Saturday, February 21, 2009

Candy Meets Run DMC - September 29th, 1985


If you were fortunate enough to grow up in or around Los Angeles in the 80's, you probably remember the LA Street Scene. Once a year, downtown LA would transform into a giant street fair, with about 30 stages set up and bands playing all day long and into the night. I was lucky enough to go to the last few years of it, until the final year when my friend and I got caught in the "Great White" Riot (but that's another story) that essentially put an end to what was a great tradition. I remember watching Jane's addiction and Gene Loves Jezebel play under the afternoon sun, making Jane's seem much less dangerous and Gene much less mysterious. I remember being sixteen and sitting on the grass watching Mary Poppinz try to be Motley Crue, with Kery Doll and his band sitting next to me doing hilarious commentary throughout the set. But mostly I remember the first time I went to Street Scene and saw Candy for the first time "Whatever Happened to Fun" had recently come out, the late afternoon crowd was relatively hostile, and it had just been announced that special guests Run DMC would perform after Candy. Now this was 1985 mind you, and the mainstream Street Scene crowd were far more familiar with the Kings of Rock then they were with Kids in the City. Cue the hostility. Luckily for you, I was a little bootlegging asshole back then and took my tiny tape recorder to many of the shows I went to. But it really wasn't about bootlegging at all, it was because most of the local bands didn't have records out and wouldn't sell their demos to you, so the only way I could listen to the songs whenever I wanted was to tape the shows. So here's the scene...a sixteen year old kid who loves glam rock and power-pop is standing in the middle of a street in downtown LA, afternoon is fading to dusk as Candy step on stage about 30 feet from me. I hit "record" and over two decades later you get to experience something you never thought you'd get to hear....Candy live in LA, literally right in the middle of the 80's. This is for the ten of us out there who loved the band. As for the quality, its far from perfect, and if you have a problem with it....well, fuck you. You're just damn lucky this document exists in the first place and that I took my own valuable time to give it to you.

Candy Live @ Los Angeles Street Scene - 09/29/1985
Set List:
Soundcheck
Weekend Boy
Kids in the City
Turn It Up Loud
Electric Nights
American Kix
First Time
Whatever Happened to Fun

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/IuTv7woZ4RzqoWTKAijVGbuX6Xx0GrSoM5ggOd3aKhg

10 comments:

  1. Great blog! Thanks for posting this stuff.

    I caught Candy with Gilby singing at the Whiskey in late 1986, with a Bay Area band called Strange Toys opening. I was psyched to see Candy, but honestly, they seemed like they didn't really care too much.

    A couple years later, my band played with both Electric Angels and Kill For Thrills in SF at a club called The Stone. Great times.

    Remember Bang Bang?

    Drop me a note soon.

    Cheers,
    Jim

    ReplyDelete
  2. What band were you in Jim? Were you in Bang Bang?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi SRM,

    No, I wasn't in Bang Bang. But, I think Gilby was in an early version. So was producer Julian Raymond.

    I was up in SF. Send me a note for more info.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey thanks for the memories! I was there too, age 16, snuck away for the weekend with several friends (we all lied to our parents). Got a room at that downtown hotel with the neon Jesus Saves sign. Spent every penny on the room so we bummed quarters in the crowd all weekend: 4 quarters got you a teriyaki chicken stick or a corn dog, and they were giving out free 10-packs of Camel cigs even to us minors. That was the first time I heard Candy and I loved them! I promptly went out and bought the vinyl (probably used from Rhino Records in Claremont), which I still have and just listened to the other day. Lana

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was about 12 the only year I went. I did see Candy and Gene Loves Jezebel as well, but wasn't the last year in 1986 when the riots broke out? I can't recall.

    I do remember having a small crush on Ryan Roxie and was lucky enough to get a picture with him, both of us in our bad rock hair glory.

    Thanks for the snippit, I was beginning to wonder if it ever really happened since this is one of the few pages I've been able to find any info about the LA Street Scene.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I played the LA Street Scene on the Main Street stage. As I remember, the evening went Precious Metal, Mary Poppinz, Smile and Poison. The crowd was pretty wild and Poison only got off 3 songs cause people started throwing bottles and stuff. And I have to disagree that we, Mary Poppinz, were anything like Motley Crue. Please. I think that was the end of the La Street Scene.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary Poppinz reminded me of Spinal Tap meet Monty Python in that it didn't seem serious.They had one song that sounded like Cheap Trick....(Which Way to Go...or something lime that). They had a kid singing who was good, but in Spinal Tap fashion he was apparently eaten by the singer that would replace him. A few years later, he was regurgitated and played in another band called Brats, that sounded more like Cheap Trick. But he turn black and became like Lenny Kravitz. The Mary Poppinz caveman drummer became a drunk and had to wallow away in a band with Prince. One little guitar player a side kick on a morning kids TV show, whereas the other was send to prison for enjoying kids. The bass player became a US Congressman representing the district of Pacoima.

      Delete
  7. I was there. Saw Candy dozens of times, one of the very best bands of all time.

    Thanks for sharing these, this is fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was there, too... Loved Bang Bang. Does anyone remember Lions & Ghosts?

    ReplyDelete
  9. WE WERE THERE THAT DAY RUNNING AROUND ON ALL SIDES OF CITY HALL, FROM BROADWAY TO THE CIVIC CENTER TO KOREATOWN... BUT THIS STAGE WAS ON THE WEST SIDE. PUNK ROCKERS AND METALHEADS ALL OVER, WE WERE INTO HIP HOP AND GRAFFITI BACK THEN SO WE DIDNT KNOW YOUR BAND. DID YOU HAPPEN TO ALSO RECORD RUN DMC WHO PERFORMED RIGHT AFTER? LET ME KNOW IF POSSIBLE. (213) 435-9611 THANKS. HEX

    ReplyDelete