The Brain Surgeons: Live at Spirits Tavern

[Torgo]

The Brain Surgeons: LIVE!
April 5,1997 Spirits Tavern, Auburn NY

"Where everybody shrieks your name."
Spirits Tavern in Auburn NY gives me the overall feel of many a small
tavern. Its by no means fancy, and by no means a dive, just your
neighborhood place where folks might gather in small clusters after a hard
days work to maybe tip a glass or three, possibly to chow down a burger, or
shoot a game of darts. Just another bar in just another town. I half
expected George Wendt to come lumbering through the door.

My friends and I arrived at the bar early enough to catch the Brain
Surgeons as they went through the tedious task of setting up instruments
and checking sound levels, and I could not help but notice that they seemed
to truly be enjoying what they were doing. Here is Albert Bouchard, who
once had crews of underlings to do these necessities for him in sold out
arenas and massive venues that held more people than the small city I live
in, rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done. We watched them set up
and then crank out a nice test run of the equipment on "I am the one you
warned me of" and "Medusa". The band sure sounded ready to me. They were
crisp, they were tight, and they seemed eager to start the marathon of Rock
and Roll that we were all eager ourselves to have fired at us from point
blank range.

"We're gonna try to do 33 songs tonight. Hope we can remember all the words."
We met with Albert and Deb before they took the stage as they hung with
Helen Wheels, who has written and co-written many a Blue Oyster Cult and
Brain Surgeons tune. The thing that kept going through my head was how much
better this was than seeing "Rock Gods" in a huge stadium, where they are
so far away and impersonal that it could be anyone up on that stage
gyrating to the music and you would not know the difference. Albert is a
very (understatement) nice guy who seemed as genuinely excited about
meeting fans as we were of meeting him. The same can be said about all the
Brain Surgeons, a better bunch of folks you WILL NOT find. Albert told us
they were going to try to nail down 33 songs in 3 sets that night, and we
got just what he promised. But we got more, we got alot more.....

"Engage."
The band took the stage at 10pm and proceeded to kick off the ballistic
marathon evening with a set of 11 songs, featuring several from the latest
album "Box of Hammers", and a few timeless BOC classics. The crowd was
pretty small, with two halves that were very easy to pick out. A few locals
who probably didn't know who the band was seemed to be getting into the
tunes, while a pile of  us BOC/Surgeons fans who knew what to expect from
the band hooted and thumped from our tables. Set one consisted of:

Gun
Medusa
St. Vitus dance
Date with a guitar
Astronomy
Laura's plastic swords
Gimme nothin'
My civilization
Tender was the night
Dominance and Submission
The Red and The Black

The first thing that hit me was how clear and honest the band was. The
sound was perfect. It was loud, but not so that you lost your eardrums on
the first tune and then heard nothing but rumbling through the rest of the
set. Everything seemed to be perfect, from clarity right down to vantage
point. I settled into my seat, tapped my foot, and let the band have their
way with me. "Gun" opened up the set nicely, a driving rocker that loosened
up the bands muscle, and might have shaken a cobweb or two from the
rafters. Another highlight of the first set was Billy Hilfiger's champion
performance on "Tender was the Night", showing that he is indeed a top
notch axe wielder. Deb Frost's vocals, something that either makes or
breaks people I turn on to Brain Surgeons music, sounded fantastic, a
vocalist that really must be heard live to be appreciated. A gentle screech
here, a loving shriek there, this woman shows the crowd no mercy, and when
it comes to Deb, we expect none.

But easily the highlight of the set was when the band clawed its way
through the BOC classic "Dominance and Submission". Deb lender another
guitar to the sound and Albert proved once again what a drumming presence
he is, as sticks shattered and hi-hats teetered and wobbled under the
onslaught that is Al Bouchard seated in his favorite gunner's seat.

"Second Verse, same as the first."
The second set kicked off after a short break where the band mixed,
mingled, and got very friendly with the crowd. The second set songs were:

I'm on fire
Soul jive
Baby ice dog
Hansel & Gretel
Locked up
A kiss is a promise
666 (Devil got your mother)
Donkey show
I play the drums
Time will care of you
Ramblin' Rose

This set seemed much more laid back than the first. Perhaps the band used
it as a breather from the first assault and saved up reserves for the
mountain of tunes that were still to follow in the next set. Peter
Bohovesky showed off his sense of humor when he took the vocals on his song
"Donkey Show", and Deb & the Boys got funky with a much different and
hornless arrangement of "Soul Jive". Tunes like "Hansel & Gretel" and "I'm
on Fire" saw the band having fun with the crowd and settling things into a
groove for a while. Once rested up, the band used this set to tear into
some of their heavier stuff, with the transition from the sometimes
soft-spoken "Kiss is a Promise" going nicely into the fire and brimstone of
"666 (Devil got your Mother)". Albert once again flexed his drumming muscle
on the drum-laden "I Play the Drums", and once again I shook my head in
wonder at how the man does it so well.

"Hammering in the final nails".
Another quick break of mixing and chatting with the fans and the band
stood, cracked their knuckles and went back to doing what they do best. In
a set that leaned heavily towards songs from the first Brain Surgeons album
"Eponymous" and some classic well worn BOC material that Albert  had
stashed away in his bottomless bag of tricks, the band used the last ounces
of sweat still in them to finish of the "marathon". This featured:

Stones in my passway
The most romantic place in the world
Kiss tomorrow goodbye
Language of love
Sally
Death valley nights
The Brain from Terra Incognita
Overture
I am the one you warned me of
Career of evil
Name your monster
Cities on flame

The band didn't seem to lack energy as they ripped through set 3. At this
point even the locals seemed to pick up on the vibe of the band (or perhaps
their drinks had kicked in enough) and they started to really get into the
music. One of the highlights was Deb and Al trading places on stage, with
Deb taking over skins duty while Al stood center stage with a guitar as
they did a fantastic version of the classic Al-era BOC tune "Death Valley
Nights". The show closed up with Deb's voice finding new screaming reserves
on the kicking "Name your Monster", and Al took over once again on vocals
with a song that all die-hard BOC fans will forever associate with the man,
"Cities on Flame". This pounding and thumping version was a perfect closer
to a night of both old and new classics meshed together in symmetry.

"One more song.... One more song...."
Well, Albert & crew had accomplished what they had originally set out to
do. They promised us 33 songs and unless the official Brain Surgeons abacus
is incorrect (they should get that thing calibrated now and then), by my
count they did 34 songs. The band mopped sweat, stretched weary muscles,
and said their goodnights, but the audience was far from ready to let them
get away. As the crowd clapped and cheered for one more song, the Surgeons
didn't fight it. Sliding back into his cockpit and strapping himself in,
Albert led his band through a rocking and rowdy version of "Operation luv"
from the latest album. This got the crowd on their feet and jumping like
frogs on a battery charger. As the song ended and the band made their way
away from the twisted and smoking remains, Billy Hilfiger offered up an
impromptu performance of BOC's "Last days of May", with the audience
singing along with him.

"Shutting down the machine."
And so after 35 songs in 4 hours, the band said their respects to a still
hungry crowd. They closed up the set, wiped off the grease paint, mopped up
the blood and entrails and packed up the "Big Hair Rock show" (as Deb
called it), and slipped away into the night. Far away and so many years
from the sold-out arenas and their impersonal division between band and
fans, I felt like I had participated in a rare moment in time that nobody
in that room was soon to forget, from either side of the mic stands. I
certainly wasn't disappointed. Christ, how could I be?

Rob (Torgo) Sedler
torgo at norwich.net