Primavera Sound Recap: Condo Fucks

(Condo Fucks pic by flickr user alessandra luvisotto)

Who are these upstarts, and how'd they get such gnarly guitar tones?  Until very recently, The Condo Fucks were the New London CT trio behind the regional hit "Fuckin' Gary Sandy"; now they're being flown to sexy Mediterranean locales to play for thousands of screaming European ravers.  What gives?!

Their story is told elsewhere, and often with entertaining attempts at figuring out the true identities of these masked pottymouths.  The trio of Georgia Condo (drums), Kid Condo (guitar), and James McNew (bass) are, of course, Yo La Tengo, the internet smugly declares.  I ain't buying it.

Well, they sure ripped the joint at this year's Primavera Sound Festival.  With the sun slowly going down behind them, they commenced with a bash, burn and holler that didn't let up for 47 minutes.  Kid Condo scorched the air with tones so overheated they could've cooked the meat-drums pummeled to tenderness by Georgia.  On songs like The Electric Eels' "Accident" and Roxy Music's "Remake/Remodel", James McNew (also of the group Dump) shredded his throat to a fine garnish.  By the time it was all over, I felt like I'd been living for a month behind the couch in their rehearsal cave; and when I feel that way, I like to share it.  As broadcast live at the start of our Barcelona broadcast day on Sunday May 29th, here's their entire searing set.

Read on for the set list, some treats, and a contest!

Setlist:

• "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" (Small Faces)
• "Love Songs In The Night" (The Left Banke)
• "Last Time Around" (Del-Vetts / Undertones)
• "Tiger In Your Tank" (Muddy Waters)
• "I Want You to Be My Girl" (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers)
  
• "Accident" (Electric Eels)
• "When the Lights Are Out" (Slade)
• "Bangkok" (Alex Chilton)
• "So Easy Baby" (Zantees)
• "Baskets of Love" (Fuzztones)
• ???
• "The Kid With the Replaceable Head" (Richard Hell)
• "Dog Meat" (Flamin' Groovies)
• "Come On Up" (Young Rascals)
• "Remake / Remodel" (Roxy Music)

Couldn't get 'em all, but I've got a bumper sticker for the first person to correctly identify the mystery track.

Check the WFMU archives for the Condo Fucks live performance on Joe Belock's 3-Chord Monte

Other episodes in this Primavera recap series on BoTB: Superchunk, The Slits, The Clean, Van Dyke Parks, Pavement, Michael Rother & Friends play Neu! and Harmonia, Almighty Defenders

Comments

[gloppin]

last one is flamin groovies "dog meat"

[K.]

What, no love for Gary Numan??? Come on, fess up now.

[Scott]

Thanks Gloppin, email me at scott at wfmu dot org and we'll arrange for your sticker delivery.

[Zoroaestres]

Thanks for posting this stream... it's super duper!

Track 5 is an old Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers song called "I Want You to Be My Girl", Georgia-ized to "I Want You to Be My Boy."

#11, no frickin' idea...

[Scott]

Thanks Zoroaestres! Do what I told Gloppin to do and I'll hook you up with your winnings.

[Smog Vomit]

Isn't Baskets of Love actually Frenzy (The Fugs)?

[Robert Manfred]

I never got those crazy Yo La Tengo kids. all their records sound like poor versions of someone else's....
Their best record is Facebook, it's all covers!
I think they're like a Yank version of Scotland's The Pastels, is that fair?
Always promising more, but ultimately not very satisfying musically.

[Scott]

Hmmm, I suppose that's fair enough Robert Manfred - I say as a fan of both bands. I might put it a different way: unquestionably YLT wear their influences boldly- their obsessive music-fandom is a pretty defining characteristic of their band. As for promising more than they give, I'd also qualify that as a good thing. Keeps the complacency away, no? And ultimately I do find them satisfying; they do play plenty of games w/ nods and references for the music geeks among us to point at and feel self-satisfied in our geekiness, but more importantly they successfully assimilate everything into a whole identity that's honest, human, and way beyond pastiche.

[alessandra luvisotto]

i loves that you guys used my picture! so very proud! =)

[london apartments for rent]

Their story is told elsewhere, and often with entertaining attempts at figuring out the true identities of these masked pottymouths.