PHOTO GALLERY

The Jesus Lizard: December 19th, 1997 Sudsy Malone's Cincinnati For their first area appearance since the ill-fated Lollapalooza episode when David Yow was arrested for showing the crowd what they wanted to see, the Jesus Lizard put on one hellacious show for those present at Sudsy Malone's Laundormat/Bar. And, they did so without Yow incurring the wrath of the local authorities.

To start off the evening's festivities, Fort Mitchell, Ky.'s Autumn Rising took the first position on the bill. Unfortunately for me (and many others, whether they know it or not), I was late and missed their set. I've seen them before, and it would be safe to say that they are one of the best bands in the tri-state area. Their music is powerful and intelligent, and it doesn't rely on a bunch of indie-rock cliches to capture their audience's attention. If you don't own a copy of "The Kraken", Autumn Rising's compact disc available through Brass Ass Records, you should add one to your collection last week. Creative packaging, tight and smart compositions, and a cheap price - you can't beat that with my ten-foot pole. There is also a 7" mentioned in the liner notes of the disc, and though I own it not, I am sure it is well worth the few bucks it would cost your paren... I mean you.

Next up was Cincinnati Ohio's Lazy (they are anything but; they are one hell of an energetic band, and they ae currently on tour - if I could be so "lazy" and still achieve as much as these cats, I'd be king shit). Tell you what, those folks over at Roadrunner must be kicking themselves in the asses for letting these folks go - they kick fucking ass, and they are only getting better as time passes on. I thought their set was a tad bit short, but Steve (guitar) told me they played ten songs, so I guess that's plenty of songs. It just went by so quick, and I wasn't even fucked up at that point so don't go thinking that I lost track of time, alright? Look for Lazy in a town near you. They have a few recordings, including a recent split single on Deary Me Records. Check it out.

There is really not that much to say about the Jesus Lizard live that hasn't been penned already; so I won't waste my breath: they kicked my ass and everyone else in the joint. They explode on stage in every aspect. First of all, David Yow introduced himself as the District Attorney - and let me be the first to point out, if old Joe Deters was anything like David Yow, ole Joe would probably have changed professions and joined the ranks of former Cincinnati officials who can't write checks and now host stupid fucking talkshows; what's more, people in this town would probably respect mister Deters much more if he would let it all hang out every once in a while.

Anyhoo, to insure that there would be no repeat of the last time, Yow taped his trousers on with what appeared to be about four rolls of electrical tape (by the way, David told Dan McCabe that Cincinnati is the only town where he can remember the exact date when he was here last - wonder why? then you're an idiot). Replacement drummer Jim Kimball did a fine job at learning his parts. He stayed pretty true to the beats put down by Mac McNeilly, which is good, because Mac is one of the most bad-ass drummers in history. One could sense Kimball being hesitant in a couple of instances, but he was for all intents and purposes excellent. He even played everything up-tempo, which I remember happening at their show at Annie's a few years ago with Mac on the throne.

Other highlights include: David Yow sporting Dana Hamblen's wig; "Glamorous" being included in the set; David Yow climbing on the washers in the back and pushing folks who looked frightened by the whole ordeal; hearing Dan's story of tearing down the bleachers (which should have been done many moons ago, but hey, it's done so there's no need to bitch); being able to stand on a table in the very back and see the fucking stage.

Can't wait until the next time they come to town. It's always a pleasure...