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The Magic Band Storms Glastonbury as Part of Massive UK/European Tour
The Magic Band (Gary, John French, Denny Walley, Mark Boston, and
auxilliary drummer Michael Traylor) just returned from a spectacular
European tour that began with a bang with a packed show at Amsterdam's
famed Paradiso on June 22nd (Gary's favorite venue—this marked his 17th
appearance there) and finished at an outdoor festival in an old stone
castle in Belgrade, Serbia on July 8th. In between The Magic Band absolutely
slew audiences in Brighton, Bristol, London, Liverpool, Manchester,
Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds, and Nottingham. But the jewel in the crown had to
be England's legendary Glastonbury Festival, the Brit equivalent of
Woodstock, but even bigger. The Magic Band was blessed with sunny
weather, playing at 4pm on the opening festival day of Friday June 25th, on
the Jazz/World Stage, and from the opening notes of "Diddy Wah Diddy" a
huge crowd gathered before them. Check this live review from Q Magazine's
special Glastonbury issue:
live review from the Q Glastonbury Review:
The Magic Band
Jazz/World Stage
"The sun can burn you, not as bad as people do." Not this afternoon:
Captain Beefheart's men dress for the occasion in Hawaiian shirts and a
selection of millinery that would shame Stumpy's Hats, Lingerie and
Assorted Haberdashery Stall. Grizzled and bearded as if they have been
wandering Avalon for decades, these are the coolest bluesmen ever to
regret not being born Blind Willie but christened Fishmonkey
Drizzlewheel. Gary Mantis Lucas mistreats his Telecaster, Drumbo strains
his vocals, the blooz are deconstructed and the burning idiot dancers go
wild for Alice in Blunderland, Electricity and Diddy Wah Diddy.
In attendance at Glastonbury was famous UK DJ John Peel, the man who
singlehandedly introduced Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's music to
UK audiences by repeated plays in the late 60's on his famous radio show.
He repeated this favor 25 years after the fact by inviting the Magic Band
into the BBC Maida Vale studios on July 7th to tape a live session for
his programme before a passel of friends and fans, including Beefheart
biographer Mike Barnes, and forthcoming Magic Band live DVD
producer/director Elaine Sheperd (also responsible for the seminal
documentary The Artist Formerly Known as Captain Beefheart).
The tour
ended with a lightning fast visit to Belgrade where the Magic Band
performed in a stone amphitheatre adjacent to a crumbling old castle
before delighted Eastern bloc fans, some of whom had traveled from
Budapest and Prague to catch this rare one-off appearance. Throughout the
tour, the Magic Band encountered rabid fans who came to multiple shows,
some of whom criss-crossed the British Isles along with the band to catch
these appearances and some of whom traveled from the continental Europe in
order to make the scene.