Many claim happiness is a series of moments lasting just a brief space of time, certainly in the tormented and tragic life of ‘Mr. Misery’ a rare example of this could be when in 1994 he played with a group of fellow musicians in a one-off Devo tribute band.
At the time still a bunch of young hopefuls of the Portland independent scene : Elliott Smith had just released his debut album ‘Roman Candle‘ and was still a member of a band called Heatmiser; Chris Slusarenko, later with Guided By Voices, played with his brother Nate in the Sprinkler (soon signed by Sub Pop); Sam Coomes with Quasi and Sean Chrogan with Crackerbash.
The legendary local venue X-Ray Cafe organised a talent show and the five youngsters decided to take part in it. Dressed in radiation suits, wearing 3D glasses and flowerpots helmets, it was ‘a night of fun and innocence’.
The footage of the 20 minutes long performance, held for some reason at La Luna, was thought to be lost forever, instead has recently appeared digitized on YouTube in all its glory.
Watch below and enjoy.
Fabrizio Lusso