ALive & Kicking: Mudhoney Live on the Pier (1999)
Classic Nada is a series wherein we share lost articles from our first ten years, 1997-2007, so that we may simultaneous recall and mock our former selves.
ALive and Kicking – Mudhoney
Pier 63, Seattle, Washington
August 20, 1998
By Gabe Baker
Original post
Caveat: This review will contain no references to such immaterialities as song titles, chord changes, lyrics, or band member names with the exception of Mark Arm, which is supercool and easy to remember.
When I told Our Supreme Overlord and Eternal Master Nada Editor-in-Chief Matthew Ian Ashworth that I was going to the Mudhoney show, he stated, and I quote, “I advise you to rock”. As if it was optional.
The fact the Mudhoney kicked ass was unremarkable. The fact that the Honey rocked such a serene setting, however was. Standing on the Pier on a gorgeous Seattle summer night is lovely, conducive to gentle contemplations on the inherent beauty of life. The scene, with overpriced crappy Thomas Kemper lager, repeated warnings that stage diving and even dancing(apparently Pier 63 may not be strong enough to support the weight of 300 troubled teens pogoing in place) would lead to eviction, and overzealous security was more appropriate for the smooth stylings of the beloved Northwest songbird Kenny G then the sheer rawk power of Arm and Co.
Regardless, by the time Mudhoney kicked into “Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More” (probably my favorite song by them ever, which explains why I know its name) about halfway through the set, nature’s grandeur was supplanted by the ugly beauty of rock n’ fuckin’ roll. Reenacting the climax ofFootloose, the kids rebelled by engaging in the forbidden evils of dance. Security was ignoring the band’s mockery while evicting the more zealous revelers. Mudhoney had transformed the Pier into into a dingy drunken club through the power of dirty rock.
The set alternated between Mudhoney’s two songs, which go by a variety of names. Song #1 is driving rock; Song #2 is twisted blues. The lack of variety keeps Mudhoney discs out of my player most of the time. Seeing them live, I am disgusted with myself for not owning every album. Mudhoney’s reputation as the lords of grunge, which is anything but a dead genre in their hands, is entirely deserved.
Click here to read an absolutely troubling fan letter about Kenny G.
Click here to visit the official Kenny G website.