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Live in Canning Town 2008

by The Thurston Lava Tube

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    This concert was recorded Roy Weard of the Legendary Wooden Lion on digital 24 track and mixed by Alan Jenkins at Cordelia Records.

    It was part of a benefit concert for Jimmy Carl Black. This is an account of the event by Andrew Greenaway from http://www.idiotbastard.com/

    Well, what a strange venue – as Ben Watson noted, “like visiting a club on the moon”. This concert was suggested by Dave McMann when we were trying to figure out how we could help the ailing Jimmy Carl Black following the diagnosis of his inoperable lung cancer in August. We were both deeply affected by Jimmy, who managed to touch us just by being himself. A cursory scan of the various Zappa fora following Jimmy’s death on 1 November shows that we were far from alone. I first talked with Jimmy in October 1993 when the Jack & Jim Show played at The Swan opposite Fulham Broadway tube – yeah, right near the home of football drinking beer with an idol of my youth. Nirvana! I was with Fred Tomsett, the editor of T’Mershi Duween, who was doing most of the talking, having met Jim before. I just bought them the odd beer. Months later, the Grandmothers played Dingwalls near Camden Lock. There’s me sat in the middle of this darkened room with the late Paul Mummery, when up pops Jimmy – singles me out, comes over, says, “Hi Andy, how are ya?”, puts his arm round me. How special did that make me feel? And thus started our friendship. I last spoke with Jimmy in August after that devastating diagnosis, as he was preparing to leave hospital. He said he actually felt OK, but had been told that he wasn’t. It seemed that it was just the chemo he’d been undergoing these past few years for his leukaemia that made him “feel like shit”. So a concert to raise funds for his mounting medical bills seemed a perfect idea. So who’s the obvious choice to play such a concert in the UK? That’s right, first on were the legendary Muffin Men – and in what a formation: Roddie, Jumpy, Rhino, Friz, Marty, Tilo and Mikey. No real rehearsal, but it didn’t show. These guys know each other too well. And, unbeknownst to them, a surprise appearance from another erstwhile member was to follow…who I had to go rescue from the A13. More on that in a mo. After an excellent Black Napkins (featuring great work from Jumpy and an excellent trumpet solo from Marty), Tilo led a funky improv on tambourine. Our MC for the night, Ben – who probably had the shortest distance to travel bearing in mind that we had five people from the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden (hi, Lena and Lennart!) – was one of the last to arrive, and actually missed the start of the show. But he leapt into action as the Muffins ended with The Great White Buffalo. Thanks to Roy Weard and his Legendary Wooden Lion cohorts (including stage manager/technician, Steve – who regaled me with tales of ‘minding’ Peter Green before the event), changeovers were quick and smooth. So we didn’t have to wait long for The Thurston Lava Tube and there sprightly psychedelic experimental surf music. All sporting beards (some real) I had to ask “Are there any women here today?”. Of course, there was: the beautiful Blodwyn P. Teabag, on her aged combo organ. If you’ve not heard the Thurstons before, you need to. If (like me and JCB) you’re a Beatles fan, why not start with their Me Ka Nahaku CD (which, as well as the Lennon/McCartney songbook, also includes compositions by Messrs Innes and Zappa). They played some from that (the I Wanna Be Your Man/What’s The Ugliest Part Of Your Body/Free As A Bird medley and I Am The Walrus), as well as some of their own stuff (like Shit Weasel and Ianisation). Their leader, Alan Jenkins (of Cordelia Records fame), is a very shining wit and plays a mean surf guitar. Ben wanted them to play Wipe Out!, but ending with Mr Green Genes, Caravan (with a drum solo, natch) and Lumpy Gravy was far better. DJ Chilli was doing a fine job between bands, playing some Zappa and such. When he was asked to play some spoken word stuff from Jimmy, he felt the audience wouldn’t quieten down to listen. I shared his reservations but, what do I know, as soon as he started to spin Jon Larsen’s new The Jimmy Carl Black Story CD, everyone shutted up and concentrated. And laughed, too. I went out and helped Fraz Knapp’s special guest stunt guitarist bring in his special effects while Chilli premiered probably Jimmy’s last studio recording – his duet with Candy Zappa on Nigey Lennon’s Stolen Cadillac (which is on Crossfire’s imminent "If We'd All Been Living In California..." compilation). So who was this mystery axe-slinger? Let me tell you a story. A week before the gig, Fraz told me most of his band had been called away to work on the mainland and so he was down to just him (on drums) and his bass player, Edward Newton. Could we get him a guitarist to jam with? Well, it took a few days, but Dave tracked down the best man for the job. Ladies, put your knees together: enter former Muffin, Carl Bowry. When I phoned him on the Friday before the gig, he said, “Well I’ve got a new son, it’s very short notice and I have to work the next day. But it’s for Jimmy, so I’d absolutely love to.” He later told me that he was so glad to have been invited as this was his only way he could pay his respects. And he did so in great style. It was hard to believe that these three had only just met minutes before. They jammed around King Kong and Willie The Pimp, did a great Brush With The Blues (yes, Carlo: Jimmy did meet Jeff Beck; while recording Permanent Damage with the GTOs), and had Friz up with his flute for a bit. I was supposed to go up and recite Base Is The Spine during The Indian Of The Group, but Gamma – my representative on Mars – beat me to it. And anyway, he’s much more of an entertainer than I’ll ever be. A nice way to segue into a bit of Voodoo Chile. And with Friz an’ all, my presence just wasn’t needed. Sadly, due to a ‘technical cock-up’, Evil Dick’s The Horrors Of Local Government music film – as edited by the idiot bastard’s son, Chris Greenaway - could not be shown (hopefully you can see it on Evil’s website soon – or on YouTube), but Ben had written a poem for Jimmy the night before and he, Gamma with Evil on drums presented that. You can read it here. They were joined by Friz on sax – the cherry on the cake, for Ben. And while we’re about it, why not listen to Ben’s Resonance Radio tribute to Jimmy at http://www.archive.org/details/RealitysSarcasmJimmyCarlBlackIsDead5-xi-2008, where he describes Evil’s compositions as “the sort of music that Jimmy Carl Black would like a lot”. Anyway, what could possibly follow that jazz poet sixties throwback doings? The raffle! Thanks to the Muffin Men, Wendy Bannister, the Thurston Lava Tube, G&S Music and, er, the Idiot Bastard, I was able to give away some very fine prizes, including a big bunch or CDs & DVDs, a nice framed picture of Jimmy, a Zappa Knebworth/Bath festival box set, an original Mothers tour of Europe 1971 poster and a copy of Lumpy Money (well, when it’s released later this month). We raised an additional £155 for that little lot. The last band to play was the afore-mentioned That Legendary Wooden Lion, without whom, etc. So it was sad to see so few people left watching them. I guess most people don’t want to stay out too late on a rainy Sunday night in the middle of Nowheresville, East 16? They’d been rehearsing some early Mothers stuff, too. And they’re obviously great players. I had to point out to one disgruntled gent that this was NOT a Zappa night, but a night for Jimmy. And so it was. On behalf of Dave and myself, I’d like to thank from the bottom of our hearts everyone who came along to witness this, the Bridge House for letting us hire the place for free, and, most especially, all the artists who turned out and gave up their time to entertain us – all for our dear departed friend, JCB. ... more
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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Whole Man Bird Fireball Thing, The Poodle Collector, The Year of the Dog, Live in Canning Town 2008, Move over Rover, let Clover take over, The Pink Elephant with Nipples for Tusks, Me Ka Nahuku, and The Thoughtful Sounds of Bat Smuggling. , and , .

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1.
Intro 01:08
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Shit Weasel 04:20
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Ianisation 02:23
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Caravan 02:34
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released November 15, 2022

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The Thurston Lava Tube UK

The Thurston Lava Tube were an experimental surf instrumental group from Leicester, England. They were active between 2000 and 2010.

Members: Alan Jenkins - guitar, Blodwyn P. Teabag - organ, Johnny Pacino - bass (2000-2004), Marshall Cavendish - bass (2004-2010), Mat Bartram - drums
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