The Figgs live at The Cave, Chapel Hill NC and Heyday Guitars, Winston-Salem NC
(The Figgs at The Cave)
I was going to start this particular review by discussing how the Figgs should be playing much bigger venues, should be getting bigger crowds, etc. etc. But after seeing this astoundingly good band two nights in a row, I can tell you that The Figgs can take you or leave you. They’re doing fine. They are easily one of America’s best bands, having been together thirty-two years “since Thatcher was Prime Minister,” as bassist Pete Donnelly reminded us. They’ve released at least thirteen LP’s, with not a bad one in the bunch, and are getting ready to release a TRIPLE LP, Shady Grove. Check out the new single ‘Grab Your Pack’ on their Indie-a-go-go page:
This is fantastic! What I’m trying to tell you, dear reader, is YOU need to get on The Figgs train. The band is from Saratoga, NY (Home of the Adirondack Chair), and has gone through scrappy, Replacement-y phases to a cool sort of later period Rolling Stones sound now to a wonderful R&B tinged phase that reminds me a bit of the best of British Pub-Rock. Their songwriting is concise, not at all indulgent, and the lyrics and melodies are unstoppable. They tick ALL the qualification boxes on the ride-or-die band checklist.
Thursday night at The Cave in Chapel Hill was a blast. The room really IS low ceilinged, giving off a real Cavern Club vibe. Lady Zub and I were at the back, the sound was great but we only caught glimpses of the band. They played a good bit of new material from Shady Grove, as well as a number of songs from Sucking In Stereo and Palais. The opened with a song from one of guitarist Mike Gent’s solo records, ‘Servo Lock,’ and the Figgs were off and running. Highlights were the amazing new ‘Grab Your Pack,’ (see link above) where Gent and Donnelly trade vocals (and places), and a very rocking ‘Something’s Wrong’ from Sucking In Stereo. There was an interesting cover of Dylan’s ‘My Back Pages,’ and it quickly was time for the second set.
The boys, led by Pete Hayes’ tight as hell drumming, romped through a great second set, including Donnelly’s take on Tom Waits ‘Tango Till They're Sore.’ The ending group of songs ‘We’ll Be Doing Time,’ ‘Kill Me Now,’ and ‘Simon Simone’ got the crowd worked up, then Hayes took the mic to sing a shambolic ‘We'll Be Doing Time.’ This gave me some uncomfortable flashbacks to The Replacements on the Let It Be tour (listen to our podcast SGS 008 at www.tinyurl.com/zubwilldare for more insight on this story). Fortunately, The Figgs snapped out of this and played four more, ending with Donnelly’s beautiful ‘Phases Of The Moon.’
(The 1966 Fender Twin with the 1964 Gibson SG)
(The 1964 Gibson SG)
(Pete Donnelly and his 1965 Fender Jazz bass)
(The Figgs at Heyday Guitars)
Friday night at Heyday Guitars in Winston-Salem was a real treat. The store is very cool, full of used mid-priced, weird, cool guitars. Owner Michael Slawter is a super-nice individual and a real Johnny Thunders freak, so I had to tell him all about my band, Babylon (www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/ on Facebook if you’re interested). He worked for the famous Sam Moss, whose Winston store always had an amazing selection of every desirable vintage guitar. Anyway, it was a smaller, diehard Figgs crowd and we were able to sit right up in front of the band. Tonight we could see them as well as hear them, and again The Figgs didn’t disappoint. They played 29 songs in Chapel Hill and tonight they played 34.
With the venue being a guitar shop I must talk for a minute about The Figgs’ gear. Drummer Hayes had a neat red sparkle Rogers kit that looked to be late 60’s vintage. Bassist Donnelly had a beat-to-hell 1965 Fender Jazz bass, Lake Placid Blue with matching headstock. Guitarist Gent has a 1964 Gibson SG cherry red with Vibrola tailpiece, the ‘George Harrison’ model, played through a real 1966 Fender blackface Twin amplifier. Very, very nice.
At Heyday, The Figgs opened with the same first seven songs, including the Dylan cover, sounding totally on top of it. Gent’s guitar sound, mostly via the neck pickup, has a real thick, satisfying low end without too much treble. Donnelly wasn’t afraid to use a Boss Blues Driver guitar distortion pedal, and he played plenty of amazing ‘lead bass,’ Lady Zub mentioned more than once that Donnelly played the bass in ‘the forbidden zone.’ You bassists will know what that’s about (the highest notes below the double dots on the neck). There was a VERY inspired cover of Arthur Alexander’s ‘The Girl That Radiates That Charm’ that sounded extra Elvis Costello-y (see our Podcast with author Frye Gaillard for a discussion of Arthur Alexander www.tinyurl.com/zubfrye). They rolled out ‘Drug Dilemmas’ and ‘Reset Switch’ and set one was done.
Set two was a corker, with the bluesy ‘No Time Is The Wrong Time To Groove,’ and ‘She Can’t Say No Either,’ which was a bit of a sing-a-long for the enthusiastic klatch of true Figg devotees comprising the congregation. They showed their true colors with a great version of The Stones ‘Hang Fire,’ then crushed it with ‘The Daylight Strong.’ This was followed by ‘Reaction,’ ‘Set The Stage,’ and ‘Attack VCA.’ As a wonderful memorial noting his passing that day, drummer Hayes sang an acapella version of Roky Erickson’s ‘Song For Abe Lincoln,’ and a rough ‘Quitters Unite’ (with a lyric about taking a shit on your desk). They ended with ‘Simon Simone,’ an amazing ‘Down At Le Sounde,’ ‘The Trench.’ and ‘Static.’
This is a GREAT band. The crowd included peeps from Pittsburgh, California, Boston, and South Carolina (oh, that was me!) They have super-fans. Because they are something special. It’s time for you to get on The Figgs train, cause it’s a hell of a ride.
I’ll Include the two setlists and my own Figgs Spotify playlist for your enjoyment.