King Missile: Bowery Electric, New York, NY (9/15/2017)

My first exposure to New York band King Missile was via the Video Jukebox Network. The video for "My Heart Is A Flower" from The Way To Salvation converted me fairly easily. I went out and bought the cassette not too long afterwards. I took my time in investigating their back catalog and the next thing I knew Happy Hour (which is approximately 60 minutes in length) was released. Happy Hour featured the major MTV hit "Detachable Penis" and the minor MTV hit "Martin Scorsese". After 1994's King Missile I kind of checked out and was basically done with King Missile. So was lead singer John S. Hall apparently, as the band broke up not too long after this album. 

Since the breakup of King Missile, Hall went to law school and is now an Intellectual Property Analyst. He also formed King Missile III and King Missile IV and released records under that moniker as well. The current incarnation of KM feature longtime members Dave Rick on guitar and Roger Murdoch on drums (apparently keyboardist Chris Xefos does in fact play with the band when he's on the East Coast as he lives in California now). So, King Missile is basically a hobby for Hall and his bandmates. 

The sound at Bowery Electric is, like any teeny-tiny venue, hit or miss. The band themselves sounded fine. Hall's vocals were kind of drowned-out in the din. From where I was standing - front and center - I had to strain to hear him. That said, he made the best of the situation, freely roaming into the audience and interacting with the patrons, mid-song.  

The band tackled many a classic from the Shimmy Disc years ("Sensitive Artist", "Take Stuff From Work" and "Jesus Was Way Cool") and classics from the Atlantic years ("My Heart Is A Flower", "Detachable Penis", "Socks" and "Martin Scorsese"). They tackled items they've covered on record ("Mr. Johnson" and "Betrayal Takes Two") as well as covers by local legends ("Rockaway Beach"by The Ramones and "Gratitude" by Beastie Boys) . They ended the show with a cover of The Buzzcocks' "What Do I Get". 

Despite the wonky sound and the somewhat halfheartedness of the entire performance, it was a fun show. It was nice to finally see the band as I'd never seen gotten around to seeing any incarnation of King Missile. I got to meet John before the show and buy a copy of the new KMIV disc (This Fuckin' Guy); he's very approachable and makes himself very available to his people. 

An entertaining show.