Big Star: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1974

March 31, 1974:

Big Star were in pretty dire straits at this point. Chris Bell had left and Andy Hummel left soon after him. They weren't much of a band anymore and cracks had begun to show in Alex's psyche. And, to make things worst, just before the show, their equipment van was stolen.

However, this proved to make for an interesting concert experience. No material from Third/Sister Lovers was played, unless you count the cover of The Kinks' "'Til the End of the Day." Interestingly enough, the songs were mostly covers, and very interesting ones at that. They covered The Velvet Underground's "Candy Says," T. Rex's "Baby Strange" (a cover I very much enjoy,) Loudon Wainright III's "Motel Blues," the aforementioned Kinks song, and another song I'm not familiar with, titled "We Gotta Go."

The originals included, mostly from Radio City, are fascinating additions. They are Third/Sister Lovers-styled versions of their power-pop classics. "In the Street" is still its familiar self, but with an edgy sheen. "O My Soul" is a great, muscular, guitar workout. "Thirteen" isn't too much different, although the guitar accompaniment sounds different than the original album version.

At the end of "Thirteen," Chilton says "Alright, let's do some more electric songs." And they dive headlong into the abyss.

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Here's "Candy Says:"


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Download the whole show

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Here's some bootleg artwork:

This one I found

This one I made