On Friday 29th August 2025 Robyn Hitchcock performed the Safe As Milk album live at The Chapel, San Francisco. A second set Deep Cuts & Classic Tracks  included a selection of other Beefheart songs from the later albums. The musical director for the show was Allyson Baker from the San Francisco rock band Dirty Ghosts. She and her husband played a couple of Beefheart songs with Robyn Hitchcock at The Chapel in May 2025 – Electricity and Zig Zag Wanderer – and enjoyed the experience so much that they wanted to do it again. By coincidence the promoter of the show that night had anRead More →

Back in 2015 Robyn Hitchcock performed the whole of the Clear Spot album live at various UK venues – read about that here. On Friday 29th August 2025 he will be performing the Safe As Milk album live at The Chapel, San Francisco. A second set will include a number of other Beefheart songs from the later albums. At the moment this appears to be the only performance before Robyn heads off to perform Dylan’s John Wesley Harding album at several US venues. Along with Robyn will be some ‘special guests’ (although others, currently unknown,  are promised): Chuck Prophet Kelley Stoltz Blag Dahlia (The Dwarves)Read More →

The Radar Station’s favourite Beefheart tribute band, Orange Claw Hammer, have a couple of gigs coming up soon. The band will be presenting their jazz inflected take on many Beefheart classics at this year’s Edinburgh Festival under the banner Sugar n’ Spikes and all things Beefheart. They will be performing at Bannerman’s in Edinburgh on Saturday 9th and Saturday 16th August 2025. Tickets are available in advance form the Fringe Box Office or online at www.edfringe.comRead More →

We are sad to hear of the death of Terry Van Vliet, he was 89 and had been suffering with dementia. Terry was an older cousin of Don’s, and also born in Glendale. His parents were Harold and Winifred Vliet. Like Don, Terry reclaimed the ‘Van’ for the family name. He went to Lancaster Valley High, the same school as Don. It was here that Terry developed  a passion for poetry and literature. When he moved to Las Vegas for a while he joined a small theatre group and found another passion, acting. He returned to Los Angeles and tried to pursue an acting career.Read More →

Here at the Radar Station we were saddened to learn of the death of Elliot Ingber on 21st January, he was 83. This is Don’s simple but expressive sketch of ‘Mean E’ taken from the cover of The Spotlight Kid album which also included this poetic sketch, also by Don : No B.O. for this boy it’s like a winged eel fingerling crawling thru lime jello it’s like chrome black eyebrow rolled out real long a paper brow magnifying glass fried brown, edge scorched, yoked like a squeak from a speaker behind forehead of the time, licorice schtick open tube of valuable JuJuBees. Our shortRead More →