SCREAMING LIFE: Jared Swilley of the Black Lips
Photos by Andrew Parks
It’s a good thing the Black Lips and King Khan are clearly friends. Otherwise, Khan would’ve gotten clocked for stealing much of the band’s show Sunday–as raucous and randy as it was despite the wide, unforgiving open spaces of McCarren Pool. As you’ll see by the shots below, the Shrines frontman/BBQ partner spent most of the Lips show on stage and in the photo pit, committing such random acts of “look at me!” stupidity as tearing apart a pillow case and covering his matted head in an impromptu Klan hood. (Whether this was actually a bit of biting social commentary or an attempt at a low-budget ghost costume remains unclear.)
Antics aside, the Lips reminded s/t why we put them on our first magazine cover and still aren’t sick of seeing such gutter rock jams as “Not a Problem,” “Stranger,” “Katrina,” and the downright anthemic “Bad Kids.” (One small complaint: “M.I.A.” and “Time of the Scab” need to bounce their way back into the band’s set lists stat, replacing such kill-joy cuts as “Hippie, “Hippie, Hoorah” and “Veni Vidi Vici.”)
Enjoy and be sure to let us know what you think of self-titled‘s in-depth story on the group’s rather long history …
[L to R: Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, King Khan, a lizard, and Cole Alexander of Black Lips]
