A couple weeks ago I went to Webster Hall to see 70s proto-metal band Pentagram perform. The crowd was a strange mix of the hip young Williamsburg chic crowd and unrepentant metalheads. Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” came on between sets, and I witnessed one large gentleman frantically play another large gentleman like a guitar for every section of the song. Reminding us that yes, there was a time in which people expressively GOT INTO the music.

When Pentagram took the stage, Bobby Liebling stepped out, sporting a ghoulish pallor and a psychedelic swingers’ party shirt. When he spoke, his was voice slowed by his Southern drawl and massive quantities of narcotics. Barely intelligible. Legend has it that Bobby Liebling has been on heroin since the mid 80s. It seems to have yielded that rare Keith-Richards-pickling effect on him. Though in 2005, Bobby apparently succumbed to an overdose while onstage and had to be carted away.

I will say this: the man is a pro. He must be at least 56 years old, addled by decades of drug use, and yet the man running all around the stage vamping it up like Rasptutin Gone Wild. When he sang he sounded no different than the 1972 studio recordings. Apparently there is a film about the man coming out soon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 5:40 pm and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.