Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Cream Calendar / Wow Nashville Needs More Memphis: Oblivians and Gories to Reunite in July
Posted by Emily Bartlett Hines on Wed, May 20, 2009 at 7:13 AM
Recently, we were talking about road trips to Memphis, and some of our readers expressed dismay that we hadn't said anything about the Oblivians/Gories reunion show taking place this summer. Some people even went so far as to say they were "pissed" by the omission, but I don't know that such rebarbativeness is called for. We here at Cream aren't all the glamorous socialites you imagine us to be; we're drunken bums with broken hearts, and sometimes things slip our minds.
The commenter was right in all other respects, though. The reunion of two legendary garage-punk bands, neither of whom has played together since their respective breakups, is pretty exciting news. But before anyone gets too excited, I must warn you that the shows this is in reference to--at the Hi-Tone in Memphis, on July 19 and 20--have sold out already! So if you're determined to go, you'll need some initiative and extra cash. But you guys are resourceful. Anyhow, The Gories formed in Detroit in 1986 and suffered a dramatic breakup in 1992; the Oblivians were based in Memphis from 1993 to 1998. Both bands became known for raw, wild, primitive rock that was influenced by blues, gospel and weird punk. Among their many points of similarity, they both had a bassless sound and put out LPs on Crypt Records. (Mick Collins of the Gories now fronts the Dirtbombs; Greg Cartwright of the Oblivians went on to form Goner Records.)
It seems they've decided that the time was right for a reunion. The two groups will be playing dates in Memphis and Detroit before going on to... Europe? What kind of tour is that? As some dude on a message board points out, "Chicago and New York at LEAST onto that tour are fucking no-brainers. Those dates could be called the free money part of the tour!" No wonder there aren't any tickets left.
If you still want to get one, I'd keep an eye on Memphis Craiglist. If you've already bought yours, perhaps you'd like to brag about it in the comments section? And if you're not up for the road trip, you still have the option of enjoying their musical recordings in the comfort of your home, just like always. The Oblivians have some of their best jams up on MySpace, while Detailed Twang is a good place to go for a sample of the Gories.
Comments (6)
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Saw 'em a bunch, first time here in 1994 or so. Great live band. And they really let the crowd know how much they hated Nashville.
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Oblivians that is. Saw the Gories a few times, as well. They were good, not great, live.
I just have to laugh at the use of the word "rebarbativenss." Is this even the correct usage of the word?
That said, this is punk rock, not some graduate level English course. Is the author possibly a grad student or a pseudointellectual of some sort? Not that punks are idiots (often, quite the contrary), but shouldn't the diction somehow align with the subject matter?
Save the big words for that dissertation you've probably been working on for 6 years...
It's just a fact, Memphis while having its obvious downsides, will ALWAYS be much, much cooler than Nashville.
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