This is pretty early on for The Hidden Hand. I’m not sure of the venue — The Velvet Lounge, maybe? — but this version of “Desensitized” would’ve just about coincided with the release of the 7″ that broke the song up into two parts and was their first release prior to making their their full-length debut with Divine Propaganda on MeteorCity that same year. There seems to be some discrepancy as to when the first The Hidden Hand show actually was. Respected taper TNTFreedooM, who show this week’s clip and is responsible for many more that have been featured here in the past has it listed that their live debut was March 23, 2003, and yet in the Megabox there are videos dated before that, one from Feb. 2003 and one from New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2002. That’s the earliest show I can find, but whether or not it was actually the first, I can’t be sure.

Last week I posted a mystery wondering if it was Scott Reeder or Guy Pinhas playing with The Obsessed and pretty immediately got schooled in the variations on the two bass players, the upshot being that, indeed, it was Pinhas. I’ve no doubt somebody out there was at the first The Hidden Hand show, whether it was that New Year’s gig or one before it, and would be able to enlighten me and anyone else who might be wondering. Either way, this version of “Desensitized,” preceded by a bit of technical difficulties from bassist/vocalist Bruce Falkinburg that results in two false starts from Wino and drummer Dave Hennessy, is pretty early into their tenure, which would come to an end in 2007 following the release of their third album, The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote.

And of course, “Desensitized” would later be re-recorded for The Hidden Hand‘s second album, 2004’s Mother Teacher Destroyer, which is usually regarded as the high point of the band. It is as signature a riff as The Hidden Hand had, and I hope you enjoy this version and have a great Wino Wednesday:

The Hidden Hand, “Desensitized” Live in Washington, D.C., May 10, 2003

No lie, part of the reason I picked this clip of The Obsessed playing “The Way She Fly” at the Downtown Performance Center in Tucson, Arizona, on July 31, 1992, was for the comedic value. I watched the whole thing front to back — it’s two minutes long, so not a major commitment time-wise, but still — and there’s no shot of the bass player. None. Most of the thing is Wino cam. It’s hilarious, and almost a little creepy, but you never see the bassist in the video, and even the shots of drummer Greg Rogers seem sort of happenstance, like from where the camera is positioned, you have to catch him on a wider shot to see Wino playing guitar and singing. I had to laugh.

Seeing nothing but the bassist’s headstock — and that only intermittently — is of particular interest since I’m not sure who was in the band at that time. Scott Reeder played on 1991’s Lunar Womb alongside Wino and Rogers, but either before or after this was filmed in 1992, he left the band and joined up with Kyuss, replacing Nick Oliveri (who now may or may not have his own project going with Wino, called Royale Daemons), only to have his spot on The Obsessed filled by Guy Pinhas. But I don’t know the exact date on when Reeder departed The Obsessed or if it’s him or Pinhas or someone else playing this show, so yeah, nearly 23 full years later, it might’ve been helpful if whoever shot this clip had at any point seen fit to pan a little bit to the left. No dice.

Sometimes you just gotta toss your hands up and shrug, and if you need me, that’s what I’ll be doing. “The Way She Fly,” which is almost complete here, comes off The Obsessed‘s 1990 self-titled full-length debut. Mark Laue played bass on it, if you’re wondering. Enjoy and have a great Wino Wednesday:

The Obsessed, “The Way She Fly” Live in Tucson, Arizona, July 31, 1992

I saw Saint Vitus on this tour. They played the St. Vitus bar in Brooklyn just a couple nights before this Denver, Colorado, show on Oct. 3, 2012. It was one of the best shows I was ever lucky enough to catch, so to find them in top form as they run through this rendition of Black Flag‘s “Thirsty and Miserable” isn’t really much of a surprise. Having released their awaited return album, Lillie: F-65 (review here), earlier in the year on Season of Mist, they were riding high at that point, their on-stage reunion having been going for about three years since initially making their return at Roadburn in 2009. They were a sight to behold there as well.

Since this is, rather unbelievably, the first time I’m writing about Vitus in 2015, I’ll say that the big question concerning the band now is whether or not they’ll follow-up Lillie: F-65 with another studio album. Guitarist Dave Chandler put out word in July 2013 that he and drummer Henry Vasquez were working on new material, but I’ve yet to hear of anything newer than the last record being played live, and though the band has done a couple reissues through Season of Mist, there’s been no real update on progress for what would be their ninth outing. Last Fall, when Wino was arrested in Norway near the end of Saint Vitus‘ 35th anniversary European tour and subsequently entered rehab, he made a statement that noted several projects in the works. A new Vitus record was not one of them.

Chandler, Vasquez and bassist Mark Adams finished the last several shows of that tour as a three-piece, and while a new photo of the band hoisting liquor bottles in unified toast was posted on Feb. 1, I don’t actually know when it was taken or what their plans are moving forward. An air of mystery, perhaps, and obviously that feeds fan intrigue, but it would be cool to get some kind of advisory or status update from Saint Vitus, just to figure out where they’re at.

I’ll keep my eye out. For now, enjoy this multi-cam capture of “Thirsty and Miserable” from Denver and have a great Wino Wednesday:

Saint Vitus, “Thirsty and Miserable” Live in Denver, CO, Oct. 3, 2012

Their tenure was brief, but even six years later I can’t look at a clip of the three-piece Wino solo band without wondering what could’ve been had they kept going. With Scott “Wino” Weinrich on guitar and vocals, Clutch‘s Jean-Paul Gaster on drums and Rezin bassist Jon Blank, the group were a classic power trio. Hardly Wino‘s first, with The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand under his belt by then, but the flowing, swinging style of Gaster suited Wino‘s guitar exceptionally well, and Blank held the songs together while solos both stringed and percussive took flight in this or that direction, making sure the two star players had somewhere to return when the song needed to kick back in. On stage, they were dizzying, and 2009’s Punctuated Equilibrium album remains a favorite to this day.

You know the story by now. The Wino trio went to Europe, conquered at festivals like Roadburn and Doom Shall Rise, returned to the States on top of the world and were effectively ended immediately with the death of Blank following a heroin overdose. It was sudden and brutal, and it’s essentially become part of the legacy of the band. Wino went on to do acoustic solo work, Shrinebuilder, the short-lived Premonition 13, the collaboration with Conny Ochs and reunions with Saint Vitus, The Obsessed and Spirit Caravan, Gaster went back to Clutch, and that was it. There was the 2010 Live at Roadburn 2009 release (review here), but there’s been no further mention since of the Wino trio or Wino and Gaster working together in any capacity. It happened faster than you could snap your fingers.

This week’s Wino Wednesday clip comes from just before that European tour. It’s a balcony shot at Washington D.C.’s famed 9:30 Club of Punctuated Equilibrium instrumental “The Woman in the Orange Pants,” and you can already see how well the three players mesh on stage, Gaster‘s fills wrapping around the spaces between Wino‘s power chords and Blank serving as the anchor for all three of them. Very cool band, very sad story, but there’s no denying the power they had on stage, and that’s worth celebrating.

Enjoy:

Wino, “The Woman in the Orange Pants” Live at the 9:30 Club, April 11, 2009

Spirit Caravan‘s reunion last year earned them no shortage of love on both their US and European tours, and while that will no doubt continue in 2015 as the band comes together to headline gigs like the inaugural Maryland Doom Fest this June (info here) along with The Skull. The prospect of new material looms pretty large when it comes to Spirit Caravan. Their most recent outing, such as it is, is the 2003 MeteorCity compilation The Last Embrace, which culled together the bulk of their discography from their early singles as Shine on through to their final recorded tracks. That was, however, 12 years ago, and we’re even further removed from Spirit Caravan‘s classic 1999 debut, Jug Fulla Sun. What would become a landmark in Maryland-style heavy will be 16 this year — old enough to drive in some states — and while Wino certainly showed with Saint Vitus‘ 2012 reunion album, Lillie: F-65, that such outings can produce righteous results, particularly with Vitus/Spirit Caravan drummer Henry Vasquez propelling them, it remains to be seen whether Spirit Caravan will even get to the point of writing new material.

And it was three years before Vitus got to that point as well, so even if they do, there’s no guarantee such a thing would happen in 2015 or even 2016. That’s not to say it can’t — Wino‘s certainly a prolific enough cat, and one imagines bassist Dave Sherman would be on board despite his commitments with Weed is Weed and Earthride — but I’d rather err on the side of caution and call it unlikely than expect it and not have it show up. Fortunately, there’s enough documentation of both Spirit Caravan‘s reunion tours and their original run to get by in the meantime. We turn to the latter for this week’s Wino Wednesday, and find the original Spirit Caravan trio — Wino on guitar/vocals, Sherman on bass and Gary Isom on drums — live on stage at The 8×10 in Baltimore, Maryland. We don’t get the full set, or at least it looks that way since they’re tuning at the end of the video as opposed to breaking down the backline, but it’s certainly enough time for them to get their point across in cuts like “Black Flower,” “Dreamwheel” and “Retroman.”

Enjoy:

Spirit Caravan, Live at The 8×10, Baltimore, Maryland, July 22, 2000

Last week, when I posted about Royale Daemons, a new trio featuring Scott “Wino” Weinrich, Nick Oliveri and Joey Castillo — whose debut show in L.A. got canceled; an auspicious start — I failed to make the connection of how the seeds of the collaboration between Wino and Oliveri likely started. Wino, playing acoustic, toured with Oliveri‘s band Mondo Generator at the start of 2013. Saviours were also on the bill, and at least during several of the gigs, Wino, Oliveri and some of the members of Saviours got on stage together and jammed. Seems likely that’s where the idea of Wino and Oliveri teaming up got its beginning. The same thing happened with Wino & Conny Ochs, the two having first met while on tour together in Europe.

“Hellbound Train” is a song that kicked around Wino solo sets and sets on the Wino & Conny Ochs tour for the better part of 2012 and 2013. He may or may not still play it, I haven’t seen an acoustic gig from him in a while at this point. Originally by Savoy Brown and appearing on the 1972 album of the same name, it’s open to a smooth guitar jam the kind of which the Wino/Oliveri/Saviours troupe provided, no fewer than three acoustic guitars involved along with Oliveri‘s electric bass and the drums. When that tour was winding down, I posted a full set from Pittsburgh in which the same kind of thing took place, noting at the time that a collaboration between Wino and Oliveri would be “awesome.” Glad to know my feelings on that have not changed in the intervening two years.

This weeks’ Wino Wednesday footage, however, is just the jam itself. It comes from Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago on Jan. 6, 2013, on the same tour and boasts another comfortable-sounding, engaging jam. The crowd seems to like it, if all the “woo”-ing is anything to go by.

Enjoy:

Wino, Nick Oliveri & Saviours, “Hellbound Train” live in Chicago, Jan. 6, 2013

Some exciting Wino-related news today in the announcement that he, former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri and former Danzig/Goatsnake/Queens of the Stone Age drummer Joey Castillo have teamed up in a new band called Royale Daemons. The trio will make their live debut this coming Sunday at the Complex in Glendale, California, along with acoustic sets from both Wino and Oliveri at what seems to be a matinee put on by Church of the 8th Day. Here’s the info:

[PLEASE NOTE: As per an update from Oliveri, the show has been canceled. More if/when I hear it.]

https://www.facebook.com/events/907190942647186/

That’s about all I know. The possibilities are pretty wide open for what kind of outfit Royale Daemons actually is — other than well-voweled — since Wino, Oliveri and Castillo have all proven over the years to be wildly versatile. Oliveri also debuted with his solo project Nick Oliveri’s Uncontrollable last year (streamed here), and how this might affect that, I’ve no idea. But whether it’s an acoustic thing, or a full-on heavy rock trio, something jammy, something doomed, or all or none of it, there’s no doubt this crew can handle whatever stylistic turns might come up. Needless to say, I’ll be looking for video next week from the show on Sunday, and whatever I find, I’ll pass along.

Until then, since Wino‘s also doing an acoustic set at the show, it made sense to me to hit up something from his initial solo run. The below clip comes from his European tour in 2010 supporting the Adrift album, and it’s the Motörhead cover “Iron Horse/Born to Lose” that’s been featured in Wino Wednesday probably more times than I can count at this point. This version from Belgium stands out not only for the performance, which is laid back and engaging, but for the setup Wino gives it, talking about seeing Sabbath in ’72, Alice Cooper Band and others and how it inspired his love of heavy rock and roll.

Hope you enjoy:

Wino, “Iron Horse/Born to Lose” live in Belgium, Oct. 10, 2010

This isn’t the first The Obsessed demo. Starting out as Warhorse in 1976 before switching to the lasting moniker the next year, the band already had at least two recordings prior to this one in 1980 and 1982, and there are other hints of things out there, live recordings and so on, that make the history even harder to chase down. Their self-titled debut was recorded around this time, and there was the whole thing with the lost Metal Blade album, so while I’d like to be able to speak with some authority about where/when this demo falls into place amid everything else, I’d only be pretending — as I think, would most others who attempted the same who weren’t actually involved in the band in some way.

That said, if anyone wants to donate a complete history of 1985 Promo Demo, I’m all ears. Seems likely to me this is compiled from different sources, but if you want to check out some raw versions of “Feelings,” “Kill Ugly Naked,” “Neatz Brigade” and “Mental Kingdom,” it’ll sort you out with all the tape hiss you can ask for. Still, even with only half the story told — the half that goes, “It’s a thing and it exists” — it’s worth a glimpse into the earlier doings of The Obsessed, and after you listen I doubt you’ll need me to point out how well these tracks have managed to hold up even as we hit the 30-year mark since they were put to tape.

With Spirit Caravan‘s reunion having taken such precedent last year, there wasn’t much word from The Obsessed throughout 2014, and I’m not sure how much that’ll change this year with the promise of a new Wino & Conny Ochs album and other projects on the horizon, but they”re always somewhere in the background, and as a vehicle for Wino to return to whenever he feels it’s right, they’ve proven a more than worthy home base.

Enjoy and have a great Wino Wednesday:

The Obsessed, 1985 Promo Demo