I saw the BJM in 2004 in Sydney at the Gaelic Theatre. The rumour going around afterwards was that frontman Anton Newcombe had had a long flight from the States, which I’m sure was true, and that he’d gone the whole way without his medicine which had made him a little upset upon finally making it down-under. The upsetted’ness was fucking tangible when he got up on stage, at best playing a short series of half-songs each 30 seconds breaking out to yell at a band member or someone in the audience or maybe just the bugs under his skin, however the mood took him at that particular split second. Anton really wanted us to know that he was a guest in our country and that “he didn’t come here in a canoe”, these important points he reiterated constantly throughout the “show”. Loving the quotation marks right now. The more he rambled, the more the audience heckled and the more he got upset and forgot to play any music the more the audience heckled and you can see how this cycle might have perpetuated itself for the entire 90 minute show. The audience started leaving halfway through; it not being a cheap gig and costing about $40, the disgust being pretty evident on most faces as they walked out. If I had to say so, it might have been one of the worst gigs I’ve ever been to in my life, but then again, I guess since I still remember it after more than six years, it also could be in reality, one of the best. Funny how that works sometimes.
Here’s a brand new track from them, Lets Go Fucking Mental taken from Who Killed Sergeant Pepper?, their 11th album, released February this year:
The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Lets Go Fucking Mental
All this being said, from all reports the band have settled down and can actually make it through a complete show without disintegrating as people. That might be why tickets are so cheap, €15 for a band with 11 albums is really low; I’m guessing that it’s a bit of a two way bet on the behalf of the promoter, they want to make a quid if the show goes well, but they also don’t want to get lynched or inundated with refund requests on the occasion of it turning into the concert equivalent of a monster truck rally. Really though, you win in the case of both eventualities. But we’re all winners! WINNERS!!!
