One of my friends called in and won four free tickets to see them perform in Boston. But I was too busy with schoolwork and bowed out like an utter fool. My priorities were so skewed back then. Of course, not long after this the band called it quits due to the tinnitus problems of guitarist Roger Miller. Tinnitus is a condition that is a symptom of ear damage, in many cases from extended exposure to loud noise. It is the perception by the ear of noise in the absence of noise. Bob Mould of Husker Du also suffers from this affliction, which produces unremitting annoying tones. Makes it hard to sleep. I had assumed I would get the opportunity to see the band, but the joke was on me. At least temporarily. Fast forward to the New Millennium.
They reformed! And not in an obligatory, make-money nostalgia fest. These guys broke out of the box as big and bad as they were twenty years earlier! And they were recording new material!!! But alas, these events did not occur because a cure was found for tinnitus. Because of Miller's affliction the band (and no doubt also because of job commitments) was not going to be doing extended touring, maybe only a few weeks at a time. So I made sure I got to see these guys. They are one of the most important American bands, influential but never imitated. Popular in the Boston Area, misunderstood an even reviled in their day in other areas (read their chapter in Michael Azerrad's awesome book on Post Punk, Our Band Could Be Your Life).
I saw the band in a fairly small club in New Haven, Toad's Place. I left work on a Thursday, but traffic on I-95 was utterly horrendous. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to get there. But it was worth the drive, believe me.
They were absolutely tremendous--I was so excited to see this band after all these years, and they exceeded my already high expectations. Miller was awesome playing a million low end chords a minute on guitar while wearing those big headphones that they use on airport runways to protect his hearing. Clint Conley jumping around on stage like he had never put his bass down for a few decades, and the mighty Peter Prescott hammering the drums and shouting along to the beautiful chaos. Hearing That's When I Reach For My Revolver, Trem Two, Peking Spring, That's How I Escaped My Certain Fate, Academy Fight Song, and much more. I'm pretty sure they played Mica, which is my favorite Burma song. I even got the t-shirt.
One of the best shows I've ever seen. It makes me a little teary thinking about it. So if you get the chance, go see this band while you can. They are one of the most interesting innovative intelligent American bands out there who are an astonishingly powerful live act, the closest this country ever got to having a band like Wire. And they rock harder than most current bands who are a generation younger than them.
So when this short documentary on Mission of Burma, This is Not a Photograph came out I was all over it.
It's a nice genial documentary, not a warts and all expose. The filmmakers recount the history of the group, beginning before the band existed when Miller and Conley played in Erik Lindren's band Moving Parts. They then go through the early days of the band, their recordings on Rick Harte's Ace of Hearts label, and finally to the band's breakup. Then they move to present day, where they interview and film the days leading to the bands rebirth as a touring entity.
All the band members contributed to this documentary, and it seems like they reassembled the band with little bad blood or baggage. No one seems to be able to explain why they decided to restart the group after so many years and so little appreciation beyond the Boston area. Martin Swope, who originally did the tape loops in the group, who was a significant part of the Burma sound was not able to participate in the band reunion and Bob Weston was brought in as a replacement. In addition to the band's commentaries there are cameo spots from friends, fans, music critics and fellow musicians, including Thurston Moore, Lee Renaldo, Mike Watt, Moby, Dave Minehan of The Neighborhoods, and Hugo Burnham from Gang of Four.
One of the interesting aspects of the reunion was that Clint Conley was now an executive at a local cable news station, and that after the original demise of the band he put down his bass and never picked it up again for 20 years. He built a new career for himself and raised a family. Some people at the cable station had no idea that he was previously a local rock star. Peter Prescott was working as a buyer in a local record store. Hearing the commentary from the band is illuminating and often warm and funny. The fact that they came back to critical adulation and packed venues is like a punk rock fairytale come true. As was stated in the aforementioned Our Band Could Be Your Life, they went on tours and played before practically nobody, or they performed and people there petitioned the owner to get them off stage so they could play the jukebox.
One of the amazing things about Mission of Burma is the variety of qualities they brought to the musical table. As one fan said in the DVD, they were experimental, almost punk-progressive, but they were also a noisy abrasive hard rocking band. Finally on top of this there was a pop harmony element there also. I'm not saying that did this all at one time, but it was all definitely part of the package. You can see the tremendous enthusiasm in the faces of the people in this documentary when they talk about the band. And that's not just fans and friends either. There is a lot of concert footage intercut throughout the documentary, both from the past and from the reunion, including practice reunion shows and the big show at Irving Plaza in 2002. My only regret was that there was not a full bonus disc of just live performances by the band, instead of a few tracks appended onto the documentary.
And by seeing the live footage it is evident what a special group they were. They were questing to try different things, and they used a full musical palette to accomplish their goals. Time changes, Tempo changes, multiple chord changes, abrasiveness, aggressiveness, use of space, volume changes. The songs don't particularly sound the same. It's refreshing when you hear a band that makes uncompromising songs that don't pander to the flavor of the week or the fickle fleeting tastes of the general public. It's difficult to do and it requires a lot of bravery. And it took a long time for people to catch up to the visionary music they had made.
So let me repeat. See this band and be amazed. Check out this DVD and you'll see what I mean. They have just begun recording album number 5 so be prepared.
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