Captain Beefheart Night: A Celebration of the Music of Don Van Vliet April 9, 2008

DOORS 8:00 PM
ADV $15 // DOS $20

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART (a/k/a Don Van Vliet) is considered one of the seminal geniuses of American music, poetry, and art. An outspoken visionary who emerged in the mid-60's from the wilds of the Mojave Desert (where he enjoyed a childhood friendship with Frank Zappa), Captain Beefheart blazed his own trail in music over a dozen groundbreaking albums with his group The Magic Band, beginning with their 1967 surrealist blues statement of first principle's "Safe as Milk", continuing through what are generally considered their 2 landmark avant-masterpieces, 1969's "Trout Mask Replica" and 1971's "Lick My Decals Off, Baby", and finishing with 1982's uncompromising return to form "Ice Cream for Crow". With music combining avant-rock, free-jazz and Delta blues in equal measure, and lyrics dealing with ecological concerns, human foibles, and mankind run amuck, Beefheart has been cited by everyone from David Lynch to Joe Strummer to Bono to David Byrne to Johnny Rotten to Robert Plant as a hero and inspiration. A child prodigy sculptor and painter, after ceasing to make music in 1982. Don Van Vliet began an active painting career, and his canvases continue to be exhibited in high profile galleries around the world, where they fetch impressive prices. Tonight the Knitting Factory celebrates the genius of a true American avatar, beginning with a screening of rare Beefheart film clips and documentaries, followed by a reading of Van Vliet's poems by some very special guests. The night will be capped with the first NYC appearance in several years of FAST 'N BULBOUS, The Captain Beefhyeart Project-- featuring ex-Magic Bandman guitarist extraordinaire Gary Lucas on guitar, and arranged and conducted by the Microscopic Septet's Phillip Johnston--and featuring Dave Sewelson (baritone sax), Joe Fielder (trombone), Rob Henke (trumpet), Jesse Krakow (bass), and Richard Dworkin (drums). The band will play selections from their acclaimed first album "Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind" (Cuneiform), and will debut new versions of Don Van Vliet's classic compositions from their forthcoming second album.