OTHER LIVE OF INTEREST
UNCLE SAM MOLE SHOW - (1983)
The Uncle Sam Mole Show was a spectacular show, possibly the best performance of the entire tour. It was for the opening of the New Music America Festival in Washington D.C.
Some video footage exists.
THE EYEBALL SHOW - (1986)
Wave Records in Tokyo commissioned two weeks of live shows in Japan. The start of what became the 13th Anniversary Tour.
Some video footage exists.
SNAKEY WAKE - (1987)
When The Residents' long-time friend and collaborator Philip C. Lithman -- Snakefinger -- died of a heart attack in 1987 the group was unable to make it to England for his funeral. His funeral bothered many of Lithman's friends, in part because there was little acknowledgement of his musical career and no mention of his nickname, Snakefinger, which he had used professionally ever since he was given it in 1971.
To rectify these problems the band, and other musicians Snakefinger had worked with, held their own performance/gathering, known as "The Snakey Wake", in San Francisco on August 24th, 1987. The wake took place in a large club. The Residents arrived dressed in black, wrapped in black netting, and carrying black umbrellas. They started the performance with Hank Williams Sr.'s Six More Miles to the Graveyard, followed by their versions of some old English laments. During the laments two Residents inflated large black balloons (also wrapped up in black netting and umbrellas) with helium.
Snakefinger's friends would approach with mementos of the guitarist which were put into a package and tied to the balloons. At the end of the show the balloons were released and floated off into the night.
UWEB released a CD of a studio version of the concert as The Snakey Wake CD and an excerpt of the actual live performance appears on Liver Music.
No video.
BOUDISQUE PARTY 20th ANNIVERSARY PARTY - (1987)
This was a special performance by The Residents to help celebrate the anniversary of Boudisque (aka Torso) who were the European label for Residents projects. The show on November 18th, 1987, was the first performance of Buckaroo Blues, which became part one of Cube-E.
No official video.
TELE 5 - Off Beat Night (1988)
Buckaroo Blues was commissioned by a German television station, Tele 5. It was aired on March 15, 1988, after the band had premiered the show at the Boudisque performance. The Tele 5 broadcast also included the songs Jambalaya and Burning Love and excerpts from it appear on the The Eyes Scream documentary.
Video taped and released.
LINCOLN CENTER - (1989)
The Residents were invited to perform at Lincoln Center for the Serious Fun Festival. They started thinking about the possibility of a tour featuring music about American music and, to this end, they added a second song cycle called Black Barry to the show in order to fill it out to a full hour. Barry was a series of Residential versions of black music (gospel songs, blues, and jazz) just as Buckaroo Blues was covers of cowboy music. The two were premiered together at Alice Tully Hall on July 21st, 1989.
No video.
TY'S FREAK SHOW - (1991)
On November 17th, 1991, the Japanese computer company NEC staged a special invitation-only concert at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. The concert was known as Ty's Freak Show after co-director Ty Roberts and featured The Residents performing songs from the Freak Show album. They were accompanied by Laurie Amat, who had been the song stylist for God in 3 Persons, in her first live performance. The band used costumes left over from The 13th Anniversary Tour and Cube-E which they modified to suit the new songs.
The show was video taped with a new NEC video deck and, as The Residents performed, Todd Rundgren edited the footage into a live video mix right on stage using NEC's Light Source editing software. Those live mixes were later released by Apple Computer in a series of limited edition Quicktime CD-ROMs and also appear as bonus tracks on Twenty Twisted Questions.
Video Taped and mostly released.
TECH MUSEUM DISFIGURED NIGHT - (1997)
A benefit for the Tech Museum in San Jose became the start of the Disfigured Night Show.
No video.
SGT. PEPPER TRIBUTE - (2007)
The Residents made a three minute appearance performing "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" with the London Sinfoniette in Milan, Italy on September 21, 2007.
For the Benefit of Mr. Kite arranged by Rupert Cross. The London Sinfoniette was conducted by Jurjen Hempel.
Audience video only.
SO LONG SAM - (2010)
Berkeley Museum of Art - Berkeley California
program notes below:
The Residents: So Long Sam (1945–2006)
At one time or another, almost everyone has a best friend; over the course of a person’s life, they may have several. Some of these relationships are short and some long-term, but seldom are they forgotten. Back in the 1960s, Randy, The Residents’ singer, had a high school buddy whose name was Sam. While Randy was pimple-faced, obsessively read science fiction, and defined the idea of “socially challenged,” Sam was tall, handsome, rich, and the life of the party . . . and Sam went to lots of parties.
On the surface, the two teenagers had little in common, but somehow they clicked. They both loved listening to Bo Diddley, bass fishing on summer afternoons, and eating Southern Maid donuts. On the rare occasions that Randy dated, the two friends went out together in Sam’s Pontiac GTO. Somehow, despite Randy’s reserve and Sam’s partying ways, the two were nearly inseparable.
After graduation, when Sam went to the big state university and Randy got a job in the parts department of a local Ford dealership, their separation was painful. At first Sam’s drunken phone calls to his friend in the middle of the night were a welcome diversion from Randy’s dull, predictable life, but as time went on, Randy stopped answering the 3 a.m. calls. They still enjoyed Sam’s holiday visits, but a subtle distance had crept into their friendship, a distance that only grew over time, as Sam flunked out of college, was drafted, and went to Viet Nam, eventually returning home to work for his father.
In time Randy moved to the West Coast, but he still kept up with his friend from a distance, taking no joy in Sam’s slow decline through divorce, business failures, and alcoholism. Then, one night as the two old friends approached middle age, they ran into each other in a bar. Randy was back in town for a family visit and, while he had long since stopped calling Sam on these infrequent return trips, he was still happy to see his friend again. Rediscovering the connection that had eluded them for the past 20 years, the two former buddies filled the air with the events and feelings of a two-decade separation, but ultimately, it was Sam’s story of his capture and eventual release by the Viet Cong that left Randy stunned and speechless.
The story haunts him to this day.
So Long Sam, as a work in progress, is an excerpt from a longer piece currently being developed by The Residents for performance with an orchestra.
set list:
September Song/16 Tons
Ode to Billy joe
Ring of Fire
True Love Never Runs Smooth
Living La Vida Loca
Who Do You Love?
Moon River
Walk On By
Born to be Wild
Mac the Knife
Paint it Black
Windmills of My Mind
Happy Trails
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RSD released four songs from the show for limited time downloads: True Love Never Runs Smooth, Born to be Wild, Ode to Billy Joe, Paint it Black.
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