The reformed Magic Band have so far played numerous explosive live dates in the UK, USA and Amsterdam.

This page features eye-witness comments as they came in about the various 2003 shows.

Also available - comments about the 2004 shows.

Dear Graham,

Though you might like some more thoughts on the Magic Band's SBE gig. I went with my father, who has been a fan for many years, but who never managed to see any incarnation of the band with the indomitable Captain at the helm.

We were both completely blown away by the band and rarely has a gig seemed so short. It was nothing short of emotional, and as they ripped into Hair Pie, I could swear I saw a little tear in my fathers eye, ahhhh. This was no nostalgic trip through back-catalogueland, nor was it in any way tempered by the ages of the musicians. It was a powerhouse of a concert from Morton's bass solo of Hair Pie at the start to the sublime Big Eyed Beans at the end. I echo what others have said, they must keep playing live.

I take my ten gallon hat off to French who has obviously put heart and soul into this incarnation of the band, he completely stole the show. His drum solo seemed to keep 10 beats going at once and was as fascinating to watch as it was to hear. Highlights for us, Abba Zabba (instrumental), Circumstances, Peon and the fantastic Sun Zoom Spark complete with French's Beefheartesque arm movements, lastly it was nothing short of an honour to hear China Pig live.

Never have I been so transfixed at a gig, it was magical and I can only hope that they play again, having never seen Beefheart, and this being the closest I will ever get, this was and will remain the best gig I have ever been to.

Not only that but Dad got the set-list..

On another note, and perhaps a bit of a cheeky one at that, I just wanted to let you know that I run a music night in Shoreditch at The Strongroom Bar once a month called Blue Million Miles (wonder where that came from). Lots of Beefheart + the like played, website at www.bluemillionmiles.com Plug it, come down, tell fans, whatever.

Well done with the site, its fantastic.

Jon

14 April 2003 17:22

Last Monday was the Magic Band concert. I went with my grownup daughter, a jazz musician. Her mother never taped my Beefheart albums when we split up, but still, my daughter has great tastes, and has turned me on to some great music: Hancock, Shorter, Gillespie, Monk, Tyner, Rollins. Last Monday I returned the favour.

The last time I saw the Magic Band was at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, thirty years ago. I remember the solo by Rockette Morton on his double-headed bass guitar, the good Captain gliding and growling through Electricity. On Monday the magic came back. I danced from the first hit of the drums following Rockette Morton's opening solo, to Big Eyed Beans at the end. I screamed and clapped between numbers fast and bulbous. I heard a band that was in tight control of the music: the pieces were precise and as eloquent as ever. The band's musicianship is as good as I hear it on the CDs. It was being back in the seventies in more ways than one - in all the good ways.

I've read reviews in the Times and in the Guardian. Slightly sneering, talking of middle-aged gentlemen, Terry Pratchett lookalikes and wives humouring their ageing husbands. Well bollocks to them. Don't believe it. It was an extraordinary night, and it's thanks to this website (which I found whilst cyber-skiving at work last year) that I knew of it. OK, so there was more grey hair than at the Free Trade Hall (though the problems with the acoustics were similar), but there was the same feeling in the audience. As someone has already remarked, it was a concert driven by love.

My daughter thought the concert was wicked, which is an expression of approbation for people in their early twenties.

The concert has stayed with me, even through these dark days with oil companies telling our excuses for politicians to bomb a foreign country so they can get their grubby hands on the oil reserves. We need the Magic Band, Sho Nuff and Yes.

A Zig Zag Wanderer.

10 April 2003 23:56

After the show I went to the stage door and had a chat with Rockette Morton and Robert Arthur Williams who signed my Doc at the Radar Station 1980 European Tour T-Shirt. They definitely enjoyed the show. Who wouldn’t? It was a concert without parallel. I have seen all the great and good in the music business over the last 25 years. Nothing, but nothing came close to what I witnessed on Monday night.

I hope they do plan to do it again. And I think they will.

On a personal note – thanks for running a great site. If it wasn’t for this site I may not have known about the reunion.

Yours eternally grateful, Painless Parker

10 April 2003 13:19

You missed a treat, the Magic Band were fantastic.

Also really nice to meet people who were only e-mail contacts before the show. A tremendous atmosphere, warm friendly and enthusiastic. They made us wait in a long line outside before the doors opened and it gave us time to meet people. A lot of greybeards and bald pates, but a good few younger fans as well. I met three German lads from Berlin, a Dutch couple, two Americans, three Belgians just in my part of the crowd.

John French was magnificent, driving the instrumental section along with some powerful controlled drumming. Complex percussion work which went beyond the simple term ‘drumming’ as different from the average rock band drummer as a Golden Eagle is from a a Sparrow.

When John came down to centre stage to do the vocals Robert Williams was just as sure footed through the complex rhythms of Don’s music. John gave us spirited renditions of Beefheart favourites hopping around the stage and growing in confidence with every number that he sung. He even did ‘Well’ thanking a member of the audience for helping him out with the lyrics. Denny Walley was magisterial, he stood to the right of the stage and played with a dignified assurance, note perfect throughout. Gary Lucas took the left of stage and read us poetry and played like an angel, his rendition of ‘Evening Bell’ was a high spot.

Rocket Morton was not the duck walking, rake thin, silk suited maniac of 1973 but his bass has lost none of its bite. Responding to the audience he was able to confirm that he still ‘ran on beans’. The band obviously enjoyed the waves of love and affection directed at them from the crowd and responded with growing energy and enthusiasm. A rousing ‘Big Eyed Beans’ ended an evening that will be stored up in the memory for a long time.

As the jazz man says on The Fast Show…. ‘Great’.

Cheers, Geoff.

See also Geoff's pictures of the show.

09 April 2003 17:02

Sorry you didn't make the trip to London for the reunion gig.

They were giving away flyers, one of which I have scanned and attached to this e-mail. Hope it comes out OK.

The gig itself was great fun, I'm sure you'll get a set list and review from someone else... from my point of view I really enjoyed hearing that music played live for the first time (never saw the band originally) each of the musicians did a great job and John French's vocals added something "extra".

Hi-lights: Alice in Blunderland - Abba Zaba - Evening Bell - Well - all the Trout Mask tracks - and Denny Walley playing the "long lunar note" but it was ALL just pure Magic.

I'll leave it to someone else to fill in the gaps, hope the flyer looks OK. The gig was filmed... so maybe there will be a DVD in the future... Off to dream of The Magic Band, even without Don they still have MAGIC!!!

All the best

Click the flyer for a larger version

08 April 2003 19:51

I didn't miss the absent band members as they were there musically courtesy of Denny. His playing, to my ears, was indistinguishable from those he emulated. An example of this was Doug Moon on the version of China Pig. Here's the great (or weird) bit: John's vocals were an excellent cover for the absent CB. The play list was long and I know they did a medley of numbers with John on drums but I couldn't believe they did 2 hours....... but they did.

The music was tight and I don't know who enjoyed it more the band or us. I know the bloke in front of me tried to extend the enjoyment as he held aloft his mobile phone for a distant cousin to hear. His partner was American, I guess, so it could possibly have been an expensive treat but worth it so much. For those able to see the Magic Band in America: do everything possible to go.

There were girls there, one of them my wife, who fancied Rockette Morton way back when and still did last night. Possibly because he's taken on the physical proportions that I possess? No I kid myself he was as electric as ever.

It was just fanfuckingtastic. The Magic Band should be persuaded to play regularly. Not for nostalgic reasons but because they provided and got enjoyment from it

Cheerio

08 April 2003 18:07

Well, why were you? You really need a good explanation. It was awesome (Cormac is sitting next to me and says 'shock and awe'....i only have him as a guest for a couple of hours but he's housetrained and good with cats). But seriously... a fantastic show... way above my expectations, and everyone else has pretty much covered it (although the song from 'Decals' was 'Big Toe').

Here's Cormac:

Yes! Yes! I say Johnston, you really got yerself some 'splainin' t'do!

Whatever about the music, it was worth going to, just to see Ben's incredible bezippered scalp! Also, Mr. Martian looked very dapper in his custom built Beefheart rugby jersey, I got Dennis to throw one of Ben's Fireparty badges on stage for Lucas to wear, the roadie assured me afterwards that he'd pass it on, as well as the cigars Ben threw for Rockette.

Both Ben and myself (wearing my shamrock framed raybans) got to grip the hand of Drumbo! Earlier when Drumbo was preaching about how much of a Beefheart fan he is himself, I shouted out "HALLELUJAH!", and Drumbo laughed "I got a "Hallelujah" over there!"

He very much had his own thing goin' on as a front man, lots of prancing, pouncing,pointing, scissors kicks, and Kung-Foolery. I wonder what Miss Catly's boyfriend made of it all!

love love love Cormac

Andy again:

Good to meet people last night, shame there wasn't more time! Here's hoping this isn't an isolated event!

08 April 2003 13:09

I went to both gigs, the band were so confident. They played roughly the same tracks both nights.

All of the songs from the poem onward featured a white suited Drumbo's vocals. His spoken voice is eerily similar to Don's. He said he is a massive fan of the music and poetry, and doesn't want to replace the captain. I was pleasantly surprised with the vocals. He's got an excellent singing voice, wide ranging, from the lowest notes in The Floppy Boot Stomp, up to the scatting in Booglarize.

With Drumbo so vocally fixed with the music, a lot of the haphazard vocal happenings have ceased. In tracks like Dropout Boogie, Moonlight on Vermont and Floppy Boot, you get such a coherent vocal as you've never heard.

Big Eyed Beans is juddering brilliance, Denny Walley is the right guitarist for the job - all those Delta, swampy rhythms, surrealist seriousness and slide parts are effortless for him. Gary Lucas truly looks the part on stage - playing the Ingber parts, among everything else. I can still see him doing the descending guitar solo bit in humangetsmeblues, and Rockette Morton doing the half-speed bit in Hair Pie bake 2, and Walley doing the Nowadays a woman.. solo, all of them looking awed, so pleased to be there, and so proud of the parts.

A note on the Firealarm - I was desperate for the toilet, and I may have set it off with my mind. :)

I hope they come back. My favourite stuff was certainly in the first third, Drumbo actually doesn't appear to play the drums all that hard, but the sound was thundering.

I thought the mix was better at ATP actually, with the guitars coming through a little clearer - but the Bush gig was definitely the better performance. I found Rockette's solo at the ATP gig slightly less powerful than I was expecting. I have loads more to say - but having had 2 days off work with the Magic Band, I'd better not push my luck too much.

08 April 2003 12:54

I think he was astounded by the audience reaction. I hope we were enthusiastic enough to draw them back over here sometime.

I'm looking forward to seeing Rockette Morton's pics of the audience!!! I spoke to one of the "official" photographers who was there for "Mojo".

Cheers

08 April 2003 12:23

Hi - I have some info about last night's concert at Shepherds' Bush Empire in London.

The band were really tight and energetic, obviously enjoying it. Played for approx. 2 hours. Some great performances of songs that were regularly played live by the early 70's and circa 81 live band. But also a couple of surprises. Some songs I don't think have ever been performed live before, or at least very rarely: e.g.: Circumstances.

The band must be convinced to play more gigs - if at all possible - the audience was very enthusiastic and the venue was pretty full. I can't believe that they will just play once more at the LA All Tomorrow's Parties. They sounded so very contemporary and the guitar playing was just as fresh as twenty+ years ago. I should add how great Drumbo was, complete with Beefheart-like pointing and gesticulating!

A superb superb gig.

08 April 2003 10:58 - See Gavin's set list for the night as well.

The first third of the set was entirely instrumental, then Robert Williams took over on drums so Drumbo could sing. The set seemed to be very much rooted in the pre-'74 material and from memory included: Veterans Day Poppy, Steal Softly, Hair Pie, Abba Zaba, Evening Bell, Well, Dropout Boogie, When It Blows Its Stacks, I Wanna Find Me A Woman...., Circumstances, Floppy Boot Stomp, Veteran's Day Poppy, China Pig, Click Clack, Sun Zoom Spark, Moonlight on Vermont, and of course Big-Eyed Beans from Venus.

It was great to see Ben (he was the one with the zipper on his head btw!) and the rest of the Fourfathers (Dennis, Paul, Nick & Ivor) again and to meet several other Fireparty People including (sorry, can't remember everyone's names): Ian Archer, Melissa, Curly, and particularly the inimitable Mr. Cormac O'Donoghue.

Hope to see you all again soon - and let's hope this isn't our last chance to see The Magic Band playing live.

Stewart

08 April 2003 09:50

Whew, that was a tremendous concert, far exceeding my expectations. I could have happily sat there all night watching the seemingly indefatigable Magic Band pump out the tunes. The audience reaction was remarkable - the band seemed delighted with the rapturous reception greeting the end of every song.

It is hard to fault the performance in any way (particularly John French's role, involving whooping and hollering in a good facsimile of the absent leader and drumming the arse out of his kit early in the show). Perhaps my only issue was the loading of the set list towards 'Clear Spot' and 'The Spotlight Kid' which left us with nothing from 'Mirror Man' and not enough from 'Decals' or 'Safe As Milk'.

I went home drained and happy, with the apocalyptic rendering of 'Big Eyed Beans From Venus' still ringing in my ears and my aerial view of hundreds of bald heads bouncing back and forward in the audience still fresh in my mind.

Cracking!

08 April 2003 08:40

They were running on love! A brilliant gig which left me feeling enriched, wired and bit sad (for the fact that Beefheart himself couldn't perform these days even if he wanted too). Mere crumbs perhaps compared to performances of various Magic Band incarnations with Beefheart himself, but by the standards of bands that I see these days, just ....well, magic - especially after a weekend of performers staring into the depths of their laptop screens.

The only real problem with the performance was the fact that after 1 hour of the performance, just as John French (who did look like a bit like a member of the Beegees) announced that their next song was going to be 'Moonlight on Vermont', the fire alarm sounded and we all had to leave the building.

07 April 2003 20:54