Sometimes Jeffrey Wegener got lost. The drummer would hit a wrong accent or miss a change; he played in and out of time. Slowed down. Sped up. Was super busy. It wasn't jazz. It was cathartic. And chaotic. And wild. The perfect foil for Ed Kuepper in electric duo mode. An Ed Kuepper that was presented to a cold, autumn, Wednesday night, sold out crowdlike a long lost overseas performer.

Wegener has missing teeth, a hard face. But handsome too. He played with Kuepper in the Laughing Clowns, moonlit with the Birthday Party. Had done time. Has a formidable reputation for those who remember. One friend said, "It was good to see Jeffrey not in the state of a wild animal."

Kuepper looked svelte. And prepared for anything. His guitar sound is entirely unique. His songs succeed in bein both classic in their construction and experimental at the same time. Things like the Laughing Clowns' Collapse Board, La Di Doh and a melted down Know Your Product. He's never been afraid to play well-known chestnuts either, peppering the two sets with Fever, Canned Heat's On The Road Again, The Stones' Gimme Shelter, the Velvets' [sic] Waiting For The Man, Del Shannon's Runaway and the late 60s Zager and Evans hit In The Year 2525.

Occasionally you had to bend the ear, but Kuepper and Wegener, together again after so many years, showed they can still meshstretch and excite. Hopefully a tatse test for a Laughing Clowns Reunion.

Chris Hollow