Faust live at the Williamsburg Hall of Music or Something, I Forget What the Place Is Called, October 1, 2009

Well, this was a treat: stuff I never would have thought I'd see performed live. Nice cozy venue, good sound, audience in high spirits. As we assembled outside, a long haired gent in a nice jacket came up the street and we exchanged smiles and nods. He went inside and it turned out to be Jean-Hervé Peron.

A lot of things happened that I didn't expect, one of which was that they started exactly on time. :lol: A fanfare of trumpet and power tool noise came from backstage and presently the band walked on: J-HP and the enormous Zappi comprising the rhythm section (I never understood who did what on the records, but now it's all clear. Well, more clear anyway), accompanied by a guy who played guitar, kybds and effects and a woman who played guitar, squeeze box, keyboards, recited poetry and even did what they used to call an "action painting." Peron also doubled on trumpet and used a sort of small, miked, cement mixer full of little rocks to create a clattery background wash. He got a little carried away while he was dumping the rocks into the thing and I got bonked in the head with one, so I have a souvenir.

They played for 90 minutes including encore, about half of which was new (to me, meaning post-70s). Some of the new stuff was in the familiar vein of the classic, crazed stompers and some of it was more deconstructed, random and improv-y

Peron has a unique bass playing style: very rapid and manic using mostly downstrokes. Zappi's drumming is instantly recognizable with irresistable beats, even on the quiet numbers. He employed an amplified piece of sheet metal in his kit for a clangy percussive element. He also used some kind of power grinder or mini circular saw that made a nice racket and sent sparks flying, which looked great. Rumor had it they'd wanted to use a goat or a sheep, but Brian Turner (WFMU music director and curator of the event) drew the line.

I'm not good on song titles, but here are the ones they did that I can name:

So Far (first number proper)
Psalter (aka something long and in German on Faust 4, I think)
The Sad Skinhead
Jennifer
Krautrock (one of the encores)

There were two or three others I recognized but I can't think of what they were now. One of them might have been Mamie is Blue, but I'm not sure how that one goes. They didn't play the one I most wanted to hear - Picnic on a Frozen River. I really wanted to see how they do that turnaround; I've never been able to get it.

Anyway, Great show, lots of fun, good energy, all the old faces turned out. If you like them and they're playing near you, don't hesitate.

No ironing a bloke's shirt? You was robbed!

Good one Snarfyguy!

(Not leaving the sulphur smoke-filled venue in a panicky stampede, eyes streaming and feeling that you might actually be choking to death or facing a lifetime of lung damage? You were robbed :))

I got that years ago at a Missing Foundation show in a crumbling Lower East Side tenement in here in NYC - actual fires burning and huge gaps in the flooring where you could see (or possibly fall down to) the floor below. I can't believe I got out of that show alive. :lol:

When that happened at Faust, it was during It's A Rainy Day Sunshine Girl that it all went off: Jean-Herve lit a bowl of powder on the stage and all this noxious smoke poured upwards. Although the music kept playing we had to go outside for air and found the band coughing and going "fucking hell!" etc. But we soon all went back in and accompanied the rest of the song on scaffolding pipes bashed on the cement mixer. Best night of my life.

That does sound like a heck of a lot of fun! :)

Got that with the Zappi version years ago. I naively asked Hans Joachim Irmler afterwards how they had gotten permission to do that. He replied sagely and pointedly, "Some things, you do not ask. You just do".

I have taken on his advice as a key principle in my life.

I type these lines from my cell in the sex offenders wing :(

My mate the barrister always says it's better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.

So did the chaplain, with a dry chuckle, when it was over :cry2:

Was this James Johnson formerly of Gallon Drunk?

He has been playing with the J-H P/Zappi version of Faust, and he was or is in the Bad Seeds as well wasn't/isn't he? How I loved Gallon Drunk, from the name onwards.

Yeah, I knew he was with Faust a couple of years ago but wasn't sure whether he was still with them. He wasn't a Bad Seed last time I saw Nick Cave so I assume he's packed them in.

He's certainly a tatented guy. Gallon Drunk are still kicking about and released a new album last year Or was it the year before? Anyway - it was vintage Gallon Drunk. As was the time they supported The Fall in Hackney a couple of years ago and blew them off the stage.

All hail Gallon Drunk! And James Johnson's spectacular collection of shirts! And once Morrissey's favourite band. But then, who wasn't....

Saw the Faust shown in Montreal. I was not so into it but talked to many who really liked it so maybe it was just not to my taste. I was hoping for something "sharper" but, you know, the band was having a good time so what can I say?

I really enjoyed the Butthole Surfers though a few nights before. I was kind of shocked about how in control they were of those crazy songs. They played many of my favourites. All original members. REFORMATION GONE GOOD.

Ah, The Rotten Mile was it's name, wasn't it? Saw them live here with this one, what a gig! Wish I had been in London last autumn.

Just got back from seeing Faust at the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio. Looked like about 50 people were in attendance; maybe 6 of them were women, so, fellows, don't go to a Faust show if you're looking to hook up. The show was very much like the show Snarfy described. All of the songs he listed were included in tonight's set except for Krautrock. However, they did play two older songs that Snarfy didn't mention: It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl as the last song of the encore set, and Giggy Smile as part of the regular set.

The group seemed to have a good time and appreciate the audience, who were very appreciative themselves. The opening improv piece, featuring the cement mixer, set the tone for the night. The set was a good mixture of experimentation, some folky moments, some freak-outs and some pulsing rock n roll. I left with a smile on my face and was humming Sunshine Girl for the whole ride home.

Maybe it is all about the cement mixer, there was no cement mixer in Montreal. Perhaps it was stuck at the border with no papers.