(Photo by Brett Cross)
I caught up with The Candy Snatchers last night at The Taphouse in Norfolk. It was, atypically, a sobering experience. It's probably been five years since seen the boys, and Saturday night's show suggests that the band isn't exactly in top form.
Let me just say that the chaotic maelstrom that's usually cooked up by these guys is one of my favorite sounds in live rock 'n' roll. A show I saw with them opening for The Humpers at King's Head Inn around 1994 re-ignited my love of pure, intoxicating punk rock.
Saturday's show was something less exciting, however. I'm hoping the boys got warmed up later in the set, because the first 40 minutes I saw represented a sadly de-fanged version of the band I love.
At one point, singer Larry May said that a friend had compared The Candy Snatchers to The Grateful Dead, because "We both like cocaine and we play without a setlist." Based on what I saw last night, I'd add that they're also alike because both bands continued past their prime.
On the bright side, Steve Athey at Skinnie's Records tells me there is a new Candy Snatchers disc in progress. Maybe they can better recapture the manic magic in the studio than on stage.
A pair of YouTube videos shows The Candy Snatchers sounding considerably sharper. One recent clip shows the band performing "911" and an older one shows the band playing Lexington (Kentucky?) in 1996. Larry still manages to rock with his leg in a cast.
2 comments:
One thing I can honestly say with every ounce of certainty(unless of curse Stiv Bators is magically resurrected), is that there is no band that lays down a live show like the fucking Candysnatchers. Not in L.A., not back east, not anywhere. Larry May, Matt Odietus, and the rest of the gang make me fucking proud to be from Virginia.
Amen, brother. They're the real deal -- mess or no mess.
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