Jesus Lizard from the Khyber December 10, 1991. Late 80’s into the early 90’s it seemed like they played the Khyber at least twice a year. I have no idea how many of those shows I made but probably almost all of them. Kind of bummed I didn’t make their reunion show a few years ago. Jesus Lizard was vocalist David Yow, bassist David Wm. Sims (Both from Scratch Acid), guitarist Duane Denison (Cargo Cult) and drummer Mac McNeilly Jesus Lizard Touch & Go site
This is from the Thirteen record release party which was at Long in the Tooth Records in Center City Philly on Saturday June 29th 2013. I messed up and missed the beginning of the first song – sorry. (Bio stolen from their web site) The Thirteen play loud, raucous Rock ‘N’ Roll with plenty of melody and hooks. Think of all the bastard children of Chuck Berry from the Stones to the Faces to the Replacements on down and it will give you some approximation of what this power-pop trio is shooting for.
Back in 2007, the band was not much more than a studio project born of singer/songwriter Sal Cannestra’s desperate desire to make music again after relocating to Philadelphia. He met up with Figgs bassist and producer extraordinaire Pete Donnelly who offered to put together a band to help bring Sal’s songs to life. With the help of drummers Chuck Treece (McRad, Bad Brains, Urge Overkill) and Matty Muir (U.S. Rails) as well as lead guitarist Joe Iacovella they recorded the band’s debut, The Secret History of the Thirteen.
But no self-respecting band stays in the studio forever and by the record’s release in Fall 2008, Joe and Sal wanted to bring these songs to the people. So they recruited kindred soul Peter Santa Maria (Jukebox Zeros) on bass and… well, let’s say a short succession of various drummers, and started playing shows around Philly. A few more personnel changes in 2011 left Sal the sole guitar play but also saw the addition of Jack Kontes (The Flyswatters) as the band’s first full-time drummer.
Summer 2012 found The Thirteen ready to record again. This time Peter handled the engineering himself and then placed the tracks in the hands of Stephen Egerton (Descendents, ALL, FLAG) for mixing and mastering. The resulting album, LIFT – OFF!, showcases 12 tunes brimming with garage rock urgency, laced with infectious riffs and more than its share of clever, heartfelt lyrics. The band will be playing up and down the east coast in support of this delicious slice of wax and look forward to winning over new friends every place they play.
More info on the Thirteen go to their site. To buy the album go to your local record store or here
Christchurch, New Zealand band The Bats have clocked ten incredible albums, released on vinyl, CD and digital; each record seeing them evolve with new material from the prolific songwriting hand of Robert Scott ( the Clean). Also featuring bassist/producer Paul Kean (Toy Love) lead guitarist Kaye Woodward and drummer Malcolm Grant
This post has Two Philly shows from the early 90’s by the Bats one is from JC Dobbs and the other is from Khyber.
Thanks to Rob Strong for figuring out song titles
Cop Shoot Cop from the Khyber in Philadelphia. The tape did not have a date on it but I’m guessing it was 90 or 91. Their initial line-up included Tod A. (vocals and high-end bass), James Coleman (sampler), Natz (low-end bass, occasional vocals), David Ouimet (sampler) and Phil Puleo (metal, drums). I saw them at least 2 or 3 times in Philly and they always but on a good show. Their early stuff was heavy industrial with heavy Bass, drums, metal and sampling. Later they started to remind my of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds while still keeping their own sound. If you want to check out the early stuff go to Psychotic Leisure Music. Currently Todd A has a new band Firewater which has more international and eastern influences and is one of the funnest bands to see currently out there. Check out Cop Shoot Cop web site
Helios Creed from the Khyber April 1990. The video was dark with most of the lights only on the drummer but it’s pretty much the entire show. From his comments I guess this was the first time Helios played Philadelphia. bio: Helios Creed founded Chrome in San Francisco around 1977 with vocalist/drummer Damon Edge, guitarist John Lambdin and bassist Gary Spain. Over the following five years, Chrome explored punk and hardcore, with an increasing reliance on synthesizers, tape loops and samples from TV. The group broke up in 1982, and Creed was dormant for several years until his debut solo album, X-Rated Fairy Tales, appeared in 1985. Another dry spell endured until the end of the decade, when Superior Catholic was released on the Subterranean label. (Both albums were later reissued on one disc.) For his third album Last Laugh, Creed moved to the grunge imprint Amphetamine Reptile. He recorded Boxing the Clown, Kiss to the Brain and Lactating Purple for AmRep, but has also released albums through the industrial label Cleopatra — including Busting Through the Van Allan, Cosmic Assault and a self-titled album. Check out Helios Creed’s web site
Two Guided By Voices shows – here’s what I know for sure one is from the Khyber – the second is from New York. The dates I have on the tape are June 23rd 1994 for Khyber and June 24, 1994 for New York. According to the GBV database and this flyer the New York show was on June 24th. According to Marc (thanks for the song titles as well): second NYC on is def Threadwaxing 1994.06.24: there is a Threadwaxing comp that features ‘Scientist’ and it’s the same version as he gives a little verbal intro that matches. If you haven’t picked it up yet – go buy the New GBV album.
My Dad Is Dead from the Khyber on October 22, 1991. The tape didn’t have a date on it but according to an old date book My dad is Dead was at the Khyber on 10-22-91 and it was a Tuesday(he mentions that in the tape.) It sounds like it is just Mark Edwards but I’m not sure about that either. (The other band members could just be really quite) My Dad is Dead is no longer performing but go to the My Dad is Dead site. or the new band: Secular Joy _Sorry I didn’t figure out all the song titles if anyone can help with that please leave a comment.
Pavement from the Khyber on July 30, 1992. Most of the songs are from Slanted and Enchanted or earlier releases. This might be their first time at the Khyber, I’m not sure. I know it’s not their first time in Philly because I’ve always regretted that I missed them playing outside of the Record Exchange.
Dustdevils from the Khyber on January 11, 1991. Sorry I didn’t have time to try and figure out the tracklist – if anyone can identify the songs please leave a comment. Plus I’m stealing the picture and this short description form the Tean Beat page on the them: The New York City noise-rock band DUSTdevils was led by British expatriate Michael Duane, who formed the group during the mid-1980s with Australian-born singer/bassist Jaqi Dulany. Originally based in Leeds, England, Dustdevils issued a handful of records on the Rouska label before hopping the Atlantic, where they recruited bassist Mark Ibold and drummer Reed in time to record 1989’s “Is Big Leggy” single for Teen-Beat. The full-length Geek Drip followed that same year, and in 1990 the group issued Struggling Electric & Chemical. Ibold soon joined Pavement.
Strapping Field Hands from Siltbreeze night at the Khyber with Temple of Bon Matin, Mike Rep, V-3 and GBV, Just once I would like to figure out all the song titles. But song 5 which is a song I remember them doing all the time but can’t figure out the title and the last song, I can’t figure out. If anyone can fill me in on the titles please leave a comment. Thanks to Mark Lux for the tapes & Jacy for the missing song titles.
Strapping Field Hands – Khyber 08/07/1993 Siltbreeze Show
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