Wednesday, March 30, 2016

FUCK BACKSTAGE, THE BARON CHILLS ANYWHERE.

So, how do you get the Yardbirds to play in your back yard? Easy. Bag on Beatles fans. That's what Baron Willis did. His celebrity made it all the more public. He was an author, scriptwriter, and political activist. People listened. So the Yardbirds showed him. They showed up in his backyard. They rocked his ass.

Check the video linked below. It's not from the Baron's yard, but it is the Yardbirds. "I'm a Man", a five minute show stopper, Jimmy Page era. Keith Relf doing the vocal/harp swap thing very effectively. Then it goes into an extended jam, rock, blues, almost jazz, and then, whoop, here it comes, Page whips out the bow. Just when you think it won't get nuttier, it quiets down to the point that it starts to sound like Eno ambient stuff. Really. Then it blindsides you. It's quite a spectacle, yo.

The other three songs are the first random Yardbirds cuts I could find. The "White Summer" thing is an instrumental, live, with Jimmy Page showing off what would soon be Zeppelin's. Not my favorite era, but notable. But, man, do check that video.

I still think the whole thing would have been funnier if the Baron dissed the Yardbirds instead, and then the Beatles showed up in his backyard. Now I'm just getting greedy.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:
The Yardbirds - I'm Not Talkin' mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The Yardbirds - Boom Boom mp3
at Wandervogel
The Yardbirds - White Summer (live) mp3
at Speed of Dark (?)
Video:

The Yardbirds - I'm a Man at YouTube
Visit:
The Yardbirds Garden Gig
at Voices of East Anglia More photos of the yard gig.

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