The Tubes - 04-17-77 Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco (2cd)

Review by Bill Kopp

The criminally underrated Tubes could really never catch a break until they gave up on a large chunk of what made them special. Their live concerts of the 1970s were legendary. But nobody knew how to classify them. "Comedy groups" just didn't sell in great numbers, and the Tubes' irreverent, borderline-softcore-porn schtick kept them from being taken seriously. Yet they were a tight, inventive unit, and even without all the props and choreography they were a thing to behold. Always sensational (in every sense of the word), though sometimes even the crowd didn't know what to do with them.

This 2CD soundboard recording (mostly likely a monitor mix; the audience is barely in evidence) features the group playing to a hometown crowd. A rarity, the set list is comprised mostly of songs from their Now album. As with all things Tubular, lotsa fun.

Difficulty to Locate: 3 out of 10
General Listenability: 9 out of 10

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