After many MANY years, my former neighbor Mr. John Cale performed at the former Limelight last night and gave an energetic and technically excellent performance that many musicians half his age would give their right arm for. Mr. G and I are no strangers to Mr. Cale, as we saw him many many times in the previous decade (my first time was at NYU where his former Velvet Underground cohorts Lou Reed and the late Sterling Morrison joined him). Brandt was new to seeing the man live, despite having been to his home, and this was a really good first gig to lose your Cale Virginity to. In the past, Cale has usually flown solo or gone a more classical route. This time, he was joined by his rock band and they were supurb. It was tight, crystal clear set that saw Mr. Cale looking fit and singing better than ever. He is a virtuoso, and the evening saw him play a range of instruments, including the keyboards, the electric guitar, the acoustic guitar and his trademark viola (which he used on the Velvet's classic VENUS IN FURS, a nice surprise). He played the stronger material from his current album HOBOSAPIANS, and gave the audience the Cale "hits" such as FEAR, CHINESE ENVOY and ANDALUCIA. Though G and were completey exhausted from our adventures with Mr. Dulli the night before, the decision to see Mr. Cale was a solid one. He was very happy to be there, really energetic, and very charismatic and down to Earth. It used to be that Lou Reed was the "cool" one and Cale was the "pretentious" one. My how those roles have reversed in their later years.
Another great reunion has happened with the release of CONVENIENCE, the first album from the reunited Die Warzau. Van Christie and Jimmy Marcus haven't lost a step as this record really encompasses everything that has been great about this band over the years. It has the excellent programming and production Van is known for and the stunning emotional vocals that Jimmy has made famous. What's even more interesting about it is that it's not an angry industrial album. Instead, it's more akin to an industrial 'chill out" album. Very mature and very much two talented adults not trying to sound like they still have the teen angst in them. Like their last album, ENGINE, the new album builds at a nice place to include some great dance numbers and a few ballads. By the midpoint, they have some really heavy stuff going on and then the comedown is just as good as the rush to get there. if I have any complaints it's just that there's TOO much material here to get into. Of all the bands that are making comebacks in this genre, Die Warzau have done the best job of maintaining the spirit and quality of their previous life while creating a record that is modern and interesting. Awesome.
In other machine rock news, after breaking the hearts of his many fans, Mr. Eric Powell today announces his return to his roots. I'm surprised it took him this long. If he's a born again rivet, so be it, we can always use another old schooler. Eric, you know how to find me.
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