" what do you want from life " & " white punks on dope " two ultraly bizzare songs. I saw them a couple of times at the Agora club. They might/should have been labeled a punk rock band. However, my experience with them was in the middle seventies. Maybe by the late eighties ....... their music changed! Most likely ....... NOT! |
The Tubes are one of my favorite bands. I saw them in 1978 or 1979, which is basically the same show as is immortalized on their live album "What do you want from live?" They were a pretty popular rock band at that time and their popularity probably peaked when they released "The completion backwards principle". However, this record was a turning point for the band and they started going down hill after that.
I saw them again in about 1993-94 in a bar in Cincinnati. Believe it or not, they were traveling in a U-Haul van, trying to get back into the rock show scene. They were still excellent.
The Tubes are still touring today and by most accounts their shows are still excellent. Check out their website for dates.
My favorite Tubes records/CDs are 1978's "What do you want from live?" and "White Punks on Dope" which is the original 'The Tubes' (1975) & 'Young & Rich' (1976), remastered onto one CD. They are both pretty well recorded and the live record is really a spectacular performance.
Enjoy,
TIC |
I saw the band in the early eighties at the Greek theatre and they rocked,it was the Remote Control tour. I took a friend of mines brother and it was his first rock concert and he had a blast. My favorite album is The Completion Backward Principle and my favorite song is a toss up between She's a Beauty or Driving all Night. The show I saw is available on the vhs tape Live at the Greek. |
Never saw the band but one lost summer of fun when I was about 18 was filled with Love Bomb as the sound track to my summer. The tubes are awesome!!! Check out the "Completion Backwards Principle" on vinyl. It blew me away.. |
"What Do You Want From Live" offers a good feel for what they were all about... which is a rock based comic musical theater of sorts. Often very funny and still rockin'. Think Meat Loaf meets Weny O Williams for an evening of pot and beer.
BTW, the band was pretty good, but the drummer, Prarie Prince, has moved on to other projects touring with, among others, Todd Rundgren and The New Cars.
Marty |
Marty, I belive the Prairie passed away about six months ago... |
Sushi Girl - Completion Backwards Principle
Back in 1982 or 83 The Tubes and The Indianapolis Symphony (with the fabulous John Nelson conducting) were both at Valparaiso University on the same night. I really wanted to see The Tubes, but the woman I was dating preferred the Symphony, so there we were. As we walked out of the Symphony venue after the show, we heard this incredible racket, so we stopped to listen. It was the Tubes, playing in the basketball gym, and we could hear them all the way across campus! It was then I knew I'd picked the wrong show, and ultimately the wrong woman.
Sigh....
David |
Love the tubes for years. How about the awesome guitar solo on "Talk to ya Later" by Steve Lukather of Toto fame...? not too mention singers "Fee Waybill" - and the hot "Re Styles" ... production by Todd Rundgren.... very zappa-like satire and social commentary
How about the ending lyric/vamp to "What do you want from life"...
..."if you're an American citizen you are entitled to:...
a Merc Montclair, a Mark IV, a meteor,
a Mercedes, an MG, or a Malibu,
a Mort Moriarty, a Maserati, a Mac truck,
a Mazda, a new Monza, or a moped,
a Winnebago--Heck, a herd of Winnebago's we're giving 'em away,
or how about a McCulloch chainsaw,
a Las Vegas wedding,
a Mexican divorce,
a solid gold Kama Sutra coffee pot,
or a baby's arm holding an apple?" |
Ghost Rider,
Are you sure PP died? I saw the smokin' band Todd R put together for last fall's mini tour with Jesse Gress, PP and Kasim Sultan. The set was Nazz like blues/rock and PP was all over it. I'd have thought his death would have been pretty widely reported on the TR sites I follow. Also, a quick google didn't reveal any obits and all the bios I found seem to refer to him in present tense. If true, it's a real loss and very sad.
Marty |
Prairie Prince also did all the studio work on XTC Skylarking - truly brilliant. Check out his solo during Man Who Sailed Around his Soul. |
Reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated. Prairie Prince is alive and well. |
I was going to say, Prairie Prince would be sad to hear that he has died.
He's making custom drums, selling his art and photography and still drumming on occasion. He's a North Carolina native (Charlotte), but grew up in Phoenix. Original member of Journey but went back to The Tubes before the first LP.
Heard the Tubes several times in the late 70s and covered "Talk To Ya Later" in my college band.
He's also played with Todd Rundgren, George Harrison, Chris Isaak, you name it.
STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE AND IN GOOD HEALTH! |
It was Vince Welnick, the keybroard player from the Tubes who later joined the Grateful Dead who died. |
I am a Tubes fan ,,,Young and Rich,,,every song on that album was great!Now,, is also very good,fav songs,,,Madam Im Adam,Pimp,Proud to be an American,Slipped my Disco,My Head is my only House Unless it Rains,Hit Parade,Smoke(La Vie en Fumer),Your no Fun,This Town,Strung out on Strings,,,,,,,,,,! |
The Tubes were a huge influence on me growing up. I heard the Tubes Now when I was in junior high and then moved on to enjoy their entire catalog. Young and Rich has some great sounding cuts. I bought some white label promos of Now and Y&R recently on Ebay and they were the worst taken care of vinyl I have ever bought.
What do you want from live definitely warped my sensibilities. I can't remember exactly why (maybe it was a photo contest for fantasy bands?) but In High school some friends and I set up a Tubes like Rock stage in my garage, making huge platfform shoes and wrapping myself in aluminum foil for a photoshoot. |
Saw them spring '76 at the Orpheum in Boston for the first album tour. Mondo Bondage was a higlight as was White Punks On Dope complete with falling amp stacks and Fee wearing Quaylude glasses.
Quite memorable indeed. |
A Prarie Prince question:
Both the Tubes and Todd Rundgren are playing So Cal shows on July 5. PP is listed as the drummer in both bands. Anyone know who'll be on the drums at these shows?
Marty |
