Today’s throwdown features Vernon Reid, Corey Glover, Doug Wimbish and Will Calhoun – Living Colour, y’all – ripping shit up in Amsterdam in 2004.
I’m presenting the last third of the show on the embed below. You can see the complete gig here at Fabchannel.com.
Now, I hope I don’t fall out of love with this Fabplayer app as quickly as I fell in... but depending on my Internet connection, I’ve noticed some stop-and-start crap with the streaming video. Which sucks when you’re watching live music.
So if these concert embeds aren’t up to snuff, tech-wise, please let me know. I might go to posting one track at a time, which I just figured out how to do.
Anyways, this Living Colour gig... To my sensitive eyes, it looks like analogue video; it doesn’t have the crystal-sharp digital look of last week’s Brand New Heavies video. Still looks quite good.
But the music is fire!
I started with “Open Letter (to a Landlord)” for a reason. Corey Glover is in full-tilt showoff mode with an extended a cappella intro. Sick!
The band, of course, is tight as Dick’s hat band. I could watch Vernon Reid shred all day long. And I’m always up for some “Cult of Personality.” Ahh, the memories. Twenty years ago I thought black rock was gonna take over.
"Twenty years ago I thought black rock was gonna take over."
ReplyDeleteOr at least not completely disappear. I saw them at Univ of Maryland in 1990 -- amazing.
I'm about to dive into this. Bruh, you ain't lyin' about Black rock. I was ALL into that. Were you at the Living Colour show in DC back in '88 at the Pavillion? Their first show outside of Brooklyn. They had everybody come on stage while did some go-go rock? That was the sheeit.
ReplyDeleteLiving Colour, Fishbone, Bad Brains, 24-7 Spyz were it back then. Saw a Living Colour show when I was in law school in LA. Right after they went over big. Trulio Disgracias opened. It was an expanded version of Fishbone - about twenty muthafuckas on stage. It was dark so I couldn't see who was also in the band. I heard a couple mugs from Red Hot Chili was up there, too. They broke into a version of "Red Hot Mama" that blew the roof off!
Yeah, it's too bad that Black rock movement died in the early 90s. Living Colour's last cd Collideoscope was baad. Saw them open for King Crimson here in Denver back 2003. Should've been the other way around because as baad as Crimson is, they couldn't match the intensity of Living Colour.
I could go on and on, but I won't - until I watch this video.
Whew! What a way to start the day! Checked the whole video. Is it on on DVD? It needs to be. Didn't have the start and stop problems you warned about, Dave.
ReplyDeleteIf you have never seen a Living Colour show live, this captures the vibe. Without the ringing ears and sweat-soaked shirt after the show.
How to sum them up? Chops, showmanship, sound effects, intensity, message, groove, politics, I'm sure there's more. If you like electricity and electronics in your music, you can't beat Living Colour. Only the version of the Rollins Band featuring Chris Hackett, Melvin Gibbs, and Sim Cain come close.
When Living Colour added that madman of technology, Doug Wimbish, well they already couldn't be touched, but he took them to the stratosphere.
"Terrorism!" Like a muthafucka! "If you want this place to be a better place, fuck George Bush." And Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez.
It's funny how baad dudes come together in a band. Each member of Living Colour is a unique personality and extremely baad. Love them bruhs.
Thanks Dave! Made my day.
God, I'm still bitter about how much Colleidoscope (or however you're supposed to spell it) sucked. I saw them a few years ago with Public Enemy in NYC, and they were still ferocious live: I figured the monster comeback album was just around the corner and I was stoked. Then I bought it. Sigh. You can't go home again, apparently.
ReplyDeleteBut I'd pay to see them live any time, any place, as long as any of them are still around. And I'll probably break down and buy the otherwise unexciting Guitar Hero 3, just because it's got Cult of Personality on it.
Thanks for the video!
Very cool... glad there were no technical difficulties for you fellas.
ReplyDeleteDeAnge, I saw the band when Corey Glover re-joined a few years ago... maybe around the time of this Holland gig. Like you say, each of those four cats is like a show unto themselves.
Doc gotta disagree with you on Collideoscope. I think they picked up where they left off from Stain.
ReplyDeleteLiving Colour, Fishbone, Bad Brains, 24-7 Spyz were it back then.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget The Bus Boys! "Did You See Me" is the sheeit.
There was another band in the vein of 24-7 Spyz I used to like, but I can't recall the name right now. It was "Under"-something (not the Undertones, though). Damn my old brain!
Maybe its just me, but I hate that damned site! Everytime I try to fast-forward to the song I want, it re-starts! This thing sucks.
ReplyDelete:(
But its probably just user error, lol.
L
i caught living colour just after their first cd came out in davis, ca and loved the show. not only did they play the entire cd, but the closed with a cover of tracy chapman's "talkin bout a revolution".
ReplyDeletepretty much a comment to let you know that they are on myspace @ http://www.myspace.com/livingcolourmusic and the blog has relocated to http://www.livingcolourmusic.com as well. Living Colour is writing and recording starting this month too!!!
ReplyDelete