The Tubes "What Do You Want From Live?"

Ya don't see THIS one too often, maybe there's a good reason for that, but I've always had a soft spot
for this double live epic......

Pity the poor Tubes, caught almost EXACTLY squarely between the glitter/punk eras, perhaps no band cold have benefitted by appearing EITHER 3 years earlier OR 3 yearsa later, if you understand what I mean.....plus, I never cared for their studio work, especially the later "hit" stuff ("Talk to Ya Later", "She's a Beauty" GAG!).....anyway, though they were exceptional live performers, at least judging from the one time I saw them and from "What Do You Want From Live?" (1978) which, for me, is ALL the Tubes I will EVER need to hear, and then some.

Perhaps the closest approximation /comparison I can bring up is maybe the Plasmatics (see earlier Plasmatics post), certainly the Tubes were more talented musically, they featured a large conglomeration of skilled studio performers as well as their core of  "regulars", but like the Plasmatics they specialized in onstage antics, satirizing, well, basically everything......they had a handfull of studio albums before this live set, and IMO they are NOT very good.....but, as a listening experience (and having seen them onstage around this same time), I think this relicates their nothing if not memorable live shows pretty well.....a video disc would be better but unless there is some vintage footage from 1976-7 out there, this must suffice.

So, slip this on,  and you get a rambling, goofy intro ("TIED FOR the best band in the world...."), the first highlight being the live version of "What Do You Want From Life?", which works MUCH better onstage than the earlier vinyl version (a female audience member is selected to participate in a ridiculous "game show") complete with the same silly lyrics (sample: "What do you want from life? To kidnap an heiress and threaten her with a knife?")......it DOES work pretty well live, though, at least I think so......

Later on we get two of their better known tunes, "Don't Touch Me There" and "Mondo Bondage" both of which, again, work MUCH better live than the earlier studio versions, "Mondo Bondage" actually being a decent song as well......a video would REALLY come in handy here, what with the near-naked babes prancing around and all.....you'll just have to imagine it I guess......

Then comes the memorable "Johnny Bugger and the Dirtboxes" "punk" satire, which launches into
the goofy/great "I Was a Punk Before You Were a Punk" ("you don't beleive me? Just step outside and see me!") and an actually pretty good (seriously) cover of "I Saw Her Standing There".

The highlight of the entire set is the show-ending "White Punks On Dope", a cool song that works quite well as an extended encore, it does go on for quite a while, but again, MUCH superior (in my opinion, to the studio version).

OK, not MUCH of a Tubes fan, but this is one that I don't see on the blog or the Bay too often, and maybe it might be of interest to some of ya, especially if you are only familiar with the post-"Live" "She's a Beauty" stuff........the whole set is at least listenable, at least every now and then, except maybe for the excessive "Drum Solo" which I HOPE was intended to serve as a satire of just how boring drum solos are.

Been a little while since I've listened to this, did so today and immediately was transformed back to a dope smoking tenth grader, remembering thier live performance and, unfortunatly, recalling that both of the other guys who attended that show with me are no longer with us. Such is the power of the soundtracks of our lives.

Enjoy, and don't take to seriously.......btw this is a vinyl rip and if I hadn't told you, you'd have been able to tell really easilly......just a precaution!

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM LIVE-01 Overture/02 Got Yourself  Deal/03 Show Me a Reason/04 What Do You Want From Life?/05 God-Bird-Change/06 Special Ballet/07 Don't Touch Me There/08 Mondo Bondage/09 Smoke (La Vie en Fumer)/10 Crime Medley: Theme From Dragnet/Theme From Peter Gunn/Theme From Perry Mason/Theme From the Untouchables/11 I Was a Punk Before You Were a Punk/12 I Saw Her Standing There/13 Drum Solo/14 Boy Crazy/15 You're No Fun/16 Stand Up and Shout/17 White Punks On Dope

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