After having played a number of smaller venues in the area, the Maniacs finally got a headlining gig at one of LA's major venues, the Greek Theater. I went by myself, as most of my concert-going friends were not interested in the newer sounds of the day. I sat in Section A, center, about there rows back, so there are some advantages to buying single tickets.
The show was opened by Camper Van Beethoven, a California band that has achieved some recognition, but hasn't hit the big time.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about their debut at the Greek, is that Natalie Merchant, the voice of the Maniacs, the pretty young lady who sang with intelligence about all the worthy causes in the Universe, dropped the F-bomb, live in concert. As someone who uses the F-word sparingly and only in situations of supreme necessity, I was stunned by Natalie's use of the profanity. But it wasn't all bad - she did her usual twists and pirouettes and sang songs from both their hit albums, "In My Tribe" and "Blind Man's Zoo". They played "What's The Matter Here", "Trouble Me", "You Happy Puppet" and "Headstrong", among others.
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