The Business - The Cage, Minneapolis April 15 1995

Sad news winding its way through the rumor mill that Micky Fitz of original Oi! band The Business finally lost his battle with cancer.

I first got turned on to The Business from the documentary film UK/DK and they quickly became a firm favorite.  I bought the records I could find, which in Minneapolis in 1984 were few and far between, and turned on my friends to the band.

Flash forward 11 years and I was playing bass in my own Oi! band (The Subversives), and we get the call to open for The Business who had been booked to play a local all-ages goth club called The Cage.  Then I found out that my friend Tom Cesario (RIP) was going to be the sound man, and I was able to slip him a blank tape for him to record a feed from the board.

The result is below. This tape has never been circulated (to the best of my knowledge) so enjoy!

1. intro
2. Suburban Rebels
3. Blind Justice
4. Real Enemy
5. Product
6. Saturday's Heroes
7. Out In The Cold
8. Holiday In Seattle
9. H-Bomb
10. Mortgage Mentality
11. Loud, Proud & Punk
12. Keep The Faith
13. Smash The Discos
14. Drinking & Driving
15. Never Be Taken
16. Harry May

RIP Micky Fitz... relive the glory here

Special Beat - First Ave. 1993

From the same night as The Selecter show I posted earlier.  Special Beat was half Specials and half English Beat and all amazing. One of the most energetic shows I have seen, the band were non-stop running, jumping and no standing still.

1. Monkey Man
2. Rough Rider
3. Tears of a Clown
4. Nothing Ever Changes
5. ???
6. Too Hot
7. Rainy Days
8. Doesn't Make It Alright
9. Get a Job
10. Ranking Full Stop
11. Mirror in the Bathroom
12. Sooner or Later
13. Enjoy Yourself


No ordinary beat, get your Special Beat here

Whitehouse - Live Action 57 Mpls 1993

Whitehouse
Live Action 57
Seventh Street Entry
Minneapolis
July 7 1993

What can I say about Whitehouse?  If you know then I don't have to tell you. If you don't know then there is no use in trying to explain it to you.

I went more out of curiosity than as a fan, and I left more as a fan than a curiosity seeker.

Of all the shows I recorded around this time, this is the only tape that I listed as "Quality cannot be determined". This could be the best Whitehouse bootleg ever, or it could be total crap. Or it could be both.



Local band Outhouse opened the show, and I believe they were put together just to play this gig.

Chicago's Intrinsic Action was next. Not being a connoisseur o Power Electronics they seemed to just be a Whitehouse clone, although upon further investigation I realized there were subtle differences.

Whitehouse came on and did what they did.  Bennett introduced "Birth Death Experience" and the band just stood there. It was dance night in the First Ave mainroom, and you can hear Haddaway's "What Is Love" bleed through during this Whitehouse classic.

dictator
my cock's on fire
i'm comin' up your ass
the second coming
birthdeath experience
asking for it
twice is not enough
shitfun

Get some Live Action here

Plasmatics First Avenue Minneapolis May 4 1987

In 1980 I was 12 years old and a budding punk rocker. My dad was 41 and enjoyed looking at women's breasts.  I heard that The Plasmatics were going to be playing at a local dive bar and asked my dad if he'd take me. "Huh, is that the woman that only wears shaving cream and electrical tape?" he asked. I replied in the affirmative and he agreed.  I ran upstairs to my mom... "Mom, Mom," I shouted, "Dad said he will take me to see The Plasmatics!!!"  "No he's not!" was her reply.

It would be another 7 years before I was able to witness the spectacle that was The Plasmatics, and it was well worth the wait.  At this time, on tour supporting the album "Maggots: The Album" it was only Wendy O. and Wes Beech from the original line up, but still, it was THE PLASMATICS!!!  You can hear me shouting "Butcher Baby" during Wendy's intro to said song, and I got to actually touch her legs a few times. It was like touching the calf of God.  It was a sad sad day in the Stench household when I found out Wendy had given herself a lead lobotomy, but at least I got the chance to see her perform at least once.

1. Intro
2. ???
3. A Pig is a Pig
4. ???
5. ???
6. Squirm
7. ???
8. Living Dead
9. Propagators
10. Sex Junkie
11. Butcher Baby
12. Masterplan
13. Party Tonight
14. No Class
15. Fuck That Booty
16. ???
17. Black Leather Monster
18. Going Wild

It's not the best quality, but you can get your plasma here

Teengenerate Uptown Bar Dec. 6 1995

Teengenerate, one of Japan's premiere garage rock exports, hit the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis in the winter of 1995 to bring some much-needed scorch to our wintery hell.

I don't know the names of the songs so your guess is as good as mine.

Thanks to Tim Kelly for help on dating this show.

Start your Wild Weekend here

A Flock of Seagulls - Mississippi Live Minneapolis Feb. 20 1993

1993, before the nostalgia craze hit its' full stride, A Flock of Seagulls played a failing bar in a failing shopping complex on the bank of the Mississippi river. AFOS hadn't done anything of note for nigh on 10 years, so expectations were very low, as was the ticket price.

And those expectations were met, just barely.  Mike Score and some hired hands ran through "new" songs interspersed with the obligatory hits.  Mr. Score seemed like he couldn't wait to get off the stage and back to his adopted home of Florida.  There was palpable umbrage when the band finally got around to playing "I Ran", a song that not only made it possible for Mr. Score to not work a real job, but also travel the world playing music.

The quality of the recording is listenable for the hardcore fan. It is what it is, much like the performance.

• Mike Score – lead vocals, keyboards
• Ed Berner – lead guitar
• Kaya Pryor – drums, percussion
• Mike Radcliffe – bass guitar
• Mike Railton – keyboards

1. Magic
2. Over My Head
3. Space Age Love Song
4. Setting Sun
5. Burning Up
6. The Fall
7. Quicksand
8. The More You Live The More You Love
9. You're Mine
10. Life Is Easy
11. Nightmares
12. Hearts On Fire
13. Wishing
14. I Ran
15. Messages
16. Telecommunication

Listen to a birdie trying to take flight here

Or if you have an account on Dime you can torrent it here

Big Country - First Avenue Minneapolis Nov 6 1993

Big Country rolled into town late in 1993. I was enough of a fan to snatch up a free ticket (back in the days when First Ave. handed out comp tickets like Halloween candy) and to bring down the ol' tape recorder.  The recording is as best as I could make it, and evidently I missed the encore for some reason.

Explore a Big Country here