2007
This from Jack Rabid, on seeing Gary Lucas & Gods and Monsters live in Austin at South by Southwest (SXSW) in April 2007:
Finally, I decided to stick my head in on my old friend GARY LUCAS, partially because it had been some time since I’d seen him play, partially because he now has BILLY FICCA (of TELEVISION), ERNIE BROOKS (of THE MODERN LOVERS and THE NECESSARIES) and JERRY HARRISON (of the Modern Lovers and TALKING HEADS) in his band, and partially because he was playing a big venue (Central Presbyterian Church) where I didn’t think capacity would be an issue. I walked in toward the end of Gary Lucas playing his solo score to the film The Golem. It’s a wonderful experience to see a film and hear the score played live, but especially weird to see a film about a Jewish superhero in a Church. Justifiably, Lucas received a standing ovation at the end of his score performance and advised the crowd to stick around to see his band GODS AND MONSTERS.
The half of the audience who did stick around were treated to some of the finest playing I saw in Austin. Lucas is a masterful guitarist in many genres and his band provides excellent accompaniment. Their version of SUICIDE’s “Ghostrider” was riveting. And their encore of The Modern Lovers’ “She Cracked” with two of the original Modern Lovers on the stage was a special treat.
Out from Under 