Big Star performing 'Third' Live at the Barbican, London 28.5.12.
Featuring the band: Jody Stephens, Mike Mills, Ken Stringfellow, Mitch Easter, Chris Stamey, Charles Cleaver, Alexis Taylor. Special Guests: Jon Auer, John Bramwell, Sharon Van Etten, Ira Kaplan, Skylar Gudasz, Brett Harris, Django Haskins, Robyn Hitchcock, Sondre Lerche, Alexis Taylor. Orchestra conducted by Terry Edwards and featuring: Terry Edwards, Emma Smith, Jenny May Logan, Abigail Dance, Jenny Adejayan, Malcolm Moore, Skylar Gudasz, Joe Auckland, Mike Kearsey, Tim Anderson, Rosie Moore, Steve Gibson. Master of Ceremonies Django Haskins. Musical Director Chris Stamey. Plus Very Special Guest Ray Davies...
Yes that is a hell of a line up and this was, for many of the star-studded audience, one of the most anticipated gigs of the year: a chance to hear Big Star's 'Third' album (also known as Sister Lovers or Beale Street Green) in full. As the album was never properly released when it was recorded in the mid 70's, it was a case of wondering which version they were going to perform, not that it mattered to most of us and many would have wished to have seen the late, great Alex Chilton up there leading the band along with producer Jim Dickinson and Andy Hummel and Chris Bell all of whom are no longer with us.
I was sitting in the second row for this rather special evening which opened with one of the band's more famed cover versions: a great version of Nature Boy that featured John Bramwell from I Am Kloot on vocals.He sounded better here than the only time I saw his band live, but this was a nice understated opening with just the core band for support and the orchestra sitting watching on. After the song, Django Haskins (of The Old Ceremony) who was our host and master of ceremonies got Jody Stephens out front to welcome us and thank us for coming to this event before they got on with the real musical treat in front of us.
Yes they really did introduce Mitch Easter to sing Kizza Me. Now I've been waiting since the late 80's for a chance to see Mitch play live and his guitar playing all night was incredible. It was amazing to hear him singing Kizza Me with the full orchestra behind him being conducted by Terry Edwards, damn who knew among all the things Terry is famous for that he can conduct and play flute as well as he did at this gig?
After what became the ritual of switching of musicians and singers, O Dana featured Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo on vocals and he was one of the vocals who seemed most to be.. not out of his depth exactly, but not quite right for what he was singing although his keyboards sounded great. All night long he was straining for some of the higher notes. For You saw Jody Stephens come out from behind the drum kit to sing and having the actual vocalist from the record singing the song helped. It was a great version: the violins and brass really work on this.
As Jody went back to his drums they brought out Putney's finest Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip who always looks good and geeky but damn can he sing and play. I really loved what he brought to Nightime: just about plaintive enough while keeping some of the sleazy undertow that Alex Had a habit of bringing to his music.
It was then time for what for me was the first of the "hits" from the record and they brought Mike Mills (of REM) forwards from where he was playing bass to sing Jesus Christ. He had the help on backing vocals of among others Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer from The Posies and the girl in the flowery skirt who I believe is Skylar Gudasz, plus Django Haskins. This song sounded great, it couldn't have been much more joyous if they tried.
Big Black Car allowed Jon Auer (also of the Posies) to take lead vocals as the band glided down the road like they were cruising the streets of Memphis while keeping an eye on Terry Edwards for his conducting was keeping this all together brilliantly. They brought Ira Kaplan back up front for Take Care: a song he was better suited too than O Dana and the flourishes coming from Mitch Easter were just brilliant. His guitar sounded great and along with much of the band he looked so happy to be here.
Next it was time for Norman Blake (of Teenage fanclub) to prove what a long term fan he has always been with a damn near perfect version of Stroke It, Noel. It isn't exactly the easiest song to take on, but he had his backing singers helping out and the big band certainly made it sound quite lush and beautiful. I, along with many of the people I spoke to afterwards, then had our big shock of the evening when they introduced Sondra Lerche who it seems we had all assumed would be a woman instead of a skinny Norweigan guy to sing Femme Fatale. He was lucky to have the backing singers he had to help him out as I don't think this was the best song for him. He was far better when he came back later on, but still I always loved the Big Star arrangement of the Velvets' classic.
This was followed by one of the best chosen singers for a Big Star song when they got Robyn Hitchcock (of the Soft Boys etc) to sing Downs as he just has the perfectly tortured vocals for the song and the emotions it contains as he sings about needing any downs at all while the band do the musical disintegration of the mind that they are trying to create brilliantly, making a very complicated tune sound very easy indeed.
Next on was Sharon Van Etten to sing Dream Lover with the help of several backing singers. Now I know nothing about Sharon's own music but damn she sounded good and had just the right amount of ethereality for the song to make us all forget we were sitting in an auditorium and transport us to a candlelit room with a large glass of red wine and our dream lover beside us, obviously helped by the magical music being played.
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Jody Stephens then came back up front from behind his drums, (sorry I forget who replaced him behind the ki) but he thanked us all again before singing a great version of Blue Moon. If memory serves me correctly, it also featured Terry Edwards on flute - an instrument I'd never seen him play in all the times I've seen him in the last 25 plus years!!
Before Django Haskins sang Holocaust he warned us all to wait till the end of the song before we clapped as of course it has that pause for maximum effect in it. It was a good version but not quite fractured enough to really wring the pain out of it but then it has some to go to beat my favourite version by Rainy Day. Sharon Van Etten then took lead on You Can't Have Me: that worked brilliantly and it was about as upbeat a song as Big Star had after the desolation of Holocaust, if rather bitter in itself.
Before Brett Harris sang Kanga Roo. Chris Stamey stepped forward to explain how when he played with Alex one night he was told he was playing this tune that he thought couldn't be played live that night!! He also explained they were playing a version that was an amalgam of the live and studio arrangements, either way it a mighty version with incredible slide guitar from Mitch Easter, just brilliant to hear it played this well live.
They then closed out the album and first half of the show with an all star version of Thank You Friends. That got most of the performers onstage at once a great close to the album and the first half.
The second half was billed as being a surprise assortment of songs by Chris Bell and Big Star and opened with Norman Blake and Sondra Lerche duetting on I'm In Love With A Girl that worked perfectly and Sondra looked like he was so into it and up for it that he really lifted the song. A great start to part 2 followed by Django Haskins, Brett Harris and Skylar Gudasz (of the ugly girls) giving us a brilliant version of 13.
Give Me Another Chance saw Norman Blake back up there and also saw a great flute Solo from Terry Edwards. Damn it sounded fine and everyone seemed to be loosening up and really enjoying themselves as Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer stepped up for a great version of I Am The Cosmos (the Chris Bell tune) that really should have been a huge hit rather than languishing unreleased for a couple of decades after he died. Then again, you could say the same for 'Third' itself, I guess.
Ken then took lead on There Was A Light and it was as gentle as you'd want it to be with nice soothing strings: all nice and sepulchral as if the last candle is about to die. To cheer us up a bit Brett Harris and Norman Blake sang You and Your Sister, another song about loving underage girls written by guys.
I think it was Daisy Glaze that while being sung by Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer also featured Mike Mills playing basketball!! Yes he stood there bouncing it to make a percussion sound, doesn't every band need a basketball player on stage? It was a nicely surreal moment but I guess they used one in the original recording? Whatever, a great version. Ira Kaplan stepped back up front for EMI Song (Smile With Me) and by this stage most everyone was already happy, so it wasn't hard to get us all smiling.
The Ballad of El Goodo while having some great orchestration to it also had great harmonies form Sondra Lerche, Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer as they started building to a climax. It was followed by a superlative version of September Gurls sung by Mike Mills with help from Ken and Jon and half the audience.
We were then told that Big Star did the odd cover and for the next cover they had someone special to sing it. It turned out they had Alex's old neighbor who he used to rent his guitar to!! Yes step forward Ray Davies to sing Till The End Of The Day and look as happy as can be to be up there singing his song to the Big Star arrangement, really getting in the spirit of it.
Ray stayed up there for the encores: a great version of the Box Tops' The Letter where he was joined on vocals by Robyn Hitchcock, Django Haskins and Brett Harris among others. It was just a brilliant version of just about the first song I ever remember liking as a kid.
After copious thanks and applause all that was left was for us all to be sitting in the Back of a Car with Ken, John and Mike singing to us once more and then everyone taking a bow as they left at the end of a quite incredible night of music.
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