On April 21, 1988, Dag Nasty played at Maxwell's! The Washington D.C. group had just released their third LP, "Field Day," in February of 1988 - their first on Giant Records and their second with vocalist Peter Cortner. Dag Nasty actually just came through the NYC area recently, including appearances in Brooklyn at Brooklyn Bazaar and at Crossroads in Garwood, NJ.
On April 20, 1989, Firehose pulled through Hoboken, New Jersey for two shows at Maxwell's. This tape captures the late show, which was a rocking one as the band shredded late into April 21, 1989! The group would release their 3rd studio album, "FromOHIO" in October 1989.
On April 18, 1998, Elephant Six Collective superstars, Apples in Stereo, played at Tramps! The group mostly played songs from their 1995 debut, "Fun Trick Noisemaker," and their second LP (my personal favorite), "Tone Soul Evolution!"
I miss this band a lot. They remind me of my college days - back then I was heavily into Elephant Six bands. Oh, I also recently read that frontman Robert Schneider put the project on hiatus to pursue a career as a mathematician. Sad face. Enjoy!
On April 16, 1987, The Stranglers appeared at The Ritz. The group had just released their 9th album, "Dreamtime" in October 1986. This would wind up being the only Stranglers album to chart in the U.S.
On April 11, 1987, Hüsker Dü played at Maxwell's! This show kicked off a three night stand that included April 12th and 13th gigs at Irving Plaza. Interestingly, this show was not listed on the Maxwell's flier. As you can see below, the show is listed as "Closed For Renovations!"
Set list:
On April 11, 1987, Syndney Australia's Celibate Rifles ventured all the way to Hoboken to play at Maxwell's! As a venue, Maxwell's was ahead of the curve when it came to booking up and coming acts from down under - including New Zealand. The local record shop, Pier Platters, had an extensive stock of Australian and New Zealand imports, which kept the demand for live performances from down under bands quite high! Celibate Rifles. The Celibate Rifles played a great 45 minute set to the satisfaction of all in attendance!
On April 10, 1986, Black Flag played one of their last NYC-area shows at Maxwell's. According to Henry's intro, the band was unfortunately involved in a minor car accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the band's PA system and amps were damaged. The photo below is an original taken by Dave McKenzie!
Setlist:
On April 9, 1989, Fugazi appeared at Maxwell's for only five dollars! The band rolled through just prior to the release of their second EP, "Margin Walker." They played several songs from that EP and also a few from 1990's "Repeater." The Blisters opened this sold out show!
Set list:
Greed
Brendan #1
Bulldog Front
Burning
Burning Too
Bad Mouth
Sieve-Fisted Find
Shut the Door
Margin Walker
Song #1
Waiting Room
Give Me The Cure
Suggestion
Lockdown
Long Division
Glueman
Joe #1
Turnover
Reprovisional
Furniture
On April 5, 1986, Alex Chilton crossed the Hudson River for an appearance with a full band at Maxwell's! Mr. Chilton played a few Box Tops songs in this set, including "The Letter," and a whole lot of covers. Thanks Mike Rosenberg for the help with the set list!
Set list:
I'm in love...
What's that song?!?!?!?
On April 4, 1986, the undisputed king of power-pop, Alex Chilton, played a wonderful solo set at CBGB's!
On April 4, 1998, Ryan Adams' Whiskeytown played at Tramps!
On March 27, 1987, Maureen "Mo" Tucker played an incredibly memorable set at Maxwell's! Best known as the drummer of the Velvet Underground, Mo put that pedigree to good use during this performance as she played several VU classics, including "Heroin" and " After Hours."
Mo's performance featured appearances from Half Japanese and Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame. Most notably, Penn sings "Heroin" while simultaneously swallowing/blowing fire!! Mo released an EP entitled "Moejadkatebarry" in June 1987 on Penn Jillette's label, 50 Skidillion Watts.
Click photo for FLAC version!
On this day in 1987, Hüsker Dü played the first of two nights at The Ritz. Millennials more commonly know The Ritz as Webster Hall, which recently closed for renovations. The group played a massively long 29-song set on this first night, featuring mostly songs from "Warehouse: Songs and Stories." This would be one of the band's final shows in New York City, as Hüsker Dü broke up in late 1987.
Set list:
On March 25, 2000, Matthew Sweet wrapped up the "In Reverse" tour with a gig at Irving Plaza. Matthew Sweet emerged out of the burgeoning Athens, GA music scene in the 1980s and he's still doing his thing! Last June, he released his 12th full length, "Tomorrow Forever."
Set list:
Encore One
Encore Two
On March 23, 1997, Royal Trux played a 50 minute set at St. Mark's Place staple, Coney Island High. A popular noise-rock band during the 1990s, the songwriting duo of Neil Michael Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema officially reunited in 2015 - playing a handful of shows over the last few years, including a 3-night residency at Market Hotel in 2017. Fat Possum recently released the majority of their discography and the band announced plans to release their 11th full length in early 2019.
As for the venue, Coney Island High, located on 15 St. Mark's Place in Manhattan, was the most popular punk venue in New York through much of the '90s. The venue was demolished in the early '00s and replaced with a condo building, and now there's a sushi restaurant on the ground floor. Sad face.
On March 18, 1990, Earthpig played at CBGB's. I enjoyed listening to this New Jersey group, and Dave actually sent me a zine cutout with an interview of the group. In the interview, Earthpig cited Die Kreuzen as an influence and stated that label executives compared them Stiff Little Fingers and The Who! "Go figure!
On March 16, 1996, Minneapolis math rockers Walt Mink played at East Village staple, Coney Island High! Emerging out of Macalaster College in 1989, Walt Mink released four studio albums over the course of their career, including 1997's "Collossus" on Deep Elm Records. The group toured extensively throughout their existence in support of great bands like Firehose, Mudhoney, Pavement, and Mudhoney. Lead guitarist, John Kimbrough, currently plays with Dave Hill in the band Valley Lodge!
On March 16, 1986, Jonathan Richman played a stunning set of tunes at Maxwell's!
The New York Times did a brief blurb on Jonathan's show at Irving Plaza on March 14, 1986, describing the set as "low-volume rock- and-roll." Similarly, the set across the Hudson river was definitely low volume, but in no way devoid of energy! You can hear the crowd clapping and singing along throughout the entire show, including a wonderful rendition of "Give Paris One More Chance!"
This tape sounds very crisp and clear, so please enjoy the heck out of it!
Picture in the Maxwell's green room courtesy of Charles Charas!
On April 14, 1987, The Jesus and Mary Chain played at The Ritz! The Scottish alternative rockers were preparing to release their second studio album, "Darklands," which would be released in August of 1987. The group played several songs from this yet to be released LP, including "April Skies," "Nine Million Rainy Days," and "Happy When It Rains."
On March 11, 1989, Mudhoney topped a bill that featured their Sub Pop label mates, Soundgarden. Though Mudhoney had released a string of singles and an EP, as of the date of this gig, they had yet to release their debut self-titled studio album, which was released in November 1986. In December 1988, the group released a highly anticipated split single with Sonic Youth. Prior to the release of Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick" single in March 1988, Bruce Pavitt sent a five-song Mudhoney tape to Sonic Youth for the band's opinion. Sonic Youth immediately proposed a split single where each band covered the other. Sonic Youth covered "Touch Me I'm Sick", while Mudhoney covered Sonic Youth's "Halloween".
Set list: