23rd
Way Out East
Seeing the above xmas card posted all over the place, so here’s a repost of this fab show from Chilton and co. Happy holidays!
Haven’t seen this show posted around too much, which is a little surprising, given the scarcity of Big Star bootlegs out there. It captures (in pretty solid sound quality) the band playing in Cambridge, MA in the spring of 1974 —opening for Badfinger! Power pop heaven. I believe this gig took place around the same time as the officially released Big Star Live disc, and features bassist John Lightman in place of Andy Hummel. As noted in the MC’s intro, this must’ve been a bit of a bummer gig for Big Star, as the night before their van was stolen, along with all of their equipment. But the guys make the best of it, sounding inspired and tight throughout their 45-minute set. They play some tunes from #1 Record and Radio City, but oddly (or maybe not so odd, given Alex Chilton’s later propensity for non-original material), almost half of the setlist is made up of covers. Maybe the most interesting of these is (as far as I know) the only known Big Star version of the Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says.” Remarkable that, along with his later cover of “Femme Fatale,” Chilton was so tuned into the softer side of Lou Reed’s songwriting at this point in the 70s. Most of the proto punk/punk scene focused on the other extreme of his stuff, right? But, as we all know, Chilton was way more sensitive than most! He knew good material when he heard it. Big Star’s “Candy Says” is a loose affair (“We don’t know it very well,” Alex jokes), but as with most things Chilton touched, it’s a gorgeous thing.
