Review: The Flesh Eaters with Mudhoney at Neumo’s

The Flesh Eaters perform "A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die"Concert Review: The Flesh Eaters with Mudhoney
Venue: Neumo’s
Date: January 13, 2015

When I heard that The Flesh Eaters were doing a mini tour in California, I was a bit disappointed that they weren’t going to make it to Seattle, but then Mudhoney stepped in and brought the band up north to close out their “A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die” tour.

The Flesh Eaters are lead by poet, writer, actor and singer Chris D. Early in his career, Chris D. worked at Slash, the Los Angeles punk newspaper that brought the early L.A. punk revolution to light. Slash morphed into a record label featuring X, The Blasters and Los Lobos. The L.A. punk scene grew in national awareness, due in large part from a small indie film called “The Decline of Western Civilization” featuring the Germs, Black Flag and Fear.

The Flesh Eaters were one of the bands that were on the fringe of the known bands coming from the scene. But once listening to Chris D. singing in his unique style and stark yet poetic lyrics, you knew that this band was different.

The Flesh Eaters first album, “No Questions Asked” was straight ahead power punk. Now considered a punk classic, this was just the beginning of what was next. “A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die” is an album with all the punk elements of the early 1980’s, yet this album was different in its musical stylings, incorporating a hypnotic funk.

“A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die” features Chris D. on vocals, Dave Alvin on guitar, Bill Bateman on drums, John Doe on bass, D.J. Bonebrake on marimbas and Steve Berlin on saxophone. This line up of The Flesh Eaters did not perform that often as all the members were in their own successful bands. I saw them once in the early 80’s at the legendary Music Machine on Pico Boulevard. It was truly an experience I thought I’d never get to have again.

So here we are in 2015, watching Chris D. on stage at Neumo’s in Seattle. Now the band is made up of seasoned veterans, all legendary musicians in their own right. John Doe started off the show with an eerie whistling intro for “River of Fever”, followed by “Pray Till You Sweat”. Tonight’s performance featured the music from the “A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die” album but we also heard some songs from other albums including “Miss Muerte”, “House Amid The Thickets” and the classic “Pony Dress”.

The Flesh Eaters performance was amazing, something I’d thought I wasn’t going to see again. Not to forget, but Mudhoney opened the show and they’re not too bad either. Mudhoney tore into a rousing set that set the tone for the evening. And as great as Mudhoney is, tonight was all about the return of The Flesh Eaters.

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