US hipster Beck, would have seen a man – a band – seemingly possessed with the spirit of everything great rock ‘n’ roll has to offer. A flat out garage attack of diamond riffs, snarled vocals, blues hollering, the funky drummer beats and tunes you can actually dance and/or fuck to.” – FeelPresents.com (2011)

Comment regarding The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion supporting Beck during the Australian tour (exact show unknown):

“A few much cooler people were there solely for the support band, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, who really confused the audience who wanted to like them, but couldn’t yell and scream because the JSBX played continuously, with no breaks between songs.

Beck joined the JSBX for a song, which massively excited the audience, but it wasn’t Loser so it didn’t really matter.” – robyngallagher.com

2000: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan

The band have referred to this online and said that their set was delayed by 45 minutes due to James Brown but the band had the “good fortune to meet the Godfather” and Russell got his autograph.

There was also a Summer Sonic shirt specifically for this event.

2011: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Off Festival, Katowice, Poland

2015: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand
w/ Swamp Thing

nb. Show rescheduled from 31 July 2015

Live Photo (Colour): Trevor Villers
Live Photos (b/w): Powerstation ( https://www.facebook.com/powerstationnz/)

2017: Cat Power (w/ Judah Bauer) – Feed The Body, Feed The Soul @ Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, 400 W College Ave, Appleton, Wisconsin, WI 54911, US

2018: Jon Spencer & The HITmakers – The Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, US
w/ Melvins

HITmakers show #8

Interview / Show Preview:

“NUVO: I know you’re putting out your first solo record in the fall. What went into the decision to go down this solo route?

SPENCER: Because I wanted to do something, and I don’t have a band. [laughs] I needed to just get out there and start something new. Boss Hog [a band he’s in with his wife] put a record out about a year ago called Brood X. We did some touring, but we were somewhat limited because most people in the group have full-time jobs. We’ve done some touring. We’d like to do more, but we can’t go out for weeks at a time.

I was really missing having a band. Last summer, I wrote a bunch of songs and then took a trip out to Benton Harbor, Michigan to work at Key Club Recording and made this record Spencer Sings the Hits! I worked with Sam Coomes, who is best known for being one half of Quasi. Sam played bass using a lot of synthesizers, and the drummer is a local guy from Kalamazoo named M. Sord. Sord was somebody that I got to know from working at the Key Club. He’s kind of like the studio handyman, but he’s also a great drummer.

We tracked the record last fall, and the session got cut short because my father-in-law passed away. Then, in January, I went back out to the Key Club to finish the record—to overdub and mix the thing. It’s been done for a while, and hopefully it’ll be out in October. If people come out and see us play, we will have a special prerelease vinyl-only tour edition of the record. So you could buy a copy if you come to the show. Otherwise, you’ve gotta wait until October. I should also mention that joining us live on these dates will be my old friend Bob Bert, who was in Pussy Galore with me. There are going to be four of us.” – Seth Johnson / nuvo.newsnirvana.com

Full Interview: https://nuvo.newsnirvana.com/music/jon-spencer-s-wild-ride/article_cf2b7400-94fd-11e8-843f-67ad9a357545.html

Poster Design: Jeremy Packer (https://www.instagram.com/zombieyeti/)
Live Photo: Kevin Hickner (https://www.instagram.com/kev_yo/)
Billboard Photo: Luc Alberts (https://www.instagram.com/sixstringrevolver/)

1987: Pussy Galore – unknown US tour date

1989: Pussy Galore – unknown US tour date

1994: Jon Spencer – interview with Thicker Magazine, New York City, NY, US

Photos: Cristina Martinez

1994: Boss Hog – Tramps, New York City, NY, US

1999: Dub Narcotic Sound System & Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Sideways Soul: Dub Narcotic Sound System Meets The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a Dancehall Style – The test pressing was manufactured on August 4, 1999 and the commercial version was released in September 1999.

nb. This copy of the record sold for $36.00 and was later listed by another seller for a truly heroic $2999.99

2006: Coldcut (feat. Jon Spencer) – Live at The Big Chill, Eastnor Castle, Ledbury, Herefordshire, UK

2008: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Init Club, Rome, Italy

2011: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Palác Acropolis, Prague, Czech Republic

2015: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Chicks Hotel, Port Chalmers, Dunedin, New Zealand

“Jon Spencer Blues Explosion such a phenomenal show at Chick’s Hotel tonight. Jon even had energy for some bar work.”

Live Photo / Quote: Fishrider Records (https://twitter.com/FishriderNZ)

2017: Jon Spencer [DJ Set] – Shakin’ All Over Under Sideways Down!, New York Night Train @ Home Sweet Home, New York City, NY, US

2018: Jon Spencer & The HITmakers – Ace of Cups, Columbus, OH, US
w/ Cheater Slicks

HITmakers show #7

Live Photo: Danielle Petrosa (https://www.instagram.com/daniellepetrosa/)
Ticket Image: John Grosvenor (https://www.instagram.com/grosvenordesign/)