Wildest Concert Ever: mr.phylzzz Drummer Will Never Forget David Yow Pulling Out His Dong at Jesus Lizard Gig
(This recollection of a classic Jesus Lizard concert is brought to you by Danny Sein, drummer for self-described trashy grunge band mr.phylzzz from Chicago.)
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The most unforgettable show I ever attended featured the Jesus Lizard performing at the Metro in Chicago on December 9, 2017.
There’s a reason I have a tattoo. The Jesus Lizard has been a consistent band in the soundtrack of my life from the time I first heard them at 18. I didn’t like their music when I first heard it, but like most things I end up obsessing over, it grew on me with a few oddly persistent listens. I went [to the show] with my buddies Allen and Donny. I was 22.
When Allen came to pick us up, he was already blasting Goat at a deafening volume. It was frigid and snowing on the drive from Grand Rapids to Chicago, and the highway was icy with a heap of snow already on the ground. We hit 131 South and “Mouth Breather” started. Likely because of the song, Allen had a bit of a lead foot in the Crown Vic, so we fishtailed into a ditch. Donny and I pushed it back up onto the highway. We were up to our calves in snow. As soon as Allen resumed driving, he said, “Where were we?” And he started “Mouth Breather” over again from the beginning.
The show was sold out, and every old punk was buzzing with excitement and mulling over setlist predictions. They opened with “Puss,” and Yow instantly stage-dove into the crowd where he remained for most of the set. The majority of the crowd knew not to hold beers, and the few that didn’t soon learned. People were getting kicked in the face with Yow’s Western boots. Others were patting his sweaty, balding head and hairy belly like he was some grotesque overgrown baby.
As the band was grinding with power and precision during instrumental breaks or intros, Yow would do a combination of any or all of the following: insult the crowd, tell a joke, do push-ups, spit, stagger, dance or drink, and then he would contort his face into a cartoonish half-wit smile and take stock of the chaos he created. The crowd quickly turned into an unruly sea, somewhere between feeling eager and imposed upon. Sometimes they would playfully fight him, reluctantly propping him back toward the stage, but most times we were haphazardly carrying him across the GA section, drunk, half-naked and howling.
People were spilling over the side of the balcony. The crowd welcomed the “hits” by their first notes and sang along to Yow’s twisted, spattered, poetic vignettes in “Then Comes Dudley,” “Monkey Trick,” “Seasick” and “Mouth Breather” especially. Donny and I were at the front of the stage on David Sims’ side, getting blasted with his GK rig, whereas Allen was instantly separated amongst the crowd.
I distinctly recall a sudden hand thrusting at me from behind, over my right shoulder, newly adorned with a blue nitrile glove and a pint of Jim Beam. I looked behind me and saw Allen’s urgent eyes, electric blue and wide with adrenaline. His blond hair was already black with sweat a few songs in. I took a big swig and then handed it back to him. That’s the only time I saw him until after the show.
Duane’s riffs sliced through the musical sinew like a surgical knife and onstage he was poised and mannered in a direct contrast to Yow. Mac’s drums pummeled with a steady, graceful, behind-the-beat swing. Sims’ bass lines were muscular, precise and scalar without being at risk of sounding mathy. Yow’s delivery was guttural, nasally and at times even vocally impressive. The band sat in a brighter register than most heavy/noise bands, and you felt the force of the rhythm section in your chest. But it wasn’t ploddingly heavy, it was lean and brutal.
Donny and I raved over Mac’s drum solo at the end of the set. The show was exactly what I love about live rock music – there’s a transcendental element that comes from a mix of danger, intensity, humor and unpredictability to the live performance – yet the execution of the music and the vision is deliberate. They did two encores, and Yow parted ways with the crowd by taking out his dick for some reason. This is a sold-out Jesus Lizard show in their hometown, after all, and you’re gonna get some type of participation trophy before you leave.
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mr.phylzzz’s new album, Fear the Lord, comes out September 4 on Amphetamine Reptile Records. To get an insight into Sein’s partner in the noise-rock duo, vocalists/guitarist, Clinton Jacob, check out his entry in The Bad Penny‘s What You Readin’ For? series published yesterday. And to get a taste of mr.phylzzz’s Fear the Lord, feast your ears on this new single:
The Bad Penny (beta) 
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