King Missile
Fastlane, Asbury Park, NJ
This was the first of many times I saw King Missile live. We had been playing "My Heart Is a Flower" as a single advance of the band's Atlantic Record's debut CD The Way to Salvation, and I loved the song but didn't know anything about the band. When the full CD arrived around it's mid April 1991 release, I looked at the pictures of the band and release that I had seen frontman John S. Hall do spoken word performances in the East Village when I lived in Chelsea in 1990. So I was even more intrigued to see the band perform.
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At WHTG, a summer intern named Kathy just started and it turned out she was enthusiastic about King Missile as well. By then we had started to play a dance remix of "My Heart Is a Flower" (by Ivan Ivan). She told me that she had seen people dancing to the song in a club with their arms held high up in a sort of a "U" shape so that they looked like giant bouncing flowers. (I know: very 1991 in a way, very rave scene)
On the day of the show, John S. Hall and Chris Xefos of the band came in to 'HTG for an interview and we told them about the "flower" dance. After they left, Kathy and I made a pact. At the show, when they started playing "My Heart Is a Flower," we would both make our way to the front of the stage and do the flower dance. Since we just told the band about it, we thought they'd get a kick out of it.
Of course, things got odd when we arrived at the venue. There was no one there. If you eliminated club staff, WHTG personnel, and band members, I think there was probably about a dozen, maybe 20, people. The band still played a good show, but it was embarrassing for everyone concerned, I think.
When "My Heart Is a Flower" came up in the set list, I remember Kathy and I exchanging glances, like "Are we still gonna do this even though there's no crowd to cover our actions?" We meant it to be a private joke between us and the band, but now with a nearly empty house it could just seem weird. I said, "C'mon, let's do it!"
So we did. We walked all the way to the lip of the stage and did the flower dance. We felt like idiots (or at least I did) but one thing I had learned in my comedy experiences was that you have to commit to your gags, you know? At least it helped the band remember who we were later on.
This was the first of many times I saw King Missile live. We had been playing "My Heart Is a Flower" as a single advance of the band's Atlantic Record's debut CD The Way to Salvation, and I loved the song but didn't know anything about the band. When the full CD arrived around it's mid April 1991 release, I looked at the pictures of the band and release that I had seen frontman John S. Hall do spoken word performances in the East Village when I lived in Chelsea in 1990. So I was even more intrigued to see the band perform.
post continues....
At WHTG, a summer intern named Kathy just started and it turned out she was enthusiastic about King Missile as well. By then we had started to play a dance remix of "My Heart Is a Flower" (by Ivan Ivan). She told me that she had seen people dancing to the song in a club with their arms held high up in a sort of a "U" shape so that they looked like giant bouncing flowers. (I know: very 1991 in a way, very rave scene)
On the day of the show, John S. Hall and Chris Xefos of the band came in to 'HTG for an interview and we told them about the "flower" dance. After they left, Kathy and I made a pact. At the show, when they started playing "My Heart Is a Flower," we would both make our way to the front of the stage and do the flower dance. Since we just told the band about it, we thought they'd get a kick out of it.
Of course, things got odd when we arrived at the venue. There was no one there. If you eliminated club staff, WHTG personnel, and band members, I think there was probably about a dozen, maybe 20, people. The band still played a good show, but it was embarrassing for everyone concerned, I think.
When "My Heart Is a Flower" came up in the set list, I remember Kathy and I exchanging glances, like "Are we still gonna do this even though there's no crowd to cover our actions?" We meant it to be a private joke between us and the band, but now with a nearly empty house it could just seem weird. I said, "C'mon, let's do it!"
So we did. We walked all the way to the lip of the stage and did the flower dance. We felt like idiots (or at least I did) but one thing I had learned in my comedy experiences was that you have to commit to your gags, you know? At least it helped the band remember who we were later on.
Labels: Asbury Park, Fastlane, King Missile, NJ
As icing on the cake, The Replacements were, somewhat oddly, the opening act for the show. I had just seen The 'Mats back in 
