Jon Langford and Sally Timms at Wild Honey Backyard, 5-22-22 Concert Review

Yesterday Jon Langford and Sally Timms of The Mekons did a special backyard show in Los Angeles, put on by the good folks of the Wild Honey Foundation. It was originally scheduled for January 23rd, but like a lot of things, it got pushed back because of the pandemic (remember, there was a surge at that time). Of course, the pandemic is not over, no matter how much we wish it were, and we got more proof of that when the opening act had to cancel because of COVID-19. So it was just The Mekons yesterday, which was fine with me. This is a band I wish someone had turned me onto back in the 1980s or 1990s, or even the early 2000s. It wasn’t until the release of the documentary film Revenge Of The Mekons that I learned about this phenomenal group. After that, I quickly became acquainted with as much of their material as I could acquire (there are still a few albums and several EPs that I need to complete my collection), and saw them in concert the first opportunity I had (which wasn’t until 2016). So, anyway, I had been looking forward to this special show for quite a while (since early December, when I purchased the tickets). When it was postponed in January, Jon Langford and Sally Timms still did an online show for those of us with tickets, which was very cool. Tickets, by the way, were twenty dollars, or forty dollars if you also wanted a meal included. When I made my purchase, all the twenty dollar tickets were gone, so I bought two at the forty dollar level. Profits from this performance will benefit the Wild Honey Foundation.

Jon Langford and Sally Timms were scheduled to go on at 2 p.m., and took the stage just before 2:15, which is as on time as you could possibly expect from two punk demigods. They opened the set with a beautiful cover of Alejandro Escovedo’s “Broken Bottle.” “That’s as good as it’s gonna get,” Jon told us afterward. Well, all right! Joining them for show were John Szymanski on guitar, and Martin Billheimer on harmonica. Jon introduced Martin as the “harmonica blues champion 1986-1987, unchallenged,” and added that he plays harmonica like Charles Bronson. Which led to his proposed storyline for Death Wish 16, and when that film is made it’s going to be brilliant. Well, they followed “Broken Bottle” with “1 2 3 4 Ever,” a tune with a great energy and a cool guitar hook. “Live for next week, live for last year.” Then Sally Timms sang lead on a cover of The Handsome Family’s “The Sad Milkman,” and everything was sounding so good. It was a beautiful afternoon for a backyard concert, and spirits were high among all of us who attended. Isn’t this what life is all about? Well, if not, it certainly should be.

“The Sad Milkman” is a song that Sally Timms included on her 1999 solo album, Cowboy Sally’s Twilight Laments… For Lost Buckaroos, and after they played it, she took a moment to mention that copies of that album were available on the merchandise table. A woman in the audience shouted out that she wanted to buy the specific copy that Sally was holding, and so she did. “Buy them for Christmas, give them to your friends,” Sally said. They then played “I Picked Up The Pieces,” a song that Jon and Sally wrote together, and a favorite of mine. During the song, Sally noticed a neighbor watching from across the face and said, “Remember us?” Because that special online show they did in January was performed on that stage as well. After the song, Sally said, “You were one of the only audience members the last time we were here.” Jon then mentioned the new Freakons album, which is full of mining songs, and from that they played “Abernant 84-85,” a song that was earlier included on The Mekons’ Fear And Whiskey album (where it is listed as “Abernant 1984/5”). I love this song. It was one they played the first time I saw The Mekons in 2016. They followed that with “Waltz,” first mentioning how it comes from The Curse Of The Mekons, an album that was “considered technically inferior” by the record label, as Jon told the crowd. He then added that he found a book on Paul’s shelf from 1983 that was also unkind to The Mekons, calling their work “rank amateurism.”

Jon announced they were going to do a fast one. Sally said there were a few fast ones on the set list, and then they’d go “back to the turgid, doom-laden rubbish that we’re known for.” I love that self-deprecating humor, but honestly cannot understand how anyone could do less than completely fall in love with this band. How are these guys not the most popular band in the known universe? Please explain that to me. Anyway, the song they played then was “Nashville Radio,” a totally fun one featuring some great stuff by John Szymanski on guitar. There was more excellent work on guitar on “Tom Jones Levitation,” which followed. Someone in the crowd responded, “Wow” at the end. Sally Timms agreed, “Wow indeed.” She then joked, “Five out of ten for effort, says Trouser Press.” They then delivered an excellent cover of John Anderson’s “Seminole Wind,” featuring some wonderful work on harmonica. Sally mentioned that song is included on her solo album available at the merchandise table. She was handed another copy of the disc to show the crowd, and she playfully rubbed it over herself, saying it’s “worth even more now, covered in my DNA; you could use it for a crime and then frame it on me.” Yes, there was a lot of laughter at this show. And yes, if you’re wondering, I bought that copy of the album. Not sure quite yet what sort of crimes I shall commit.

“Pill Sailor” was another of the set’s highlights, featuring strong vocal performances, excellent work on guitar, wonderful stuff on harmonica, and a bit of dancing from Jon at the end. Sally then delivered another strong and moving vocal performance on “Horses.” She then removed the kazoo from its little pouch attached to her microphone stand. “This is the moment you have been waiting for,” she acknowledged. “This might be a good time to use the bathroom,” Jon joked. And Sally took the joke to another level, saying “This will cause you to use the bathroom.” And they launched into “Hard To Be Human Again,” a crowd favorite, always fun, and featuring some delightful work on kazoo. Sally teased that the kazoo might work on the next song as well, but Jon, feigning alarm, told her no. And they went into “Sentimental Marching Song.” They then wrapped up the set with “Memphis, Egypt” (which was the song they opened with the first time I saw The Mekons). And as you might guess, the energy was high for this one. “Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late.” A fantastic song to conclude the set. But of course they weren’t quite done. They started the encore with a Waco Brothers song, “Plenty Tough-Union Made,” which was a request. Sally Timms took out the kazoo again for this one, and it was a lot of fun. They followed that with “Wild & Blue,” another wonderful song from The Curse Of The Mekons, featuring more work on kazoo. The show ended with a cover of Joe Strummer’s “X-Ray Style.” Can you imagine a better afternoon?

Set List

1. Broken Bottle
2. 1 2 3 4 Ever
3. The Sad Milkman
4. I Picked Up The Pieces
5. Abernant 84-85
6. Waltz
7. Nashville Radio
8. Tom Jones Levitation
9. Seminole Wind
10. Pill Sailor
11. Horses
12. Hard To Be Human Again
13. Sentimental Marching Song
14. Memphis, Egypt

Encore

1. Plenty Tough-Union Made
2. Wild & Blue
3. X-Ray Style

Here are a few photos from the show:

"Broken Bottle"

"Broken Bottle"

"I Picked Up The Pieces"

"Abernant 84-85"

"Seminole Wind"

"Hard To Be Human Again"

"Hard To Be Human Again"

"Hard To Be Human Again"

"Memphis, Egypt"