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That was when the weather started getting rough, my 1998 Honda Civic XL was tossed (well, rained on a lot). I parked about three blocks from the venue, and by that time the rain was at monsoon levels, making it hard to even see. I actually ran past Leonard Street and had to double back. By the time I came inside I was as soaked as a human could possibly be. Adding insult to injury, the rain stopped about five minutes after I got inside. It felt like the whole place was staring at me collectively, like a giant drowned rat standing on his hind legs in their club. The good news was that I eventually did dry off, and the show was pretty much as magical as I hoped it would be. David Kilgour is simply a guitar mensch. It almost seems like he developed this style by tinkering around, with his guitar and the dials on his amp, almost like a form of folk art.
I think about the movie Spinal Tap and the amps with the volume knob with a custom 11, instead of the standard ten. And if you are at all familiar with the excellent magazine for recording music, TapeOp by Portland's own Larry Crane, owner of JackPot studios, maybe you have read the New Zealand issue, where the Clean was interviewed. Kilgour was asked about recording and how the sound of the early Clean was created, and I believe there was a similar answer as to Spinal Tap, except putting treble and reverb all the way up to maximum. And if you are at all interested in the process of making music, TapeOp is simply a magazine you need to get your paws on. There are also two books out compiling old articles from the magazine.
But back to the Clean. Seeing them live, and also listening to Syd's Pink Wiring is like meeting up with old friends, even though I don't know these guys personally. The music is chameleon-like, mesmerizing, improvisational, combining elements of psychedelia, dub, surf rock, folk, pop, punk, kraut rock, though not always of course in the same song. And it's always exciting to see what David Kilgour will do next, and at times it seems he actually is thinking about it as he goes along. And of course, Robert Scott on bass and Hamish Kilgour provide a rock-steady palette for his sonic excursions. And Sir David definitely airs it out on several of the longer songs on this disc.
Right now I am listening to track 5, the epic Point That Thing Somewhere Else, arguably the Freebird of Kiwi Rock, the difference being that PTTSE is an amazing song that I never tire of hearing. I guess what I'm saying is it's a long song. Nice anti-social quiet singing, in that way someone gives a speech who is too shy to orate. Shards of molten guitar on this. The second song on this live recording is I Wait Around, from their Vehicle album, long overdue for reissue. A different animal from their early music, Vehicle is probably my favorite summer album, light and melodic.
They do Hold On To The Rail here, a song sadly omitted from the Merge Clean compilation but present on the original comp of early material released on Flying Nun. It's a mellow version, but in any form the song is a treat. Another enjoyable moment is on the record is the joyful Do Your Thing, reminiscent of Anything Could Happen. And of course there is the hypnotic drive of Quickstep, which the Chill's Martin Phillips performs on. Kilgour and Phillips performing together is nothing new-- they put out a mini-ep of 60's covers as The Pop Art Toasters, and they covered Message To Pretty on We're All Normal and We Want Our Freedom, which was a Love Tribute album.
And as you may expect the album art, front and back, is by David Kilgour, lovely colorful abstract art, another one of his talents. I just saw recently that Original Music was selling a vinyl version of The Clean's Odditties now. These lofi recordings have been out of print for a long time. I have part one on Cd and I actually had Part 2 on cassette, but I'm not sure what I did with it. More Clean is always good I say. Music that will enrich your life, I say. And somebody please reissue Vehicle soon. You can hear some of it on the Merge compilation, but the whole thing would be a real boon to music fans.
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