PYLON Live at Hurrah

[putdownan8dude]

incredible vocalist she is...

[Raymantico]

accidentally similar to Joy Division's "dance dance dance"

[RochaAmarela]

O Vocal da Vanessa é impressionante!!! Simplesmente lindo! Gostei.

[toddhammill]

I loved Pylon and I loved going to Hurrah! Saw Pylon Jan. 9, 1980 when the bill was Human Switchboard /Pylon /Method Actors, the last 2 both being from Georgia I recall. I can't put my finger on why I liked them. It was the guitar, the rhythm, Vanessa, dancing...the whole package. They were unique. Bought their LP when it came out. Heard it on WHUV-FM where Sara Salir DJ'd at night.

[barbrastreyesand]

Ian Curtis a Jim Morrison wannabe? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

[frenchkids]

I hear Public image, when I listen to Pylon. I much prefer Pylon.

[xenophono]

I had the pleasure of working alongside Randy a couple of years before he passed. I used to ask him about Gang Of Four and he said that they had not heard it before their first album Gyrate came out. Gang Of Four's Entertainment was a brand new import when Pylon's first single and album were being recorded. RIP Randy. A True Original.

[kurdtabe]

I think the Joy Division sound is obvious. Not this song so much, but listen to Cool off Gyrate. It would be equally at home on Unknown Pleasures.

[SAVAGEGREENMACHINE]

ian curtis?

as in the jim morrison wannabe, that used to have epileptic fits on stage?

i don't see any connection and to be honest i'd be supprised if they had even heard of joy division at the time of this recording seeing as jd had never toured outside of western europe!

[VJnumber1]

@SAVAGEGREENMACHINE

Well hold onto your hat then, cause they had these things called "CD's" and "nightclubs" and music was transmitted over things called "radios" too. But, I've heard Pylon were influenced by Gang of Four, and Gang of 4 had access to Joy Division...and Joy Division and Gang of 4 had access to Pylon's music which was very popular in the club scene. There was a musical dialogue, not a mimicry.

[Circumpunk]

@VJnumber1 I agree JV, there is an unmistakable similarity between J/D and Pylon. Who influenced whom I do not know. Although I'd say that Pylon is much less depressing and enjoyable than J/D. I'd probably come down on the J/D side in the influence arguement. Pylon is a pop version of the less pop-y J/D. Moody twenty somethings of the world unite, LOL.

[jehouse]

@wolzek

You're basing all this on one song? You obviously know nothing about this band, and never saw them live.

[heartinthestreet]

OMG.

was this the night bILLY IDOL was in the crowd??

[heartinthestreet]

Listen. Pylon was around LONG before Joy Division...punk!

[swimmingground]

Post more Pylon !

[ilovalivia]

The inspiration for Pylon was Gang of Four.

[VJnumber1]

Wasn't Joy Division the inspiration for ALL music? I believe even Mozart probably had a time machine and visited the concerts of Joy Division to write his Requim. I will try editing a split screen of Vanessa into a copy of "Control" and test your theory further.

[ivycompton]

Vanessa's right up there with Patti Waters, Cathy Berberian, Yoko Ono, Diamanda Galas, and other vocal innovators. Pylon counterpoints her wild style to perfection. Heavenly sounds. Thanks for posting.

[VJnumber1]

Very nice to read your thoughtful comments about Vanessa's voice Ivycompton! I love her voice (and her dancing) and the thing I love about it is it's texture, it's complexity of force, air, space, like a changeling that is a razor one second and a cloud of opaline whip cream the next moment.

[ivycompton]

Beautifully said, VJ! I saw Pylon only once in San Francisco back in the day, and was knocked out. Vanessa's such an underrated talent. She's got a direct line to her emotions in the songs, and it's a wonderful thing to experience. In the Athens, GA documentary she comes across as sweet and self-effacing - a true artiste.

[Khultan]

First time becoming aware of this band and it's funny how, on here, people seem to give some kind of respect to Yoko Ono, but over there yonder on the John Lennon videos with, of course, Yoko Ono, the hate mongers are foaming rabid.

[blnkrboy]

I LOVE THIS BAND! Are prayers are with you, Randy.

[RobbieRobinBobbin]

so I guess the bassist is almost irrelevant in this video? You see him for two seconds.

[VJnumber1]

Hi Robbie,

Nobody is irrelevant in Pylon! You are only seeing a very short excerpt, not even a full song! Through the course of the full concert everbody gets some good coverage. I have not edited the full show yet.

[borealico]

So simple, so powerful, so fucking cool! 5 stars!

[therealsoulproduct]

Randy will be sorely missed. He was a great guitarist.

[emoedison]

RIP Randy.

[otter06]

Wow! I think I might have been at this show.

[Raymantico]

Saw them at Old Waldorf SF back in the day--glad to see a few old clips on YT....

[blackandpink68]

so f**king awesome..

[WizeguyX]

I'm having trouble dealing with it. I was there that night. Small club, small crowds, I lived there 3-4 nights a week. Shiny blazers, skinny ties, sometimes girls in cocktail dresses. The coolest place, the hippest bands, the most intimate venue. And then Danceteria opened... It's on record?!?

[ummmthing]

cool stuff...thanks for posting...d