John Fahey drunk Live at Mr Brown's, Columbus Ohio June 1978

Drunk John at some point calls a fan on stage and sings spiritual blues songs with him. A very soulful performance.

[@davidcooper7339]

This great guitar player played anywhere he could because it was a job. A fascinating character that was actually homeless living in an Oregon- Salvation Army center, and occasionally in his car, was truly an American treasure.

[@OsirsVictorySkywell]

LIVE AT MR BROWN'S, COLUMBUS OHIO (June 1978) "That Part of the Show's Over" Part of a concert recorded at Mr Brown's, Columbus, Ohio in June 1978. In the first half of the performance Fahey races through some splendid medleys lasting 20 minutes each. He does the business, he gets on with it, he delivers the goods. However, after the first half comes the second half. Here's a transcript: JF: Now they must turn over the house, in other words all of you have to leave and pay to come back again regardless of whether only I play or both people play. This is the standard policy of the clubs on the circuit in the United States -- I beg your pardon? Audience: Encore, encore! I just played the encore, baby, you wanna hear me again you stay and pay your money for the second set! JF plays six more tunes without a break and without talking. The rowdy student audience applauds. JF: Woh, thank you ver' much, one more li'l drink of brandy [beginning to speak in a mock French accent] -- I just wajnt to 'ave one more shot of the brandy but there was none 'ere... Unfortunately it is all GONE but what can one do... He bums a cigarette off someone in the crowd then continues, still in the French accent. JF: Now I will play. I will conclude this evening's performance with the song we used to sing ice-skating in the winter going to see a girl-friend at McConnellsville [?] up the [indistinguishable] river.., and by the way if anyone wants to see me tomorrow night, when I am more sober or more drunk as I am, I will be in Dayton, Ohio, on June 20th - is that tomorrow night? Yes, ah, at Gillie's...can't read the address, yes, Dayton, Ohio but I can't read the name of the street, and then on June 22nd I am in Milwaukee. And now a sacred song from my youth skating up the [indistinguishable] river in midwinter to see my girlfriend Gretchen Hosenfat... I don't remember exactly what it was but for God's sake does someone have an ASHTRAY? I don't wa nna burn the stage... ASHTRAY!~ Thank you, thank you, let us have a hand for the young man, the cute young man, ha ha ha ha... ah, but have you ever made it with an elephant? And now, the Ice Skating Song concluded by two spirituals--- hey GANG! The first part of this song starts quietly, just gimme one minute of relative quiet, not absolute quiet, just a little bit of quiet, so that it can build up dramatically, so you can imagine skating up the [indistinguishable] river, ha ha ha ha haaaah! JF plays "The Grand Finale". JF: [Yelling now] You've got to sing "You've Got to Walk that Lonesome Valley'. I can't sing He proves this by howling the first couple of lines. He exhorts the audience to join in. Howls out the rest of the song. The most painful recording in the whole Fahey discography. He slides into a frantic "Grand Finale". The crowd yells. JF : [The ridiculous French accent returns] Thank you very much. I have enjoyed playing here this evening. I will not play any more, but if someone wants to sing a couple more hymns.., so I wonder if we could have a couple of requests for hymns we could sing together. Audience: "Knott's Berry Farm" "Oh Lord I'm Discouraged"! JF: You wanna sing "Lord I'm Discouraged", you came up here and I'll play it and you sing it. Come on, come on. And where the hell's the bartender with the brandy? Come on, man, you wanna sing "Lord I'm Discouraged"? Man in audience: I can't even remember the first line. JF: I'm tired... Flamboyant amateur in audience commences singing. JF: That's not the first line, that's the verse. Audience : "In Christ there is no East or West" JF: No, no, let's sing spirituals. I have the American copyright on that. Come, come, let's sing some ooooold country hymns. Audience [satirically]: "Onward Christian Soldiers"! JF: Nah, corny, corny, corny. Country hymns, country hymns, man. Okay. We have a young man here who wishes to lead us in a hymn. What is the name of this? An old Negro spiritual, good one.., what are the words? Oh, oh yeah, it's ca lled "I'll Meet you on the Other Shore". Now you must keep strict rhythm young man. Let us have the hand for the young man who is going to try to lead us in an old, a very very old Negro country spiritual. Young Man (rather rudely): I don't know if I can keep it as strict as you. I haven't drunk quite as much. JF: How's this key? What's your name sir? Young Man : Masked Marvel. They perform. JF: No no no we gonna sing you some songs from way down south. We recognise that this is Southern culture up here. Let us sing you something REAL DEEP SOUTH. Do you know "Troubled Bout my Mother"? Well, what do you know? Marked Marvel: I know a lot of Charley Patton. Blind Willie McTell. "Moon Goin' Down"? JF: No, no, spirituals. They are all looking blank. The audience is growing restive. Fahey is losing their attention. JF: Do you do "Down by the Riverside"? It's kind of a little overdone, don't you think? Someone suggests "The Other Side of the Jordan" but no one remembers how it goes. JF: Do you do "Sone Day, Some Happy day"? SOME DAAAAAAAY, SOME HAAAAAAAPPY DAAAAAAAY... You don't know that. Masked marvel: I could follow it. JF: "Jesus Met a Woman by the Well"... "Lord, Lord, He's a Dying Bed Maker"... Masked Marvel: Which one's that? JF: Well you tell me, cause you're singing. Masked Marvel: I'm drawin' a blank "I Shall Not be Moved". A group of women in the audience break into "Will the Circle be Unbroken". JF: Oh, man, everybody's tired of "Will the Circle be Unbroken". God damn, come on ladies. Co me on ladies, cool it, cool it. We're tryna do spiritual songs that you ain't never heard before. You can hear those songs any day of the week... If you don't like what we're doin' you can kick us out, but what they're doin' you can hear anytime up here. Now you had a song there, "I Shall Not be Moved", but the original, not the Martin Luther King stuff. They perform "I Shall Not be Moved". JF: Hey, you know what we got, we got a problem. I am in a weird tuning in which I can only play in one key. Masked Marvel: Yeah, and it's a little too high for me. JF: So I am gonna change to standard tuning... Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to attempt to recreate in our diminutive manner a song which A P Carter wrote many years ago called "I'm Going Down to the River of Jordan Some of these Days". Give me perhaps fifteen seconds more to tune my guitar, cause I am just not as good as Maybelle Carter to whom I did dedicate my new book which isn't coming out by the way. Y'all will forgive me for my lack of hot guitar licks, like Maybelle Carter maybe, but I don't have a capo. Never use one. Sing. They perform. JF: You know folks, we are amateurs at doin' this gospel singin' but, by God, you know I was brought up in Maryland, near the Appalachian Mountains, and, er , I happen to believe all this stuff we're singing... [collapses in laughter]. If anyone wants to sit around and sing a few more gospel songs... I ain't gonna sing nothing too sentimental, cause I don't believe in that... "Horses"? I wrote a song called " Horses" but it ain't got nothin' to do with this stuff man... Well, you're from Ohio and--- hey, Canada's same as Ohio. Better place than where I live. I have to live in that damn place California and I hate it. Let us not do "Gospel Ship" because Joan Baez did it and I hate her... Look, I want songs that didn't come out of the God damned folk boom. I want songs that came out of these hills just like I did. Yeah, that's what I'm looking for, man. Songs that come out of my heart didn't come out of this Joan Baez Pete Seeger crap. Beg pardon? Audience: "Requiem to John Hurt". JF: No, no, that part of the show's over, we're just singing a few gospel songs... If we do this song "Will the Circle be Unbroken" which you've all heard, we're gonna do it really nice...

[@jonathanwhitfield2864]

still a better guitarist drunk than I am sober lmao what an incredibly gifted player Mr. Fahey was. So glad I found out about his music. Hope he is resting peacefully now.

[@je7647]

I think it was part of faheys personality to interact with the audience "we saw the local drunk pick up fahey's guitar and start playing like fahey" is a very common story lol

[@edgargross2789]

Dude was absolutely plastered this is great

[@jrw344]

My lord, John drunk & still playing like this?> Truely blessed.... He took many a swig from a Pepsi bottle during a memorable performance at Roethke in Seattle in the 1980's.

[@detectivefowler4135]

It’s not that hard lol 😂

[@tdb517]

@@detectivefowler4135 Yeh i'm sure you could do better

[@moodswingy1973]

That was his schtick, part of his mystique. At a Fahey show you paid to see an extremely flawed man, lost to his vices, who nonetheless managed to transcend his shortcomings onstage and reveal, briefly, real musical genius.

[@areascoda2912]

In india, many Hindustani classical musicians drink before they improvise. It aids in meditation and creativity and boosts the performance.

[@pandalilpig]

righteous sauce

[@John-d9e4x]

Blues run the game,

[@mkfilmgrain6095]

John Fahey in his prime. He is even better drunk. This is incredible.

[@harvey1954]

Fahey first sold his albums at a gas station where he worked.. When people asked for directions he would give them some fake directions so they ended up traveling in a circle. As they passed the gas station a second time he would wave at them.

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

John has postmodern sense of humor

[@RockandrollNegro]

This bar was a hole in the wall called Mr. Brown's Descent on 1434 N. High. It's now a head shop called High Up.

[@blah148]

This concert I have referenced in a video some weeks back. It was unknown to me that you had posted it. The performance of Beverly was the first I had heard of it & still largely defines the year of 2022 in my thoughts, albeit in an inauspicious manner.

[@vcxz4009]

might be my favorite recording of beverly

[@jessimerrill6579]

If I don't sound like this after a set I might as well give up music now. Drunk Fahey is a blessing

[@frgnvola]

hope you didn’t

[@ottereformicus782]

Bearded musical men are the GOAT!

[@beckchristian67]

Thank you a lot for posting this 1978 concert of John Fahey. Saw him in 1971 in NYC and in 1986 in Chicago. Take care, Christian B from Strasbourg, France

[@herbbirdsfoot]

Amazing and totally lit performance.

[@jerricocrittenden8311]

Didn’t think I’d come across a Fahey fan who uses the term “lit” 😂😂

[@johnmitchelljr]

Music is good, being drunk is not good. Thanks for sharing.

[@adrithgor7551]

Both are good

[@KenneyCmusic]

Both are human, good is subjective

[@geraldhugley3618]

Sloppy but always love to hear “new” Fahey. Love the intro where he tells audience to pay again. Fahey never put up with anyones shit.

[@perrysar5954]

He sounds like Chris Farley in ....'living in a van down by the river,

[@RichardStieltjes]

thanks a lot, this is great stuff!!

[@pclodius]

Drunk and singing hymns lol

[@moodswingy1973]

Thank you Mr. Ricky Blackwell!! Glad to see you have managed to avoid conscription in the war.

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

Haha, every men in this country runs this risk now all the time. After 2024 there will be another, as they call, “partial mobilization.” Before that, I will either leave the country or hide.

[@nathanael8612]

Nice something new on youtube

[@geraldhugley3618]

Especially like Fare Forward Voyagers.

[@OurEnemyScalion]

Thank you for the upload. I don’t know where you find these gems but again SPACIBA my friend

[@peterbland7227]

Saw him live, maybe 1975, at The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA. Drunk then, too. Alcoholism is a rapacious creditor.

[@nnnnnie]

Circa 1972 I drove 2 hours to DC to see him. He was a no-show. Then around 1992 he and his entourage were parked next to me at a convenience store by King's Dominion north of Richmond VA, but I didn't recognize him. Someone else with me did, but didn't mention it until later.

[@bashoxhendrix4219]

He's absolutely incredible, but how is it possible to play drunk like this? I practice a lot and I get so much worse with just a little bit to drink.

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

It's just your body. I can play drunk if I really need to, I can even play at the same level as Fahey, but it will be more difficult. Depends on how alcohol affects your motor skills.

[@jasonw4053]

Touring musicians often get free booze every night of the week. Playing drunk just becomes their job. John was a serious alcoholic, and he wasn't alone. It's an occupational hazard and something that touring musicians need to be wary of.

[@eatthem5829]

Wasn't it Charlie Parker who said that you just have to practice drunk to be able to play drunk

[@thomascreek6387]

Just practice drinking and guitar at the same time and viola you eventually learn to play while drunk. Lol

[@tomparker8748]

@@RickyBlackwell_X I just watched quite a few of your videos. In no way can you play at the same level as Fahey. Good upload, and it's great to see guitarists playing Fahey's music. But you're definitely not on Fahey's level, c'mon now let's be honest.

[@bentleyandluna8844]

What is the first song he plays called?

[@romanoznobishin947]

fucking drunk intro song

[@dzigerica666]

hey what is he playing around 24:00

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

Ann Arbot \ Death by reputation

[@southarrest]

51:10

[@misfitmaniac3084]

What is the song that starts at around 8:15 after Stomping Tonight?

[@tomaswilliamson9685]

The Yellow Princess

[@guymichel101]

Awww, too bad this isn't a video of this! Btw, Leo learned what he knew from John.

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

To be honest, I still don't understand Americans' habit of throwing random facts into their comments. It's cute in its own way, but very strange to me.

[@cjsligojones5101]

@@RickyBlackwell_X I know what you're saying, but do you really think only Americans do that?

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

@@cjsligojones5101 I don't know. It's only my experience of talking with American people. But I never seen this in my culture, that's all what I want to say. And of course, you right, it's not only american thing. I was thinking it's like famous "small talk".

[@cjsligojones5101]

@@RickyBlackwell_X Right. btw where are you from?

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

@@cjsligojones5101 Russia. The worst place to make music now. And a bad place to live.

[@ray-jf4sh]

This guy should have been called Machine Gun.

[@adrithgor7551]

Well, there was an other guy Machine Gun, check out album of Peter Brötzmann Octet called “Machine Gun”

[@someselskeyvideos]

Где ты нашел столь редкую запись ?

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

На одном из блогов. Могу потом сюда скинуть источник

[@someselskeyvideos]

@@RickyBlackwell_X было бы очень круто

[@RickyBlackwell_X]

@@someselskeyvideos короче, эта запись взята из прямой ссылки откуда-то на архив орг. Большинство поздних концертов взято с delta-slider.blogspot.com/p/john-fahey.html

[@someselskeyvideos]

@@RickyBlackwell_X, ооо, спасибо большое

[@embraceallrealms]

@@RickyBlackwell_X Спасибо тебе большое

[@martinlewis807]

He suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome so maybe he wasn’t drunk

[@ross4810]

He was definitely leathered

[@martinlewis807]

He says at the beginning he was in a light trance (self induced ) ?

[@mito88]

he was a go that day.

[@jrjr1295]

14:02 24:06 29:24

[@dzigerica666]

hello what is fahey playin around 24:00

[@arvidsmith1038]

tragic

[@JanFner]

Isn’t it ? He could still be alive today couldn’t he? I’m thankful for him , i know that :(

[@Joedeath69]

Absolutely beautiful time capsule of a Fahey performance!! 🙏✨