It has been awhile since I posted, and I recently stumbled across this B-52's live set from 1978, and was pretty blown away by it, so figured I might as well share.
Back before they became a campy parody of themselves (before they thought it was a good idea to appear on the CMA awards, before "Love Shack"), the B-52's were a solid standout from the post new wave crash. Any of their first handful of discs are still solid (especially the David Byrne produced Mesopotamia) all the way up through Whammy. With the death of original guitarsit Ricky Wilson, the band largely took a lengthy hiatus before returning bigger than ever with Cosmic Thing (I am not a huge Cosmic Thing fan. I do love "Follow Your Bliss" and "Deadbeat Club", but rarely on the disc do you hear the leaner, meaner bouffainted B-52's featured on this bootleg).
I would have to say I put Whammy in my list of most formative albums of young Scott's taste. I remember lying in my bed in 7th grade watching videos on a tiny black and white TV (Channel 46 for anyone that remembers that grainy UHF station from Atlanta) and seeing the "Legal Tender" video and immediately heading out to Record Bar to pick that album up the next day. I can also credit that album for turning me on to Yoko Ono as well as it features a great duet with her ("Don't Worry"), which was for some reason removed after the first couple of pressings.
Anyway, if all you know of the B-52's is hearing "Love Shack" or "Rock Lobster" from weddings, sorority crush parties or VH1 specials this live show might blow your mind.
Recorded at a club in Athens in 1978 (months before their first album release), this short set shows the band at the height of their frenetic, post-punk, Patsy Cline meets Dick Dale and Stiv Bators on the far side of the moon best.
Enjoy!!
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