The San Antonio, TX based hardcore freak-punks, Butthole Surfers, were notorious for their live shows and the band’s newest archival release, Live at the Leather Fly, does a good job capturing their mid-career, chaotic noise sound.
The album is not dated or given a specific location where it was recorded, but it sounds like one complete show. Judging by the songs played it seems to have been captured around the release of their 1991 album Independent Worm Saloon. Mixed by guitarist Paul Leary, who, along with lead vocalist Gibby Haynes, Jeff Pinkus on bass, and King Coffey on drums, conjures up a cacophony of sound that exhilarates, irritates, and enthralls over the 21-song set.
The screeching guitars are right up front for opener “Graveyard” before the sound even out during “Dust Devil.” Attacking with chugging guitar riffs, sludge bass, digital squiggles, and cascading vocals, Haynes uses lots of backward tape effects, echo, delay, and distortion on his vocals throughout the album, making most of the lyrics undecipherable to those new to the outfit.
Never happy to sit in one genre too long, the band crashes from the tweaker country punk of “Gary Floyd” into the spun out, Doors-sounding psychedelic “1401”. Things can be hit or miss after the strong start of the show, as the heavy bass and tripped-out acid riffs work for both “Hey” and the bouncy/twangy “You Don’t Know Me”, with each containing a touch of The Meat Puppets. The revved up grinding of “Human Cannonball” has flashes of Ministry but much less enjoyable are the dull psych rock offerings “Negro Observer”, “Bong Song” and “Nee Nee” which doesn’t go anywhere exciting.
The acid trip nightmare metal of “Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales” is unsettling in a good way, while “Blind Man” is a psycho headbanger that spirals out of control with success. The best efforts arrive in a three-song run towards the end of the set as “Too Parter” is clanging and off-kilter with excellent drumming from Coffey.
“Dancing Fool” pushes Pinkus’ distorted bass insanely, and “P.S.Y” is the crown jewel of the whole experience. This elongated jam shows the power of the Surfers as the almost ten-minute track drones, warps the mind, moves the ass and proves what a force this outfit were when all four were locked in on the same bizarre cosmic level.
A heavy punk-influenced encore is highlighted by the ripping “Edgar,” which showcases strong bass from Pinkus and the best solo on Leary’s album. Wrapping up with the appropriately titled “Annoying Song”, Live at the Leather Fly successfully brings the listener into the weird world of the Butthole Surfers live sonic experience.
