OFF: Damo Suzuki / Farflung

[Doug Pearson]

OUTSTANDING performance by the Damo Suzuki Network in SF on thursday night
(unfortunately, I was out of town on friday and missed the Oakland show)!
Very much of a Tago Mago vibe throughout both sets (they probably played
about 1-1/2 hours total), especially with new drummer Chris Guttmacher's
(ex-Cul de Sac, ex-Ad Hawk, etc.) propulsive beat ... pretty much everyone
I spoke to agreed that he was probably the second-best drummer Damo had
ever played with.  Except for Chris, the rest of the backing band was
former Farflung members.  Yes, unfortunately that reads correctly.  When I
spoke with Tommy Grenas after the show, he told me that Farflung have
broken up, and that the Damo tour is the last rock-type music he plans on
making for the forseeable future.  Anubian Lights techno is apparently just
too lucrative to pass up the opportunity.  After the show, friends and I
were lamenting that even Damo had to help carry equipment out the door and
that a band that great should be able to hire an army of roadies - they
deserve it!  (Just another example of how the size/ticket cost/guarantee of
the gigs a musician attracts has no correlation WHATSOEVER to the talent
and quality of said musician.)

Unfortunately, this was only a west coast tour, but I hope any boc-lers on
this side of the States were able to catch the great show ...

    -Doug
     jasret at mindspring.com

P.S. Anyone who sees the upcoming University of Errors European tour should
say "hi" to Josh (guitar) and Michael (bass) for me!  Or buy them a drink.
This tour is probably about as profitable for them as Tommy's spacerock
activities have been for him.