Cock ESP has been performing since 1993 (or 4?), and in my opinion, their influence on noise bands in America cannot be overstated. They pioneered the 1-minute set, the play-everything-until-it-breaks approach, and they championed absurdity and self-deprecation at a time when the noise scene was dominated by themes of fascism and misogyny. When most others making noise were sporting black leather trench coats they wore chicken and donkey costumes. Their performance style lies at the Venn Diagram intersection of the Hanatarash, Jackass, and backyard wrestling.
In keeping with this approach, they've also edited highlights from their shows and adventures into an extremely dense series of short videos. The video above covers the period of 1993-1999 in 5 and a half minutes, and may actually be the tamest of the series! I'll place the rest below the fold. The videos cover 15 years in about 36 minutes. (The last few years have not yet been included) This might be the most entertaining 36 minutes of live music footage you can watch. You may wonder how the band members survived all this. It should probably also go without saying that you may see some very Not Safe For Work things in this video series.
Cock ESP 2000-2001
Cock ESP 2002
Cock ESP 2003
Cock ESP 2004-2005
Cock ESP 2006-2008
You can see a ridiculously thorough list of performances with notes on which are included in these videos at the Cock ESP website here.
ha ha, i was in Cock ESP just b4 they were called that...in a band called Maximum Protein.
Posted by: edgertor | October 16, 2011 at 11:24 AM
When I first published this it actually had a typo where the first sentence read: "their influence on noise bands in America cannot be UNDERstated." I almost left it that way, since it seemed like the kind of statement Cock ESP might put in their own press kit, but then decided to "fix" the error.
Posted by: MP Lockwood | October 16, 2011 at 06:44 PM
GREAT post, great video, THANK YOU, but what is that crap playing behind it? Is it a mistake?
Posted by: boil | October 16, 2011 at 10:34 PM
their "Christmas In July" show/video from 2010 is incredible if you feel like exploring further...
Posted by: Arvo | October 18, 2011 at 07:36 AM