As we reported last year, Oakland new-psych leaders The Gris Gris ended their run with a bang, recording their final two performances for a release to join acclaimed full-lengths The Gris Gris and For The Season. Live at the Creamery captures the band’s performance at Oakland’s Ghost Town Gallery (aka The Creamery) and it’s out now on CD and LP from Birdman Records.
Aquarius Records reviewed the new album in their latest newsletter, writing:
It’s impossible to predict which bands will get that big break and blow up and which bands will never get all the love and glory they deserve. It seems like the Gris Gris were always on the verge of their big break but for one reason or another it never seemed to happen, and we’re not sure why. To our ears they were one of the most impressive and refreshing in the recent onslaught of psych revivalists. Fueled by a 13th Floor Elevators inspiration they cranked out songs with some serious fire and substance. In fact it’s Greg Ashley’s sophisticated songwriting chops that really set the Gris Gris head and shoulders above so many of the others, the bands who knew how to look the look and make all the right psychedelic signifier sounds and images but didn’t really have the true songs to back it all up. Sadly they called it quits or at least decided to take a long hiatus a few months ago, but luckily their legend can live on through this great record, a live show recorded in Oakland this past spring. Fiery renditions of lots of our favorite Gris Gris tracks and further proof that this is a band that deserves more ears to hear just what made them so special.
The album can be purchased at BirdmanRecords.com.
