The Captain Beefheart Radar Station - Beefheart Bops Beefheart Bops Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band live at The Paradise, Boston. This live review was written by Tristram Lozaw and originally appeared in February 1981 Boston Rock. Beefheart seems to rely on shapes instead of notes.
Word sounds instead of lyrics.
Equations that don't necessarily balance. A painter doesn't throw a swash of color onto his creation and then talk to onlookers about whether they enjoyed it, nor does he wait for their approval before he proceeds. His work can hang in a gallery somewhere for all to see. When he creates he usually does so in the solitude of his studio. You get the feeling that the Captain would really rather be alone with his band, but he understands that music needs an audience and the communal energy that can only happen in live performances, whether he likes the audiences' contributions to the final creation or not.