The Voluptuous Horror Of Karen Black 04/20/91 07/04/92 New York City

There are, you know, times where shit gets so crazy that you don't really know where you are or what you are doing.











You try to make sense of life- but is the sense you've made really anywhere close to what the fuck is really going on?


You step outside of your understanding and feel like something broken that was in the way has been removed. Is that the aim of a rock concert- of people getting up in front of others with guitar, bass, drums, and making music for them? Not necessarily no. In fact, not generally, no... I would say, however, that this is certainly the majestic aim of The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black.

Words fail to do this video justice. Can you honestly tell me what any of it means or why any of it is happening? I leave in on for hours at a time to distractedly look at whenever I'm trying to get something important done. If somebody tells you they don't like it, you can fairly well safely assume that you don't want them around when you're trying to have a good time. I do have to confess that I generally leave the sound off- for in and of itself it's basically some competantly performed metal....And while it's beyond question to us that Kembra Pfahler is the extraterrestrial emissary from the one of the most genuine civilizations that has ever existed, we do also have to admit to ourselves that she was not gifted with perfect pitch...It's all of a piece, of course- the Gods have reasons that mortals can't understand.

There are songs from three shows on this disc. The first is a single camera shoot by someone who does an almost totally perfect job of keeping as much of the awe inspiring festivities in frame as possible. The second, at CBGBs, is multiple camera and is edited together with primitive effects and is of slight better audio quality. All of this documentation was done with prosumer gear, so it's definitely has the same look as somebodies high school graduation or wedding circa 1990. But probably all the more perfect for that. Finally, after a little clip of Karen Black herself good-naturedly attempting to come to grips with her confusion about the group...there is some even better quality multicamera footage of a somewhat more restrained performance of two and a half songs .

If you were wondering what do get me for Christmas, Kembra Pfhaler's recently released book Beautalism, would do just fine. You should buy one for yourself as well, as I'm sure many secrets of the universe are revealed therein. In other where are they now news, lead guitarist Samoa recently put out a disc of country music.

In a perfect world, this VHOKB video would be sold with LSD and Bodypaint at every 7-Eleven across the globe. But really, what is to be done? Fuck it. I don't want to talk about it anymore...Me, I'm going to Alaska...