The Magic Band!

It finally happened!

Nearly 40 years after I saw them with Captain Beefheart at the Forum, and 10 years since I got screwed out of seeing their big reunion show at the Queen Mary (long story), I was rewarded at last with an intimate, intense, and VERY hard-rocking Magic Band show at the Troubadour!

Originally it was just going to be me and Sharon, but my friend Greg caught wind of the show and came along, and it was great to have him. He and I took 3rd and 4th place in line while Sharon said goodbye to Sam and Sarah at home, and she joined us shortly before we got in.  The two old maniacs in front of me said the best seats were upstairs, so we dutifully followed them and wound up just behind John French's family.  We had a few rounds and some fries and onion rings during the show.

I'd been telling Sharon that the Magic Band starts their shows with the easier, bluesy material, and then slowly brings in the harder, more complex & off-center music toward the middle. WRONG! This new Magic Band jumped right in with MY HUMAN GETS ME BLUES from Trout Mask Replica, and that set the tone for the evening.  There were still the mainstream tunes like Diddy Wah Diddy and Click Clack, but the bulk of the set was dedicated to the crazier stuff and that was fine with me!  Sharon seemed to enjoy the show but got a little sleepy towards 11:00 PM.

I have to say that this Magic Band sounds far more cohesive and spot-on without Gary Lucas, Beefheart's last original guitarist who previously toured with these guys.  The new, much younger 2nd guitarist and drummer were both amazing, especially during ALICE IN BLUNDERLAND which had a long and gorgeous solo.

The remain original players were John French (in amazing form both out front and behind the drum kit), Rockette Morton (always note-perfect) and Denny Walley (who is awesome, but did lose the beat a couple times, especially during BIG EYED BEANS. DOH!!)

At the end of the show, John French explained that it's almost impossible for the band to get booked in Los Angeles or the USA, because promoters "...don't think we can attract an audience!"  Hopefully last night proved some people wrong and the boys will be back before another 10 years!