I have an anecdote. A sth African mate , long time resident of London Nick Carnac had somehow arranged to meet Berfheart after a gig but something git in the way. An hour and half later he thought , he won’t be there but I better check. Goes to the bar – “ I been here for ages, what happened”.
At least he kept appointments even if he ripped off his band members.
https://andnowitsallthis.blogspot.com/2023/11/great-concerts-revisited-captain.html
Thanks for sharing @Junior. Concheroo was always a good read.
What a memory he has too.
Great read, I enjoyed that!
Good anecdote @Junior. I never met Captain Beefheart but did meet Nick a couple of times when he had a stall at Camden Market decades ago. Nice chap.
I stopped buying Beefheart’s stuff after Clear Spot but there is more than enough in his earlier catalogue to keep me occupied for some time. A CD twofer – Safe as Milk and Mirror Man – which I bought after reading @Mikethep’s earlier thread on Afterword is excellent, and a CD version of Trout Mask Replica to replace my vinyl copy is also due any day.
Mallard is worth a listen but it lacks the focus (and voice) of Don Van Vliet. And nothing can beat the magnificent Big Eyed Beans From Venus, one of rock’s classic tracks.
He died a few years ago, life really unravelled for him. He and Jumbo Vanrenen were great mates.
First dates and Beefheart are unlikely to be auspicious. Nor anniversaries. One might be rightly cautious about ladies who like the Captain, as the male fans are themselves a rum bunch, as I should know. Keep to Hall and Oates when on the road to lurve, and resist playing “Lick my decals off, baby’. I have learned from grim experience just how bad an idea playing this this track to sensitive company can be.
Unless you are Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.
What I love about Trout Mask Replica is that it either attracts or repels, demanding full engagement or outright rejection. You can’t just put it on in the background. It’s timeless – you can’t imagine a future where someone would hear it and think that it no longer sounds revolutionary. Yes, it can clear a room, but for some, it can sound life-changing.