a friend of mine sent me some pics he found of the sex pistols playing at the kingfish in baton rouge, la on jan. 8, 1978. i just happened to be there that night so i guess he thought i'd like 'em. well, i went and dug out the bootleg of the show that he had taped and remembered how crazy that show was.
we packed a carload and headed to big b.r. listening to the clash, buzzcocks the jam and for some reason i kinda remember pink floyd's 'animals'.
the kingfish was only suppose to hold 600 people, but the limit was exceeded by at least another 300. the sweat and humidity dripped off the walls like a waterfall, even tho it was early january, and the smell of almost a thousand black leather clad punk rockers from all points south was almost gagging. and mixed amongst the punks were cowboy hats and boots, fonzy wanna-bes, disco girls and the usual assortment of freaks and trannys from the quarter.
i pushed and needled my way to the front of stage right, clutching my trusty sony 224 recorder and staked a claim. as i started yakking to my new neighbors in this debachary i found myself next to annie leibovitz and richard aaron, (photogs of rolling stone and time respectivley). well, that got me going, asking annie to take my pic coz it would make her famous and doing an interview w/ her on my 224 . . . taking pics of aaron w/ his own camera, just being silly from the intoxicating moment.
the opening band for the pistols this show was 'rockin dopsie and the twisters', a zydeco band that was as far removed from punk as could be. the big trick of the 'twisters' was when the washboard player stood on his head and did some amazin' washboarding a'la hendrix.
there were no mosh-pits then, everyone just pogo'd into one another. dopsie must have brought their own crowd because i had never seen canjun pogoin' before, but they really pumped up the crowd for the pistols, it was just so surreal. . .
when the pistols hit the stage it was as though a bomb went off. the pistols were covered with talcum powder, (for some un-godly reason), and it hovered around them like smokey halos. sid was shirtless with'gimme a fix' carved in his chest, a huge bandage on his left arm and a lock and chain from a peterbilt around his neck. and amid all this sweltry heat johnny was wearing blue plaid gaberdine suit.
drinks and spit hit the stage, while coins and bottles pelted the backwall, the minute they came out and sid was picking up change and sticking it in his mouth mumbling, 'gimme a hunnerd', into the mic.
when they kicked into 'god save the queen', i thought the building would take off. it was like a 747 of rock and roll, all the hype was out the door. how did these guys get so good? they shouldn't have been. paul cook was unrelenting, he just drove it into the dirt. between him and jones, it held together. johhny and sid were just clowns on the midway. but it was so good.
the lsu stage goons copped my 224 just into the second song and left it running on the side of the stage, that was ok, i knew a.g. was taping in the back . . . i was guranteed a copy of the show at least.
at one point the goon squad went after aaron's camera. he went down fighting but they got the cam and kicked him out screaming and waving his press pass. annie took less pics after that. . . oh well.
when someone threw a pair of those kiddie western sunglasses on the stage, sid put them on, played about a song and a half, until they fell off his face and back into the throng, then he started to whine about his 'fookin' glasses', (which promted another barrage of debris).
so it was, they played their whole cataloge, i guess about 40 mins but what a show!
it was a hurricane of a rock show, the likes of which i had never seen, and prolly never will again.
in a week and a day they broke up.
what a fun, goofy little band that changed music, and me too i guess . . . not for everyone, but neither am i.
a cool sex pistols/madonna video mash-up - 'ray of gob' (quicktime)
pieces of 'nevermind the bollocks, here's the sex pistols'
holidays in the sun
god save the queen
anarchy in the u.k.
bodies
pretty vacant
rockin'dopsie - 'calinda'
oh yeah, if anyone wants a copy of the pistols show from the kingfish e-me, (look up me profile), and maybe we can cut a deal. it ain't for sale, but i am open for offers . . .
5 comments:
Man, that was a great story. That's the sort of thing I can only read about, but you really put me in the moment. It's all so real. Johnny in the suit, Sid being the fooked up clown that he really was... oh, and the people who played music before joining the band (jones and whatshisface). I'm a bit young.... johnny was in pil before i knew about punk. sid died before i turned five i believe. yeah, i wasn't even 3 when you went to the show.
so, you keep pining for the easy. you in reno for work? if so, ya'll hurry on back... you don't seem happy in reno. don't imagine reno's all that great, but at least you can gamble your paycheck away on blackjack or hookers, whatever's your pleasure. lots of sinful options.
time to fold the laundry and go to bed.
Posted by nostradumass
Mikey,
I found the 224 tape from this night.
My copy was on the same tape as the Ramones/Runaways 2/21/78 soundcheck.
NOW, that night was a story unto itself.
If you remember, I actually was a student at Tulane, and the 2/21/78 Ramones at McAlister Auditorium was SUPPOSED to be run by Tulane students, but NOT a one showed up to help that day. So I called on you, FA, and Bubba to do the load in/load out and hang around.
We also took over that night, if you remember the soundcheck -- The Runaways were late, with FA standing in for Joan Jett in order for the soundman to get a level on the guitar, and Bubba at the piano in the backstage area. Bubba started playing Mr. Pain and I was out in the hall and started singing, so FA cranked up the guitar. In walk the Runaways and gave us all dirty looks. (Except for Vicki Blue the Runaways bassist dragging FA into a secluded backstage area and ......., well, they came back wearing each others shirts.)
Remember somebody threw a beer bottle at Johnny Ramone and he stopped the show and wanted to fight that asshole. (Its on the tape, me and Deano laughing our fool heads off at the idiot who threw the bottle as he was tossed from the concert. Tulane security was as useful as teats on a bull.....)
Anyhow I've found the tape you made at Kingfish of the Pistols.
Now, were you in McAlister for the Kinks soundcheck 2/20/76, when me and their soundman started singing "Mother's Lament" (from Cream's Disralei Gears)and Ray Davies came in late and chimed in from stage???
NOW, I dare you to repeat the Badfinger story from 3/31/72.
Posted by Mr. Freezer
oops, i guess he figured it out, silly boy!
Posted by sleepybomb
sleepybomb: i'm redsock, the partner of laura at "we move to canada". i clicked over from your zephyrs comment at her blog and saw this post.
i'm addicted to downloading boots at EZTree and thought i'd do a search. it turns out this show was posted there a little more than a week ago!
here is a setlist and some comments (two of which are from the guy who took the pictures you posted):
The Sex Pistols
Kingfish Club
Baton Rouge, La.
Jan. 9, 1978
1.God Save The Queen
2.I Wanna Be Me
3.Seventeen
4.New York
5.EMI
6.Bodies
7.Belsen Was A Gas
8.Submission
9.Holidays In The Sun
10.No Feelings
11.Problems
12.Pretty Vacant
13.Anarchy In The UK
14.No Fun
15.Liar
*******************
lpecucci (posted the show): "For the Pistols, it's not too bad quality-wise ... audience recorded & lots of antagonistic banter around the taper but the music is pretty clear (again, pretty clear for the Pistols!)"
kevn_rocks: "I was at this show and had no idea a recording of it even existed. I shot a couple of rolls of B&W film that night. I'm attaching a scan of the one I've had hanging on my wall for years. All the rest of the negatives are around here somewhere. Guess I should try to dig them out." (This guy also signed his name "Carlton" who is on the pic you posted.)
oneguysjunk: "There are actually 2 recordings made in at Kingfish at the Pistols show. If this version starts off with somebody saying "Throw something at them" then it was made in the back of the room. The other recording was made in the first row and on it you can hear the off mic comments made by the band, particularly Sid, who was picking up the coins thrown at him throughout the show. (the tape made in the first row was made by the same taper who recorded the Slade 6/15/74 show that was also just torrented here.) The "Throw something at them" version is from a boot, many generations removed from the master.""
kevn_rocks/carlton: "This recording has some talk about throwing coins. I had forgotten that happened and Sid was scurrying around picking the coins up. This is missing two pieces of stage banter though that I remember very well. After the first song or two, Johnny Rotten screamed at some people in the front to "Stop the F&^king spitting" Later Sid saw a girl with some cool sunglasses on and kept asking her to "Give me the shades". These don't turn up anywhere that my feeble ears detect on this recording and they should be very prominent since both were said into the mic. Whatever the venue it's still a pretty decent Pistols recording."
**********
Naturally, I'm downloading the show!
Posted by redsock
too funny red, that front row tape was me. the tape in the back was done by a guy named jay hollingworth, who was a dj at wtul at the time. my deck was grabbed by the goons, but they forgot to turn it off for a couple of songs. the stuff from the back is hilarious, some girl screaming'you've met your match johnny! you've met your match', and people yelling for monkees and bay city roller songs. i hope you enjoy, i did!
Posted by sleepybomb
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