STICK AGAINST STONE / The Oregon Bootleg Tapes – Live (MediaGroove)

This is probably not the best place to make first contact with Stick Against Stone – a forgotten art-punk band from Oregon – but chance made it my first contact. This band never recorded a proper album in its day, but since 2010 they have released a handful of archival documents. The Oregon Bootleg Tapes culls excerpts from two July 1985 concerts recorded on... a camcorder. Do I need to tell you that sound quality is mediocre? The band’s performance is not, though. A blend of punk, world beat (lots of percussives) and funk (horns), with a gifted and rather creative female with an attitude, Sari Morninghawk. It reminds a bit of James Chance and Pere Ubu crossed with Fela Kuti. Fun stuff, but they probably have better-sounding material out there.