Hello,
I'm curious about the Live in Pasadena bootleg you mentioned. Is that easily found? Is it PIL or Keith Levene or some other concoction?
Thanks!
Sure! This show features the post-Wobble era lineup, so -- you have John, and Keith, plus Wobble's successor, Peter Jones, and the ubiquitous Martin Atkins, on drums. So it's PiL, all right.
If the retailer had been trying to flog a bootleg featuring the so-called "Holiday Inn" lineup, I doubt I'd have bothered to pick it up. Might have looked at the cover art, out of curiosity, and then, stuck it back in the bin. There are shows circulating from that era, too, of course, though I find them rather wooden. Figures, eh?
Of course, their presence lends an ironic polish -- as
Trouser Press observed, of the official release that
does feature them,
Live In Tokyo -- to the likes of "This Is Not A Love Song." Crossing over into free enterprise, indeed.
But, anyway, to answer your other question, it's not at all hard to find. Here's what the original vinyl boot looks like:
https://www.discogs.com/release/2900367 ... ber-8-1982
Here is the inevitable YouTube upload:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCy1EjTQBQo
And here is a video clip from that same show, as well. of which I've seen several circulating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y04kOTq0uTQ
One technical note: the YouTube upload features a red color paper insert, but the banned Discogs one is a green paper insert, which is the original that I bought, and remember seeing.
As I said, this is one of the more commonly circulating PiL boots out there -- I always saw it in record shops, back in the day -- so it shouldn't be a stretch to track one down.
This boot documents a hastily-added second show -- the band was doing its typical "hit and run" gig thing, which at this time included a string of dates in Southern California.
The band had already booked a show in Pasadena on November 7th, but apparently, felt sufficiently jazzed by the responses they were getting on this outing to add a second show at the last minute, which meant it was poorly attended.
But the overall sound and vibe should give you an idea of why I reacted, like I did, to the relatively wet souffle that John and Keith unleashed in the studio two years later, in their respective runs at the PiL mantle.
Keith's guitar sound here is monstrous, and the band is truly on fire -- obviously, Wobble's absence is the biggest difference, but Jones holds up his end well, and Atkins proves himself as deft a drummer as always.
There's lots of audience baiting and confrontation, of course, which made this show a favorite of mine for years and years. One of my favorite bits happens when one of the bouncers says,
"This -- is --- the voice -- of St. Nicholas. And if you all don't get off the stage, you're going to get coal for Christmas!"
I used extracts from those little run-ins when I recorded a parody of "Poptones," retitled, "Popcans" -- as in,
"The angry crowd throws..." -- since they fit the vibe quite nicely.
Now just imagine my shock and awe (of the negative kind) when I heard what emerged in 1984! Anyway, I trust all this surplus info should help your quest.