King Missile, Milltown Brothers
Danceteria, New York, NY
[UPDATE: I finally tracked down the date and venue of this show!]
I don't recall the exact date nor the venue, but it was a late show with King Missile as part of the New Music Seminar. My friend Kathy and I drove into the city and, naturally, there was a guest list problem.
Earlier that evening, we had gone to an unusual performance space called The Gas Station (at Avenue B and 2nd Street), a barely-renovated abandoned gas station with an ample outdoor space surrounded by chain-link fence. The place was being used as a showcase for Baltimore-based record label Merkin Records. They had their bands Monkeyspank, Buttsteak, and Antic Hay performing but I didn't include an entry on this blog for them because I honestly don't recall which, if any, of the bands we saw play. I primarily remember someone going around with a basket of loose cigarettes labeled "have a cigarette, leave a cigarette, need a cigarette, take a cigarette" and a chair fastened to the chain link fence about 3 or 4 feet above the ground. (Kathy wanted to try the chair, which was probably ill-advised, but she successfully was able to occupy the elevated seat without incident.)
After that experience, we made our way to Danceteria for a late-night gig by King Missile. Kathy and I had just seen them live for the first time a few weeks prior in Asbury Park as well as seeing a small portion of another set in NYC (and would soon travel to see them in Buffalo and Ithaca). Suffice to say we were fans.
When we got to Danceteria (then operating out of the Martha Washington Hotel at 30 East 30th Street), the bouncer at the door said I wasn't on the list. Fortunately, a guy I knew from A&M Records was also arriving right then so he told the bouncer that I was Malibu Sue from Long Island's WLIR (since he knew that she wasn't going to be attending the show although her name was on the list). The Milltown Brothers were on A&M, so it was a lucky break. In we went.
I'm pretty sure that also on the bill was the band When People Were Shorter and Live Near Water, but I haven't been able to find evidence of this so I didn't include them in this entry heading. (I also don't remember seeing them perform.)
The show was running late when we got there, and it seemed like it took forever before King Missle actually took the stage. Shortly before they came out, the stage was enveloped in theatrical fog. After King Missile began performing, the club staff kept pumping the fog onto the stage until guitarist Dave Rick stepped up to the mic and said what is perhaps the most hilariously un-rock 'n' roll thing I've ever heard uttered from a rock stage: He barked into the mic in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "Hey, this smoke is real great for a guy with asthma!"
Another fun night of music!
Labels: Danceteria, King Missile, Milltown Brothers, New York, NY
