Frank Black's Teenager of the Year turned 30 in 2024, and FB and the original band decided to embark on an anniversary tour to celebrate the LP by playing it in its entirety. What they were not going to embark on was a journey to a tour date anywhere near the NW, and I really needed to see this show. TOTY is one of my all-time favorite albums, and I'm almost positive he did not come to the NW on the original tour. I saw his first-ever solo show in Eugene at the WOW Hall after the first record, and caught The Cult of Ray tour in Portland a few years later, but did not see him come around in between. And I was looking.
I decided on Los Angeles because I have friends down there I'd been wanting to visit (and who I could crash with), but also because TOTY is steeped in LA lore, recorded by an LA band in LA. So I figured I'd go all-in on the LA-ness of it all.
And I did. I really only had Saturday to deal with, so I made sure my friend and I had some time carved out to hit Amoeba, because it is easily one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's not often these days you get to be in a record store where like 35 employees are on the clock. It's invigorating. And the youth! They were everywhere, coveting overpriced Rumours reissues. But at least they were there.
And so was I, for maybe about two hours, which is really not that long, particularly when the place is busy, and it was. But I put in my work. Here is what I got:
E.G. Daily - "Mind Over Matter" 7" (1987)
I am a big fan of the movie
Summer School and though I do own the soundtrack, I did not have this, which I believe is the lone single from the LP. Now I just need the 12" version, which has what I'm sure is a very hot remix on it. The
music video for this with the
Summer School cast is somehow not a special feature on the DVD or Blu-Ray and that is a large oversight.
Styx - "Mr. Roboto" 7" (1983)
My daughter loves this song and I can get down with it, too. I remember giving Styx a shot when I was a teenager. My neighbor had a copy of Equinox (among other 70's Styx staples) and I thought the cover was pretty sweet so I listened to the record and it just was not for me. A little too tinny and mythical or something.
Big Lady K - Bigger Than Life (1990)
Gotta admit I hadn't heard of Big Lady K, but this record was pretty cheap and from 1990, which are both solid selling points for me.
Viagra Boys - Welfare Jazz (2021)
I think I looked into getting a copy of this sometime in the year after it came out and felt the hype was too hot for my pocketbook. It must've calmed down, because I got a good deal on this. I'm not as hot on their new record, but man, this one still
rips.
Frank Black & The Catholics - True Blue (2023)
They had copies of the Teenager of the Year reissue at Amoeba but I thought nah, I'll get one at the show; give the money straight to the band! So instead I bought this, which was recorded in 2001 live to one-track and is now being made available in all its mono glory. These are demos from around the time of the Black Letter Days album. Haven't listened to it yet. Oh and of course I went directly to the merch table when I got to the show and they were already sold out of the LP. Luckily I was able to overpay when I got home.
The Comfortable Chair - The Comfortable Chair (1968)
I am not a Doors encyclopedia, but I am a confirmed fanboy and I either didn't know or forgot about this 1968 LP produced by John Densmore and Robby Krieger. It was wisely filed in with the Doors stuff and I got, yet again, a great price on it. Very curious to listen to it. Looks like some hippie bullshit but I trust my boys.
I'll say it again: it's just makes you feel alive to be in a big-ass record store that is absolutely pulsing with people of all ages looking for whatever they're looking for. Makes me happy. What also made me happy was Amoeba having a rap section in their huge wall of cassettes, even if it wasn't too extensive. I still managed to find five:
The Sylk Smoov and Success-N-Effect are sealed, which is always unexpected. Thought I might already have that MC Shan tape but I looked at my list while I was there and it turns out I have zero MC Shan tapes, which sounds about right.
The Frank Black show was worth the trip. They opened with two songs from the first, self-titled FB LP, then played TOTY in its entirety, in order, and closed with three more songs from the first record. Nothing but '93-'94. I had a great seat because I was by myself and it all worked out well.
And then I got pantsed on the streets of LA after the show by a drunk guy who then flipped me off and mooned me. My underwear stayed up so it was no biggie, but wow did I not see that coming. Still worth it.
