The Gun Club

The Gun Club was a rock band from Los Angeles in the 1980s led by flamboyant singer/guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. They injected punk rock with doses of blues and country music. Pierce's wailing vocals were an ideal delivery for his songs, which generally had a spooky, haunted quality. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_Club)

Scheduled
Saturday, 22 September 1984, "Grote Box", 22:30 - 23:30

Line up
Jeffrey Lee Pierce - guitars & vocals, solos on Bad America, Eternally is here, Gila monster, New Mexico and Give up the sun; Kid Congo Powers – guitar & all other solos; Patricia Morrison – bass; a drummer – drums (according to Andy Sztehlo: "Terry Graham. Who left the band midway through the European tour, leaving them well in it. I think it's called sarcasm, Jeffrey's comment that it." (http://www.limbos.org/gunclub/gunclubd.htm)

It was on this tour that Terry Graham disappeared in Paris. The story is that he was tired of Pierce's dictatorial attitude. Also, he wasn't seeing a financial return after having given four years of his life to the band. After playing Manchester, he had found that both a collection of video footage he had been taking of the band and the camera it was being recorded on had been stolen backstage. He had also discovered that the band had en-masse decided to move their base of operations over to London without telling him. It was a lousy position to be put in and was the last straw at the wrong moment. (http://www.furious.com/perfect/gunclub2.html)

Set list
01 The Spurs / Intro
02 Brother and sister
03 Sex beat
04 Bad Indian
05 Eternally is here
06 Bad America
07 Stranger in our town
08 Gila monster, New Mexico/Preachin' blues
09 Fire of love
10 Sleeping in blood city
11 Goodbye Johnny
12 Give up the sun
13 She's like heroin to me
Thanks to Magnix for providing the complete set list.

Recording
A complete audience recording exists. Tracks 05 - 08 and 10 - 12 have been officially released on Danse Kalinda Boom – Live in Pandora’s Box (originally in 1985, reissued on Flow Records, 2006). Note that all of the vinyl versions and most of the CD issues list an incorrect date: 3 September 1983. The Gun Club was supposed to play Pandora's 83 but was cancelled at the last moment.



Tracks 04 - 09 and 13, were all released on the vinyl bootleg Moonlight Motel (Superb Productions, 1985), taken from a radio broadcast.



I recently found reference to a bootleg 7" single without picture sleeve or label information which was supposedly released. It features Bad Indian on one side and Fire of Love on the other, both tracks recorded at Pandora's 84. Get an mp3 rip of it here: http://symphonyofghosts.blogspot.com/2009/01/gun-club-live-pandora-7in-bootleg.html

I have 04 - 13, taken from various radio broadcasts and Danse Kalinda Boom, total time 47'30".

Other info
Kid Congo Powers and Morrison went on to form Fur Bible who played Pandora's 85 alongside the Jeffrey Lee Pierce Quartet and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, whom Powers joined afterwards.

For some reason, the double cd re-release of Danse Kalinda Boom (Flow Records, 2006) fails to get the complete show at Pandora’s. Disc 1 is the same as the original release and disc 2 is an Australian show from 1983. Remember: disc 1 is only 35 minutes long…, at least 3 more songs were recorded. Why not restore the complete show? Or even: why not add the Jeffrey Lee Pierce Quartet show from Pandora’s 1985?

The end of the year saw a major European tour during which Kalinda Danse Boom was cut live at Pandora's Music Box festival on September 22nd 1984. It's a good powerful set but at around 35 minutes, it's way too short. I know that a version of Bad Indian I've been told is brilliant has been cut from the start. I wonder what happened to the rest of the gig? (http://www.furious.com/perfect/gunclub2.html)


Article from festival booklet


Powers on stage at Pandora's 84 (Oor 1984/20)




Interview with Pierce and Powers discussing Pandora's. Photo possibly from Pandora's (Vinyl magazine 1984/11)