The Brothers Unconnected at the Echoplex
Los Angeles, California
May 25, 2008
Malcontents, pot-stirrers, button-pushers and, oh yeah, I almost forgot, musicians the Sun City Girls spent a quarter of a century, from 1982 to 2007, defying logic, expectations, music industry rules, manners and good taste. While most bands are more than happy to jump through any hoops necessary to become famous and successful, the Sun City Girls, for the most part, did just the opposite throughout their illustrious anti-career. No major labels, no tours with huge rock stars, no big-time TV appearances, no hit singles, etc. Despite that, they’ve unleashed a tsunami of records and live shows upon the world.
After one third of the trio, Charles Gocher, died in 2007, the two remaining members, brothers Alan Bishop and Sir Richard Bishop, mounted a tribute tour in Spring 2008. The performance began with a screening of a 40-minute film called The Handsome Stranger, which is comprised of numerous fragmentary, surreal short videos made by Gocher over the past two decades. The hilarious yet disturbing footage runs the gamut from eccentric skits to all sortsa visual mayhem, spoken word and music. Hopefully, this document of unstifled, pure creativity will be released on DVD someday.
After the conclusion of the film, Alan and Sir Richard battered the crowd with a set of acoustic guitar duets. Surprisingly, they trotted out all the old hits, including many off their most popular record, Torch of the Mystics. Their playing was impressive throughout, highlighted by an amazing rendition of “Papa Legba,” which featured Rick going off on vocals, complete with a cackling chicken. Next up came some spoken word bits, a little lounge singing and some songs that launched a blatant attack on religion, idealism and the politically correct. Alan and Rick baited the audience, but there were no takers–everyone just lapped it up. The only thing that was missing was a visit from Uncle Jim. Maybe next time, fellas.
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