The Magic Band - The Garage - 24/11/2017

The last t-shirt of 2017 and a sad one, as it was the final tour of The Magic Band. But, what a way to go! Thirteen years after the reformation (sans Captain Beefheart), John ‘Drumbo’ French has called it a day. Drumbo was the drummer for Beefheart in the definitive early years and also took the vocal lead – one of the most challenging in rock’n’roll – for the reformed magic Band. Over the years the number of original players dwindled, and by the end only French was an ‘original’, although he’d recruited a fabulous band along the way.
The Garage is a great little venue – I haven’t been there much, but it’s always a great night. This was no exception.
No support, just two hours of Captain Beefheart music – which is a treat I never thought I’d hear when I first got into that stuff in the 90s. It’s the blues, but it’s also kind of purple, with green and orange bits.
We got ‘20th Century Quaker’! That was new (well, really old in truth, but you know what I mean)! We also got the early classics like ‘Abba Zaba’, most of ‘Bat Chain Puller’ and a stunning selection of solos from all concerned. Although, maybe a bit too much tenor saxophone for my liking. I was deeply amused by the new keyboard player. He faced the drum kit whilst seated but regularly played one-handed so he could stand up and grin at the audience.
We sang and danced to songs you can’t sing and music you can’t dance to and generally had an absolute ball. Some of the song titles are enough in themselves: ‘A Carrot Is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond’ can’t live up to the title. ‘Floppy Boot Stomp’ and ‘Big Eyed Beans From Venus’ certainly do. There isn’t another band playing Beefheart’s music which is half as good as this one, so it’s the end of the second era of Magic Band. It was a privilege.