Scoot Inn, Austin, Oct 29, 2010

The idea of Butthole Surfers performing Locust Abortion Technician in its entirety was a curious one, I thought, when I first saw the announcement. I listened to the album carefully and wondered how they were going to pull it off with all that electronica and distortion and sampling and mixing, without it seeming like they were just playing a recording. Few of the songs are melodic tunes that are probably easier to recreate in a live show. It's a great album, but I just had trouble picturing it. It could have been a disaster if they hadn't prepared so well. And prepare they did. It was clear how hard they were working up there to pull off the performance, professionally and technically, and I for one truly appreciated the effort they made.

Turns out that playing this album was a genius idea, executed perfectly. It was clear that not only had they been rehearsing, but they orchestrated the songs with a fresh spin. They played the entire album in one long, continuous exhale that gave a shape to the over-arching themes of the music in a way that isn't immediately apparent when you listen to the album.

To be honest, I had never listened to LAT as a holistic work. I always thought it one of the more esoteric compilations, a little hard to latch onto, requiring very close listening to make something of it. And while it opens with the incomparable Sweat Loaf and the chanting of Satan Satan Satan, it closes with what is their most disturbing song, 22 going on 23. That song never made much sense to me and always left me feeling uncomfortable. It's one part misery and one part exploitation. After hearing that song last night, it all made sense, and the entire album was tied together as a piece of storytelling, a psychedelic opera, that was extremely satisfying.

Paul Leary said he was nervous about doing this, which is understandable. It just can't be easy to transpose something that was very much made in a studio, into a live show. It worked brilliantly and I am so glad that I was able to be there to experience it. Bravo.