Mole Show: Live In Holland

***Mole Show: Live In Holland*** is a live album by The Residents, recorded on the group's Mole Show tour on June 4th 1983 at the Muziekcentrum (Music Centre) in Utrecht and released by the group in 1989 on Torso.

The album features narration from the group's friend and occasional collaborator Penn Jillette.

## History

When The Residents first discovered the E-mu Emulators, they knew their careers and lives would be changed forever. The machine's sampling ability would allow the group to create music using instruments they'd previously only dreamed of being able to play. They could sample trumpets and play them perfectly, and could sample a vacuum cleaner to turn it into a musical instrument. The world was their oyster.

After some testing with the emulators, the group also discovered that this made is astronomically easy to perform their tricky studio material live. Once they realized this, they began planning what would be their first world tour.

Flash forward a year, and the mysterious foursome found themselves in a cramped van, touring their *Mole Show* across Europe. They'd devised a complicated and flashy show to let the the world know what they were capable of, and were about to perform it on a show that would also be recorded for the Dutch radio station VPRO. The result is the following concert, performed with the band at their top game.

## Release

Despite the excellence of this recording, after it was broadcast on radio, it went mostly unreleased for six years. Although excerpts were included on the *Mole Show VHS* in 1984, and excerpts from those excerpts were included in the *PAL TV LP* in 1985, which acted as the European soundtrack album to the VHS.

Eventually, the full concert was finally released in 1989 by Dutch record label Torso, with East Side Digital handling the American distribution. The only real difference between the radio broadcast and the album is that Penn Jillette's bits in Esperanto have been almost entirely cut. The album cover incorrectly claims that the show was recorded June 6th 1983, when in reality, The Residents performed in Holland on the 4th.

The album has never been fully reissued since its original release, remaining out of print for over thirty years; however, this show's "Marching to the Sea" was included in *Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town*, and *PAL TV LP* was reissued in 2019.

The CD comes with a small booklet including illustrations from the Mole Show backdrops. The packaging refers to The Residents' fan club UWEB, with the phrases "Who is UWEB?" and "Where is UWEB?" written on the liner notes and back cover respectively.

## Reception

### Retrospective

In March 2010, freelance music reviewer Mark Prindle described *Mole Show: Live in Holland* as "a downright hooter", recommending it to listeners who "like [*Mark of the Mole*] and also enjoy the work of Penn Jillette", whose narration "ranges from the touching... to the bizarre... to the absolutely hilarious".

## Track listing

1. Voices Of The Air (3:05)
2. The Secret Seed (2:10)
3. Narration (1:33)
4. The Ultimate Disaster (5:12)
5. Narration (0:56)
6. God Of Darkness (2:33)
7. Narration (1:12)
8. Migration (7:54)
9. Narration (0:41)
10. Smack Your Lips (3:55)
11. Narration (0:58)
12. Another Land (4:20)
13. Narration (0:58)
14. The New Machine (7:01)
15. Narration (0:57)
16. Call Of The Wild (3:20)
17. Final Confrontation (7:38)
18. Narration (2:00)
19. Satisfaction (3:00)
20. Happy Home (4:18)

## Credits

* **Written & Performed By** The Residents
* **Presented By:** The Music Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands
* **Recorded By:** NOS for VPRO Radio.
* **Mixed At:** VARA Studio 8
* **Mixed By:** Gert de Bruyn, Richard Zeilstra & The Residents
* **Recording Supervised By:** Richard Zeilstra
* **Produced By:** The Cryptic Corporation
* **Designed By:** Pornographics & Rex Ray
* **All songs published by:** Pale Pachyderm Publishing
* **(C) + (P):** The Cryptic Corporation

## See also

* The Mole Show
* The Mole Trilogy

## External links and references

1. ↑ Mark Prindle, "The 'What's New?' Page", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010 (archived via archive.org)
2. ↑ Mark Prindle, "Mole Show: Live In Holland June 6th 1983", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010

**Cast of Characters**
Mohelmot · Chubs (Innisfree · The Scientist) · The ObserverDarkness · The Evil DisposerCross (Zinkenites · Kula Bocca · The Big Bubble · Frankie DuVall)
**Part One: *Mark of the Mole* (1981)**
(video game · novel)
**Side A: Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "Migration"
**Side B: Hole-Workers vs. Man and Machine**
"Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Final Confrontation"
**Part Two: *The Tunes of Two Cities* (1982)**
(*The Comix of Two Cities*)
**Side A:** "Serenade For Missy" · "A Maze Of Jigsaws" · "Mousetrap" · "God Of Darkness" · "Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" · "Praise For The Curse"
**Side B:** "The Secret Seed" · "Smokebeams" · "Mourning The Undead" · "Song Of The Wild" · "The Evil Disposer" · "Happy Home (Excerpt From Act II of "Innisfree")"
***Intermission: Extraneous Music From The Residents' Mole Show* (1982)**
**Side A:** "Lights Out (Prelude)" · "Shorty's Lament (Intermission)"
**Side B:** "The Moles Are Coming (Intermission)" · "Would We Be Alive? (Intermission)" · "The New Hymn (Recessional)"
**The Mole Show (1982-1983)**(*Mole Dance 82* · *Live At The Roxy* · *La Edad de Oro* · Uncle Sam Mole Show · VHS · ***Live In Holland*** · DVD bag set)
**Part Three: ???**
"Now It Is Too Late" · "Going Nowhere" · "Tired Old Man" · "Marching To The We" · *Mole Suite*
**Part Four: *The Big Bubble* (1985)**(fictional band · Black Shroud Records)
**Side A:** "Sorry" · "Hop A Little" · "Go Where Ya Wanna Go" · "Gotta Gotta Get" · "Cry For The Fire"
**Side B:** "Die-Stay-Go" · "Vinegar" · "Firefly" · "The Big Bubble" · "Fear for the Future" · "Kula Bocca Says So"
**Part Five: ???**
**Part Six: ???**
**Related works**
"Open Up" · "Anvil Forest" · The 10th Anniversary Show (*Assorted Secrets*) · *PAL TV LP* · The 13th Anniversary Show · *Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed* ("From MOM1" · "Untitled" · "Jingle Bell" · "Another Another Land")
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Minna St. studio · Porno Graphics · Penn Jillette · Nessie Lessons · Snakefinger · Matt Howarth · Greg Easter · T.D. Wade

**Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! (1976)**
*Oh Mummy Oh Daddy Can't You See That It's True What The Beatles Did To Me I Love Lucy Did To You* (2010)
**The Mole Show (1982 - 1983)**
*Mole Show (Live At The Roxy)* (1983) · ***Mole Show: Live In Holland*** (1989)
**The 13th Anniversary Show with Snakefinger (1985-1987)**
*The 13th Anniversary Show - Live In Japan* (1986) · *Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour* (1986)
*13th Anniversary Show - Live In Holland* (1987) · *13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986* (2010)
*The 13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland* (2014)
**The Snakey Wake (1987)**
*Live At The Snakey Wake* (2010)
**Cube-E (The History of American Music in 3 E-Z Pieces) (1988 - 1990)**
*Buckaroo Blues & Black Barry* (1989) · *Cube-E - Live In Holland* (1990)
*Cube-E Dynasone 3EZ* (2011)
**Disfigured Night (1997)** *Live At The Fillmore* (1998) · *Adobe Disfigured Night* (2009)*The Marlboro Eyeball Experience* (2009) · *The Fillmore Dress Rehearsal (Act One)* (2009)
**Wormwood Live (1998 - 1999)**
*Wormwood Live 1999* (1999)
**Icky Flix Live (2001)**
*Brava* (2010)
**Demons Dance Alone (2003)**
*Demonic! Demons Dance Alone Live In Oslo* (2012)
**The Way We Were (2005)**
*The Way We Were* (2005)
**The Bunny Boy (2008)**
*Bunny Boy Live In Frankfurt* (2021)
**The Randy, Chuck & Bob Trilogy (2010 - 2016)**
*Talking Light (Live)* series (2010 - 2011) · *Talking Light Live In Rehearsal, Santa Cruz, California* (2010)*Talking Light Bimbo's* (2011) · *The Wonder of Weird* (2014) · *Shadowland* (2015)
**In Between Dreams (2017 - 2019)**
*In Between Dreams Live* (2019)
**God In 3 Persons - Live! (2019 - 2022)**
*God In 3 Persons* (2020)
**Live in the studio**
*Assorted Secrets* (1984) · *Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions* (2000) · *Mole Dance 82* (2021)
**Related articles**
The Residents discography · The Residents live shows