February 15, 2016

John Fahey - live bootleg The Barn University of California Riverside, CA

Painting by Fahey
John Fahey as Jim Jones...
One day I was talking to one of my co-workers and I said something about Jim Jones and got a blank stare.  Now the blank stare is more my shtick than his so I reminded him of the guy that got something like 900 people to commit suicide...nothing.  Then I had a senior moment.  Not that I forgot anything other than the fact that I was talking to a 20-something kid.  And that will make ya feel old.  He actually thought I was bullshitting him.  Well. Anyway...
John Fahey was having a Jim Jones moment that was brought up on the Fahey forum recently and there were some interested in hearing it.  I happen to have it so I thought I would share it.

Here is the text, as transcribed from the Fahey forum:

Oh, I just want to take a cigarette break...mumble...it's this dissolute, horrible, disgusting, nauseating guitar-playing, travelling around, picking up girls...after a while it gets to you. One day...ah‚ my life is bad enough without having to listen to...mumble... I think I'll take up a different line. I don't know how to do anything except play the guitar and be sinful and lead a dissolute life and travel around and be nauseating... and get people to feel sorry for me. Yeah but who wants to go to a gym and... I mean I used to do that. Oh there must be some way out of this awful life. In fact I tried suicide and it won't work, I really did, sixty-five, thirty-forty valium, I woke up in intensive care. You know...three days and three nights in a motel room. Doctor said, well if that won't kill you nothing will. There's no way OUT. Got a gun but my psychiatrist took my gun away. He won't gimme any more sleeping pills. He's got my gun in his closet. I wonder what else is in that closet, what he's got from his other patients...I mean it's been six years and I'm still sweating, leading a dissipated sinful nauseating disgusting life, playing guitar, picking up girls, sleeping, playing guitar. Surely there must be a better way to live. If I could only find it. I could go to sleep. We could all go to sleep. Why don't we all go home and - why don't we go out back and have a joint suicide? Let's all go out back and commit suicide. Every one of us. The neat thing would be when the newspapers come they won't know what happened. Nobody will be able to figure it out. Ergh......noisy places, fulla cigarette smoke. Well, I got through that cigarette...

Downloading the whole show

John Fahey
6 November 1976
The Barn
University of California
Riverside, CA

Track list:
Disc 1
01. Thus Krishna on the Battlefield & Fare Forward Voyagers
02. Steamboat Gwine Round Da Bend...& Death of the Clayton Peacock & How Green Was My Valley
03. Mark 1:15
04. "cigarette break"
05. On the Sunny Side of the Ocean & Spanish Two-Step

Disc 2
01. Christ Saints of God Fantasy & Stomping Tonight on the Pennsylvania Alabama Border & In Christ There Is No East or West & Beverly
02. Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XIV of Spain
03. Some Summer Day & Brenda's Blues & Spanish Dance
04. On the Sunny Side of the Ocean & Spanish Dance
05. ...Lion
06. Melody McBad & Revolt of the Dyke Brigade & Requiem for Mississippi John Hurt
07. The Discovery of Sylvia Scott

This is a big file, 310mb so be patient.  Get it HERE
Enjoy!


18 comments:

  1. He sounds a bit like Bill Murray in Caddyshack here! Thanks so much for sharing this, wow.

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  2. John had a strange and alien sense of humour. It all begs the question: How would he have reacted if the audience were willing and not made apprehensive with nervous laughter by his comments? It could have been an ugly scene and may indeed have been in the alternate Faheyverse.

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  3. Andrew StranglenMay 1, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    I'm sure John would have loved this one!:by John Cale

    http://www.youtube.com/user/lectrikdog?feature=mhum#p/f/15/e9TXH_zR7C8

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  4. I think disc 2, 04. On the Sunny Side of the Ocean & Spanish Dance" is actually "OTSSOTO and
    Spanish Two-Step"
    -Andrew S

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  5. Thanks for posting another Fahey show!
    Concerning the last song: I think I hear a bit of "Grand Finale","Camptown Races" and "I Wish I Was In Dixie" in there too?!
    Keep up your good work!
    Rank Stranger

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  6. the sendspace link is defunct. any chance of a new one?

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  7. Peter, uploading as I type, will be posted soon, hope you enjoy.

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  8. Lots of great stuff here that I have never seen before. In my view, this is one of Fahey's better sounding show. To put his mass-suicide remark in perspective, this show predates Jones' cool aid stunt by at least 5 years.

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    Replies
    1. Holy Bitter Kool-aid! You're right! That's eerie. Actually only two years, but no matter. Good thing Fahey bent his mind to music??

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  9. Oh my lord, I was there! I also saw him around them at McCabes..same deal. He came on stage, D-76, liter of coke, and a piece of cake in his mouth, spent about 5 minutes consuming them silently, then played for 20 minutes straight, then talked about fighting with his wife. Poor man.

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  10. Hiowdy!!! Having experienced a truckload of Fahey weirdness during the shows I did with him and when he stayed at my place, I prefer the "innocence" of the early Fonotone daze...but hey...
    he is still my fave guitar player despite his "faults"... he showed me the way...and hopefully, I have not stumbled off the path...
    Cheers!!! Ralph.

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  11. Hiowdy!!! Having experienced a truckload of Fahey weirdness during the shows I did with him and when he stayed at my place, I prefer the "innocence" of the early Fonotone daze...but hey...
    he is still my fave guitar player despite his "faults"... he showed me the way...and hopefully, I have not stumbled off the path...
    Cheers!!! Ralph.

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  12. I recorded that show, with his permission, by taping a couple mics to his mic stand. I still have the original reel to reel tapes, looking to get them professionally transferred. A location recording credit line would be appreciated.

    recorded by Ken Schumacher - www.livevibesrecording.com

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  13. Could you please repost? Link is down

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