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JOHN GARCIA SETLIST Gardenia (Kyuss song) Writhe (Kyuss song) > TELEKINETIC YETI SETLIST
Ghost Train
Abominable Stoned and Feathered Ancient Nug Toke Wizard Himalayan Hymn JOHN GARCIA TOUR DATES
5/15/24 Madison WI - High Noon Saloon
5/16/24 Chicago IL - Thalia Hall 5/17/24 Lawrence KS - Liberty Hall 5/18/24 Little Rock AR - Argenta Theatre 5/19/24 Atlanta GA - Masquerade 5/21/24 Pittsburgh PA - Jergels 5/22/24 Detroit MI - Crofoot Theatre 5/23/24 Grand Rapids MI Pyramid Scheme 5/25/24 Montreal QC Canada - Club Soda 5/27/24 Hampton Beach NH - Wally's 5/28/24 Philadelphia PA - Union Transfer 5/29/24 Brooklyn NY - Elsewhere READ MORE
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The 'undead' lives again!
Well, sorta- see, in the Dungeons & Dragons World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Kyuss is a deity concerned with the Creation and Mastery of the Undead. Known as the Bonemaster, the Wormgod, and the Herald of the Age of Worms, his symbol is a skull erupting with writhing green worms.
Ok, maybe that’s too far down the nerd rabbit hole, but that’s the origins of the band name; and the voice and former frontman of 1990’s seminal desert/stoner rock band Kyuss, John Garcia, has returned to the road after a long absence; playing just twelve cities on this tour leg, including a rare stop in downtown Lawrence, at Liberty Hall.
In addition to his expert backing band (who plays like they’ve been together for decades and features guitarist John Bennet, bassist Billy Cordell, and drummer Greg Saenz), Garcia also loaded the lineup with four other and quite different bands, for a five-hour volume-amplified trip into multi-genres of modern rock.
Garica’s former fabled band, which initially formed in Palm Desert, CA under a different name had a delayed but lasting influence on more recent bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Screaming Trees, Fu Manchu, Dwarves, Eagles of Death Metal, Mondo Generator, and Them Crooked Vultures, which all featured ex-Kyuss members themselves, after the band broke up in 1995. Garcia himself would go on to help form Slo Burn and Hermano, both of which carry on the desert psych spirit, and each of these eras of his four-decade career were represented in the live set.
Garcia admitted some trepidation before embarking on this venture: "I cannot lie, little nervous over this one. I've never done a tour like this in the U.S. celebrating so much of my past… I'm so incredibly lucky to share the stage with these amazing musicians and friends.
This tour with all the incredible bands... in my opinion is more of a traveling music gang and I already love it” ...and so did the many devoted fans in the crowd that had been waiting for years for Garcia to re-visit his past again live.
First up on this evening was power metal trio Drifter (not to be confused with soul doo-wop group The Drifters or several other similar named acts) out in support of their full-length, “Herald”. The three brought a powerful and cinematic soundtrack to start the evening- both with volume and were somewhat atmospheric; as at one point, all were playing various percussion that sounded like the hordes of Valhalla coming over a mountain.
A paradigm shift to the punk-rockabilly blues of Left Lane Cruiser was next, a Fort Wayne, IN duo made up of Fredrick "Joe" Evans IV on guitar/vocals with Brenn Beck on drums/washboard. The group has a new single, “Motown Mash” ahead of new full-length, “Bayport BBQ Blues” and comes off as the anti-Black Keys, which means when they choose to play a R.L. Burnside cover, it’s their version that transforms the song, not a young white duo, trying to mimic the sound of an old black man, which seems much more rewarding.
One of the best band names in recent years, is Telekinetic Yeti, the Dubuque, IA-based psych doom/stoner rock duo comprised of Alex Baumann on guitar/vocals and Rockwel Heim on drums, and who we previously caught live headlining in 2022 in Minneapolis. The Yeti released their second album, “Primordial” in 2022 and musically take no prisoners, are not afraid to face each other down on stage, with riffs and structured noise sent flying into the air.
Wisconsin guitarist singer Jared James Nichols might be one of the best-skilled guitarists maybe more known to fellow guitarists and specific fans, than the general public at large. He and his power trio (Ryan Rice– Drums and Louis Collins- Bass) are back on the road to spread their musical word and play a familiar blend of blues-leaning classic rock.
The three-piece remembered their previous time in town, opening for John 5 at The Bottleneck a few years ago and JJN not only has his own signature amp, but was also named one of just four Gibson Guitars global ambassadors (along with Lzzy Hale, Dave Mustaine, and Slash).
Nichols’ pick-less style of playing is unusual in itself, but he proved you don’t need a small flexible triangle of plastic to shred on solos, or to play the familiar riffs of “Miss You”, “Norwegian Wood”, or their set-crushing final cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”.
After the wind-up of the four previous bands, it was finally time for John Garcia, who played a career-spanning ninety-minute set that was no frills and in-your-face, as the most devoted fans would want it to be. The set began with “Gardenia” a 1995 single from Kyuss’ third album and chugged on with other mid-90’s cuts that the devoted were bobbing and dancing in place with.
Garcia would pause after a few songs, each time expressing his gratefulness to be be able to bring these songs back to the fans, and he acknowledged a very young audience member up front getting musically acclimated to the songs that would inspire so many bands after. As to why Lawrence was a stop on this short tour, Garcia mentioned the many good memories he had of playing in town in the ‘90s- shows with Dwarves, fun times at the renowned punk venue on the outskirts of town, and more.
Mid-set, Garcia and band dipped into slightly more recent projects, with 2004’s “Cowboys Suck” from mid-2000s side project Hermano, then went back a few years previous for “July”, the final song from Slo Burn’s 1997 EP. Garcia’s briefly exited from the stage soon after, allowed the remaining three musicians to stretch their musical wings for an extended crunchy instrumental break.
Garcia soon re-emerged and it was all Kyuss favorites in high gear from there – 1994’s “Whitewater” which lyrically merges nature and some spirituality, “One Inch Man’”, the band’s final released single, and 1995’s “Spaceship Landing” the final song on the band’s final album (not incl.any hidden tracks).
With time getting tight as venue curfew approached, the band would end the main set with “El Rodeo” before being coaxed back out for a rolling encore of 1992’s “Green Machine” with Garcia singing, “I’m a-shutting down” which they did and with a casual final wave, left the stage with hums and feedback still droning.
The ‘undead’ that was Kyuss had finally returned to life in Lawrence, courtesy of John Garcia and band, to the complete delight of all the longtime and devoted fans that managed to recapture some of that 1990’s nostalgia, if only for a couple hours.
(Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
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