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Wino Wednesday: Saint Vitus Live at Hung Jury Pub, July 12, 1987

Posted in Bootleg Theater on July 10th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

This week’s Wino Wednesday clip was recorded almost 26 years ago to the day. On July 12, 1987, Saint Vitus played Washington, D.C.’s Hung Jury Pub, and the entirety of their just-under-hour-long set was captured on video tape.

The band would’ve been touring at that point on the heels of their classic third album, 1986’s Born too Late, and about to release their follow-up single, the Black Flag cover, Thirsty and Miserable. That song is played, as are “White Stallions,” “War is Our Destiny,” the shuffling “H.A.A.G.” and a host of other classics. Here’s the full setlist:

Clear Windowpane
Dying Inside
Look Behind You
Thirsty and Miserable
War is Our Destiny
Born too Late
White Stallions
H.A.A.G
Darkness
Saint Vitus

Some things to note as you make your way through: Dave Chandler takes a raging, noise-soaked solo after “H.A.A.G.” that’s not to be missed, and at one point between songs, Wino asks someone named Chris for more vocals in the monitor. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was Chris Kozlowski, who’s engineered recordings for Pentagram and Blue Cheer and countless others and been a figure in the Maryland doom scene pretty much since before there was one. I don’t know if Kozlowski ever worked at the Hung Jury Pub, but it would make sense one way or another for him to be doing sound for Vitus. They sound great, so that also speaks to the possibility.

Either way, I decided to roll with this clip because last night, Saint Vitus reported that drummer Henry Vasquez and guitarist Dave Chandler have started working on new material. They posted a picture to Thee Facebooks to mark the occasion:

These 2 started working on new Saint Vitus today and spit out first 2 tracks of DOOM!!!!

With that kind good news, there was no way I wasn’t going to post something from the band for Wino Wednesday. Great to see the response to last year’s Lillie: F-65 was strong enough to encourage the band to continue, and it must be validating for Chandler particularly to discover that, indeed, it took the rest of the underground about a quarter-century to catch up to what he was doing.

New Vitus in 2014? Needless to say, I’ll be keeping an eye out. In the meantime, enjoy this one:

Saint Vitus, Live at Hung Jury Pub, July 12, 1987 (Full Show)

NOTE: On a Vitus-related tip, I’ll be hosting a track stream next Monday from the forthcoming remastered version of 1992’s C.O.D.. Something to keep a lookout for if you’re a fan of the band.

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