Even though he has mostly recovered from decades of untreated schizophrenia, Roky Erickson remains an elusive figure in rock and roll. Sure, he's one of the few artists featured on Nuggets still working much less touring. A few years ago, I caught him on a fluke show, a anniversary show in Louisville that the psychedelic pioneer headlined. At the time, a full tour seemed far-fetched at best.
Well, there's no need to imagine it now - Nancy bought tickets, so joined an atypical Exit/In crowd when. Erickson and a new band, the Hounds of Baskerville, descended upon Nashville. The opener, Nude Beach, blazed through some affable punk-pop numbers, and proved better than anticipated. They played a short set, took their bow and let the audience simmer for the main course.
With a low blues rumble and the band chanting his name, Erickson lumbered out looking haggard, guitar in hand and a slight smile escaping from his voluminous alpine beard. He only sang, not a surprise since he's not known for crowd banter. Considering the unbelievable curves of his career, it was a triumph for him to undertake such a tour. .
Erickson's pipes were in strong form, even if the occasional lyric slipped out too late or too soon. He cruised his 1980s standards (Cold Night for Alligators, Starry Eyes, Don't Slander Me) and the six-member picked him up whenever he stumbled. These songs really didn't need four guitarists, but they didn't hurt either.
Split evenly between Erickson's three phases (13th Floor Elevators, horror-driven punk-rock, latter-day roots rock), Erickson's history felt like an alternative history of rock and roll, with threads of psychedelia, punk and Americana woven throughout. The punkier material comes from Erickson's lost years, and often sounds like the vampires and zombies are stand-ins for the real-life horrors Erickson underwent in a Texas mental hospital.
Unlike the Louisville set, Roky leaned more toward The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators and the True Love Cast Out All Evil. From the latter, his album with Austin's Okkervil River, Erickson went the poignant route on Goodbye Sweet Dreams and with a gruff, garage-rock vibe on John Lawman,
Erickson played most of Psychedelic Sounds' first side. Everything quieted down for Splash 1 (Now I'm Home), one of the Elevators' gentlest numbers. He also found space for rollicking numbers like Reverberation and Roller Coaster. Granted, Erickson's voice bears only passing resemblance to the one put to tape 45 years ago. It has evolved in a unique, twangy growl that still reels in snippets of melody. Plus, the solid, adoring band never let him falter.
An early start to Thursday pushed us out the door before Erickson finish, and I knew we missed You're Gonna Miss Me. Erickson accidentally hit the opening chords earlier in the set, but along with the band, jumped into another song. The garage-rock gem stuck in my head the entire drive home, along a half-dozen unexpected treats Erickson rolled out at the Exit/In.
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