The legendary and elusive Roky Erickson, who played the Black Cat here in Washington DC last night.  If you’re a fan of Janis Joplin, rock and roll survivor stories, or the origins of psychedelic rock music, you owe it to yourself to discover this man and his work with the 13th Floor Elevators.  Janis was a contemporary of the Elevators, and if you listen to Roky’s vocal track for You’re Gonna Miss Me, you’ll definitely understand that she copped her signature howl from him - and even his was something he practiced over and over to be able to do it onstage regularly.

If you’ve seen High Fidelity, the opening track of the film when the needle touches down is the 13th Floor Elevators’ tune You’re Gonna Miss Me, which Roky closed with last night.  He’s still somewhat timid, turning his back to the crowd to focus on playing with the band anytime he wasn’t singing.  The set was heavy with Aliens-era tunes, especially the horror film-influenced stuff like:

• Bloody Hammer
• Two-Headed Dog
• It’s A Cold Night For Alligators
• Don’t Shake Me Lucifer
• Starry Eyes

I believe his backing band was mostly the opener, the Happen-Ins.  Their set included a cover of Slim Harpo’s Shake Your Hips, which the Elevators were known to cover too.  Roky joined them after their set was over, and he did do at least two numbers from his current album on which he’s backed by Okkervil River, True Love Cast Out All Evil.  They played John Lawman and Goodbye Sweet Dreams.  This latter tune will break your heart when Roky performs it solo in the documentary about his life, You’re Gonna Miss Me, a film which I can recommend without any hesitation to any fan of rock music. 

In Roky’s life, there are parallels to the stories of musicians like Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson, and if those are artists whose lives intrigue you, seek this film out.

I’m glad I got the chance to see this legend and I hope his recovery continues.