Apocalypse Now by Pere Ubu

Press Quotes:

"...cast as possibly the best avant-bar band in the world..." - The Wire, 10/99, p.59

"One of the most essential of Ubu's myriad releases.... The world's oddest band from live in '91, where the punters, one presumes, stand slack jawed throughout." - Melody Maker, 9/4/99

"With melodies rising out of the clattering sound like the modal themes of old folk songs, the effect is stirring, Cleveland punks more than 15 years down the road with no lessening of their conviction that they have been chosen to change the world, laughing at how little they've been changed by it." - Greil Marcus, Salon, 9/20/99

"Sometimes the best records drop completely unexpectedly. Recorded in 1991, this mostly acoustic Chicago show by new wave pioneers Pere Ubu is a small masterpiece of spontaneous rock. Listen to any one of these witty, wigged-out songs, and you'll hear more invention than most current bands put into whole albums. "My Theory of Spontaneous Simultude" slinks with sophisticated hilarity, while the classic "Non-Alignment Pact" simply rocks. "Worlds In Collision" and "We Have The Technology" are further examples of Pere Ubu's skewed pop genius." - Paul Verna, Billboard, 9/18/99

"...highlighted by David Thomas' exuberant, caterwauling vocals and cheeky between-song banter and the band's patently unorthodox numbers....It all adds up to high art, and more importantly, great fun." - Alternative Press, 12/99, pp.113-4

"In 1991, the reunited Pere Ubu was at the height of its powers, with Cloudland and Worlds In Collision nearly matching the artistic ambition of '70s albums like Dub Housing and The Modern Dance, and exceeding them in terms of catchiness and accessibility. On an off night while touring with the Pixies, the group pulled into the Shuba's, a homey (250-capacity) and great-sounding Chicago rock club, and proceeded to run through a mostly acoustic set with Eric Drew Feldman on the joint's out-of-tune piano and lots of audience participation prompted by the inimitable David Thomas. The rest of the lineup--Jim Jones on guitar, Tony Maimone on bass, and R. Scott Krauss on drums--is my contender for the band's best ever, and it tears through tunes ranging from "Non-Alignment Pact" and "Heaven" to "Oh Catherine" and "We Have The Technology," underscoring once more that Pere Ubu was and is a rock band for the ages." - Jim DeRogatis, "Reasons for Living", LAUNCH

Release Notes:
Apocaypse Now captures a very rare event-- a band at the peak of its powers playing the perfect place on a perfect night in front of a wildly enthusiastic audience. It doesn't happen often with bands-- a night when all the pains and squabbles are forgotten, when caution is thrown to the wind, when musicians are able to revel in the simple joy of the moment... together. When it happens with one of the great rock bands of our day the results are memorable.

In the fall of 1991 Pere Ubu was touring America with The Pixies. On December 7 the band spent an off-day in Chicago playing a small club called Shuba's. For fun. With acoustic guitars and an out-of-tune honky-tonk piano. The show was recorded 2-track digital with 2 room mics and a DAT machine. John Thompson designed the artwork. David Thomas and Jim Jones mastered it at Suma with Paul Hamann engineering.

Band:
David Thomas - vocals, radio, swirl horn
Jim Jones - acoustic guitar, rat pedal
Eric Drew Feldman - honky tonk upright
Tony Maimone - acoustic guitar, electric bass
Scott Krauss - drums, percussion
Todd Petersen: Pere Ubu soundman at the Shuba's show.