Two shows (7pm & 9pm) by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Abril Pro Rock 2001, Recife, Brazil on 28 April 2001.
nb. An interview with Jon Spencer and live footage from this event was broadcast on MTV.
SET LIST:
Afro
Bernie
Get Down Lover
Blues X Man
Dang
I Wanna Make It Alright
Chicken Dog
Ghetto Mom
Mother Nature
2Kindsa Love
Flavor
Talk About The Blues
Attack
Full Grown
“”God” was here
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Sesc Pompéia 04/28/01
by Marco Bezzi
photos by Ana AntoniolliPerfect Saturday: the day before a holiday, empty streets, clear skies, the night before with a great show by the Asian Dub Foundation. Could you ask for more? Let’s see… two shows by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and, why not, with a 3-hour gap between the two? But that’s something that would happen in New York or London.
No!!!!! This happened in São Paulo even in its reduced version of Abril Pro-Rock. Holy shit!!!! With a ticket for the 9pm show, only one thing was bothering me: what if the guy screams his head off at the extra 7pm show and doesn’t have the strength for the second and final performance? Well, I thought, it would be a real shame for the people who killed themselves buying tickets for the previously only concert. The guy wasn’t going to do that, but… Ten past seven and Jon and his troupe enter the stage at Sesc Pompéia with half the crowd still out.
I had a cold and a fever, had taken a cocktail of medicines and still couldn’t believe that I was going to be face to face with Jon Spencer , Judah Bauer and Russell Simins, less than 2 meters away. The guitars were loud, the drums seemed to be asking for a truce, so strong was the attack, and the voice… yeah, it was quiet. Maybe for the people who were sitting down (how?), the sound of the PA amplified Jon’s screams more, which in no way took away from the vigor of the performance of these masters of noise. The image of Mr. Spencer fallen in the middle of the stage, looking psychotic and screaming, seemingly begging for mercy for all his sins, was one of those scenes that will never leave the mind of anyone who witnessed that moment. He became Jesus Christ Blues Explosion, wearing leather pants and a blue shirt, looking more like a mix of Elvis and Charles Manson. With his jumps, screams and interjections, Jon is rock n’ roll.
And what were the shows like? I don’t remember much about the first one, such was the jumble of sounds that went through my head when I heard the first chords of Get Down Lover . I could tell that the guys played a lot of new songs and that maybe because the crowd was a bit colder, they held back a bit (I mean, the guys hold back: throwing themselves on the floor, getting on the amps and all that). One of the most impressive things was the guitar tones: Judah, with an impossible-to-be-cooler style , ripped through the highs of his Tele with the help of a Vox and a Fender Twin Reverb that was the envy of the world. Jon, with a very strange guitar and amp, made the bass sound even lower.
After an hour and ten minutes or so, the band said its first goodbye after a sublime encore that featured the swinging Magical Colors by the great Acme . We rested for the second act, washed down with beer, a little Wander Wildner and more pills. Everyone was ready for the show that must have started around eleven thirty. The crowd was more into rock, more lively, as expected. And it seems that Jon treated the audience to one of the shows of his life – although he himself confessed to me that he really liked the first one. That was just cowardice. Afro (from the unbeatable Extra Width ), Flavor , Full Grown , Wail and the wonderful Bellbottoms from the 94 CD Orange . Unbelievable!!! Jon, noticing the greater desire of the crowd, seemed to interact more, asking for the screams of the 750 hypnotized attendees. Russel was dead in the last two songs, but he continued to fulfill his role and Judah got on the drums to the delight of the girls.
At the end of the show, Russell Simins had a serious look on his face. I don’t know if he had taken something, but most likely the guy was just wasted. ” When are we going back to the hotel? ” he asked the tour manager. Judah was the most receptive of the band and the one who was most harassed by the few who remained there. ” I think I’m going to go somewhere after this. Do you have any suggestions? ” he asked.
Jon leaves looking exhausted (there’s a rumor that he broke up with the wonderful Cristina Martinez, and whoever knows who the girl is must have all the reasons for the guy to be like this) and I ask what his impressions of the show were? In Maringá we had the best audience of the tour. It’s very difficult to find a place in the United States with such a receptive crowd . A fan asks permission to take a photo. Here in São Paulo the only problem was the place, which is shitty, playing to the wall is tough, but although the crowd sometimes seems not to understand our loose way of playing, they responded really well to the show .
I say that the new songs are awesome and ask when are we going to be treated to the next JSBX? Man, the record company asks us all the time for this next album to be released, but we want to do things at our own pace and we don’t have a date yet .
Before returning to New York, Jon stopped by the Hi-Fi in Iguatemi Shopping Mall (believe it or not) and took home a Mutantes (Tecnicolor) album and two more that my friend who works there doesn’t remember. That’s it. An unforgettable weekend in which “God” stopped by and managed to change the minds of many people.”
Review (Translated): Marco Bezzi (via screamyell.com.br)
Live Photos (Portrait): Ana Antoniolli (via screamyell.com.br)
Interview & Live Images: Screen grabs from the MTV broadcast.
