The Residents 50th Anniversary Retrospective Trading Card Set
For my birfday, I finally got to see one of my all time favorite bands in concert. Ending a self-imposed moratorium on going out. That wasn't related to the pandemic in any way, more of an apathy/anxiety milkshake that I've been trying to choke down for a decade or so...
Last December, I got a text message from my friend and fellow Residents fan (and Namer of This Blog), saying The Residents are coming to Minnesota. They are doing a small show at the Cedar in Minneapolis, on March 23, 2023. And I really should go.
Yes, I really should...
I must see this:
Life has been chaotically hectic with everything going on with Laura and I, and health and life, and going out vs staying in these days... But The Residents are a band that I have no excuse for not seeing at least once. I replied to the text, saying I was in. They've been recording since the early 1970's, so by simple math alone, I may not get a whole lot more chances to see their particular flavor of "weird ass art shit." (A brilliant term coined by Mark Hosler of Negativland.)
My first exposure to The Residents, came via Dr. Demento’s syndicated weekly radio show. In 1988, he ran a show with the topic being “the shortest demented records ever released”, showcasing songs under 90 seconds long. The Residents’ Moisture was one of those featured short songs. He also said a few words about The Commercial album, given the novelty of its structure. 40 one minute songs.
In 1998, Dr. Demento was taking show topic requests from listeners, and I submitted the idea of doing a revision of 1988's shortest demented records ever released program. There were so many songs on that 1988 show that I'd never heard since. I really wanted to record copies of them for my Dr. Demento library. About 4 months later, Dr. Demento did air another shortest demented records ever released show. My name wasn't the one credited on air, but the point was recording these songs. Which have all been converted to MP3's, along with Dr. Demento talking about The Commercial Album, after playing Moisture.
You know he loves this song too!
Then the cassette tape I had used to record that Dr. Demento episode was chewed up by my boombox, well before 1990, and it was lost forever. I remembered the name of the song, but not who recorded it. So it was a frozen memory. Held onto in a dusty file folder deep in my head, but with nothing to trigger a defrost, it stayed in limbo.
Fast forward to April, 1997. I had moved to Denver Colorado in 1996, and just found out that Dr. Demento was still being syndicated on a radio station out of Boulder. This information came to me as I was looking up things on the (then somewhat new) internet, through dial-up America OnLine. I found a website that archived old Dr. Demento show setlists, dating back to the early 1970’s. Before long, I found the setlist for that 1988 episode of short songs, and I once again knew who was responsible for recording Moisture.
From there I found out The Residents had a whole big bunch of albums available. Where do you even start? Most important was finding the album that Moisture was on. I hopped in the Vanilla Honksicle, and set out for the Criterion Shopping Center, on south Colorado, Blvd. (Then) home of one of the three Denver metro Cheapo Records.
Cheapo Records was another Denver record store I frequented between 1996 and 2003. They closed their store here, in 2004, during my 19 month Minnesota Mistake. After that, this space was leased by the Amish Furniture Store, until about 2015. After that store closed, the entire Criterion Shopping Center was shuttered and subsequently demolished, in August 2017. Today, an oddly shaped massive apartment building sits on the land.
But in April 1997, the Cheapo Records that used to operate here, sold me...
The Residents 2 CD set, titled: Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses. While it’s not the actual album that contained the track Moisture (which would be The Commercial Album, released in 1980), this was a full career sampler compilation, put out by Rykodisc. Moisture was track 7 on disk two.
I didn’t even get 40 seconds into the first track of disk one (Jambalaya) before I was hooked by The Residents.
This was music I’d been looking to find for a very long time, I just didn't know it existed.
Unfortunately, less than 2 years later, I loaned this CD to one of my fellow Pizza Taxi drivers (I'm going to call him Madam Weaklegs). Who never returned it! All I have left of Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses, is this paper CD flap, once wrapped over the top of the jewel case, pre-shrinkwrappage. Hope he enjoyed it... Although I’m certain he didn’t understand it, and my ultra important Residents 2 CD set was likely sold for $3 towards that new Smash Mouth CD...
Hey now...
You're an all star...
Get your game on...
Go play...
At least fellow Residents lover (and Namer of The Blog), came to my rescue with two CD-R’s burned off his copy. Which he bought not long after I called him, raving about how incredible The Residents are, back in April 1997.
Which doesn't even begin to cover those awesome eyeball masks.
A rather minimal marquee, but it clearly shows The Residents are playing here tonight!
We were about tenth in line at the doors, when we arrived. It was cold and windy, but we were let in before too long. They was minor issues with retrieving the digital tickets from the website and email via phone combo. But it was cleared up before there was any real problem.
I sure miss paper tickets. This stuff never happened with those, and you got a nice souvenir of the show, without buying anything extra! I would have loved an old school ticket stub to commemorate the night. Oh well, the Cedar Cultural Center sign will have to suffice...
And all the video that I hadn't even planned on recording, until I figured out the "security" here, just didn't care.
And thank you SO MUCH for that!
Now we haven't gotten inside yet, but this next item from the merch table is why I'm spending so much energy on a band most people have never heard of. Approaching said merch table before the show, I saw a small box sitting there, mixed amongst several DVD's books (one of which I bought) and record albums.
"You know, that box looks just about the right size to be..."
The Residents 50th Anniversary Retrospective Trading Card Set!
Ooooooh.... How much?
$40.
Gimme gimme gimme!!
It's the second print run (making it totally worthless dude!) but who cares? I was already supa-jazzed about seeing The Residents, so very close to my 48th birfday. Now this event would include an unexpected set of Residents cards! That means I absolutely have to write about it here! After all, it's about cards!
I already included the partially demolished Denver Cheapo Records, to satisfy that part of the content!
The merch guy even threw in this swanky Residents 50th Anniversary Sticker!
In order to write this story, I scanned all 50 cards. Once finished, I was pleasantly surprised the nice fold-over display box was large enough to accommodate all 50 cards, now tucked inside penny sleeves! They fit nice and secure, but not too tight.
46 of the cards feature one of their albums, and the year it was released. The remaining 4 are seemingly just random Residents images. There could have easily been another 50 cards of stuff like this and I wouldn't have complained about all the additional scanning (and writing).
1972 - Santa Dog
The Residents first published released was two 45s, in silk screened gatefold sleeve. Each side contained one song: Fire, Explosion, Lightning and Aircraft Damage. I can't even begin to describe how strange -yet earwormy- these songs are. Copies were sent to Frank Zappa and Richard Nixon. Zappa's copy was returned, stamped: "No longer at address".
I'm sure Frank Zappa would have enjoyed Santa Dog.
But I'd love to have seen Richard Nixon's reaction to Santa Dog, if he ever listened to it...
Awesome promotional photo from a 1978 Santa Dog re-issue.
Before driving down to the show, we had dinner at Jellybean & Julia's BBQ in Anoka, MN. If you're ever in the neighborhood, drop in for some AWESOME food. (That may or may not have given Hillary Clinton diarrhea... Depends on who you believe...)
But any restaurant that has a small, ceramic Weird Al head on the shelf is doing something right!
Not to mention an autographed promotional picture of legendary, early 1990's KDWB deejay, Tone E. Fly, next to The Baby King. I should have taken a better picture. Heheheheheh... Check out his poodle hair!
The Residents have been recording and performing strange music for over 50 years.
That's an amazing accomplishment for a band you've never heard of.
1974 - Meet The Residents
Not like they didn't try...
In 1974, they even put out an album specifically asking you to Meet The Residents.
I bought my copy of Meet The Residents in 1999, shortly before a drive from Denver to Minnesota. Albums that properly filled a stretch of night, driving through South Dakota under only moonlight, the only car on the road, will always stand out. Meet The Residents is 2am, just outside of Murdo, SD. With taillights from a semi miles ahead, only visible every once in a while. A song like this under those circumstances? This will leave an impression...
Breath and Length...
Alternate album cover photo from a 1977 Meet The Residents re-issue.
Looking north from the parking lot a couple blocks from The Cedar, downtown Minneapolis lies just beyond the propped up horizon of city. This was the best option for parking in the immediate area.
Looks like the name of the parking lot was Riverside Plaza.
Not sure why they covered the apartment complex in a Partridge Family bus motif...
Although our near record breaking snowfall has rapidly disappeared over the last couple weeks, it was banked up so high we couldn't get the space number in the first spot we parked. I guess the Partridge Family Apartments blocked the sun from doing it's job.
197? - Vileness Fats
The Residents were working on their movie, Vileness Fats, even before releasing Santa Dog. The film project was plagued by problems and never finished. Eventually, over 14 hours of footage was shot, but that wasn't even 2/3 of what had been written of an already incomplete script.
Vileness Fats was finally abandoned in 1978.
Now we'll never know what Arf and Omega Berry (the Siamese twin tag team wrestlers), the Indian goddess Weescoosa, Steve, Ninnie, Lonesome Jack, Peggy Honeydew or the Atomic Shopping Carts ended up doing. Not that I clearly understood what they had done to this point.
In 1985, The Residents combed through the footage, and edited together a 30 minute cut, titled: "Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats?" This was packaged with another 30 minutes of live footage from The Mole Show Tour, and sold as a VHS tape. A movie soundtrack record of the same name came out on vinyl and audio cassette.
A later CD release packaged Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats?, with another (mostly) instrumental EP, titled: The Census Taker. I picked this up during the Summer of 1998 Residents Pizza Taxi era, but it didn't really grab me until several years later. After that, it clicked. This release has some of my favorite pieces of Residents music.
Broccoli and Saxophone all day!
1976 - Satisfaction
Heavily distorted cover of the Rolling Stones classic.
This was widely recognized as the single from The Third Reich 'N Roll.
But it wasn't actually on the album.
1976 - The Third Reich 'N Roll
This album consists of 2 tracks, each the length of one side of the record (roughly 18 minutes). Both are medleys of 1960's bubblegum pop music, twisted into some sort of German avant-garde noise. A concept album of music about music. It's an awkward listen because it's all very familiar, but it's done in such a jarringly different way. Obviously the album art was very controversial then (and likely more-so today), it had to be censored in order to be sold in Germany. There is absolutely nothing pro-nazi in this album.
The Residents shot some new footage, and took some elements from Vileness Fats, and edited a short film to promote the album. Coming out in 1976, it's recognized as one of the earliest music videos ever made. Featuring the band wearing newspapers, head to toe, in a set completely covered in newspapers, dancing to Land of 1000 Dances from the album. Then one of The Residents is joined by an Atomic Shopping Cart, and two giant pork chops, dancing via stop motion animation.
I swear this all is real.
Weird as hell.
But awesome!
They're going to let us inside very soon, so let's make a quick note of our surroundings,
The street I don't remember the name of, in front of The Cedar. Yes, I could look it up very easily, but I'm going to leave it a secret. I'm looking north, from where I'm standing, waiting for the venue to let us in.
Across the street is the West Bank Grocery and Cedar Pharmacy. They're open every day, so you can buy Fresh Meat! And magazines! And from the looks of it, both a cash machine AND an ATM inside.
To the south of the Cedar, is Palmer's. I liked their sign.
Speaking of signs I liked...
A few doors down from The Cedar, is the Wienery! Up until now, I thought the word Wienery was more of an adjective, than a noun. As in "The people on this street sure parked all sorts of WIENERY tonight." Then I considered it to more of an upscale classy thing. Such as people who farm grapes, call that a Winery. By that logic, there must must be a big old wiener farm behind that door.
All I know is that sign rules.
And now I want a hot dog...
More importantly, it's The Residents 50th Anniversary, and it's time to enter the front doors. Where it's warm and not windy. Then we'll have his phone scanned, take a quick leak in the the tiny Cedar men's room, then choose our general admission seats/chairs.
1977 - Fingerprince
The Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses compilation, condensed a few of their albums down into 8-11 minute medleys. Thanks to the Fingerprince Concentrate, this was the second Residents album I bought. Those blended together chunks of songs were so intriguing, I wanted to hear the full versions. A nice mixture of twisted instrumentals, odd character sketches as full songs, a mini-opera and 6 part "progressive bunny-hop". (Don't remember where I read the review that coined that term, but I immediately had to hear what a progressive bunny-hop sounded like... I wasn't disappointed.)
The Residents - Mini-CD - Babyfingers (German Import)
After reading reviews of Residents albums through dial-up America OnLine, I ordered the Fingerprince German import from CD Now! (That is such a 1997 sentence...) This was special because Babyfingers came on a separate 3" mini-disk. I could play it on my portable Sony Discman in the Vanilla Honksicle, but not in the CD player in my apartment...
Damn you, aaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrt...
Well this just wasn't practical. I wanted to play Six Things To A Cycle AND Walter Westinghouse on random, with five other CD's, in the 6 disk changer in my apartment. Easiest answer would be buying a regular CD of Fingerprince. One that had the Babyfingers tracks included at the end. So I just did that.
1978 - Duck Stab
Duck Stab was only a 7 song EP when it was released in 1978. The initial pressing sold very well, so it was re-released with the songs from another EP, filling the full length album. I didn't get a copy of Duck Stab until 2005, for whatever reason. But if any of the Residents early albums could be considered "pop music". Duck Stab would probably come the closest. They were getting really good at writing quick character sketch songs that were oddly catchy. Sounds that would turn you off at first listen, but stick with you and make you want to go back to them.
Duck Stab is very much that.
1978 - Buster & Glen
That second EP would have been Buster & Glen. Duck Stab pretty much consumed Buster & Glen, and the whole thing became Duck Stab. Why doesn't anyone care about Buster & Glen?
Ultra creepy rendition of Blue Rosebuds, from the Duck Stab album.
1978 - Not Available
Not Available is probably my favorite Residents album.
Just like Duck Stab, I didn't get a copy until 2005. One night, I had it on in the background at work and parts of it would get stuck in my head. The songs weren't repetitive, but certain themes would come back more frequently that a short song would allow. So I sat down and really listened to it without distraction, and it blew me away.
It's not the easiest to follow, but the album is a 35 minute long rock opera, divided into 5 parts. It tells the story of Edweena, Knowledge the porcupine and the Catbird, tangled in a sort of love triangle. With antagonists, the Enigmatic Foe and Uncle Remus, the narrator, who ends up with Edweena. It's bizarre, very catchy and very hard to listen to, all at the same time. The more times I played the album, the more interesting I found it.
According to the liner notes of Not Available, the album was largely recorded in 1974, but it "could never be released until its creators no longer recalled its existence."
Or 1978... Whichever comes first.
Not Available - 2019 pREServed Edition
A 2 CD set, this contains a re-mastered version of Not Available, plus a few live tracks form various years. However, the second CD is where the gold was mined. The whole rock opera piece that comprises Not Available, was made up of many smaller audio pieces. Most of which having different lyrics, that hadn't yet included references to Edweena's story. Some of them are expanded versions of music that only a small part was incorporated into Not Available.
An absolutely fascinating collection. With as big a fan I am of this album, to have an album of what it sounded like before it was ripped apart and put back together, is really cool.
We were let inside The Cedar just after 7pm, and set out to find our seats. The venue was all general admission, with first come first served seats. I chose back row of the floor, aisle seat, close to the soundboard. I wanted to have a good view of the stage. Plus, if you sit by the sound guy, you hear what he hears.
And I had the ulterior motive of wanting to shoot some video, if I could do so without alerting security...
The Residents are touring the country promoting their 50th Anniversary of putting out really strange music. I've been a big fan for about half of that time. Tonight would be the first time I see them live.
And this Residents 1979 promotional photo is all sorts of awesome.
I think it was one of the last before they adopted the now iconic eyeball masks.
1979 - Eskimo
They went in a strange direction for their 1979 album, Eskimo. Idea being a group of Eskimos going about their lives, hunting and living in peaceful isolation, are corrupted by the media of the white man. The album takes you through the changes that affect the tribe, and their lives are modernized by something they can’t understand. By the end of the album, their dialog now consists of advertising jingles and commercials.
While the full album of this has always been difficult for me to get into, a condensed version of Eskimo is one of my favorite tracks. In 1980, they released a record titled Diskomo/Goosebump.
Side A is a version of Eskimo, done as The Residents version of Disco Music. (Side B is 4 songs, all played on children's musical instruments they bought at a toy store.) It's frantic and weird and awesome, all at the same time!
Behind those dual doors, The Residents prepare for tonight’s show at The Cedar
I was going to just walk in and find out their secret identities, and reveal them on social media, but this sign told me that I couldn’t do that. I need to be a member of the band first.
Well, they probably weren’t looking for my proficient skills of standing and looking awkward…
Soon enough, the opening act took the stage and the lights dimmed. Tonight’s opening act was a guy who said The Residents would be on stage in the next few minutes. Then he left.
I love opening acts like this!
Actually, we were supposed to be shown The Residents new movie before they played tonight. Specifically promoting this according to the information on The Cedar’s website. If that was addressed by this guy on the stage, I must have missed it. The Namer of the Blog didn’t hear anything about that either, so it must have not happened.
Either way, The Residents would be taking the stage shortly, with a fun selection of music spanning their 50 years of recording. And that's all that matters to me.
And there they are!
Whomever they are!
1980 - The Commercial Album
Expanding on the theme of music being reduced to jingles, from their Eskimo album, their next project was The Commercial Album packages 40 songs, each of them exactly 60 seconds long. An interpretation of Top 40 Pop Radio. This scanned card explains the concept of the album. Which is still a very fun listen, some 40+ years after it’s release.
It’s also the album that contains the track Moisture.
Which was the song that started me down The Residents rabbit hole of “weird ass art shit”.
And if you want to hear something very interesting, The 180 G’s (known for their a cappella album of Negativland covers, which came out in 2008) recorded a song-for-song a cappella cover of The Commercial Album. It’s all on You Tube. If you’re a fan of The Residents (and/or Negativland), you absolutely should check it out.
I missed a good chunk of Smelly Tongues, but I recorded all of Moisture and Constantinople.
Moisture was the recording I needed tonight.
1981 - Mark Of The Mole
The first album in what would be a trilogy built around a fictional conflict between the Moles and the Chubs. Only after seeing The Residents play have I finally gone back to revisit these albums. Mark Of The Mole is definitely darker than the others. As it sets up the story of the Moles having to flee their land, where they encounter the Chubs.
1982 - Tunes Of Two Cities
Tunes Of Two Cities was the second Mole themed album, and has a lighter and more poppy feel to it. Written to show the contrast between the Moles and the Chubs, by the music that represents the two groups. The Moles are the more serious hard workers, while the Chubs are lazy and whimsical. Yet, the quickly learn to exploit the Moles.
1983 - Mole Show Live
In 1982-83, The Residents turned this concept into a touring live show. It was narrated on stage by Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame) The tour did not do well, and lost them a lot of money. There were several more recordings released under the Moles vs Chubs umbrella, but the project was pretty much cancelled with the tour.
The Residents - Intermission (1982)
Intermission is a five track compilation of recordings played during live Mole Show performances. While I hadn't spent a whole lot of time with the Mole recordings, Intermission is one of the most played Residents albums. The track Would We Be Alive?, is one of my all time favorite Residents songs.
Which was played the night we saw them.
If you're good, I'll play it for you, later...
1983 - Title In Limbo
Also in 1983, The Residents worked with English duo, Renaldo and the Loaf on the album, Title In Limbo. The 11 tracks were recorded over 4 days in London, in 1981, but weren't finished until 1983, in San Francisco.
Renaldo and the Loaf - Songs for Swinging Larvae
The Residents' 2001 DVD, Icky Flix, contained video that was a combination of several tracks from Renaldo and the Loaf’s album, Songs for Swinging Larvae. While I never found any of Renaldo and the Loaf’s album for sale, I manage to stumble into a copy, by dishonest means. Sorry Renaldo, I probably owe you a few bucks... Because this is a great album!
How could this NOT freak you out, and/or get stuck in your head?
Bagel bear bagel bear bagel bear bagel bear...
1984 - George and James
In 1984, The Residents started the “American Composer Series”, which was intended to be a 10 album series, with each release focusing on two American composers. The Residents played music related to each artist. These were set up as one composer to each side of the album, with a new album coming out every two years, until 2000. The first installment was covering the music of George Gershwin and James Brown.
1986 - Stars and Hank Forever
1986 saw the second (and final) release, covering the music of John Philip Sousa and Hank Williams Sr. While this project was intended last eight more albums, it was scrapped after the second album. Several reasons led to the series downfall. I have both of these albums and really haven’t given them their proper time. Much like I did with all of the Mole albums, I will eventually get to these as well.
1985 - The Big Bubble
Part four of the Mole Show Trilogy came out in 1985, and was the last of the Mole Show recordings. Parts 3, 5 and 6 were never completed. This album features the music of the fictional Mohelmot band, The Big Bubble. It’s very important to note the four people used on the album cover, are NOT The Residents, instead are models who were recruited for a photo shoot to make the album art.
These are The Residents.
Not those imposters...
1985 - 13th Anniversary Show
The 13th Anniversary Show was The Residents second tour, starting in Japan in October 1985, then lasting through January 1987, with a final show in San Francisco. Several of these shows (from Japan, Holland, New York, Cleveland and Minneapolis) were recorded and released in various forms over the years.
One of them was Live in the USA! The Residents 13th Anniversary Tour. This would be a full recording of the February 1986, Minneapolis, MN show. Originally a double cassette release, limited to 500 copies, it was re-released on 2 CD’s in 1992, as a fan club issue. Also limited to 500 copies. This show was finally given a “wide” release, on Klanggalerie Records, in 2015.
A used copy of which landed in the Blaine, MN, Cheapo Records!
Which I was ecstatic to find and couldn’t plop my $20 down fast enough!
A quick piece on the album from the liner notes.
Klanggalerie did a nice job on the packaging.
First Avenue in Minneapolis (photo May 2008), is still open and promoting shows, for over 40 years, in the old Minneapolis bus depot. Painted all black, the building has most often been adorned by large silver stars, with the names of artists that have performed here over the years.
As of September 2012, The Residents still had a star on the First Avenue wall. I don’t if they still do or not. It was probably replaced by some trendy crappy new band, who will never approach 50 years of recording music.
Speaking of which, why aren’t The Residents in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?
Sure, no one knows who they are (both literally and figuratively), but a Hall of Fame should have room for artists that have created a wide vast catalog, over half a century, as The Residents have.
But I won’t hold my breath…
Live in the USA! 13th Anniversary Show CD Track listing. A great representation of (what was then) the first 13 years of The Residents musical career.
Some of which were also played on March 23, 2023.
When The Residents at playing at The Cedar! A much better venue for the Residents than First Avenue.
Wow did Semolina sound disturbing tonight...
1988 - God In 3 Persons
One of their first looks at religion was also one of the first Residents CD's I bought. There is no truth to the rumor that I only bought this album because of the naked butts on the cover art. The narrative heavy tracks didn't lend themselves to a pizza delivery soundtrack, as much as loud, screamy music did. However, I did get a kick out of the first track being just a vocal presentation of the album credits. So this disk was set aside, and fairly forgotten about.
But like all music by artists you respect. Eventually you go back to some of their stuff that didn't strike after the first listen or two. A lot of their 1980's and early 1990's stuff didn't click with me right away. Finally once I sat down and listened to God In 3 Persons, without distraction, all the way through, it worked.
1989 - The King And Eye
A full length album of Elvis Presley covers, with the ongoing story of The Baby King: "A children's story about a baby who wanted to be king, because he felt such deep emptiness." Knowing it was dedicated to Elvis (whose talent I can respect, but not music I want to listen to), It's just album I'm not all that interested in. However, some of their interpretations of Elvis song are pretty All Shook Up...
1989 - Cube E: The History of American Music in 3 E-Z Pieces
Those 3 E-Z Pieces that made up Cube E were: Buckaroo Blues, "inspired by a collection of cowboy songs, dating between 1850 and 1950". Black Barry, covering gospel, blues and jazz music. These two projects were released together on a fan club cassette. They evolved into a live show, with the music of Buckaroo Blues and Black Barry, merging into what would become Rock and Roll. Which was represented by "The Baby King" The Residents toured much of the world with this show, between July 1989 and December 1990.
The Residents - Cube E: Live in Holland
One song was recorded in Holland. The rest of this CD is the March 29, 1990 show in Spain.
Cube E was picked up early on, in my exploration of their catalog. Unfortunately, I never gave it a proper undistracted listen, as it was immediately thrown into pizza delivery rotation. Shouldn't have made The Residents compete with Englewood's rush hour traffic. Even though I wasn't paying close attention to it, the track titled: The Stampede, immediately stood out. A odd song structure with a lengthy story for lyrics, it became one of my favorite songs of there's early on.
I was so happy it was included in tonight's set, growing out of The Theme From Buckaroo Blues. This was one of the last songs in their 50 years of music I would have expected to hear tonight. Even though the keyboard playing Resident missed a few notes here and there, I love how this sounded live.
1990 - Freak Show
Recorded between legs of the Cube E tour. This is a collection of character sketch songs about different side show freaks, in a travelling carnival. Several clips of this appeared on the Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses, compilation, and quickly sold me on buying the full album.
Nobody Laughs When They Leave, closed their set at The Cedar.
1992 - Our Finest Flowers
Instead of releasing a traditional "Greatest Hits" album to commemorate their 20th Anniversary, The Residents chose to chop their "hits" up and mash them together to create new songs. With familiar lyrics and structures from several songs, over new musical interpretations of different Residents songs. Trying to pick out parts from other albums and songs is a lot of the fun of listening to Our Finest Flowers. And if you weren't familiar with any of the old material, the new compositions all stand on their own.
A late night Tower Records purchase brought this into heavy pizza delivery rotation. It's still one of my favorite Residents albums to listen to, start to finish.
And it ends with such a positive, uplifting song!
The Residents - CD - Residue Deux
Compilation CD of Residents rarities, was another late night Tower Records purchase, it often pared very well with Our Finest Flowers for Residents listening, since they were purchased within weeks of each other. Even today, if I'm listening to a block of Residents albums while writing or whatever, I still play Our Finest Flowers and Residue Deux, back to back. Makes me feel like I'm living at Kenyon and giving rides to pizza, once again...
Doktor John stole my copy of Residue Deux.
I’m thinking he has it hidden away in a box. Alongside my CD of Ween’s Pure Guava, my Ft. Wayne Wizards hat and the $17.00 he owes me for a 1995 Siouxsie & the Banshees concert ticket...
And a couple of moldy Chuckwagons.
Tower Records at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver, September 2003
For all seven of the Kenyon years, Tower Records was a frequent hang out for me. Up until it closed in 2006, I could depend on Tower to provide me with whatever weirdness I didn't know I was looking for. Strange music, fringe pop culture magazines, cult favorite VHS and DVD and even an eclectic rack of zines. Of all the retails we've lost over the last 30 years, Tower Records is one of my most dearly missed.
At least ten of my Residents CD's came from here.
1994 - Gingerbread Man
More character sketch music from The Residents. This album was purchased shortly after the Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses, compilation. Which featured several edited clips of this album. Nine songs about fictional people’s tortured lives, with the Gingerbread Man song (“Run, Run, fast as you can... You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man...”) as the underlying music to each.
Just hearing those pieces for the first time made me need to hear how a full album of this concept would sound.
It’s just as strange as you’d think it would be.
1994 - Freak Show Interactive CD Rom
A few years after it first came out, an interactive CD Rom of the Freak Show album was released. Garth gifted me a copy for my birfday, back in 1998. I remember drinking a whole lot of cheap beer with my fellow Overpriced Art School students, between several bars and apartments, that night. We all took turns trying to get the disk to work on Jen's Mac, but no luck.
Still a great piece of the Residents collection.
I should give it a try again on the Windows Box, one of these days...
1995 - Bad Day On The Midway
A year after Freak Show, The Residents came out with a follow up CD Rom.
I never owned a copy of Bad Day On The Midway, but from what I understand, it's sort of a game, where you interact with different carnival characters and you can switch places with them. There's a way you can die, and if you live until the end of the day, a different ending sequence will show depending on who all was left alive.
I think that's how it was supposed to work. There's a few YouTube videos up that demonstrate how the game play is. An album titled: Have a Bad Day came out in 1996, featuring music from the game. That's an album I don't own and have never heard.
And now it's time to introduce the band!
The guitar playing Resident.
He barely moved from his post during the show. The second guitar propped up against the backdrop, was never played, nor picked up, for the duration of tonight's concert. But it's a good idea to keep a spare around, just in case.
The Singing Resident and the Keyboarding Resident.
The singer has a real gruff and angry voice. Not exactly what you'd expect from this band, but it really gives their songs some extra bite. And someone needed to tell the Keyboarding Resident that the light on the left side of his glasses, died during the second song. The batteries were replaced in time for the encore.
The drumming Resident.
Electronic drums really worked well for The Residents live sound. The bass was turned up real high on them as well, adding a great deal of power to the performance. It came off really well on my cell phone recordings.
She Called Me Doggie, another new song for me.
The Residents - CD - Hell!
The second part of a 2 CD compilation of assorted Residents album tracks, put out by Rykodisc, in 1994. The first of which is cleverly titled Heaven. Oddly enough, I've never actually seen a copy of Heaven. I'm starting to question if Heaven even exists...
I remember buying this CD in the fall of 1997, along with a copy of Neil Hamburger's America's Funnyman (both used) from Jerry's Record Exchange, on Capital Hill in Denver, CO. Jerry closed his store in 2009. When the store closed, Black and Read Records bought his entire inventory, and moved it to their shop in Arvada, Colorado.
Despite being closed for 9 years, the Jerry's Record Exchange signs were still on the exterior walls, as of at least May 2018 (when I took this picture). Nice tribute to a legendary, long time Denver indy record store.
Eye Sore: A Stab at The Residents - CD
Yet another Residents CD purchased from the old Denver Tower Records. I bought this without knowing any of the back story. I saw that it was a tribute album from 1996, filled with bands I'd never heard of. All covering a band with a massive catalog that I was only beginning to figure out. But it has Primus and Cracker on it! I love Primus!
And as far as Cracker... I'm a HUUUUGE fan of Camper Van Beethoven!
Kidding... Cracker absolutely kills it on their cover of Blue Rosebuds.
Which is one of the strongest covers on Eye Sore.
I don't think I've listened to Eye Sore all the way through since the day I bought it. I need to check it out again some day. Reading up for this, I found out that Eye Sore was fully endorsed by The Residents label, who added 2 Residents tracks to the already packed compilation.
Singing Resident is looking right at me.
But I can't tell for sure, since he's covered head to toe in eyeballs.
1998 - Wormwood
"A collection of curious Bible stories". Mostly from the Old Testament, focusing on the darker material presented in the bible. Songs of human sacrifice, incest, mass murder, torture, etc. Wormwood was the first new Residents release to happen after I "discovered" them. But it didn't strike me right away, during several distracted pizza runs, so it was cast aside in favor of Residents albums I was more interested in.
It is on my short list of Residents albums I need to revisit soon.
1999 - Play Wormwood
So I really can't say much about this. Never heard it, not overly familiar with the material.
Great picture though!
The Residents - First Avenue - In-House Magz - Issue #14
The Namer of this Blog provided me a copy of First Avenue's short lived In-House Magz, with a feature on The Residents. I was living in Colorado then, so I couldn't get my hands on cool stuff like this. This feature would have been promoting their upcoming First Avenue show, on the Wormwood Live Tour. (There was no Denver stop on the tour.) He went to this show, and said the performance was great. But First Ave was the wrong venue for a show like this, and the attendance was pathetic. He said he felt bad because there were so few people there.
The Residents - City Pages Ad
I don't remember what year this Residents show at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, was advertising. Likely 2002, since that appears to be a 30th Anniversary promotional shot. This ad was also given to me by The Namer of the Blog. The same guy sitting next to me, as I blatantly recorded video of tonight's show as it was going on.
I saw Weird Al Yankovic at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, back in 1996!
Even though I had a ticket to the show, Crazy Carl and I wandered in the back door on accident, and had to go through the stage to get to our seats. So my ticket stub was never torn.
Here's that 30th Anniversary promo picture in color!
There was no danger in having to find our seats from behind the stage, given how the venue was set up. Although, at several points during the show, someone stuck arms, and heads under the backdrop to move behind the Drumming Resident. I didn't get any photos of that, but it does happen in some of the video I took.
Dead Weight, a song from 2020's Metal Meat and Bone album. One I've never heard before. Love the keyboard solo, and the audience members that don't quite understand The Residents song structure, and would start clapping at the wrong times.
2001 - Icky Flix DVD
The Residents are one of the pioneers of the music video, as they'd been making films of their music dating back to the 1970's. They were given a fair amount of play in the earliest days of MTV, simply because they actually had a music video catalog, going into the 1980's. Naturally the DVD format would be the best way to release a compilation of 30 years of their own music videos.
Thanks to my habit of keeping receipts in the media that purchased them, my Icky Flix DVD case had this inside:
Tuesday, May 6th, 2003, I drove up to Twist & Shout, shortly after they opened at 10am. The intended target of this mission was Tomahawk's new album, Mit Gas, which had just been released that morning. Rounding out that day's purchases was Secret Chiefs 3's excellent live album, Eyes of Flesh, Eyes of Flame, part 3 of Frank Black's 17 album series about his divorce, Black Letter Days (which was actually not too self absorbed), and The Residents Icky Flix DVD.
Twist & Shout Alameda, September 2003
In 2006, Twist & Shout left their space inside half of an old 1950's Safeway grocery store. Moving a few miles northeast of here, to a larger store with better parking. But my Twist & Shout memories are strongest at the old Alameda location, wandering around the store, killing time while looking at cool stuff. Then buying some of it, before grabbing some food on my way back to Kenyon.
Many Residents CD's came out of those doors, as well.
2001 - Icky Flix Live
Never heard or saw any of it.
However the kettle of fish hovering above The Residents hinted at one of their next projects.
The Residents - Book - Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town
For their 30th anniversary, The Residents released a box set (in hardcover book form) of three audio CD’s and one DVD. Compiling live recordings and footage from various tours over 30 years.
On a Summer 2003 visit to Twist & Shout, I found this in their glass display case for $60.
Here’s my money, you don’t even have to gift wrap it.
2002 - Demons Dance Alone
Written (mostly) after, but not about, September 11, 2001. The music on the albums reflects the emotions brought on by the terrorist attack, but there's no mention of it anywhere. I didn't even know about this until I looked the album up on their web site. Musically it's pretty upbeat, with very poppy melodies. The lyrics are a bit darker, but not too obvious. I listened to this album a lot in 2002, as it really fit the mood of where I was at the time.
2002 - Demons Dance Alone Live
Never listened to it, don't own a copy.
The Residents - Demons Dance Alone - DVD
Because I opted for the DVD instead. The selling point for me was the dancers on stage were outfitted with cameras, to record the show. Traditional cameras are used as well, so it's not all shaking and nauseous throughout. But it's a really interesting way to watch a live show. Especially one as theatrical and strange as The Residents.
The Residents cover of Snakefinger's Golden Goat, was the DVD highlight for me.
The Residents - CD - Petting Zoo
In April 2002, Petting Zoo was released. This was a 20 track "greatest hits" compilation, with 2 tracks from the (then) upcoming Demons Dance Alone album. When it came out, the retail price point was set at only $5, to attract new listeners. The tracks were considered their more "accessible" songs, none longer than 4 minutes. While I don't know if Petting Zoo was directly responsible for creating new fans, there's a lot of great music on here, in just under an hour.
And that picture ROOOOOOOLS!
Perhaps there were fans at The Cedar tonight, whose introduction to The Residents was Petting Zoo?
2005 - Animal Lover
Animal Lover was a tough album for me to listen to. Songs written from the point of view of different animals and how they view the humans around them, hit me in a strange way. The music was just fine, but the lyrics really depressed me.
I need to revisit this album again soon.
2006 - River of Crime
I've never listened to this album, which was a 5 episode podcast series, based on True Crime, patterned after radio shows of the 1940's. I need to find a copy of this, sounds really interesting.
The Residents - CD - Tweedles!
However, I did buy Tweedles! in 2006.
Partially because of that album cover, which is almost kind of cute...
2006 - Tweedles!
Awww man...
Tweedles! is an album length character study of a manipulative sex addict, told in a first person perspective. Now, I'm absolutely not any sort of prude, but it kind of shocked me when I gave the CD (packaged as a beautiful hardcover book) it's first listen. Hearing a Residents album with lyrics that are sexually explicit and almost violent, wasn't what I was expecting at all. (Similar to the ending of God in 3 Persons?) However, because of the story this album tells, you have to use language and themes that are a little unpleasant.
Sometimes music needs to make you feel a little unpleasant.
That's how you know it's worth your time.
2007 - The Voice of Midnight
Another album I've never heard.
This is an extension of River of Crime, but is an adapted short story, Der Sandmann, and nearly 200 years old.
2008 - The Bunny Boy
The Bunny Boy was 66 part web series, with episodes debuting on You Tube and The Residents web site, three days a week. I watched a couple of them, out of order, and was completely lost. The premise was an old acquaintance of The Residents coming back after a long absence, and he needs help finding his brother.
2008 - The Bunny Boy Live
Besides the 66 part internet video series, there was the album of music inspired by the web series, a soundtrack to the series, a live tour and live DVD from that tour.
And I'm familiar with none of it.
Through no fault of their own, I kind of lost track of The Residents after 2006. They were putting out a lot of new material, but I wasn’t following along. Around that time, I’d discovered that I could stream Negativland’s weekly radio show out of Berkeley, CA, and they won over my musical attention.
2010-2016 - Randy, Chuck & Bob
I was absent for almost all of this whole period…
The Residents - CD - Lonely Teenager
Although I did grab this album from Angelo’s CD’s in Littleton, CO, back in early 2011. It really didn’t click with me, with the exception of two tracks: Boxes of Armageddon and The Sleepwalker. Dark, plodding and slow, they stood out on the album. Which I should really give another listen. Talking Light was another aspect of the Randy, Chuck & Bob period, which I'm still pretty unfamiliar with.
Really wished I would have taken video of the full performance of Boxes of Armageddon. But I still love how the drummer Resident transitioned into another of my absolute favorites, Would We Be Alive?
The Residents - BluRay - Theory Of Obscurity
For the 40th Anniversary of the Residents, Don Hardy was given full access to the band's archives and accompanied them on 2013's Wonder of Weird Tour. Hardy did a great job of condensing a 40 year career into a 90 minute film. There was so much great footage on here, I was distracted from what was being talked about, and had to watch it again the next day.
I need to watch it again this weekend...
2017 - In Between Dreams
A touring live show, with the theme of songs about dreams, from their back catalog. Along with a few new songs from their upcoming album, The Ghost of Hope.
This tour came through Denver, in April 2018, with The Residents making a stop at the tiny Bluebird Theater. I had intended on going to this show, but life just wouldn't let me. Spring of 2018 was pure chaos for us, as we were preparing to move from Denver to Minneapolis. Laura had broken both of her legs and everything was awful. So the timing just wasn't right.
2017 - The Ghost of Hope
An all new album of songs about train crashes.
Yeah, I'm in.
2018 - Intruders
I've never listened to Intruders. According to The Residents website, Intruders is an album of music dedicated to the spirits that stick in our minds. You never know who or what will get stuck in your mind. Regardless if they're loved or hated, they happen to everybody. So this is an album about that.
Now that sounds intriguing! So, I need to pick this one up soon...
Well, the show has ended. It's time to take a look around the room, as the fans are making their way towards the exit. Many of them are waiting in line at the merch table, so I'm glad I did that before the show.
This little booth by the entrance/exit, was a very small bar that sold drinks during the show. I didn't see it getting nearly as much action as I would have thought.
Probably because they are an electric shock risk!
Pedals and stuff, belonging to the guitar playing Resident.
And his guitar that he never used.
Drum kit used by the drumming Resident.
2018 - I Am A Resident!
No I'm not... But I would love to wear one of the eyeball masks to the grocery store tomorrow...
Actually, I Am A Resident! is an album of fan submitted Residents cover songs, mashed together into completely new compositions. Another album I've never listened to, but a concept that sounds very interesting. So this is another Residents album I need to check out soon...
Too bad good music stores are so hard to find these days...
There’s the Electric Fetus, just south of downtown Minneapolis, if I feel like making a minor trek for new music. Which I did in November 2019, for the specific purpose of buying this “new” Residents CD:
The Residents - CD - A Nickel if Your Dick’s This Big
Which I found out about thanks to a post on Facebook. This is a 2 CD set of the earliest Residents recordings, most from 1970 and 1971. I have since quit Facebook, so I may not hear about new Residents releases anymore?
After my time at the Electric Fetus, I drove a few blocks south to the old Lake Street Kmart. This was one of the last Kmart’s still open in Minnesota, as of November 2019, but was slated to close permanently in June of 2020. A few weeks before it was to close, the store was mostly destroyed during the George Floyd riots, in May of 2020.
They didn’t re-open, just to close again.
But I did write a story about my trip to the Lake Street Kmart. And one about the Rochester, MN, Kmart. Which closed in March 2019, but had more historic significance. I've got more abandoned Kmarts to write about in the future...
Way back in 1998, as I was in my Residents fan infancy, I was looking at eBay to see what kind of Residents stuff was out there. I found The Residents Zippo lighter, and was immediately interested. I would have loved to light my precious Winston Light 100’s BOX, with this (Been over a year now since my last cigarette... I miss you Winston!!), but the auction ended at well over $150 for The Residents Zippo.
It is really cool… But not $150 cool…
Glad I downloaded the picture, as low res as it was...
The Residents merch table at The Cedar had no Zippos. This picture was taken from across the room, before the show started. If you look closely through the blurriness, you can kind of see a T-Shirt with the classic Residents posing at the Golden Gate Bridge promotional photo, from the late 1970’s. I wanted one of these shirts, but they were almost sold out of that style, and had only three mediums and a small left. Yeah... No...
Guess I could have tied it on to my left arm or something...
Still a classic photo.
In addition to the set of Residents 50th Anniversary Retrospective Trading Cards, I also picked up the book, Faceless Forever, an encyclopedia of Residents knowledge.
Which will certainly come in handy if you ever want to learn about The Mysterious N. Senada, and his relation to The Residents. Well, this book is all you need! I already know, and I'm not telling.
2020 - Metal Meat & Bone: The Songs of Dyin' Dog
Before seeing the songs from their most recent album, performed tonight, I hadn't heard anything about Metal Meat & Bone. According to their website, the is the music of lost bluesman, Alvin Snow (also known as Dyin' Dog). The album is the Residents interpretation of all 10 of snow's known recordings.
Frank Black is credited with vocals on Die! Die! Die! But only on the studio album. He didn't show up at The Cedar for this song.
See, none of the Residents are overly tubby, and/or whining about their divorce from 20 years ago.
I'm sure glad there were chairs. I'm too old to stand for a concert anymore.
View of stage tear down from the cheap seats.
The back of The Namer of the Blog's head can be seen at our seats.
Heheheheh... The upper deck...
The soundboard.
I know nothing about this kind of thing. But they always look really cool to me.
Since the movie wasn't shown before The Residents played, we thought that the movie would be shown after the concert? Shortly after the band left the stage, the curtains were being taken down. Revealing that The Cedar had a large white movie screen hanging down from the ceiling, behind the curtains, that were backing The Residents onstage. That's a pretty good clue of movie intent...
Nope, one of the ushers told us we had to leave the main floor area. We could hang out in the lobby, or join the merch table line, but had to leave the seating area. Momentary protest over getting cheated out of the movie fell on deaf ears. Oh well. I'm cool with getting home before 11pm. And like I said, if the movie sucked, it would have tainted the all around awesomeness of seeing The Residents play their set tonight.
The lobby is out to the left.
I have my The Residents Encyclopedia, and my The Residents Official 50th Anniversary Trading Card Set.
Let's go!
2022 - Triple Trouble
Triple Trouble was the movie we were supposed to be shown, according to the show information provided by The Cedar. The Residents wrote and produced this movie, which would be screened in the theater, followed by a performance by The Residents themselves. But the the band opened the show tonight? Fine by me, I really just want to see them. If I'm not interested in the movie, 90 minutes would kind of sabotage the rest of the evening.
DVD's of Triple Trouble were available at the merch table. Debated and passed.
If it's something I feel I have to own, I'll order it off their website later.
Super special thanks to The Residents for putting on a great show for me. They played Moisture, and the significance of that cannot be understated. With a 50 year catalog of music to pick a live set from, a few of the inclusions were top of my list of I want to see that live songs. There were still a few that I'd never heard before.
And super special surprise thanks for putting out a boxed set of trading cards, for sale at the merch table. How did they know this was the perfect souvenir for a guy like me? (Including a card of that sweet 1978 Fingerprince era logo!)
Plus, it allowed me to write this tribute that I'm sure that absolutely NO ONE is still reading!
After finishing their set with Nobody Laughs When They Leave, from the Freak Show album, The Residents acknowledged the applause with a quick bow and left the stage.
Extra super spectacularly special thanks to The Namer of this Blog, in getting me out of the house and out to see this show. Without his insistence to attend, I would have likely sat this one out as well. Ultimately missing what was a show I enjoyed the hell out of, from start to finish. A magical evening of strange music that touched on multiple different eras of my life.
Just as Beatles fans have the Beatles, I have The Residents.
Of the music I'm still interested in, they were one of the last artists that I had to see live. I can't think of too many more musicians that I'd ever want to see, that I haven't already. So if I never go to another live show, seeing The Residents on March 23, 2023, was the best way to go out!
The song of the night, and probably the song I've listened to the most (by any artist) in 2023, was tonight's absolutely brilliant rendition of Diskomo.
Breakfast Breakfast Great for us...
We eat we eat we eat...
Our frozen meat, oh boy oh boy oh boy it can’t be beat!
*******
Material shamelessly ripped off from:
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