Unique live performances

[alan nagsworth]

I've been to a fair few gigs in my days that aren't just geezers standing about spinning the ones and twos or playing their instruments in a conventional way. I'm sure we all have, haven't we? Yes. Back when Lee used to post here I remember him talking about some dude who used to play all sorts of mental noise using some kind of electronic pane of glass, puking on it, screaming into it, putting his body in close contact with it, and with each show culminating in him smashing it over his head and fucking off. Anyone remember who that was? I could ask him on Facebook but that's way over there and I'm way over here.

Anyway my reason for starting this is that my mates imitationleather and Josh put on a gig last night and booked a guy called Gwem. His entire set was chiptune played through two Atari STs hooked up to a mixer. All of his tunes were on floppy discs. He was wearing black trousers and a black shirt open down to the chest with an ankh pendant hanging from his neck, and black fingerless leather gloves with metal studs on the knuckles, just like these. It was fucking great. The STs are like 25 years old for fucks sake. One of them kept overheating and he was intermittently having to fan it cool with a flyer. I love chiptune music and hearing it through a Funktion One sound system was a real treat. The guy was basically the epitome of king supreme uber-nerd lord of the underground - it's safe to say that this isn't some hipster charade, he's very much the real deal and obviously talented to boot - and when he started busting out a load of 80s style MCing over the top of the music, verily was the joint a-jumpin', let me tell you. Really great fun.

Aye so now post some of yours. Probably try and keep the notorious and obvious stuff like Gwar out of the conversation though I reckon, everyone knows how daft they are. I definitely think it's more interesting to talk about artists who don't have as much of a following, people who go the extra mile for their art even though they're skint, because it's just their calling in life I guess. Cool, okay.

[Famous Mortimer]

I like the sound of Gwem. If he plays even remotely close to me, I think I'll attend.

[thenoise]

The pane of glass performer you mention was 'Justice Yeldham and the Dynamic Ribbon Device'.

Here is a video & interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbM38VghFnk

I saw him play at a noise festival in a basement under a pub in London.  The PA had been blown by this point and the basement was flooding, so me and one other guy were holding amplifiers on our shoulders ankle deep in water, while Justice played standing on a stepladder, raining broken glass down on the small but enthusiastic crowd below.

[Viero_Berlotti]

http://youtu.be/ewmKPSDecAc

They just look like a bunch of juvenile violent wankers to me though.

And if you don't want to sit through it all this is where the pipe bomb goes off in part 2:

http://youtu.be/mF4p-aW8vew?t=5m50s

[thenoise]

I have a DVD of Eugenics Council live assaults.  Nowadays they can only play in gigs they organise themselves due to their reputation of setting off explosives, breaking windows and chasing people about with power tools.  Still, after GG Allin there doesn't seem anywhere else to go with these kind of antics, I don't think anyone will top his craziness (and nor should they).

Smell & Quim are a UK noise/power electronics outfit famous for crazy/silly live antics.  I heard of them for example mic'ing up some clippers and clipping each other's hair on stage.  They used to do a performance of resurrecting Elvis from a coffin or something.  Here they are closing down an all-day festival before it had even began by trying to set light to a real pig's head, in a crowded basement venue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKBzQF-sXQk

The Bongoleeros are one of my favourites, silly costumes and unamplified clattering/throwing things about.  Songs are Hank Williams cover songs and shouting about wrestling and kinky sex.  Here they are in Nottingham:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5XrKa773i8

I love to read through the catalogue of performances by US art/noise/weirdo GX Jupitter-Larson aka The Haters.
http://performances.jupitter-larsen.com/

He is associated with Survival Research Laboratories, an arty version of robot wars doing stupid dangerous and large scale performances such as this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cp7aD0q63g

[alan nagsworth]

The pane of glass performer you mention was 'Justice Yeldham and the Dynamic Ribbon Device'.

Here is a video & interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbM38VghFnk

I saw him play at a noise festival in a basement under a pub in London.  The PA had been blown by this point and the basement was flooding, so me and one other guy were holding amplifiers on our shoulders ankle deep in water, while Justice played standing on a stepladder, raining broken glass down on the small but enthusiastic crowd below.

That sounds fantastic! :D