Xtc - Live Boots - Live At Emerald City 1981

Fakta XTC – Live at Emerald City, Cherry Hill New Jersey, 17 th April 1981 For all of the narrowness of its early period “Punk Rock" was an accommodating, if disgruntled young soul, finding room for former pub rockers, R&B revivalists, end of era glam rock types and older (usually) American fellow travellers alongside its itchy’n’scratchy, DIY, frequently shambolic, monotone sleeved 7" releases. It also provided a door ajar for others to push through who may have been enamoured of punk’s fresh attitude but who, whisper it, could actually play live, like ‘real musicians’. A then drummer from an entertaining & commercially successful first wave punk band was overheard telling his bandmates, with great suspicion, that Andy Partridge – with whom the band was sharing a stage that night – knew more than three chords, something of a crime in Punk circles. Fortunately for him, this was before the arrival of Dave Gregory whose ability would have given the Punk purist a more complete meltdown. The truth remained that the self-imposed narrowness of many early Punk bands led to their demise as the record industry looked to “New Wave" & later, “Post Punk" amid other descriptions to find both a broader audience & some projected longevity – especially necessary for success in the USA. Put simply, the bands that played best stood the best chance of survival. This suited XTC more than most. With a pair of - already accomplished - songwriters, a stable line-up of twin guitars/bass/drums since third album release “Drums and Wires", material from 4 albums and 10 single releases from which to choose and hundreds of gigs to their name, the band established a hard-earned reputation as one of the most powerful ‘must see/hear’ acts of the era, surely destined to join the elite live bands of the period.