Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby

November 2, 2014
The Hamilton
Washington, DC
USA

Opened for Ian Hunter & The Rant Band

Lostbrook 2.0 Volume 76

Source: CA-14(cards)>CA-9200>Sony M10(24/48)
Location: 20' from stage, dead center

Transfer: Micro SDHC>PC>Sound Forge 9.0(normalize, resample, dither, track)>
WAV 16/44.1>Trader's Little Helper>FLAC(level 8)

Taper/Transfer: Lostbrook
Covers: ethiessen1

01 The Downside Of Being A Fuck-up (4:54)
02 Don't Break The Heart (3:51)
03 Another Drive-in Saturday (3:38)
04 Til The Wheels Fall Off (6:58)
05 (I'd Go The) Whole Wide World> (3:21)
06 Dancing With Joey Ramone (5:01)
07 Days Of Jack & Jill> (3:31)
08 Genovese Bag (5:08)

Wreckless Eric - electric guitar, vocals
Amy Rigby - acoustic guitar, vocals

I had never heard of this duo - further proof that the rock I've been living under is likely a boulder. I was quite impressed with the intensity of their lyrics, harmonies, and songwriting. I knew I would have a hard time describing them so I asked ethiessen1 to listen to the recording and write an intro if he felt inspired. It turns out he is a man of many talents:


"How does an American singer songwriter from Pittsburgh end up married to and performing with an English rock and roll/new wave singer songwriter famous for one of the best punk rock singles of all time, the 1977 single "(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World?" It's a long story, perhaps best told over a pint whilst listening to Lostbrook's recording (see a little background further down the page below).

What do they sound like together you might ask? Well, you'd be excused if you thought this is what we would have gotten had Elvis Costello remained a little more snotty and punkish when he married Diana Krall and she then decided to quit playing jazz piano and start rockin'. After all, the 1st song Eric & Amy sing here is "The Downside Of Being A Fuck-up." The most obvious thing is their voices sparring and dancing over his electric guitar as it drones and sketches the backgrounds to their lyrical stories, not unlike Declan Patrick MacManus himself as he sang over Steve Nieve's keyboards back in the day. There's a little punkish sloppiness, a few vocal harmonies, a good bit of good ol' rock n roll, perhaps a few truths, but mostly a very entertaining evening as the "Apprentice American" who eats coal plays along with his lady from "Pissburgh," warming up the crowd for Ian Hunter.


A little background (liberally borrowed for the most part from Wikipedia):

'Wreckless Eric (Eric Goulden) was born in Newhaven, East Sussex. He is best known as one of the original members of the late 1970s Stiff Records artist roster, along with Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, and Nick Lowe.

His debut album Wreckless Eric, released in March 1978, was a Top 50 hit on the UK Albums Chart. But, by the time his second album with Stiff Records, The Wonderful World of Wreckless Eric came out, he was pushed by the punk record label to openly display the effect of his alcohol intake. Not necessarily the type of man a woman would bring home to meet Mom & Dad.

In 1989, he signed to New Rose Records as Eric Goulden, released the homemade Le Beat Group Electrique with bassist Andr� Barreau and drummer Catfish Truton. This same year he moved to France, in a quiet countryside corner where he stayed for about ten years. By the time he made this move to the vineyard country, he had already ended his 'career of full-time alcoholic.'

Amy Rigby was born in Pittsburgh and moved to New York City in 1976. She married dB's drummer Will Rigby in the 1980s, and during the late 1980s and early 1990s recorded with New York bands such as The Shams and Last Roundup. Her solo career began in 1996. She openly claims a lasting punk rock influence to her music.

In 1999 Rigby moved to Nashville to pursue a publishing deal, and continued to record and tour. She later relocated to Cleveland, and in late 2006 moved to France with her second husband, Wreckless Eric. In the fall of 2011 they relocated to the USA, moving to a town in upstate New York. They have recorded together since 2008.'

Their 1st album had a sound that was described as including 'lots of strummed acoustic guitars, insistent and melodic bass lines and atmospherics created by vintage keyboards, synthesizers, processed electric guitars and electronic effects.' This recording of their performance is much better than that, in fact with some of the same songs (Another Drive-in Saturday and The Downside Of Being A Fuck-up)."



Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show: