Hoodoo Gurus- First Avenue, Minneapolis 1991

Two of my favourite concerts I attended both were headlined by the Hoodoo Gurus. The first time I saw the Gurus was October 31, 1989 at the (currently closed) Playhouse Theatre on tour for Magnum Cum Louder. Yes, it was on Halloween night, we had first row balcony seats and the venue was a grand old theatre, not unlike the Burton Cummings Theatre (formerly the Walker) in downtown Winnipeg, which is similar, but smaller. Anyways, it was the perfect venue for this night as the Hoodoo Gurus took to the stage in the pitch dark, then blasted through their first bunch of songs at breakneck speed, clad in little black masks (kind of like Robin or the Green Hornet), with eerie light illuminating from the small orange pumpkin lights draping the drum kit. It was awesome! This show is definitely in my top 10 concerts I attended in my hometown. I know I've seen a "bootleg" live recording of the show on cassette at a record show in the 90's, but haven't been able to find a copy.

The other time I saw the Hoodoo Gurus was at the University of Manitoba during their "Frosh Week" in early September 1991. The band was on tour to promote their latest album, Kinky and though I saw them only two years prior, the main reason I went to the concert was because the Young Fresh Fellows were the opening band. I was already a hardcore Fellows fan at this point, but I had never seen them live and I have to tell you, this show changed my life. The Fellows were amazing, Tad's extra long swinging cymbal, Kurt bouncing uncontrollably around the stage and all the songs sounded even better live. I can't remember what songs they played or for how long they played, but I was in awe from start to finish during their set. I remember during their set, the Smugglers (who were suppose to be the first opening band and were on tour with the Fellows)) took to the stage to play a couple of their songs with the Fellows equipment and I thought, WOW, who does that? Apparently, (according to Grant Lawrence's book, Dirty Windshields: The Best And The Worst of the Smugglers Tour Diaries) when the Hoodoo Gurus road manager saw the gig poster advertising three bands, he demanded one of the openers be dropped because the fine print of the Hoodoo Gurus contract stated only one opener. Lawrence acknowledged that the Fellows offered the kind gesture of inviting them on stage during their set, a classy act. There's a great part in the book about the huge, expansive rider (food, booze) the Gurus had in their dressing room and how a couple of the Fellows completely trashed the room to teach them a lesson for their "egotism". By the time the Hoodoo Gurus played it seemed anti-climatic after the Fellows set and kinda wish the Smugglers played their own set because the energy level of the Gurus couldn't compare to what we had seen already. There was nothing wrong with the Hoodoo Gurus, I'm sure it was great, but it got me itching to see the Young Fresh Fellows again, hopefully as the headliner. Another highlight of the evening was having an impromptu conversation with Scott McCaughey of the Fellows after their set, thus elevating this show to my personal top 10.

Since I couldn't find the recording for the first show (1989), I do have a Hoodoo Gurus show shortly after their show in Winnipeg on the same tour (1991) and so happens to be at the First Avenue in Minneapolis, a short 7 hour drive south of the Peg. Apparently, this live recording has been in circulation, (yes, and you can purchase this on Amazon, but don't!) and the sound quality is from a FM broadcast and captures the live sound of the Hoodoo Gurus well. A nice sounding show from the Kinky tour, as they play a good mix of newer material along with Guru classics. The Hoodoo Gurus are scheduled to tour the U.S. in October and November and it would be very cool to see them live again. No dates in Minneapolis and during these troubling times, who knows if the tour will go ahead as planned. Fingers crossed!
Enjoy!

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HOODOO GURUS
First Avenue
Minneapolis, MN
October 9, 1991
Radio Broadcast

01. Intro
02. A Place In the Sun
03. Arthur
04. Another World
05. Brainscan
06. Too Much Fun
07. Dig It Up
08. Desiree
09. Death In The Afternoon
10. Death Defying
11. Come Anytime
12. Middle Of The Land
13. 1000 Miles Away
14. Miss Freelove '69
15. Axegrinder
16. Leilani
17. SOS
18. Stomp The Tumbarumba
19. Highway Star
20. Today Your Love Tomorrow The World
21. Bittersweet
22. What's My Scene
23. I Was A Kamikaze Pilot
24. Like Wow-Wipeout
25. I Think You know
26. The Generation Gap

HOODOO GURUS- 1991-10-09 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN FLAC. rar