David Lindley and El Rayo X - Live Metropol Berlin 1981-11-03

[@bobbynoe1]

00:00 Premature 04:28 Your Old Lady 10:30 Brother John (dedicated to John Lennon) into 16:18 Amazing Grace 21:22 Fiddle Tune (feat. Hangman's Reel) 27:14 Rag A Bag 34:34 Don't Look Back (Peter Tosh cover) 42:18 Introduction of the band 43:54 Rock It WIth I 50:24 Quarter Of A Man 55:53 I'm A Hog For You 1:00:34 Tu-ber-cu-lucas and the Sinus Blues 1:07:04 Mercury Blues (killer!!!) 1:13:13 DL: "We'd like to dedicate this song to the unseen member of this band." Audience: "Who?" DL: "The buzz in the speakers." 1:14:04 Bye Bye Love 1:17:11 El Rayo-X

[@doctorducky6403]

Let the Circle Be Unbroken

[@BWF007]

Excellent recording! Excellent camera work on close ups! Excellent Dave! Because of these recordings Dave will be with us always!

[@goodun2974]

@bobbynoe1, Ras Baboo also plays keyboards here, on "I'm a Hog For Ya Baby".

[@goodun2974]

​@@doctorducky6403, no, it's Amazing Grace.

[@Martychargin]

@@goodun2974 Ras Baboo was a trip... wish he played with David longer

[@hankschiffman1587]

It does not get any better than this

[@reidflemingworldstoughestm1394]

David Feckin Lindley, goat.

[@JohnSagner]

It doesn’t get better than this…

[@WillieEWoof]

Great David Lindley (March 21, 1944 - March 3, 2023), R.I.P. 😞

[@danielosullivan3110]

❤

[@karl-heinzbiermann3321]

~ R.I.P. David Lindley ~ Thanxxx for all of your music ❤

[@Gylfi465]

Bless Ian Wallace as well

[@karl-heinzbiermann3321]

Oh yeah. Fer sure!

[@romittman6285]

Was lucky enough to see Mr Dave 8 times including with The Grateful Dead at laguna seka Monterey Ca. He was my second favorite artist besides the Dead. One time in Ft Collins’s Co it was so intimate that I called out mercury smell he said “oh you want to hear that” then he changed guitars and played it!! Thrill of a lifetime! All this to say thank you thank you!! I have watched this video 3 times already

[@jarredbahr1714]

Aw fuck I'm jealous. And way too young to see either band but as a huge lifelong Deadhead and now a huge Mr. DAVE fan recently, you sound like a cool ass lady!!

[@norseman9573]

This is truly a treasure. Hard to believe this was so many years ago and that we no longer have David Lindley with us anymore. Thank you for posting this. It makes my heart glad.

[@giacomingoalie]

My musical hero growing up in SoCal in the 70's. Saw him more times than I can count...especially with Jackson. Rest in paisley!

[@amberackerson5916]

Rest in paisley!! 😂😂😂 I also saw Mr Dave anytime he came through portland OR, which was a lot back in the day. 💜

[@dougmisantoni4384]

Ditto.....

[@harenm1]

R.I.P. mr. Lindley, Best ever!

[@MustafarRecRoom]

Came for Mercury Blues....stayed for the rest! Awesome!

[@acrosticox]

I saw David in Rome 1982, a wonderful concert , R.I.P. David Lindley, I will miss you.❤

[@johnmitchelljr]

Thank you. Sweet sorrow.

[@jmc9910]

Holy Crap! The slide work on Your Old Lady!

[@Martychargin]

A master of his craft at work... a true virtuoso... and...Ras Baboo banging on a. gas can.... what a great band!

[@georgemartin1498]

Thanks for this, fantastic! Many would say that Lindley was “under appreciated “ but he was very well appreciated by those who heard him😊😊. In the last set you get the brilliance of his soprano voice😮. BTW, for those old enough to remember Don McLean’s lyric about the “father, son and the holy ghost “ here I suggest the most recent iteration is, in random order Lindley, Browne and Zevon 😊. And the common denominator of Calderon!

[@bobbynoe1]

Aficionados who say their favorite musicians are underrated are usually wrong because they don't see that they fly under the radar of mainstream listeners, but connoisseurs know how to appreciate their geniuses.

[@goodun2974]

​​@@bobbynoe1, I too prefer to use the term *under-appreciated*, as the majority of the people who did know about him probably did so primarily through his long association with Jackson Brown, but they may not have gone any further to buy Lindley's records or go see him play solo or with ElRayox. Anyway, Lindley was unique, a singular talent, a One of One. We shall never see his like again; which should serve as a reminder to go see the very few similarly brilliant musicians who are still with us and operating at a similarly high level. Sonny Landreth, and Richard Thompson, are the first two that come to my mind.

[@goodun2974]

​​@@bobbynoe1, ps, when Lindley died, Henry Kaiser posted a warm-hearted memorial to him on KZbin, including home movies from their trip to Madagascar to record with local musicians.

[@bobbynoe1]

@@goodun2974 Well, first in my mind is Ry Cooder, David's lifelong friend and musical companion.

[@goodun2974]

@@bobbynoe1, I've been a fan of Cooder for over 40 years, but unfortunately he very rarely tours in recent years (I saw him on the Prodigal Son tour) and his recorded output has been spotty and somewhat strange in the past couple decades. Landreth and Thompson, however, are still playing at the top of their game, and in Thompson's case, singing as well as he ever has. My wife and I are also big John Hiatt fans but we skipped his last couple of tours because he's lost much of his voice, which was formerly one of the main reasons to go see him play. We prefer not to attend shows where the performer is but a shadow of their former selves, and prefer to remember him or her as they once were. We saw Landreth play last year and he was excellent, ditto for Thompson a couple years back. Thompson is touring with a band this year, and I haven't seen him play with a band since the 1980's; we'd love to go but the few remaining tickets to the shows are in the nosebleed seats, very expensive, and several hours drive away, so not really practical, darn it..... But anybody else who has a chance to see him really should because he's well into his 70s, and although he looks and sounds good there's no telling how much longer he'll be with us.

[@danbartko164]

DAVID LINDLEY RIP

[@TMCMR]

Wow. This is special. Peace David

[@toniferreira4314]

Wish he had come to Okinawa in 82-83 when I lived there. I saw David and El Reyo X in Fresno, California before I moved to Okinawa. Have his autograph from that night. Wish I had been at this show as it is a great show. RIP music man.

[@marcyfan-tz4wj]

i always wanted to see this great artist. this is as close as i'll ever get. thank you for giving me chance to see him.

[@alantaylor4038]

Thanks very much for this video! I've watched many David Lindley and El Rayo-X videos, but this is pure gold. David Lindley is much under-recognised, I reckon. I want to call him a genius. And El Rayo-X are such great players. There's always great joy in their music.

[@krimpoo]

you left out the living treasure 'raz babboo' !

[@francelebel6067]

Great joy. Bien dit. ❤ tout ce qu’il a fait est bon. J’aime bien avec Ry Cooder.

[@georgemartin1498]

The best of the best😮

[@snowillard]

I loved him

[@kentborges5114]

RIGHTEOUS...MET DAVID SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN EUGENE, OREGON AFTER A SHOW...LINDLEY THEE LEGEND !

[@rossr6616]

where’d david play in Eugene that time?

[@kentborges5114]

@@rossr6616 June 2nd, the day after Jean Luc Ponty played...John G. Shedd Theater.

[@nicktighe3093]

david is incredible rip

[@jondidier2282]

Never got to see El Rayo but I'm a big fan Of David. This is great! Thanks.

[@danielosullivan3110]

Saw el-reyo x in 87 in Rochester NY. Recall Mr Dave was upset with security. They came to my front row table and stole the hog leg we had just fired up!

[@isometric2008]

Musicianship at its finest!

[@ccryder6605]

This is absolutely fabulous. Thank you.

[@billsstudio2528]

A little info on the ‘other’ guitar player/vocalist, Bernie Larsen. He lived down the street from me as a teenager in Simi Valley in the early 70’s. I would hear him practicing all the time and he would also jam with the neighborhood kids with their teen bands. He had a band in Simi called Bullet, and they played covers. The best band in Ventura County for sure at the time. Bullet played at the infamous Lemon Drive party that everyone and their brother went to. Killer party but ended a bit ugly when the police came. Those were the good ole days! Bernie went on to play with Joe Walsh, Melissa Etheridge I believe, and the finally Dave Lindsey. Now he’s back in the Midwest?? Playing Indie stuff last I thought.

[@ggates5859]

His late 80s band Cry On Cue was incredible!

[@eddiebuckley8528]

Wow thanks for sharing. David was obviously capable of headlining - I saw him live only one time. He was backing up Jackson Brown.

[@goodun2974]

Man, this is so hot🔥!! Great drumming and percussion; from Walfredo Reyes and Wally Ingram to Ian Wallace and Ras Baboo here, David always works with the best. I saw ElRayo-X 4 times back in the day, mostly with William Smitty Smith on keys (one time it was Ian McLagan on keys), and usually with a 3rd guitarist (Ray Woodbury,) but even in this stripped down format as a 5 piece band, they're just killing it! Frigging awesome! And Baboo is certifiably insane, playing keys, accordion, and of course the infamous oil can!

[@Martychargin]

Smitty was awesome...

[@joachimlubs8829]

Every once in a while a little gem escapes from the land of forgotten treasures. I saw this band in march `82 in the venerable concert hall "Musikhalle" in Hamburg. Security tried to prevent the audience from dancing.

[@bobbynoe1]

Stimmt - ich arbeite gerade mein jahrelang im Keller versacktes VHS-Archiv auf und bin selber begeistert, was sich da alles findet. Übrigens kann ich mir nicht vorstellen, dass bei dem Sound ein Tanzverbot durchzusetzen war!

[@reidflemingworldstoughestm1394]

Ya can't not dance to El Rayo Ex!

[@lisacito3879]

Thanks for sharing..he was an amazing musician ❤🎵🎼🎶

[@jongray4828]

Thank You David, your music is rejuvenating?

[@michaeldunahee4537]

I saw David Lindley and El Rayo X on this tour (in July 1981). I have seen videos of other El Rayo X concerts, and to me this band is soooo much better with the energy and percussion of Ras Baboo.

[@goodun2974]

David said in an interview that he and Baboo were like oil and water and didn't get along very well. Later on after Baboo left Lindley brought William Smitty Smith on tour with the band to play keyboards and that guy was awesome. Later shows featured Walfredo Reyes junior on drums, a terrific drummer in his own right who also played with Santana and has been with Chicago for years. 2 of the El rayo X shows I attended had both Bernie Larsen and Ray Woodbury on second and third guitar! Bass player Jorge Calderon was in the band all 4 times that I saw them but occasionally Phil Chen would be playing bass on tour with them instead. The last time I saw them play in 1990 or 91 they had Ian McLaugen on keyboards who used to play with the Faces, and Rock Dedrick on drums.

[@Martychargin]

Have you ever seen a concert with a person banging on a gas can? These guys were unique...

[@paulsearcy6210]

Pure Genius

[@mattbluesmain1359]

never forget them live in houston tx HEAVY

[@haraldlambert6780]

Ich warte schon mindestens 25 Jahre darauf, daß dieses Konzert vom "Rockpalast" auf CD und DVD veröffentlicht werden darf. Bis jetzt: Nichts!

[@bobbynoe1]

Für Leute wie Dich lade ich diese alten VHS-Sachen hoch.

[@haraldlambert6780]

@@bobbynoe1 Und mindestens deshalb sind mir Leute wie Du ganz besonders sympathisch👍👍

[@CactusPete]

can't love this enough, saw David in Toronto back in the 80's....these tunes brought back great memories although I don't recall seeing that freaking awesome Fiddle Tune before.....thanks @bobbynoe1

[@CygnusXJon]

Thanks for this! So good, such a great player

[@ikkenhisatsu7170]

Awesome show! We saw them the tour before that. And BTW, that’s Amazing Grace, not Will the Circle Be Unbroken. Lindley is a freaking genius.

[@bobbynoe1]

That's right - I changed it. Thanks!

[@goodun2974]

A smoking version of Your Old Lady, with a rippin', screamin' lap steel solo from David at 8:00. He's really in the zone here! And that fiddle medley, wow! I wish I could read the notes taped to his Weissenborn acoustic lap steel ---- set list? Mic, EQ and gain settings? String guages and tunings?

[@bruins4rent213]

Oyeme flor de Mayo! Yo soy El Hombre Rayo!

[@delawaretennisnut]

Love all. His music!! DGL

[@robertulume416]

Le son et la touche de sa guitare toujours bon a écouter

[@brentabbott3954]

Its funny how Louisiana music always finds its way.We are in your crawl.HaHa!!!

[@allardvanderstarre5238]

inspiration

[@jezmez68]

Fender strap on a Danelectro guitar? David Lindley don't give a damn!

[@JimHernandez-ts7kn]

Why is David Lindsey NOT in the rock & roll hall?

[@JohnSagner]

Because it’s a hype

[@goodun2974]

​@@JohnSagner, Ry Cooder's birthday is March 15th, "the Ides of March" which is also the day that the RRHOF inducts new members ---- and yet Ry isn't a member, though he certainly deserves to be. Fortunately Ry doesn't care one way or the other ---- he's always shied away from publicity ---- but inducting him as a member might make a few new fans for him, people who'd never heard of him before. (The Ides of March is also the day that Julius Caesar was stabbed to death: "Et tu, Brute!". The RRHOF seems to have adopted this attitude).

[@amberackerson5916]

That’s Lindley, David Lindley. Or Mr. Dave if you prefer.

[@georgemartin1498]

Same reason that Zevon is not😢. And holy shit, I did not know that Cooder was not in the RRHOF. Really a joke organization. Probably on the way to irrelevance.

[@snowillard]

What an amazing gig! The humming sucked but what a great show.

[@normatible9795]

I never knew til now that david had a band a d can perfirm well. I thought he was Jackson Browne's guitarist/ violinist/ steel pedal guitarist/ back up vocalist

[@goodun2974]

You really need to do a deep dive in the Lindley rabbit-hole! Not only are there a number of ElRayo-X performances on KZbin but David put out a series of a half dozen official live bootleg CD's ( just him and a percussionist), and there's also a Ry Cooder and Lindley Family live CD, and then there's the music he recorded in Madagascar with local musicians and his friend Henry Kaiser which is stunning, magnificent, almost beyond belief. And even the above is barely scratching the surface. The Loreley and Rockpalast performances by ElRayo-X (both German, I think) are every bit as good as this one here,, and minus the hum and buzz from the PA.

[@bertilknudsen]

Rag Bag must be the funniest song ever written.

[@ccryder6605]

Imo, it's actually one of the sadder and most poignant songs ever written.

[@lastnamefirst4035]

Sure cant figure why you think its funny. If you ever heard David explain how it came to be there's nothing funny about it

[@ccryder6605]

@@lastnamefirst4035 Agree.

[@goodun2974]

​@@lastnamefirst4035, There is no reason that a song can't be both sad and serious and yet sarcastically or ironically funny at the same time. Warren Zevon wrote a number of songs like that, "Play it all night long" being a good example; the song begins as a stereotyped portrayal of a drunken, incestuous, violent and tragic Southern family but ends on a sympathetic or empathetic note: "there ain't much to country living/sweat and piss and tears and blood....". The people portrayed in the song are victims of their environment and upbringing; drinking and being defiantly rebellious, to the strains of Lynyrd Skynyrd proclaiming how great it is to live in Alabama, is their only method for coping with a harsh reality. Zevon, who grew up in a home filled with drunken violence, often injected a note of empathy or understanding into his otherwise tragic characters who are trapped into a situation perhaps not of their making and which they are powerless to escape. The song "Nobody" which Ry Cooder covered on the "Jazz" album is another such song of defiance; as is "Rag Bag". And then you have "Quarter of Man", which is both funny and sad. By the way, Frizz Fuller, the author of"Rag Bag", "Quarter of a Man" and other songs that David covered, was known to tell a tall tale or two, claiming that he'd served in Vietnam when the sparse available data and the reminisces from people who knew him better said that he did his military service in the US. He might not have actually ever lived on the street either, he mostly lived with his mother, though he was known for showing up unannounced at friends' homes and inviting himself to stay for days.

[@ccryder6605]

​@@goodun2974- Interesting take, thanks.

[@andyt181]

I thought Americans werent allowed to go to Berlin in 1981. Whats the story?

[@bobbynoe1]

Metropol was a location in the western part of Berlin - no problem for Americans visiting this side of the city since the German surrender in 1945!

[@goodun2974]

Berlin was partitioned, cut in half during the Cold War with Russia ---- Russia controlled East Berlin after WWII and eventually built a wall, and a no mans' land patrolled by armed guards, to prevent residents of East Berlin from escaping communist control. Don't they teach this stuff in American history any more? Back in my day, they did.....