every now and then something rends the time-space continuum to such a degree that you have to slap yourself silly just to make sure you haven’t suddenly fallen into an alternative universe or mistakenly downed a quart of robitussin.
such was the case when i saw a listing back in april for a show by the meat puppets at the independent. what’s the big deal, you ask? well, after doing a little research, i discovered that this would be the meat puppets with cris kirkwood. the same cris kirkwood that had last been seen rotting in jail after bottoming out on smack, losing his wife to an overdose, and being shot after assaulting a cop in a parking lot. sure, the pups were always crazy. but they weren’t always stupid.
i first stumbled on the meat puppets, as many did, back in the early 80s as part of the SST records stable. “up on the sun” was a whole different sound for SST, and felt like R.E.M. gone wrong, but in a good way. i remained a fan through the years, enjoying the second shot at success they got when kurt cobain acknowledged their influence on nirvana.
they were almost always a great live act. records were hit and miss, but usually contained at least one track worthy of a sampler tape or CD. but could the ex-junkie-con pull it off in 2007? and without original drummer, derrick bostrom?
the short answer is: pretty much, yeah. there was no denying the sheer exuberance of cris’ performance on may 16th. what a difference it must have been to be back playing killer riffs with his brother instead of digging into a abscess with a dirty needle or waiting for his third square of the day. and curt, no sentimentalist by his own admission, seemed pleased to have his fraternal foil back at his side.
but rock and roll isn’t really a pity sport. if you’re gonna make a comeback, you gotta make me care about it. and for the most part, the 2007 meat puppets did. curt kirkwood was in fine, if not spectacular, form. his unique style of fast-picked, half-strummed arpeggios that segue into searing sinewy solos was in full display, even if he has lost a few minutes off the pace. but who hasn’t?
the occasional off-key moment was almost always followed by a stretch of sonic bliss. i suppose the argument could be made that MP07 is still figuring out how to make up for lost time; this show was part of a limited tour to support a new album. and there’s the new drummer factor too. but the meat puppets were never sticklers for perfection anyway. for 90 minutes, i was willing to cut a little slack for the slackers.
here’s “up on the sun” from the may 16th show at the independent. warts and all, it’s good to have the pups back. let’s hope they stay awhile.
