Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band were my favourite band of all-time. As they disbanded back in 1981 I thought I would never get the chance to hear that brilliant music again. With the Captain indisposed (and then later dying) it looked like the end. But then John French, who was the musical director of the band, put together a band to commemorate the incredible music of Don Van Vliet.
I went to see the new incarnation without much hope for great things. They did have four original members in Denny Walley, Rockette Morton Gary Lucas and John French (Drumbo) but I was still not allowing my hopes to get too strong. Who else could sing like Beefheart? How wrong I was. John French did an admirable job on vocals and the band were so hot they burnt a hole in the stage. True they did not look quite as trim as they had done thirty years before but they sounded monstrous.
By the time Leeds came around Gary Lucas had left but was replaced by the remarkable Eric Klerks. Here’s a few photos from that brilliant Leeds concert in 2011.
Rockette Morton with Laser Beans
