The Brian Jonestown Massacre Shows the Teragram Ballroom Real Psych-Rock With Heavy Set

Matt Matasci

After existing as a band for decades and releasing 14 full-length studio albums during that time – not to mention the dozens of singles, EPs and mini-albums to add to that count – The Brian Jonestown Massacre have plenty of material from which to cull a live set. Most bands would pare that down to a dozen of the most crowd-pleasing numbers along with their most recent hits for a night of fast and easy fun. But as always, Anton Newcombe and company buck convention and just do whatever the hell they want – in this case, spending a full three hours revisiting that decades-long discography. On Monday at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles’ up-and-coming Westlake neighborhood, the seven-piece psych rock band provided the audience with an absolute marathon of a live performance, pushing the 180-minute barrier with ease. Making that feat even more impressive is that the show was the second of three similar shows at the venue, and one of several appearances on a national tour.

Despite the heavy and serious nature of The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s sound, the night started on a light-hearted note with the, at times, mercurial Newcombe joking that the band could not locate their percussionist Joel Gion while asking the audience if they’d seen him around. It’s hard to talk about The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s live show without discussing Gion in-depth. Despite nearly exclusively playing the tambourine, occasionally picking up what looked to be maracas, the man simply owned the stage. An integral member of the band, he is the longest-serving current member besides Newcombe. As surprising as it may sound to say about a percussionist, Gion is integral to the band’s sound.

Newcombe sported those thick mutton chops he was known for in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s (though having morphed into glorious, snow-white plumes with age), giving him the look of a sage musical wizard. Following the brief introduction, the band launched the deep and entrancing journey into their accomplished discography. While they have always made creating challenging, thought-provoking music a point of pride, they certainly have an ear for an unforgettable melodic harmony. That is the beauty of group like The Brian Jonestown Massacre – their ability to blend the abstract with the accessible.

About midway through the night, Newcombe boasted about the plethora of songs he wrote before heading out on tour – a total of 45. The pronouncement would come as no surprise to long-time fans of the band who had grown accustomed to the prolificacy of Newcombe and the band. The singer then alluded to not one, but two new albums that would be released in the coming months. The band’s penchant for creatively-worded titles makes it no surprise that one of the two would be titled “Third World Pyramid Scheme.” The second will be called “Don’t Get Lost”; Newcombe explained that title as being derived from an inscription he discovered on an antique war lighter. However, the musician interprets the marking as an existential metaphor as opposed to the light-hearted, direct command it was originally intended as.

There were a few additional treats for audience members who stayed through hour two of the performance (in other words, nearly everyone). Newcombe brought his wife Katy up on the stage for a performance of the “Mini Album Thingy Wingy” cut “Pish.” He explained that his wife is from South Wales (“a country within a country within a country”), and that “pish” is essentially a localized term for bullshit. On “Pish,” Katy Newcombe added a feminine dynamic to The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s sound that was very welcome. Completely changing the pace of the night was the next special guest. The entire BJM lineup exited the stage after Newcombe gave a brief introduction of singer-songwriter Kurt Heasley (Lilys) who performed two acoustic tracks. After the guest, the band came back on stage and Newcombe dropped his most hilarious stage banter of the night. Remarking on notable musicians like Robyn Hitchcock who has shared the stage with BJM, he added that Ryan Adams wouldn’t join the fun because he was scared of them, and besides, Adams was probably too busy working on his Miley Cyrus folk-cover album. There is truly no greater pleasure than witnessing a humorously cantankerous bandleader with the songwriting (and literal) chops to pull it off, backed by a powerful rock and roll engine.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre performed at Teragram Ballroom on May 31.