The Vaselines @ Maxwell's: From Molly's Lips to Our Ears

It was a no-brainer coming to see the first ever U.S. show of the somewhat legendary and reunited Vaselines. Two bonus add-ons being that it's at Maxwell's, where their No. 1 fan, Kurt Cobain, once tore up the joint. The other being the backing support of Stevie, Bobby and Richard of Belle & Sebastian.

With that all in mind, it was just a special night to witness something remarkable. Granted, the band has only about a dozen songs ever recorded and they would be the first to admit that they are not the best musicians, but the songs are just about as perfect live as one would hope. These songs were done around 20 years ago, and they were about 10-15 years ahead of their time.

The setlist:

• Son of a Gun
• Monsterpussy
• The Day I Was a Horse
• Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam
• Oliver Twisted
• Molly's Lips
• Slushy
• Let's Get Lucky
• No Hope
• Sex Sux (Amen)
• Rory Rides Me Raw
• Dying For It
• ENCORE: You Think You're A Man
• Dum-Dum

Despite needing help tuning their guitars, you would have never have guessed that the Vaselines have been dormant most of the past two decades. The songs are basic, but damn, they are fun, lively and full of wit and Scottish insight. It's the offbeat combination of jarring guitars and sweet boy-girl vocals that makes the band worthy of attention.

The original duo of Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly are not rock 'n' roll in the traditional sense, but rather poets and authors who use music to portray people and places. With that, they are a bunch of randy folks. Frances made sure that everyone knew that Molly's Lips is not about oral sex. Eugene joked that before the encore that he should get some man-on-man action with Jon Bon Jovi. Finally, Eugene invited people to smell Frances's banana-scented undies for 5 pounds. As you can see, there was a great deal of sexual tension in the air.

With their setlist, you pretty much got what you came for, unless you wanted Teenage Superstar. Their set was about 45 minutes long, focusing on their top songs. Their voices haven't aged at all, even though I'd like to meet the person who saw them back in the day and remembers how they played. I can't emphaisze more how unique and special the night was, and then having it be a tribute to the indie rock of 20 years ago. It seems like it could be made today and not feel dated.

The year 2008 might be the year of the obscure indie band reunion. You got Vaselines, Feelies, Big Dipper and Swervedriver. Any one want to get the Spinanes together? Maybe Zumpano, That Dog, The Cucumbers? With most reunions, it's done for some cashola. With the Vaselines, it seems to be, "Heck, why not? We're not doing anything." Also it was chance to play the Sub Pop 20th Anniversary show in Seattle.

If you had to write a brief history of the band, it would be that they were a well-respected, unknown indie rock band from Scotland, who disbanded after they released their first album. Then Nirvana covered three songs, Cobain was obsessed with them and now they are part of music lore. You can't name another band that has a trajectory like that. If the majority of music lovers think of them as a Nirvana footnote, so be it. I would hope they'll be known for being one of indie rock's innovators along with R.E.M. and Sonic Youth to name a few.

Comments

I thought just the bass player was from Belle & Sebastian, or at least that was how Eugene made it look. Are you sure the drummer & Guitar player are as well?

From Southpaw last night.....

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psgn6TM2QlY

Son of a Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5HmLWf1SJQ

You Think You're A Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZk9sL9qRGw

[Jacob]

Great post on a great show. I hope you don't mind - I linked to your photo of Richard in my blog post on the show. I was excited about his Amoeba Music T-Shirt.

[liebe]

Sie haben eine schöne Seite!

[Cesar]

Hi P- I tried your Parfait recipe last night had some Indian fernids over. Soaked the blueberries in Baileys and used the Mango option. The orange rind in the cream was sublime:). I didnt go for yogurt as didnt have time for the hung bit, but next time will plan in advance. Also used your Pizza recipe to try out Naan , with garlic and coriander- was nice as Naan cant wait to try it as Pizza !!! Your blog is very cool and so easy to follow, do go on and on and you make it seem so easy, thats the best part ! xxx

[Henrik]

Skate was heavy set, about 5'10 , sandy blond hair.Ben was skinny, about 6'1 , curly, unlruy brown hair.It's funny you mention Bauhaus, Public Image, LTD., Killing Joke as being standards. Heck, in 2008 they are Classic Rock.But in 1985 you simply couldn't hear those songs on the radio. Sure, WHFS would spin one or two once in awhile, but they had that lingering Deadhead/Hippy vibe, along with what would become Americana. There was no Internet, no Usenet, no way to spread the word about great bands.It's impossible to describe. There was NO way to find out about bands. Either you worked at a record store, you had friends who did, you knew bands, went to shows or were turned onto artists by a friend.So the Back Alley was kind of like a radio station fulfilling an unmet market. The age group was 14-30, so everyone had vague memories of 1960 s hits, and the cool old' stuff was from 1979. So I could spin a set that was The Who/The Clash/Funkadelic/Ramones/Led Zeppelin/James Brown/REM/Dumptruck/Liquid Liquid/Vigil and everyone would dance.It looks tame today, but in 1985 such a set was as cutting edge and out there as possible. Situated in the Golden Triangle of 1970 s-era DC watering holes, we got lots of foot traffic of lookie lou's and interns slumming from Rumours.I don't think you can do that anymore in a dance club.I moved onto Cagney's after BA closed, then BA II. When Nirvana got big, we took off. I would play Teen Spirit and people would scream, jump up off their seats and dance.That only happened during one period of my career, and only for that song, for about 6 weeks in the Fall of 1991.Well, now REM, U2, Elvis Costello and Nirvana are AAA, and my setlists would seem trite to the average 20 year old. No matter. At least bands like The Clash and Pistols now get their due and the respect they deserve. In 1978 I would get grief at HS for listening to that New Wave, Punk Rock faggot bulls*it . Now those bands are in the Rock Canon.We came, we saw, we conquered, we danced, we had a great time, and now it is in the past.

[Bel]

Crystal ~ momaziggy - Great post Michelle! I am a short cut key JUNKIE! My hands fly over my keabyord faster than I type when I'm editing and eveythign that can be done by short cut key, I do. And I've made a bunch for myself too for the things I do regularly. I didn't know about the alt/snapsot option tho and am SO glad to learn that. I take a lot of snapshots and hate having to go in and name it. This will save even more time. My fav trick is the alt/mask tip to see the mask full screen! Thanks again!