In episode 29 of Hooked on Creek, I review Max Creek’s performance on September 26, 2008, at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island.
A live recording of this entire Max Creek performance is available to stream or download here.
Episode 29 transcription
You’re listening to Hooked on Creek, a podcast celebrating the music, history and fans of the legendary jam band Max Creek. I am your host, Korre Johnson, and you are listening to episode 29.
Thank you for joining me on episode 29 of Hooked on Creek. In this episode, I am going to discuss Max Creek’s performance at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, back on September 26, 2008. You can find a direct link to stream or download the entire Max Creek show I am reviewing in the episode show notes, or simply head over to hookedoncreek.com. And while you are there, click the contact link and let me know what you think. I am always looking for recommendations on topics to cover or Max Creek shows to feature in this podcast.
But before I dig into today’s show, I want to acknowledge some really exciting news. Long-time listeners of this podcast might have picked up that I have never actually seen Max Creek in person. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was lucky enough to see Scott Murawski perform with Mike Gordon back in 2017. And it was that Mike Gordon show that sparked by curiosity and led me down the path toward discovering Max Creek and ultimately developing this podcast as a way to stay connected to the music. Because let’s face it, Max Creek is never going to tour through Milwaukee. But now I am excited to let you know that I am going to Camp Creek! Yes, that’s right. I purchased tickets and I am flying out to finally see Max Creek for the first time this September. So if you are going to Camp Creek this year, please let me know. I would love to meet you in real life. OK, enough about me, now let’s get started.
It was a was a beautiful evening with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60s outside Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel back on September 26, 2008. But on that night, inside this historic live music venue, Max Creek was turning up the heat. The band set into motion 14 awe-inspiring songs, delivered through one set of music, plus an encore, for the Creek Freaks gathered in Providence, Rhode Island, that night.
So first off, I am going to run through the entire set list, and then I will dig a little deeper to explain what to listen for and what I love about this show.
OK, so the show kicks off with You Let Me Down Again which is followed by a 17-minute-long Big Boat. Then we get a Wild Side that spans just over 16 minutes, before transitioning into a nearly a 15-minute-long version of Just A Rose.
That is followed by a cover of Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) which transitions into 14-and-a-half-minute version of Blood Red Roses. Up next is Outside Of Home, which also clocks in around 14 and a half minutes, and the band then transitions into a cover of After Midnight before heading into a cover of Ashes Of Love.
After those first nine songs, Max Creek plays a huge 18-minute version of Leaves, which then transitions into a nearly eight-minute-long jam segment framed around Just a Rose from earlier in the set, but then that jam resolves in a cover of For What It’s Worth. And then the show concludes with two more covers, ending the set with Freeborn Man, and Cities for the encore
There are plenty of musical highlights and delicious jams in this show. So what should you listen for? Well, are are a few things.
First, is that massive 17-minute-long version of Big Boat that showcases everything Max Creek can do when they decide to open themselves up and lay it all out. And while Big Boat is certainly not a stranger to extended jams, I think this version is something special, given its exploratory and psychedelic qualities. Through the beginning verses of the song, Mark’s vocals are playful and seem to dance gracefully through the rhythm. But it’s about eight and a half minutes into the song when thing get really interesting. The jam that emerges from here is pure bliss, conjuring eidetic images in my brain, flush with color, sewn through the tapestry of billions upon billions of neurons, dazed into submission by the relentless seduction of each passing musical note. And about 14 minutes into this song, with a slowly emerging vision of what appears to be final destination in sight, the music begins to recenter on the theme of the song, allowing the majesty of this incredible jam to become fully recognizable. Love it. Love it. Love it.
OK, Another thing I love about this show is their performance of Wild Side. Honestly, I think this version of Wild Side ranks pretty high on my list of favorite versions of this song. From the start, I think it glistens, encapsulating the beauty and charm of this immensely classic Creek tune through a stunning vocal performance by John. And I particularly like how the song transition from a happy and cheerful tone to an adventurous and sometimes mysterious tone over the course of the song. You can hear the beginnings of the gradual transition about 6 minutes and 30 seconds into the song. Here, among the swirling waves of music, a new current seems to emerge, pulling the band into deeper waters and advancing the music into uncharted territories. Eventually, the music breaks free from its temporal turnstile, and the current washes us on the shores of a virgin world. And now, with our hands clutched and eyes blinded, the music flows with disarming wonder as the sonic landscape presents itself in saturated grandeur. I think this Wild Side is a treat every Max Creek fans needs to taste..
And then deeper into the set, the 14-and-a-half-minute-long Outside of Home is really special. I can only imagine what it must have been like to stand in the audience and bathe in the emotion that poured out from Scott and his guitar. This is intensified beautifully as the song is stripped down to just Scott playing by himself for nearly the first half the song. As the song progresses, the other members of the band join him, one by one, first by Greg Vasso on the drums, then later Mark and finally John. And when everything, and everyone, comes together, the band arranges a stunning transition jam that sets up a gripping cover of After Midnight.
And then, later in the set, the 33-minute-long stretch of songs from Leaves into the Just a Rose jam into the cover of For What It’s Worth, is also a major highlight of the show. And, there is something I hear in this version of Leaves — but it appears elsewhere in the show, too, — it’s a stylistic approach to the guitar by Scott that, to me, sounds similar to David Gilmour from Pink Floyd. I mean, I hear it particularly in Scott’s solos that feature a lot of string bends and perhaps it is reinforced by how Scott had his guitar tone dialed in for this show. I am curious to know if you hear it, too. So when you listen back to this show, please let me know.
Alright, so those were just a few things that stood out to me which I think make this September 26, 2008, performance so special. But now I want to shift gears and talk a bit more about all the cover songs the band performed during this show, starting with Big Boat. Now this song was originally written by Willie Dixon back in 1951 and recorded by his group the Big Three Trio under the song name Tell That Woman. And of course Big Boat first appeared on Max Creek’s debut album in 1977. But owners of that Max Creek record will notice the song Big Boat is credited to W. Nelson, not W. Dixon, as it should have been. In a Facebook post from Mark last year, he explained that discrepancy on their 1977 album by essentially saying they screwed up, but they got the W right. I think we can all forgive the band. It was still pretty early in their career.
This show also includes a cover of Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) by Sly and the Family Stone that was first recorded back in 1969. And, After Midnight, a song originally written by J. J. Cale that he first recorded back in 1966, but that song of course became more widely known through Eric Clapton’s interpretation of the song.
Max Creek also performed a cover of Ashes of Love, which I played earlier during the introduction to this episode. Ashes of Love is a song written by Jack Anglin, Jim Anglin and Johnnie Wright, that was first recorded by the band Johnnie & Jack back in 1951. Max Creek also covered For What It’s Worth, a song written by Stephen Stills that was originally performed and recorded by Buffalo Springfield back in 1966.
And the band covered Freeborn Man, a song written by Mark Lindsay and Keith Allison that was first recorded back in 1967. And finally, Max Creek also covered the song Cities, a tune written by the Talking Heads first released on their 1979 album Fear of Music.
Enough talking. Now let’s play some of the music from this incredible show. First up, you are going hear Big Boat, and that will be followed by Wild Side and then finally I’ve included Leaves from this show. This is Max Creek performing live at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 26, 2008.
Next up, this is Wild Side. This is Max Creek performing Leaves.
And that concludes my review of Max Creek’s performance on September 26, 2008, at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island. You can stream or download this Max Creek show on archive.org, just take a look in the episode show notes for a direct link. And if you have feedback about this episode or recommendations for future episodes, visit hookedoncreek.com and click the contact link to send me a message. And of course, send me a message if you are going to Camp Creek. I would love to meet you. Thanks for tuning in.