Fur Dixon at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, 8-11-23 Concert Review

Fur Dixon playing "Safari Road"

There’s a lot of different music inside Fur Dixon. Some folks know her from her early rock days, when in the mid-1980s she played bass in The Cramps, and even before that when she was a member of The Whirlybirds and then Hollywood Hillbillys. I got to know her years later when she was playing folk and country songs in the duo Fur Dixon & Steve Werner. And in fact the last time I saw her in concert was when they got back together for one show in December of 2019. And then came the pandemic, and for a time I lost touch with many of the bands and artists that I love, simply because I wasn’t going to clubs. So how was I to know that Fur Dixon during that time was questioning whether she’d even play music again? We were all going through some soul-searching at that time, I suppose. And who knew what answers each of us would arrive at? But someone told Fur Dixon that she should be playing, and that she should go back to playing rock and roll. Well, all of us at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon last night can thank that guy, because Fur Dixon delivered one hell of a great set. She was backed by The Psyatics, a kick-ass garage band based in Las Vegas.

The Psyatics kicked off the set with a brief instrumental number, and then Fur joined them on stage. She acknowledged at the start that the crowd could have chosen to be comfortable at home. “Since you’re here, let’s have a good time,” she said, adding that’s just what she intended to do. And I don’t think there’s any question, but that all the folks there did have a good time. “Danger lies ahead,” Fur sang in her first song of the night, “Safari Road.” Ah, but we could see only joy in the immediate future. This was a song that she included on her Return 2 Sender album, and Fur focused on music from that release last night, following “Safari Road” with “Out Of Darkness Slowly.” This is a seriously cool song with a bit of 1960s flavor. Then Jack Ruby, her Hollywood Hillbillys bandmate, joined the group on saxophone for “Baby’s On Fire” and “Cod’ine.” “Baby’s On Fire” featured some excellent drumming, and “Cod’ine” was one of the set’s highlights. Fur was really digging in vocally on this one, delivering a fantastic and riveting performance. This song was written by Buffy Saint-Marie.

The first song of her set that was not included on Return 2 Sender was “LA Broken River,” a slower, cool gem, the drummer switching to brushes for this one. This was one of my favorite songs of the night. She then returned to Return 2 Sender for “Morning Comes, No Warning,” which Fur performed solo, delivering it a cappella, a nice surprise, and an absolutely beautiful moment. “That’s for Sinéad,” she said afterward. “I’m heartbroken, I’m beyond heartbroken.” We’ve lost a lot of great musicians lately, but Sinéad O’Connor’s death has hit hard. Fur followed that with “Don’t Tread On Me,” a song she said she started writing in 1986 and finished in 2019. And it’s another great one, with excellent energy and attitude. She got the audience to participate on “Are Your Good Times Really Over For Good,” mentioning that it looks like a certain ex-President’s good times are finally coming to an end. Amen to that. Jack Ruby then joined her again on saxophone for “Sugar Sweet,” which is the lead track on Return 2 Sender. This song was a lot of fun. She wrapped up the set with “Get That Saddle Off My Back,” which was also included on Return To Sender. Her set ended at 11:12 p.m., and six minutes later The Psyatics continued with a delicious but much too brief set.

Set List

1. Instrumental intro
2. Safari Road
3. Out Of Darkness Slowly
4. Baby’s On Fire
5. Cod’ine
6. LA Broken River
7. Morning Comes, No Warning
8. Don’t Tread On Me
9. Are Your Good Times Really Over For Good
10. Sugar Sweet
11. Get That Saddle Off My Back

Here are a few photos from Fur Dixon’s set:

"Safari Road"

"Baby's On Fire"

"LA Broken River"

"Are Your Good Times Really Over For Good"

Maui Sugar Mill Saloon is located at 18389 Ventura Blvd., in Tarzana, California.