The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion sets at Metro Theatre, Sydney, Australia with Beck and Bluebottle Kiss on 19 and 20 August 1994*.
*There two shows on 20 August 1994 with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion playing at 3.45pm and 10pm.
nb. Bluebottle Kiss replaced Magic Dirt.
Sound Engineer: Whitney O’Keeffe Jr
Merchandise: Cristina Martinez
All b/w Images: https://x.com/OTDBeckHistory
“BECK / JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION / BLUEBOTTLE KISS
Metro
Fri, Aug. 19.ALL the psychotic ghouls came out tonight. Their vacant, bug-eye stares a glaring testament to the way Beck has turned the tables and F…ked with Our Heads. The pint-sized genetic experiment-both a product and an open wound of the glittering LA.. garbage heap-came on with his own Woodstock reprise, complete with a circulation of Bad Brown Acid and a musical butterfly net.
BLUEBOTTLE Kiss arrived as a last minute ring-in for Magic Dirt-a tragic disappointment that they obliterated to their advantage with a set of dynamic tooth & claw, guitar driven fury. Coloured with overdriven effects and a clever twist on deconstructing the melodic pop song, the band work on strong contrasts of light and dark. In a more intimate venue, (ie with lighting that builds on the sonic shadows rather than whiting them out), Bluebottle Kiss will certainly stun a few punters. THE John Spencer Blues Explosion sauntered on to the stage with cocksure swagger and proceeded to tear everyone’s head off with their Thrash n’ Throttle rock-abilly-high on punk ether and self promotion! delusion. A three piece consisting of drums and two guitars, their music grinds into the breast bone like a pointed finger of accusation. The explosion’ came in the guise and antics of Jon Spencer himself-a reanimated marionette raving with more than a little resemblance to The Birthday Cave pouting. spitting and blessing the crowd like a Callon Park preacher on pent up adrenalin. I caught a definite whiff of octane as one of the desensitised moshers screamed: “It’s the best thing I’ve seen since The Cramps!” CASTING a vote on Beck’s performance really whittles down to how you interpret his persona: Is he an enigma, an escapee with a blank cheque at the pharmaceuticals counter, or a charlatan? a day tripper flogging sonic baloney to the mince meat hype machine. Mellow Gold, his debut stab into the corporate world, bleeds with all the mayhem that had him signed off the strength of a lounge room 4 track. But a recording project born of mutant spontaneity is one thing… turning it into a nightly ritual risks destroying what lies at the very heart of its attraction.
AS an antidote to the previous band, Beck launches into his set with a twin bass, gut-buster version of Soul Suckin Jerk, all bottom heavy drones and incomprehensible lyrics. Like the hyperactive librarians love child with an attention span deficiency, he seems to thrive on ridiculing the game, his own music and maybe even you and me. Performing is at crusade into a Legoland of musical styles: building blocks of 8 grade grunge, twisted folk and strychnine punk. In the middle of the set, the mood stooped into solo acoustic mode. working. the crowd somewhere between hypnosis and deep sleep therapy. Even Beck recognised the selfishness of it all by asking to: “Indulge me a little here.” NOW I never saw Betty Boo or Millio Vanille but after tonight I feel some affinity with their pissed off fans. The hardest pill to swallow was the versions of the two singles from the album Loser and Beercan, both unashamedly driven by backing tapes of rhythm and riffs. It’s like we’ve given the Sheriff’s kid more rope than he can possibly deal with and he’s just running around lynching weirdness from every corporate branch between stage and CD. The media and the fans labelled it ‘art’ and now Beck has to contend with being cerebral as well as good fun. For me redemption came in the form of (Everyone’s out to get you) Mutherf…er, a V-2 buzz bomb where the bass player, who’s built like a commercial refrigerator, looks ready to tear out the heart of the audience. with his recital of the chorus
BECK is unlike anything else. Whether you view him as special-one. devotee described him as a genius: So brave just doing himself” – while others were not quite sure of the sincerity of it all. Suspect… white trash. Crime… getting away with blue murder.”JAMES MAYSON
Tour Itinerary:
Sticker:
Silkscreened poster measures 51cm x 75cm, the same design was used for Anu Bar, Canberra, Australia (17 August 1994).
“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
