The Unheard Music (Volume L)

It was early spring 1987, so I'd just turned 17.  Me and some friends had bought tickets for a great double bill: The Chameleons UK and Mighty Lemon Drops at Cabaret Metro.  When I bought the ticket, The Mighty Lemon Drops were the bigger draw but then I was listening to Johnny Mars' Big Beat program on WXRT and he played a song called "Swamp Thing" which blew my mind.  He back sold the song and mentioned that it was The Chameleons UK, the very band we were set to see.  I was now even more psyched to see this show.

Now, it was 21 years ago, so I don't remember every detail, but I do remember going with Matt F. and Doug C. and possibly Dar and Lee but again, it was along time ago.  We got there just in time for MLD and they ran through most of their (then) only album, a forty-minute set.  The Drops lacked stage presence, so if I had gone to Metro exclusively for them (which was the case when I bought the ticket) I would've been slightly disappointed. The saving grace was that their song "Inside Out" was getting a fair amount of radio airplay and MTV play, so there were a lot of attractive women there which certainly wasn't the case at most of the previous male-centric (Replacements, Husker Du, 7 Seconds, Soul Asylum) Metro shows I'd attended.  Now these weren't just any women, they were twentysomething, city-dwelling women who listened to the same music as me; women with cool jobs and apartments who were old enough to drink legally.  They may well have been supermodels or Martians they were so exotic to me and my fellow suburban high school classmates. 

While I certainly had a few shows under my belt at this point, they were either arena shows or no- nonsense shows at clubs like Metro, The Vic, The Riviera and (the old, grimy) Cubby Bear.  I had heard from a few people that The Chameleons live sets were 'intense', one of those words that was grossly overused circa 1987 but was meant to convey a compelling live experience.  I was about to see that intensity first hand.  They killed the house lights, then killed the stage lights and flooded the stage with fog.  Not a smattering of fog but the kind of volume of fog that would lead you think they were trying to approximate a space shuttle launch.  As their intro tape played over the PA, the only lights that came on were purple, which highlighted their Trace Elliot amps and Mark Burgess' mint green bass.  They had yet to play a note but it was already rivited.  Then they took the stage amid the swirling fog and the first thing I heard was the pounding kick drum that drove the beginning of "Swamp Thing".  I got chills. Amazing.  Their ninety minute set was heavy on the new album Strange Times (which would prove to be their last) including the drum-heavy " Soul In Isolation".  Now as a young teenaged rock fan I was familiar with The Beatles but primarily the singles that were played on the radio not the album cuts I would grow to love.  So, imagine my surprise when Mark Burgess announced that they were going to do a Beatles track and I heard "Tomorrow Never Knows" for the first time.  It's still the best cover version I've heard of what has become one of my favorite Beatles songs.  Once again, the drums are outstanding.  That show ended up being one of the last ever Chameleons shows until very recently. And while it certainly was among my favorite shows back then, it has endured among my all-time favorites and would certainly crack my Top 20.

What do you think of The Chameleons?  Any previous experince with them?  Do you know a better version of "Tomorrow Never Knows"?  Have a great weekend, enjoy the music.

Comments

[Jeff]

Ken - I know you've always been a fan of these guys, but I've never been able to get into them. Amongst their contemporaries, they lack the pop dreaminess of the Psychedelic Furs, the cohesion of the Smiths, and the simple, but great melody & lyrics of the Cure or New Order.

I will complement you, though, in that I think your singing at the rock 'n' roll karaoke was better than this guy's!

[Mike]

Great pick this week, Ken - I'm a big fan of these guys. "Script of the Bridge" was recently reissued in a remastered 2-disc version, in case you didn't know. Are you a Comsat Angels fan, too? I tend to lump the two bands together in my mind for some reason.

[Scotty]

I saw The (less than) Mighty Lemon Drops in July 1988. Granted it was very warm but they played around 20-30 minutes. I wish I had seen the Chameleons U.K. the summer before.

[Dan Glomski]

I was there too!

[Richard]

My first experience with The Chameleons was a CMJ showcase show in NYC at Irving Plaza...They opened for Danse Society and Sisters of Mercy. It was 1984 and all three bands were trying to make inroads in the US. I was already crazy about Script of the Bridge at this point and they turned out to be everything and more live! The sheer emotion and electricity that they bathed the audience in was unmatched by either Danse Societies posy Goth moves or Sister's continuallyfaulty drum machine that night...Saw them twice more in prior to the 2001 reincarnation and they never disappointed.