Chris Stamey + She Never Blinks

Knitting Factory, NYC, May 28, 1994, 9pm

It's hard to think of Chris Stamey as being an aging hipster, cause he still looks (and probably still is, really, er, relatively) so young, but he's now been right where it's at musically for close to 20 years... From his early North Carolina stuff with Sneakers, his mid-to-late- 70s work as touring bass player for and co-conspirator with Alex Chilton, his thoroughly delightful punk/pop band the dBs, and on to his 80s solo stuff and sideman work with folks like Anton Fier's Golden Palominos and with former-dB and former-unofficial-fifth-member-of-REM* Peter Holsapple, he's consistently made music that's beautiful, quirky, tuneful, and full of a remarkable artistic integrity that's made him a hero for me.

[*someone PULEEZ write and tell me all the gory details bout any bad blood between Peter H and REM, thanx so much in advance]

Stamey's two shows at the Knitting Factory last night, apparently recorded for a live rekkid, somehow managed to serve as a fine and fairly comprehensive survey of that 20- year career without boring either those in the audience already thoroughly familiar with his stuff, or, amazingly, seemingly, the guy himself. In a fair number of cases he performed pretty radically and dramatically re-worked versions of old faves, and he also performed a couple of groovinly jaw-droppin oddball covers.

We had spotted Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan hangin out in front of the KF when we picked up tix at 6 o'clock for that evening's 9 o'clock show, and we kinda sorta shook our heads and said, "Nah... that'd just be *too* good!" We'd been afraid that, come show-time, we were going to be confronted with a totally solo Stamey, sitting on a stool or something, strumming an acoustic guitar. And, like, that woulda been *FINE*, but what we were really hoping for was a taste of some electric energy, some real rock and roll, if not some out-and-out punk/pop rock. So I asked the guy as I bought the tickets whether it was gonna be Stamey solo or what, and he said well, he wasn't COMPLETELY clear on what was planned, but he thought that maybe Chris would be playing with some of the members of the opening band, She Never Blinks (whom I'd never heard of). Which sounded cool enough...

So, at any rate, it wasn't a *complete* surprise when Ira was one of the folks who took the stage and unpacked his guitar before the show started, but it sure did promise a heckuva set! And altho, as it turned out, Ira only played on two numbers, it was a real treat, as always, watching him work out; last night he spent the entire time squatting way off to the side in front of an amp, eliciting the most wonderfully outrageous noises from his guitar.

The opening band's set was short, and after a likewise short break, during which it became clear from the rearrangements on-stage that Stamey had with him at least a drummer (Alan Bezozi, who gave the most minimal drum set imaginable -- one legit drum and a big cardboard box with a mike in it -- a totally stompin workout) and another guitarist, apparently the excellent Brent Lambert, Stamey took the stage with them.

From the start, Stamey was pretty much totally in command, the only distraction his obvious mild distress at the mysterious disappearance of his tuner. He opened with some Cole Porter tune which he thankfully later identified as such (I would never have had a clue...). And then, yup, he brought out Ira K soi-meme, and the cellist/guitarist and the vocalist from the opening band, She Never Blinks, to run through a gorgeous version of "Oh Yeah" from his 1983 solo album "It's a Wonderful Life."

From there the set wove back and forth between different periods of Stamey's career, with carefully-chosen selections, backed by a constantly varying set of the folks previous mentioned. A re-tooled "If & When," from pre- Holsapple "Chris Stamey & the dBs" days, substituted a slow plaintiveness for that 1978 tune's original grindin stop- and-start chug. In addition, they did, among other tunes, "Never Enters My Mind," also from 83's "It's a Wonderful Life," "Geometry" from 91's CS/PH "Mavericks" and "27 years in a single day" from 87's solo Stamey "It's Alright." There was also a rockin little instrumental called "not, as you might expect, 'Legs', or 'Legless,' but rather 'Something- Or-Other's (Cripple's?) Corner.'" (sorry!) There were perhaps a couple of tunes from 1991's solo "Fireworks", hmmm, "Two Places at Once" and "The Company of Light" maybe.

The highlights for me, tho, were the two totally outa- nowhere "huh?!?" covers.

He introduced the first one by saying that the theme that night was toonz about New York, and jeez, if that ain't the case with Television's "Venus"... it was *SO* cool, just really chill-inducing, brought back that whole punk era in one solid rush.

The next one he introduced by saying, inexplicably, that this was the one we'd all been waiting for, or well, at least featured the *musicians* we'd all been waiting for, and by saying that it was actually about Bleecker Street, but that it had had to be renamed (he may have been stalling for a tape change huh huh huh, or waiting for the additional musicians to get ready), and this one too took me totally by surprise; it really was a good 30 seconds into the first verse before I could even PLACE the thing: Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row."

"Desolation Row" woulda been a terrific showcase for Brent Lambert, who'd been playing dazzling and really very delicate lead guitar for most of the evening, since the original features the most beautifully animated acoustic lead THROUGHOUT. Ira, however, smothered him fabulously and completely with magnificent feedback-drenched electric lead/howl... was wonderful, wonderful stuff, and I think that's what they closed the set with.

The opening band, She Never Blinks, was, honest and true, not *completely* up my alley, but is a type of music I sometimes sorta get into; guitar, bass, another really thoroughly mutated and synthesized guitar (sometimes replaced by a cello), and drums, fronted by yer haunting female vocalist. Halfway through the set, the groovinly gum- chewin bassist and the super-skinny guitarist unaccountably switched instruments and places, allowing the sorta-Brad- Dourifish (B-b-b-billy Bibbick from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") guitarist-turned-bassist to twirl slowly and dreamily in circles, center-stage, on some tunes as he played (although they may have had more in mind than that when they switched). The band was good, tho, would love to see em again, was *ALMOST* tempted to try to buy one of the CDs they were hawkin afterwards, but, uh, didn't. They reminded me a little of some of the "Until the End of the World" soundtrack toonz, that Julee-Cruse-meets-the-aliens kinda groove, tho I spose the subject matter was probly L-U- V...

As we left we noticed a few members of the lower reaches of the rock firmament, Sue Garner of the Shams, Fish & Roses, and currently, Run On, and her husband, drummer Rick "Neutron Bomb" Brown, who'd turned YLT's show at Thread Waxing Space a few weeks ago into one of the most memorable YLT gigs ever by augmenting Georgia Hubley on a second set of drums.

Keep yer eyes peeled for the live rekkid, if it ever makes it out; it was a great, great show...

Wilson Smith (neslon@panix.com) is alienation and dislocation incarnate.

This was written for <#1 Issue> of "Back of a Car," Judith Beeman's groovin Big Star zine. Send submissions and inquiries about orders ($3.00 or so - cheap cheap cheap) to beeman@mindlink.bc.ca.