RIP - Col Bruce Hampton

Damn.

Way to go out.

Shine On, Colonel.

R.I.P. Col. Bruce Hampton.

I was actually listening to the MXLr stream of the show when strange reports appeared on the Chat stream.

"How bizarre", thought I. They were saying he laid down by some amps, then possible electric shock or heart attack.

Joining my fellow insomniacs with Well-Wishes toward His Passing Peacefully into the next Music School.

RIP Col. Bruce Hampton

I just got to see him once, at Mexicali Blues. Really glad I did. He revealed his magic that night. I've always admired his mentoring of the many luminaries we so love today. As sad as it is for those who knew him, wow, what a way to go out...

Rest In Peace, Col. Bruce Hampton...and leave it on!

Rest in Peace and all that, but John Popper and some 14 year old kid trading fours a few feet from my last sweet breaths? Kind of a shitty way to go out, if you ask me. 

Guess it puts the whole Furthur playing on when Weir went down at the Cap thing into perspective.

It's all too much to process for my Tiny Little mind right now.

Have met or spoken with the vast Majority of folks on this thread.

It is indeed a Small World.

What a Way to Go 

And again, R.I.P. Col. Bruce.

Thanks for all of the Cool Music.

Ateix,  just, just, Fuck Off.   And again, Fuck Off.

Wow..rest easy Col. Bruce..

Holy shit, what a crazy, amazing man.

Knowing how eclectic he was, and unpredictable, I'll bet he had some folks guessing when he went down.

Like, if he literally laid down near the amps, it may have taken folks a second to understand what was happening.

I remember seeing him as the Fiji Mariners in a little club. At one point he slammed a guitar down from a stand onto the stage, stormed down off the stage, and gruffly plowed through the middle of the tiny crowd. We were like, "WTF?".
Guess it was actually just setbreak, lol.

To me, he was the musical equivalent of calculated schizophrenia.

Rest In Peace, crazy genius.

I woke up to this and am floored. Bruce was a long time fixture in the SE, Auburn included. One of my good friends has been playing with him most Thursdays in Atlanta. He was there last night, as were many other friends.

The Colonel went out the way he would want.

Wow. That's insane. Where was the Rescue Unit when they needed them? 

RIP Col.! 

RIP

WOW...

RIP

Well, this just ruined my day.  I can't believe it.  I was tuned in for a bit of last night's show.

RIP Colonel Bruce.

Stunned! Having a hard time wrapping my head around this...

Gonna pull out some of my old cassettes today.

Thanks for all the good memories.

Shine on brother!

Stunning news - just a surreal and epic way to go out. 

(Ret.)

I had been listening to the stream, too

(((turn on your lovelight)))

surrounded by friends and family and making music

rest easy, Colonel Hampton.

Wow almost streamed this

RIP

Damn. Better than waiting for the other shoe to drop I guess. 

So what's an appropriate amount of time before you check on a band member who is on the floor, completely immobile? 

https://youtu.be/jGpnAqRLgiY

Thats hard to watch....even considering song, and all his years of historic stage antics, im sure band mates thought he d get slowly get up...to his knees, and continue to shine....

And im sure he will today, just on another plane....

Safe passage, colonel

Oh man

pretty cool dude

Lost mule-  in Texas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Est7jlwXmVk

Wow, just wow.  But what a way to go.  RIP to a true explorer.

Must have been very weird to have been in the audience and see this happen.  That video is brutal to watch.

My favorite Col. Bruce story is about him and Jimmy driving and talking about how they both liked to minimize doing any activity with the car, i.e. braking, turning on turn signals, etc., unless it was absolutely necessary.  Seeing if you could time a light so that you wouldn't have to come to a full stop, things like that.  Trying to go really long distances with the minimal amount of stopping.  An exercise in efficiency and energy conservation.

Last thing he did waz usher a young future star to front of stage....something he did all his life....

Thoughts and prayers to that 14 yr old kid...

Fixin' to Die @ Hampton 70

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SajJx_dlA3o

As terrible as this is it has a surreal quality to it, you can almost imagine him planning it this way.

Holy Fucking Shit!  It was a raging show.  What a way to go.  Watching the video is super weird.  John Poppers solo killed him and he was down forever before anybody checked on him.  Crazy shit.  It was a hot lovelight and I assume the band just thought he was on his knees.

Fuck..  RIP Col Bruce

Only seen him once with Aquarium Rescue Unit in 1996.  It is still to this day one of my favorite all-time shows.  

That is one he'll of way to go, but he was really unique and did things his own way.

RIP Colonel Bruce

>So what's an appropriate amount of time before you check on a band member

I'm thinking less than 4 minutes.  WTF... that video is disturbing.   After the first minute of no movement it obviously wasn't Col. Bruce shtick.

i have many fond memories of utterly bizarre conversations with Bruce from the early between 90-92 when he would come to Nashville, I was 16-18 yrs old, and I barely recognized the significance the man at the time.

He would always remember me, though not my name and then in early 90's at the Georgia Theater, a friend and I were shut out of a show(either WSP or Brute, or Bartab, i don't recall) We had walked around to side of the venue to hit the car for a beverage, when Bruce is sitting on a folding chair outside the side stage door, alone.  A cordial hello, and then, in a heart beat, hurtling down the sidewalk in his wheelchair was the insanely irate Vic Chesnut, after a failed attempt to enter the front door of the venue. Within a second, DAS pops his head out the door, waves his hand, looks questionably as the two of us, and Bruce vouches for us with some strange dialouge about a ship and having had our ticket punched on such and such dates, which just happened to be the two of our birth dates. All enter and my head explodes.

A few years later, on a short stint of Panic shows around the south, I caught a ride from Chattanooga to Tuscaloosa, was dropped off on campus at the venue early in the morning. I found a spot under a tree for a nap, not yet cognizant that I was within 10 yards of the bus. A small hatchback pulls up and DAS exits with arms full of fast food breakfast, we chat for a short second because he thinks I am Bruce's friend. Strange. Fun photos over the next 30 minutes as everyone exits the bus to get their bags of fast food which Schools is still hugging onto. 

The space Bruce inhabited was magic and comedy and surrealism, as well as many other unexplainable concept within this plane of existence. 

That's one hell of a way to go; 70 years old, surrounded by his friends, Lovelight playing him out. Peaceful journey, Col.

the Zambi's used to do this whole bowing thing sometimes on their knees, im not worthy schtick, and I think everyone just thought he was taking it to the nth degree for a while.

holy shit man. 

everyone of those people on that stage have called Bruce Papa before, and were burning the fucking Fox down.

fuckin a.

Wow, I feel so sad for Jimmy he must feel terrible.

RIP Colonel Bruce

right a the feet of young brandon niederauer. whoa. 

{{{{{{Taz}}}}}}

That kid shreds. 

Wow, just read about this. Almost too crazy to believe. Big fan and unfortunately I never saw him live.

RIP Col. Bruce

Whole Show

Pro Shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqeaETVBtMk

Unfuckingbelievable. What a way to go, though.

wow. peace out

"Without a warning..."

Gonna make the second weekend of Jazzfest a little heavier.  Panic is scheduled to headline Thursday on the Acura Stage with a 4:30-7:00 slot.  

Not too many musicians go out on stage.  Mark Sandman from Morphine, blues guitarist James "Thunderbird" Davis and Pantera's Dimebag Darrell come to mind.  The first two from heart attacks, the last from gunshots.  

Col. Bruce did a lot for the Jamband community in his years, and while this is tragic, it is somehow completely fitting that he was surrounded by a large chunk of this group of musicians as he took his last stand.

RIP

yep, seeing Panic Sunday in downtown WPB on the water. 2-5:30. 

It was kind of beautiful in a way that only could be with Col Bruce.  Shine on.

Shocked and stunned, but somehow a fitting ending.

Glad Jerry didn't go out this way, though.

^^^

Thanks Hollis,

For transcendent  & Whacky Col. Bruce tales.

We all gotta go somehow.

Totally sucks imho, rest in peace Bruce

Maybe the Codetalkers can get back together for a East coast run in his honor

Johnny Guitar Watson died on stage

And Dick Shawn

RIP Col. Bruce.

Always appreciated his music when I had a chance to see him. He was a hell of a musician.

Damn that sucks.

The only time I saw the Colonel was with ARU at Slim's in SF back in '89 and I remember it having Zappa-like intensity.....

This Taz Kid is just about the best youthful shredder I've seen - future of rock is in that one.

RIP CBH

Crazy, was up last night and very sad to hear Col. Bruce passed on.  RIP.

One of my favorite memories was back in the early 2000's seeing Col. Bruce Hampton and the Codetalkers at the Boulevard Cafe in Chicago.  They played three nights and the place was a great space/scene at the time. 

As did Lowell George. 

Rest in peace, Col. 

Sadly add to list of artists that passed while on stage----drummer on Boston's first two albums, Sib Hashian, heart failure while performing on a cruise ship last month....

RIP, Georgia hippie OG. 

Died on stage?   If you live and breath live music, can't imagine a better way to go.   And during the all star encore doing Lovelight at your own 70th Birthday Bash no less.   RIP.

Honestly, I can't blame the guy for dying in such close proximation to a John Popper solo. Been there and wanted to do that myself. 

Right?  As if I needed another reason to hate that guy.

I'm down near Atlanta this week and my friend informed me of this show too late for me to make it.

Damn. RIP!

Do u think that chick who cucked fat Donna was watching from the (frog)wings off stage?

>>>>>Do u think that chick who cucked fat Donna was watching from the wings off stage?

Either there or backstage.

Oh my! RIP Colonel Bruce.

Rest In Peace , Col. Bruce Hampton 
By Craig Davis ~ TDS Taper

Last night I bore witness to one of the most exhilarating, unique and incredible musical events I have ever experienced, all in celebration of the life of Col. Bruce Hampton. The Col. (ret.) can't rightfully be accused of inventing jam music (for better or for worse) but damned if he didn't shepherd it along for over 30 years. Sitting there from the 2nd row for close to 4 hours last night as members of Widespread Panic, the Allman Bros, Blues Traveler, Govt Mule, The Rolling Stones, Leftover Salmon, R.E.M., Tedeschi Trucks, etc rotated on and off stage was magical and awe-inspiring. No one mailed it in like so many benefit concerts. People played like it mattered with an intensity and passion befitting Col. Bruce. Maybe it's because I've gotten older, had my priorities & passions redirected to my boys, or just list some of my enthusiasm for it but I find myself getting taken "there" by music less and less in recent years. Last night brought it back note by note and it felt incredible.
The encore started with a crazed spacey Zambiland into Lovlight as 30+ musicians filled the stage. As solos started making the rounds Col. Bruce walked over to the kid from School of Rock and motioned for him to start ripping. He then went down to a knee and seemingly gently down against a monitor. He stayed there through the kid's solo and it seemed like a classic one of the Col's gags. He told me once how he loved to tell the audience at every show that it was someone in the band's birthday. You just knew once the song got back around to the chorus he would jump up and tell us to turn on our lovelight or else start singing from the ground - which I have also seen him do. Pure theater was the Col's way. He was 1/3 musician, 1/3 showman and 1/3 carnival barker. Then the song stretched and stretched and you could see the faces on the musicians not 15 feet away who had been smiling and laughing and pointing begin to tighten up. As the crew ran in stage finally sensing this was real, Susan Tedeschi cut the song and show short and they tried to pull a curtain across the stage.
Standing in the pit we could see side stage that EMTs were furiously - and I mean with lightening speed and pressure - administering CPR and chest compressions. At that point they pulled those side stage curtains shut and staff urged folks to leave.
As we hit the street it was obvious most folks had no clue what had even happened. There was joy in the air. As an ambulance later pulled away near us I noted the crew in the back were sitting still rather than working on the patient we believed to be Col Bruce inside. Never a good sign.
By the time we downed waters and gatorades last night it was clear he had passed away.
Only the Col. could have his wake and his birthday at the same time. It was befitting him with surreal joyousness and poignancy. I will spend some time processing what I experienced. The joy and the disbelief and now the loss of a musician I love. I have a picture of Col. Bruce and I somewhere at home. Taken at Alley Katz as we were deep into a long discussion about pro wrestling, baseball and music. The Col told me I knew all I needed to get by in life with my knowledge of those three topics. It was a special moment for me.
Rest easy Col. Bruce. Thank you for taking me along on your journey and helping to lead me along my own for the last 30 years.

Oddly enough there was a real life Aquarium Rescue over the weekend at a CO Bass Pro shop. Who knew that was a real thing?

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4463616/Teen-boy-jumps-30ft-huge...

Hey Imagine

Lowell George did not die on stage--died in his hotel the day after his last performance

(There are definitely omissions in this attempt at a Set and Personnel list.
I wasn't there - just doing what I can from the video. 
Please feel to edit and add!)

Intro

-There was a Time Baby
>Oliver Wood (vox)
-Postcards from Hell
-What You Oughta Do is Sing
-I'm Feelin' Good
Oliver w Drew Emmit, Tyler and Susan Tedeschi

-Pretty Woman What's the Matter W You
>Jake Peavey (Vox) w Tinsley Ellis, Yonrico Scott, Denny Walley & Brandon Niederauer "TAZ" - 

-Hipshake Baby
>Denny Walley (vox) w Jake Peavey, Tinsley Ellis, Yonrico Scott, Denny Walley & Brandon Niederauer "TAZ"

-She Caught the Katy
John Popper (vox)
W Vince Herman & Drew Emmitt, Reverend Jeff Mosier & Apt Q258 (Jeff Sipe) 

-Working on a Building
Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, Jeff Mosier & John Popper (vox)

-Nobody's Gonna Worry About You
Jeff Mosier (vox)

-Play a Train Song
Todd Snider (vox)
w Peter Buck, Dave Schools

-Stupid Preoccupations
(Song by Vic Chesnutt)
T. Hardy Morris (vox)

-When You Come Back Nex Time You Gotta Stay
Kevin Kinny (Vox)
Tinsley, Ellis, Dave Schools, Peter Buck, Todd Snider, T. Hardy Morris 

-Rip this Joint
Chuck Leveall (vox)
w Karl Denson, Jon Fishman, Schools

-Compared to What
Chuck Leveall & Warren Haynes   (vox)
w Karl Denson, Jon Fishman, Dave Schools, Jeff Sipe

-Good Mornin' Little Schoolgirl > Trouble Every Day (Song by FZ)
Warren Haynes   (vox)
w Chuck Leveall, Karl Denson, Jon Fishman, Dave Schools, Jeff Sipe, Matt Slocum

-Jessica > Mountain Jam > Jessica
Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Chuck Leveall, Jon Fishman, Dave Schools, Duane Trucks, Matt Slocum

-Time is Free
-She Never Said (?)
John Bell (Vox)
w Jimmy Herring, Derek Trucks, Chuck Leveall, Jeff Sipe & Duane Trucks, Dave Schools, Matt Slocum

-Smokestack Lightnin'
-Don't Cry No More
Susan Tedeschi & John Bell (vox)
w Jimmy Herring, Derek Trucks, Chuck Leveall, Jeff Sipe, Dave Schools, Matt Slocum

-I am Basically Frightened
Colonel Bruce (Vox)
w Johnny Knapp, John Bell, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Herring, Dave Schools, Matt Slocum

-Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die
Colonel Bruce & John Bell (Vox)
w Johnny Knapp, John Bell, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Herring, Dave Schools, Jeff Mosier, Matt Slocum

-Space is the Place > I"m So Glad
Colonel Bruce & John Bell (Vox)
w Johnny Knapp, John Bell, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Herring, Dave Schools, Jeff Mosier, Matt Slocum, John Fishman

-Turn on Your Lovelight
Everyone led by Jeff Sipe (Everyone Orchestra Style)

>>>>Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die
Colonel Bruce & John Bell (Vox)

The irony.

Wanee Fest friends from Atlanta were at this show.... they are in shock. RIP godfather of jambands! 

When I found myself bantering with blathering Disco Stu at 6:00 in the morning, I wasn't sure if this was real or a dream. Especially since the footage feels like a jam band snuff film, now.

RIP

Technically he died at the hospital, so it's not really a snuff situation even though it's still disturbing. 

RockOn

Incredibly

Passionately

Way to live, way to die.

This IS So Gnarly on So Many levels RIP CBH Listening To The Show it Is Fantastic ! Shocking ! - God Reminds US All WE Are ALL Here But A Short Time - CHERISH Every Sandwich. L-O-V-E 

2 sources

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=592744

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=592742

I can't get over it; what a way to go.  RIP 

Duane Trucks wrote a perfect piece that was on Facebook today. I can't copy from where I am and it would be a lovely thing to post on this thread - can someone do it?

Also, it's something special to see all of this affection for a man I've never seen and had no idea who he was til today. Quite a guy.

More important to finish out a played out tune than to help a guy who is dying?

To the so-called mainstream, he will be remembered as the guy who died onstage at his 70th birthday, but hopefully it will lead people to his music and appreciate his genius.

Col. Bruce Hampton shaped my entire being. I feel so lucky to have been around him since I was too young to remember. Having older brothers who revered him like some musical, philosophical guru trickled down to me in my formative years. Whether it was reading J. Krishnamurti before I could really understand it or listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or Albert Ayler before I knew what I was hearing, his impact was everywhere around me. After high school I moved to Atlanta from Jacksonville with the hopes of one day playing with him. Just through listening to old tapes my brothers had of ARU as a teenager, I felt like he'd already taught me some ancient secret knowledge. Later I would find out first hand that that was exactly what he taught me. He taught me about transcendence. Transcending your instrument, transcending the music, transcending art itself, reaching for life. He always said "We're not here to play music, we're here to put the Devil in the room." I always took "the Devil" as spirit. Whether it was the spirit of joy, the spirit of sadness, the spirit of humor, it didn't matter what the emotion was. He would say "I don't wanna hear what you practice in your bedroom. I wanna hear you!! How do you feel today? What'd you eat for lunch? Play THAT!" Everyday I learn something more from him. Last night. Today. Everyday. He was an open channel to the universe. We're all lucky to have shared the planet with him. What we thought we were planning as a birthday celebration ended up being the most poetic farewell imaginable. Actually, it was unimaginable. As is everything with him. Now we say our goodbyes to him, but he will never be gone. He lives in every note played by the thousands of musicians he inspired. He lives in every conscious thought of those he enlightened with his wisdom. Now he's off to be in the stars that so inspired him. Thank you Bruce. Thank you for the eyes to see and ears to hear.

-Duane Trucks

Thank you.

Duane is a gifted writer as well as a gifted musician. 

What a way to go out, and what a life. RIP.

>>>>>>WTF... that video is disturbing

It's also from the audiences prospective.  If you watch the proshot version you can see the surprise and shock on the performers face when they realized what has happened/was happening.  Pretty easy to get lost in the moment and disconnected from reality when you're playing.

Also, Col Bruce would cut up a lot. It easily would have taken awhile to realize shit this isn't a schtick. Maaan. Fixin to die. Space is the place. I'm so glad, turn on your lovelight. That's not eerie at all. Sounds cliche in 12 hrs but what a Col Bruce way to go.

I am so glad for the times I've seen him and the music he inspired. 

>>>>>>Also, Col Bruce would cut up a lot. It easily would have taken awhile to realize shit this isn't a schtick. 

On the pro shot video it shows.  Everybody who knows him kind of laughs when he points to Brandon aka Taz to take a solo and lays on the monitor.  Then everybody on the stage is just digging his guitar solo and egging him on.  Pretty sure they all thought it was just schtick.  Sad for Brandon.  He looked pretty freaked out at the end.

{{{{Transfer of energy}}}} as someone better than me put it

Videos not working now.

I can imagine.

One has to believe that he couldn't have scripted a better way to go out if he had the chance to do it  however he wanted.

Not just on stage, but at the end of his own tribute show, with so many great players around him honoring him.

Stunning.

He's one I never saw, but I'll always appreciate him a bit more now.

One way or another, we all gotta' go.

Nicely done dude.

Easy to get lost in the moment when you're playing a two chord song that they've played a thousand times. What's the rest of the bystandards excuse? Buncha fuckin airheads on stage including the musicians. First aid saves.

Here's a good interview. 

https://youtu.be/-cb-YxV0mPs

It's cool Timpane.  We know you don't get "it". Or I guess your "it" is just different or something.

Not sure what you're talking about. The guy might have lived if somebody helped is all I'm saying. 

It's too bad you weren't onstage to jump into action.

Im pretty sure as soon as people realized something was up they acted immediately.

Funny. Really, it's too bad there wasn't someone paying attention, I get it though. Super cool to die on stage, right?

Blaming the musicians for inaction is just as stupid as blaming the front row of the audience for not doing anything.

I don't think he's blaming anyone in particular but yeah, there's a certain WTF thought that comes into your head when it took 4 minutes for anyone to react. 

Who knows what I would have done...I wasn't there.

My friend told me he was down for five minutes. Like I said, the guy could be alive if someone realized. Audience member or musician or whoever. Don't think about it too hard.

Let's end it at that.  No need to muck up this thread. 

RIP  Col. Bruce.     

....he had a long long history of crazy strange antics as well....INCLUDING kneeling, sitting, or lying down on stage....THAT sure didnt help the matter...

There is no blame here, no one at fault...it just happened 

Let him RIP

>>>>>There is no blame here, no one at fault...it just happened 

Exactly

Some fantastic coverage of the event surfaced today:
http://liveforlivemusic.com/news/cosmic-curtain-call-col-bruce-hampton/

I love this quip - some notes taken following an interview with the Colonel by the writer of the piece linked above:

-To be is to do.

-There’s no reality anymore, the whole world is pro-wrestling.

--Four things that don’t make sense: babies (where do they come from), airplanes (can’t fly), television (how), and women.

-Fear is neurotic consciousness.

-You have to die before you live.

-Girls are the gauge of any successful band.

-Tuners are for cowards.

-The key to music is to be awkward at all times.

Way better details then I could provide as to the setlist:
http://liveforlivemusic.com/news/col-bruce-hampton-70-photos-setlist/

Thanks for sharing Treblemaker.  Good article.

Super cool to die on stage, right?<<<

Beats the shit out of dying slowly from cancer. 

Or dementia, burning to death, or in a brothel, or any other number of ways or places

True, Hoover. Dying alone in rehab always struck me as a bad way for a musician to check out.

Is it confirmed that it was a drug induced heart attack?

 I can't search this page using this phone, did someone suggest that it was a drug induced heart attack, Mr. Timpane? The wording of your question makes me think that someone mentioned that here

Dying in a brothel sounds WAAAAAY better than burning to death. Assuming the brothel death is an immediate, heart attack type thing while boning. If the brothel caught on fire and you died like that, well that wouldn't be good. 

>>>>>>Dying alone in rehab always struck me as a bad way for a musician to check out.

Totes.

>>>>>>Is it confirmed that it was a drug induced heart attack?

I heard it was Warren with strychnine because Col Bruce took the last rib from the Kraft service table.  Which is like that episode of The Sapranos where Vinny killed Tony because Tony ate the last gabagool. 

>>>Is it confirmed that it was a drug induced heart attack?

I hadn't heard that. What drugs were being done? 

There was no Sopranos episode like that at all. 

Are you sure?  And if not, which episode is it most like?

I'm sure. There is no Vinny, which was a big give away. 

Now, the episode of the Sopranos that this most resembles is obviously season 6b, Episode 6, "Kennedy and Heidi". Of course, this is the episode when Christopher, beloved by all, dies while Tony watches him die and doesn't offer any help. The music playing is the Pink Floyd song "comfortably numb", BUT it is being covered by Van Morrison, much like a cover of the song "turn on your love light" was being played. Pretty eerie. 

Damn. That's an impressive display of Sapranos knowledge, Buckster.

You guys remember that Sopranos episode where Tony's wife is about to have an affair with the priest; but then Jesus comes down from Heaven and is like "Not on my watch, buddy!" and casts the priest into a lake of eternal hellfire?

Well Mark you are partially correct. The episode you refer to is one of the ones most often cited as the best Sopranos episode ever. I am talking about, as most of you have already figured out, Season 1, Episode 5, "College". 

Just a brief recap for those who might have forgotten, Tony takes his daughter Meadow up to Maine to visit some colleges, as she will be graduating from High School soon. While on the ride up there, who does Tony see at a gas station but that fucking RAT Fabian Petrulio. Thankfully Tony finds time to strangle that rat to death in between dropping Meadow off at her colleges. 

But to the priest. With Tony and Meadow up north and AJ away at a friends house, Father Phil comes over to visit Carmela for some wine, ziti and movies. They almost make out. She never touched his dick or anything. The next day he is hungover and leaves, embarrassed. Carmela dresses him down because he's a flirt with her and with Rosalie Aprlle too but he'll never deliver the Big D and she calls him on his shit. But there is no lake of eternal hellfire.

(Unless you meant that as a euphemism for dealing with angry women, in which case "lake of eternal hellfire" is correct.)

That sounds right, Buckster.

I remember Jesus was played in that episode by legendary thespian Chris Elliot. Is that correct?

No, Chris Elliot wasn't in the Sopranos. Tony took some peyote in the Season 6b Episode 6 "Kennedy and Heidi" (referenced earlier in this thread) with a stripper named Sonya in Las Vegas and it's possible he saw a christ-like entity in his state of mind, that's probably what you are thinking about. 

Been rewatching the Sopranos, lately. Such a great show. Very well done,

Been rewatching the Sopranos, lately. Such a great show. Very well done,

Watching the Sopranos episodes unfold weekly, with no chapter or index knowledge or song credits, was where it was at.

Replaying the Soprano DVD Box set doesn't cut it.

Where does rewatching it on a streaming device rank? Is that acceptable? 

There was always an air of mystery with the credits moving so darn fast for me.

I saw a couple soprano episodes back in 1999, thought the writing was terrible and the acting was worse.

I feel bad for those onstage, must be a  lot of second guessing going on.

I was lucky to see col. Bruce and Aru at Pearl St in 1994. 

1. intro
2. Plain or Peanut
3. Highly Overrated
4. It's Not the Same Old Thing
5. Payday
6. Compared to What
7. Working on the Building
8. The Garden
9. Time is Free
10. Search Yourself
11. Satisfaction Guaranteed
12. Time Flack
13. No Egos Underwater
14. Turn it On
15. Emotion Overload
16. Headstrong
17. How Tights Yer Drawers
18. Yield Not to Temptation
19. Zambi -> Space is the Place/Rocket Number 9
20. Fixin' to Die
21. Swallows
22. Stand Up People

Encore:
23. Jack the Rabbit

https://archive.org/details/aru1994-09-11.flacf

Only saw him twice, but caught the first, and a few, horde tours...wish id seen him more...

T, give the sopranos another chance...no, not the best acting, but, alot of it is well acted (especially supporting roles) and it was very well written in early years...(imo)

Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret. w/Vassar Clements & Bobby Lee Rodgers

MagFest 10-18-2002

https://youtu.be/vhjCXup_Cd8

Saw ARU only once, it was between '89 - '92, but not exactly sure when. I do remember Col Bruce for sure and that they played Salty Dog. Beyond that my memory is pretty hazy. I am wondering if I would have seen Jimmy Herring and Oteil at that time? Sounds like it.

And I always forget he was in Sling Blade. I happened to watch that again a couple of years ago and realized who he was.

Killer solo, Kid!

Too soon?

Dang, it appears colBruce wasn't at Pearl St, but was at the wetlands. 

Here's some words from Fishman about the evening and Col Bruce.

He made everybody comfortable in their own skin, and as a result it always brought out the best in all of them. That's why he was always surrounded by so much excellence. Not just in music, but in humanity. In intent.

Bruce's intent was love. Period. I never heard him put that word to it, but he was all about intent. His mantra was "Intent, Release and Recovery", but everything always started with intent.

Over the 27 years I've known him, in basically every encounter I had with him or interaction I witnessed him in, the love in his intent was consistently among the purest and most powerful I have ever known. It was like a sun. Seriously. It had gravity. It created orbits. And for those of us who experienced it one way or the other, if perhaps even only from afar, it had more of an impact than we could have ever realized at the time. But whether we knew it or not, since the first time we encountered it, it altered us, changed us, touched us, affected us...and from that point forward it permeated our beings and has come through the music we play, the gigs we book, the articles we write, the concerts we promote, the audience members we are, the food we cook....the grace with which we handle the challenges of life.

He didn't take most things too seriously (and that obviously rubbed off quite a bit on more than a few of us!), but for what he did, the degree of intention to his intent also meant that he was really not f*****' around. And at the pinnacle of his musical life, in front of a sold out crowd at arguably the most beautiful theater in the country, with a stage full of the most talented collective I've ever been a part of, ranging in age from our early teens to our mid 70's, supported by equally talented promoters, managers, caterers etc,....ALL of whom were there because they LOVED the man for how good he made each and every one of them feel about whatever they brought to the table....he sang out one last time "let it shine, let it shine, let it shine" with all the love in his heart, and he meant every word just as he always did, but this time the intent overwhelmed the vessel.

As we were walking away from the venue in the shock and confusion of the moments after his collapse, a fellow musician posed the question,”Did he really just take it THERE?" Yep. Yes he did. He just took it there.

That was the Release. A lifetime's worth of everything that a life as full as Bruce's could contain.

Besides the consistency with which Bruce valued Intent and adhered to the Now he had an equally deep appreciation for good showmanship, and an extraordinary eye for talent. He being Exhibit A of the former, and absolutely all the members of the various bands he lead being examples of the latter. He also had a tremendous sense of humor which allowed him to embrace the ludicrousness of virtually everything with good nature and a deep laugh. I once asked him how the hell he put together band after band of the baddest mother*#%~!'s I'd ever seen on whatever instruments and his response was, "Fish, every band only needs one wrecking ball. They put it up and I tear it down!!"

Being that as it is, I find it virtually impossible to view the manner in which he departed as anything other than the ultimate theatrical accomplishment / practical joke / paradoxical, expressionistic heeeyyeeaarrrr whaaaaahhho ah! haa ha ha hhhaaaaaa....intended to elicit the entire range of human emotion and response in one fell swoop; to seamlessly transition from shine-ee to shine-er in one love intent filled moment leaving us all laughing, crying and astonished at the same time.

I just can't help feeling that being in the moment, as always, he saw the opportunity to make it as real as it gets, comparable to nothing, and took it. And I believe he took it for our benefit, certainly not at our expense, because that could never be his intent. But still, to intend it is one thing... to actually pull it off?!?!

Viewed from this angle It's certainly the greatest act of showmanship I expect to ever witness in my lifetime short of spontaneous combustion...which I hope to accomplish someday in his honor!

And therein, for me, lies the trick, the humor, the mystery, the essence of who Bruce was. This time, with all the love he could muster and what surely could have only been the best intent, he went "out" once again, but this time he didn't come back. This time he left the Recovery to us, but not before turning the light he sang for around and giving us all a quick glimpse of the richness of our own humanity in its glow, and a lasting mental picture of what a roomful of good intent looks like.

I realize that not everyone will view the moment of his departure through the same celebratory and even humorous lens as I, but it is my intent that my words ring true in regards to who Bruce was/is, and that the love and appreciation I have tried to express for him and what he has brought to my life speaks to some degree to anyone else who knew him in whatever capacity, be it for a minute or a lifetime, and that it brings some measure of assistance to the healing process.

But if my words still leave any doubt as to whether the manner in which Bruce left was right in line with who he really was, and something to celebrate rather than lament, Bruce's own words from a 1970 interview on the question, “What is Grease?" say it better than any of us ever could anyway: "See, our main ambition in life aside from growing a bosom on top of our heads is to die on stage and when we die on stage that will be when we ultimately reach Grease."

Bruce, I hope that in whatever greasy reaches of the Omniverse your travels take you, your love light shines as brightly as it did here on earth. We will all miss you and we all thank you, sir, for your service.

Love, Fish

And from John Popper.  Though be warned, his writing is almost as bad as his harp playing.

Okay....So putting aside if I can,my emotional state over being in that place,at that time(at least enough to discuss it),I want to say a few things...
To the others on stage the night the Col daned to leave this world,I will always share a bond with U I can only begin to grasp at this point...
I know how the range of emotions can run the spectrum&weird things pop i to Ur head like,"I didn't get a chance to hug Susan hello tho she's been up here all nite" or "f*** Jon Fishman can subdivide&go out&in to time like a m***********" or "I never said goodbye to Bruce tho I've been talking to him all day"...&then that moment gets real slow when he looked at me on stage to take some of Love Light...&so aptly named our last collaberation...throwing it to the kid (Taz)&falling to his knees to milk it as he'd done so many times before...
And we all knew the part to play...it was so fun&funny I leaned over&whispered in Taz's ear in reference to his solo as the Col kept it up staying down,"I think U actually killed him"...For none of us knew...except as perhaps as Otiel suggested to me,the Col himself bc as much as I along w/any up there may have been traumatized in our moment of hard realization that this was infact no joke,(&that realization would grow starker still),I have to admit that if it were in his power to choose a time then the time was eerily perfect in execution...be it procognitively percieved or improvised....
In my view there is no "good way to go"...but go we all must&in the outpouring of love we've all shared...&I have recieved so much love from all of U that I am unspeakably greatfull for(I'll never be able to express),many of U wiser types have pointed out that it was indeed a time of celebrating his life surrounded by almost everyone he loved who loved him,not just for the truth of his artistic expression but as a kind sensitive&aware friend...able to read&thusly share...
Through the raw pain of my grieving at having been so shockingly in attendance to celebrate the man who would play his own memorial,it had occurred to me that every legendary statement about this legendary soul was infact true...
This man more than any I have come to know...sublimely&
inadvertently led a movement of creative thought based on possibility...
It was a possibility he tended so naturally to see in each one of us...somehow each of us in his narrative had our best truest self closer at hand then we would believe w/out his belief in us...each of us were showing him our magic power in some way&he hohned instantly on the most positive sense of that...I can see it in others when I remember to...but this was his natural inclination...it was his power&it came across as clairvoyance...hell I guess it was...but his parlor tricks of reading Ur birthday or knowing some detail was just the surface of a deeper magic...it was about intent...&his was always positive&most of all true...
That for me is his chief favor to me among many...He proved to me that despite my best attempts to be guarded,that my suspisions were correct:
That the all important truth (the one non negotiable in our line of work),IS a positive thing...requiring merely our belief...in each other...&that is what makes him legendary to me...his emaculate sense of timing was just another amazing parlor trick...
The true magic,by no means an illusion was performed for&upon us his entire life...
I plan to continue as he taught...I'm gonna go play that way&continue to do so for as long as I can...&I will share it as he did...Taz&I got to know each other a little better in this last interaction w/Bruce...&I look foward to jamming as long as I can w/him and those after as long as my intent can remain pure...I took it as no accident our mutual introduction...I learned to take nothing the Col did as an accident...nor a plan...I took his actions as truths made apparent by the love of his light...Let the legend loose!!

Yeah, that popper statement goes in and out of coherency like some stoned stream of consciousness blog, whereas the fish one is like a well composed eulogy.

still, good finds on both!

I'd like to go on record and say I loved those first 2 Blues Travers albums(((Bobby Sheehan)))and I liked at the time Poppers solo album. I think he's a good harp player kinda reminds my of Magic Dick(ducks).... anyway I worked his solo show, and talked with him a bit and came away with nothing but respect for the guy.

John Popper is pretty original right?  I understand not everybody's glass of beer.

and please not looking for an argument here as I'd like to keep thread on point! just wanted to talk some shit.

((((Col. Bruce))))

I feel bad for everybody involved with this gig, I've been thinkin' of Jimmy non-stop,  I love that man, talk about a guy I respect!

This is the best article about Col. Bruce i've found:

http://artsatl.com/remembrance-colonel-bruce-hampton-gave-greatest-gift/

That was wonderful, liquidmonkey!

So much good stuff in there: the lamentation of the lost art of eccentricity, the story of meeting Zappa, his claiming of Not earning much more than $28,000 during practically the entire decade of the 80's, some of that time spent living out of his car, and this great quote;

"really, success spoils anything that's pure"

bruce Hampton forever!

rip

I hope everyone gets a chance to read it

it really is wonderful.

Here's a great long conversation with the colonel:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cNezyaXlMjM&ebc=ANyPxKqAleYRihZRCZzZKpQCbX...

Absolutely love all this stuff!

And I really enjoy listening to Hampton talk especially once he gets going, so if anyone comes across some lengthy written or taped interviews, please link'em.

There's some gold in that video interview I last posted.

in addition to some of the most humanizing anecdotes about FZ I've ever heard, the late col. Drops these gems:

"The youth of today r smarter than ever but they lack wisdom and curiosity"

"hopefully I feel things but believe nothing"

and this beautiful sun ra quote: "I could have enjoyed my time on this planet if the people had been alive"

RIP Col. Bruce Hampton

The full show is on archive at: https://archive.org/details/colbruce2017-05-01.akg.c451e.ck1.flac2496 including the chilling Finxin' to Die.

Also, check our Scramble Campbell's facebook page for a fitting live painting tribute from this past Sunday.

Enjoy Your Day, Enjoy Life!

^ thanks for the link

"All prediction is folly"

- col. Bruce Hampton

And I really enjoy listening to Hampton talk especially once he gets going, so if anyone comes across some lengthy written or taped interviews, please link'em.<<

If you haven't already, check out the WSP movie (And the Earth Will Swallow You (??? - been a while).  There are some interview snippets that make you wish you could sit down and talk with him for hours.

Really glad I caught all those CodeTalker shows, even if he was barely there for a couple. 

Thanks, It's been over a decade since I saw 'And the Earth will swallow u Whole' and I have no recollection of the Hampton portions so I'm gonna need to re-check that. 

I should probably just buy the 'Basically frightened' doc.

>>>There are some interview snippets that make you wish you could sit down and talk with him for hours.

Yeah, most of the stuff I've been checking out lately makes me feel he could have given pretty much anyone in the entertainment industry a run for their money in terms of quality hang time.

Perhaps the most worthwhile aspect of his legacy was him being living proof that while it's awesome to be a great and interesting artist, it's far more important to b a really cool and interesting person.

Tinsley Ellis & 'Special Suprise Guests' to Honor the Col. at Tunes From the Tombs in Oakland Cemetery June 10th.

http://music.blog.ajc.com/2017/05/08/col-bruce-hampton-will-be-honored-b...

we're just 2 blocks from the cemetery and are very curious who (and how 'special') these guests might be.

Pretty awesome footage of col. Bruce and the late Bronze Age:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WX2Y-gd-FqM

^that shit is rad

Too bad I traded that trumpet to Juan for some weed.

Who, in turn, probably pawned it for $ to buy more weed, as is the circle of life.

but yes, the last bronze stuff is next level. 

Wish there was more of it, I like it more than the small amount of footage I've seen of the new ice age band, which for all I know is essentially the same band.

from what I understand the good col. Liked to randomly change the name of his groups when they were new just to mess with people.

apparently aru went under several different names before settling on their current monicker.

any zoners get to see aru before they were aru or, better yet, any of those crazy earlier Hampton projects from the 80's, 70's or dare I say, 60's?

Anywho, here's a pro shot capture of the only time I got to see him.

its an early set from the last day of the first lockn' and is actually really decent.

thanks, shap dad: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dVx6r6HblO4

my favorite part is in the middle of 'basically frightened' after oteil has been taking his fancy jazz scat solos for the last few songs, col. Bruce stands up, looks right at him, vomits up 2 bars of loud, intense distorted madness from his sg, sits back down, mimes finishing and flicking away an imaginary cigarette.

the band then shares a good laugh as the song continues.

Lots of links worth rewatching up in this bitch

...

Fishman has some really great Col. Bruce stories.

Is he still dead?

Damn straight, I'll throw a couple more on the pile:

pro shot full 92' tv promo aru set:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QARwULqjYyo

Grease band 68' demo (mono): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YjfMEj4G4AE

I was hanging with the TTB family a few weeks back and Bruce came up (as always with this crew). We shared stories and many laughs. Apparently, Bruce liked to drive the tour bus and usually went in the wrong direction. Sometimes for 2 or 3 hours. Made for some long road trips. Falcon insisted that I had introduced him to Bruce, and Tis said Bruce introduced me to him. I dont recall either of those 2 meetings, but Bruce was a whirlwind and people would get caught up in the storm. Loved that guy.

May the good Colonel RIP!

I am just glad I got to watch the entire 4 hour tribute and especially the final three songs before the full show HD Vid got yanked from Youtube.

Watching it was profound.