Revenge of Camper Van Chadbourne

text

Camper Van Chadbourne is (or, until very recently, 'was') avant-country-jazz-punk guitarist extraordinaire Eugene Chadbourne and, from the largely (and sadly) overlooked, er, avant-country-jazz-punk group Camper Van Beethoven, bassist Victor Krummenacher and violinist and mandolinist Jonathan Segel. The trio originally convened in the late 80s and, to my knowledge, recorded only one (epoymously titled) album (btw - I stand to be corrected on that one, readers). Then: nada. Until last year, when CVC reconvened for a series of gigs at the Knitting Factory in New York. Those performances were recorded and selections are presented here, on the 'sci-fi thriller feature' Revenge of Camper van Chadbourne (that description, incidentally, is from Chadbourne's hilarious sleevenotes, which go into such facts as how bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley has the world's largest collection of pornography). Well, CVC have lost none of their appeal over that lost decade; not the you would have expected to given at least Chadbourne's musical development in the time. What they play is, of course, avant-country-jazz-punk. And they play the fucking ass out of it. Some of the songs here are punishingly driving; some are heart-rendingly moving. Some are plain wacko; some are politically deeply-felt. All of them rip. Let's hope they don't stay away for another ten years.