Tav Falco's Panther Burns on Marge Thrasher 1979

Thanks very much to our friend Vincent Wrenn, seen here as a member of the original Panther Burns Orchestra, for providing us with this footage.
As seen in a more condensed version in the wonderful Big Star documentary "Nothing Can Hurt Me" (2013), this is Tav Falco & Panther Burns performing on a Memphis morning talk show hosted by Marge Thrasher in May 1979. Featuring Eric Hill, Vincent Wrenn, Ross Johnson, Rick Ivy and Alex Chilton (introduced by Tav as "Axle Chitlin"), Tav & company rip thru a treatment of the Burnette Brothers' version of "Train Kept a Rollin'".
Following this song, a befuddled Thrasher carries on an interview with Tav, as angry as she is curious as to what she has just witnessed on her show. Her exchange with a smooth & confident Tav Falco is priceless.

[@danielstoddart]

Some background for those who have stumbled upon this amazing piece of rock 'n' roll history: around 1979, Alex Chilton (ex--The Box Tops, ex-Big Star) moved back to his hometown of Memphis from New York City, where he had been exposed to punk music for the first time. He was also descending into a downward spiral of substance abuse. He began recording the album "Like Flies on Sherbert" with producer Jim Dickinson and a rotating cast of unskilled or amateur musicians, applying the punk do-it-yourself and low budget ethos to the recording which sounded like barely cohesive chaos. Liking the results, he met up with performance artist Tav Falco and formed the Panther Burns, a band which took the methodology and spirit of the "Like Flies on Sherbert" sessions and applied it to live performances. Since Alex was the only accomplished musician in the band, he started using the name "Axel Chitlin" as a way to hide out inside the band and resist categorization by the music industry. His role in the band was as a sideman and guitarist, with Falco fronting the band-another change from his normal mode of operation.

[@soepil]

@Daniel Stoddart. Thanks. I thought, this sounded just like "Flies" and now I see why. Great anti-rock. :)

[@TheNovaFiends]

I actually dig his punk stuff more than Big Star. Flies on Sherbert and the other album are some of his best stuff I think.

[@paperfaceteam9757]

@@soepil not anti rock, its rock 'n' roll

[@stephenparis9595]

This might be the greatest piece of southern footage ever for those who choose to open their eyes to it.

[@shaunfossett]

The single most greatest moment in Memphis greatest television history

[@stephenparis9595]

For real.

[@fractaljack]

This is pure gold! I always loved Tav and the Burns but they were one of those bands that I selfishly kept to myself because I didn't want them to be corrupted by big industry... similar to Tuxedomoon. I should have known that Tav and company would never let that happen. Thanks for uploading!

[@Mantanhattan]

Unreal! One of Panther Burns' most legendary moments. Haven't seen this in since it was 1st broadcast on WHBQ TV in Memphis. Never thought I'd see this again in my lifetime. I have NEVER seen the 2nd song. Marge was just an awful, awful human being on every level. She sits there on ample ass attempting to ridicule Tav yet lacks the education & understanding that she's making a fool of herself. This is the most awesome video on KZbin. Thanks so much for posting this! Made my night.

[@nataliewillis1563]

People at the station called her Marge the Barge

[@GeorgeSmileyOBE]

Most unpleasant mother of a childhood “frenemy” ever. She had the ego of Oprah before Oprah was Oprah, a large mother sow-frog in a mud puddle, of Memphis television. A ghastly personality. Great to see Ross Johnson and LX Chilton here.

[@Mantanhattan]

@@GeorgeSmileyOBE what was her deal? Remember her feud with the late Dan Donovan on WWEE? His taunt was “Charge, Marge!”. He’s dead, too. After a stellar reign in Indianapolis, I believe it was.

[@GeorgeSmileyOBE]

@@Mantanhattan I do not know, but I do know that memphis did often create similar entitled narcissistic Steel Magnolias oblivious to their grand dame persona in a mud puddle. She had a bullying tone in her opera-worthy projected bark. All at the pitch of “Borat” (Sacha Baron-Cohen) making fun of his wife’s low voice as she aged. “The woman is a bass,” once said a friend choir master. As you re-listen to her comments recorded here, imagine her singing…..she would give Jon “Bowzer Tuscadero” Bauman a run for the low E.

[@GeorgeSmileyOBE]

I also am confused because that should be Robert Smithwick Jr. and Mary Louise Self but it looks like Richard Trippeer and Suzanne Hollis, so I am not sure this really is 1979. It also looks more like Goodloe Early and Mimi Norfleet Fuller, so that would be 1978. This video is so grainy, sadly all fleshy middle aged Memphis plutocrats improbably paired with 20-something skinny blond Scotts Irish debutantes and the fleeting camera on the Carnival King and Queen make it hard to be sure.

[@jbpo]

Very cool performance by Gustavo. Alex Chilton is all of 29 here, and has already made it to #1 on the charts (4 weeks running) with the Boxtops, started a legendary influential band with Big Star, and is back on on the local music circuit, and playing great here as a sideman.

[@LordAmbrosia1]

Tav is majestic, and admirably self-assured. And the smile on the face of, ahem, 'Axel Chitlin' after he's introduced just kills me. I wonder is Marge's attitude would've been different if she'd realised that the singer of a huge, widely recognised Number One Hit was standing in front of her.

[@catdaddy3302]

she was always clueless. haha!

[@mr.sensitive9963]

Brookfield That bit of info would've caused a systems meltdown in the old lard-arse.

[@chatrodger]

No, even Alex had fallen so far inti delusion by that time, he wouldn’t have recognized the music that made him beloved by Memphis and the world…sad

[@danielstoddart]

@@chatrodger Fact is, Alex was on the skids at this time. On a wild downward spiral of drugs and alcohol. It wouldn't be until he went to England and came back after the "Live in London" album and moved to Louisiana that he would get clean a few years later by leaving the music industry until his comeback in the mid-1980's.

[@ivanretroff5535]

Magnificent; The train kept a rollin' indeed, saw Tav with a bunch of european mavericks three months ago in the north of France (Wattrelos) and the burnin' Memphis spirit was still very much alive! Good to see LX (RIP) with PB, let it burn!

[@marthastephens2179]

This never gets old! Tav kept his cool 💯👍😆

[@hvgkb]

The best music performance ever on tv.

[@mechcavandy986]

Zachary Chacon I saw it live when I was living around Memphis. Love it!

[@fabiannacht1784]

Why is this the best music performance on tv?

[@hvgkb]

It is the best performance because it is so full of chaos and tv presenters are so full of discuss.

[@fabiannacht1784]

@@hvgkb Is it possible that chaos is an illusion and that all forms exist in harmony within the drone?

[@hvgkb]

@@fabiannacht1784 There is a possibility.

[@DavidInSugarLand]

Tav has my deep respect. He toured and played small, shitty punk clubs across America for little-to-no monetary reward for the love of the music.

[@TheSchilz3]

Saw them play in a small, shitty club in Germany in 1990. They put on a hell of a show !

[@brettdavis6151]

Hilarious! Caught this in the Big Star documentary and had to look it up here, in KZbin world. Had to see it again. Axel Chitlin, indeed!

[@negascoot23]

I am an adopted Memphian: 3 years this August after 38 years in the Chicago area. I love this town--and naturally there's more musical history here per square foot than probably any other town in the U.S. (at least, outside the coasts), and I love that... But I never thought of it as a hub for *my* kind of music. Don't get me wrong: Blues, Soul, early Rock--NOTHING but love and respect... But I'm a New Wave/Punk/Indie/Modern Rock guy... And other than Big Star (to whom EVERY southern college radio rock band for the past 40 years owes an enormous debt), I could find very little native Memphian music that *truly* spoke to me... Then one day I was at a shop on Beale called Tater Red's... and wondered why they had so many posters and t-shirts honoring The Cramps (who are not Memphian, but recorded here). It was then that I learned that I was standing in essentially the birthplace of a genre I have loved for years: *Psychobilly!* 😍😮 This knowledge inevitably lead me to Tav Falco... And thus I found my musical niche here in the land of Graceland, Johnny Cash, and Sun Records. This is how *my* Memphis sounds 🙂

[@elisecliftonklitz]

Check out the Klitz produced by Axl Chitlin circa 1978. We predated Tav by a year . We shared many shows w Panther Burns during the punk era here in Memphis & we still play w Ross Johnson to this day!

[@lioneldelamotte8692]

Mister Tav Falco is the ultimate gentlemen for answering kindly to that horrible woman... Such great music speaks itself... What a shame

[@lymanmclallen2436]

Brilliant, Tav, just brilliant.

[@rosarugosa7698]

I admire the way he responded to that horrible woman.

[@MrPotatoesLatkie]

Her reply would have been normal for most people in 1979.

[@fabiannacht1784]

Why do you think she was horrible?

[@gutterdandy9173]

@@fabiannacht1784 Rude, horrible woman.

[@Rshields388]

​@@fabiannacht1784did ya watch the vid? She had such a condescending, arrogant, snotty tone towards the band. So unprofessional.

[@peterdawes9735]

Was so excited when Tav Falco & the Panther Burns' came to Australia. My friend rode his 36 Indiana Pony scout on stage with Tav on the back. Wild days.

[@tuskedbeast]

One of the few videos of punk and the old world clashing that might really communicate to people now how radical it was.

[@fabiannacht1784]

Why is it radical?

[@tuskedbeast]

@@fabiannacht1784 Because we've had 40 years to become familiar with punk. You won't have quite the same baffled contempt from anyone now.

[@fabiannacht1784]

@@tuskedbeast Why do you consider that asking a question is contemptuous?

[@Rshields388]

​@@fabiannacht1784why do you ask so many fucking questions to every comment on here? You ok?

[@donkeywhistler]

"you're really very bitter, aren't you?" and folks that is the definition of projection

[@Rshields388]

He's like trying to explain the nature of the band and shit to here and I just thought that response she made was so random and unnecessary. It was just out of the blue and had me confused asf. Like.. what exactly did he say that made him sound bitter? Lol

[@michelebertamini7698]

Are u getting paid for this? Well, sometimes... Gustavo Falco is one of the most sensitive and intelligent artists of our time....and what about Axel Chiltin on lead guitar? The seeds of what r'n'r should be and rarely is..

[@glacour]

'Gustavo, we're not quite ready for it.' No. No, you're certainly not.

[@juliereinecke3623]

My cousin George played with Tav.

[@markeggins890]

He was on guitar right? I saw that line up in Australia - George played some mean guitar on that night!

[@kevlarwoodvest1457]

EVERYTIME i die laughing!

[@FrenchKettleStation]

Such an amazing video!

[@QueenConsternation]

Tav, so cool

[@paulmessis1985]

Tav is punk as fuck here.... GENIUS

[@OlyStereomaid]

So great!!

[@jckrell]

The lady was Marge Thrasher. She had a morning talk show in Memphis from the early 70's thru the 80's - Straight Talk with Marge Thrasher. She passed away in 2012.

[@donkeywhistler]

her performance on this day was repulsive

[@Gauchodivino]

Extraordinary. Pantherman knows how to rock...

[@Daniellevoices]

Saw him tonight and that man is SMOOTH AS BUTTER

[@keithwoods7724]

What was all the fuss on her part about? Sounds like a fairly decent cover of Train kept a -Rollin' with a rockabilly yelpin' vocal and some synth. She must have come across this kinda stuff in Memphis in her long life there.

[@michaelevans289]

She seems so embarrassed and pissed off that they got to perform on her show. She probably screamed at the producers at the break. Classic.

[@daisyglaze1817]

When she says "That may be the worst sound I've ever heard come out on television" Alex smiled. He was such a cutie.

[@elisecliftonklitz]

I watched this live back in the day. Loved seeing Marge and the King & Queen of Cotton Carnival confused😂😅

[@gmamagillmore4812]

This was simulcast on a slow scan video system due to an unauthorized payphone hookup set up by Randal Lyons, the guru Biloxi.

[@MrKogar]

The best thing on KZbin

[@jsilence418]

Oh Hell TAV is my new hero !

[@danielstoddart]

When Thrasher stopped them saying "wait a minute", Tav and "Axel Chitlin" should have launched into "Brazil" or "St Louis Blues" and kept playing to keep the "art damage" going.

[@elisecliftonklitz]

That would have been great but they are southern gentlemen! Love Eric Hill's pre- Kurt cardigan sweater

[@alexdebua]

Waaait a minute!:))

[@terenceboris851]

interesting to hear TAV's explanation of what the PANTHER BURNS are all about. Marge shook him up a bit but he held it together.

[@louiso.4325]

Children by the millions...

[@axehound3718]

I never travel far without a little...

[@scott7521]

@@axehound3718 🌟

[@barryedwards5183]

Brilliant!!!

[@Eddaan1]

gracias al documental de big star descubri este video es grandioso

[@stevefaure415]

This is deep stuff. If you're here appreciating it you've probably come too far. It's too late.

[@fabiannacht1784]

Too late for what?

[@christopherthomas7253]

Wonderful!

[@colinduff2912]

Best ever.

[@roboffermanns5511]

FANTASTIC

[@JohnBlutarski]

Love it!

[@FOCtv]

Classic local TV moment.

[@ArchieMoore]

ha.. fantastic! I was enjoying Thrasher's restrained hatred and keeps calling it 'anti-music' and asking about money- the dormant indignation if 'grant money' was spent on this. Is there a video of the 2nd performance.

[@harvestrecs]

Apparently so. Vincent told us that even though Marge was indicating "no more music", one of the cameramen acted like he didn't hear her, and gave the go-ahead for another song. Afterwards she allegedly spoke of "feeling sick"

[@davidharte]

I'd love too see it. Sounds like "Drop Your Mask", maybe ?

[@Rock-iw7ov]

I love your profile pic. Abner Jay rocks!

[@danielstoddart]

Was the second song their cover of "Brazil"? Tav says "we wanna do a rock 'n' roll tango", so I'm guessing that was going to be the next song. Does that performance exist on tape?

[@brumd]

5:54 "Axel Chitlon on lead guitar" LOL

[@elisecliftonklitz]

Axl🎸 loved it😄

[@4shizzlejwhizzle]

She indeed was not ready for another tune. She was not ready for the first tune

[@wmwinterbottom]

This is some high level comedy here. holy cow.

[@marthastephens2179]

Marge was so uncool . Tav handled this as a class act response! Wierdest pairing of guests ever..the Cotton Carnival Queen and King ! Rock on Tav Falco . "We're not in for the money !" Still listening and always will ! 🤘

[@amandalmcgee]

Anyone else ever come to this video and the sound doesn't work for no discernible reason? I watch this weekly and sometimes it just doesn't work.

[@TheSchilz3]

"Gustavo, we´re not quiet ready for it." 😂She sure ain´t.

[@MrJosshead]

Listening to the conversation at the end I think the woman handled herself okay...Obviously she wasn't expecting what the Panther Burns were serving. Most of her questions were at least legitimate, considering the music obviously wasn't her thing. The exchange was pretty interesting.

[@Skiink_X]

yes

[@drstevie]

FAB !!

[@delaybrainsshriver]

Velvet underground of Memphis

[@pillettadoinswartsh4974]

1:23 - Alex "Big Star" Chilton

[@SKMikeMurphySJ]

The Second Song was "Drop Your Mask!" Then Large Marge looks dead into the camera and says somberly, "We've hit an all-time low this morning on "Straight Talk", (the morning shows name).... with Marge Thasher!

[@stewps13]

yaaaaaaaazzzzzzz

[@wito6998]

imo, in this significant exchange, Marge is trying to understand disparate influences at play on an elemental level ... her questions reveal a novel curiosity conceptually synthesizing these forms into a gestalt-like experience, without there being preconceived, aesthetic notions of "what is art?" in the philosophical sense. Marge's argument of synthesis and antithesis,or the duality of form versus function must be seen in Pt 2?

[@mr.sensitive9963]

Wi To Yes, yes. Awa' 'n bail yer heid.

[@TeddyKeezer]

I feel like this would have been less incredible if the interviewer was on board with it

[@negascoot23]

Absolutely. She seemed *personally* offended by Tav's very existence...you can't stage that 😁 I guarantee you one or more employees of that TV station lost their jobs over this.

[@garthkolbeck8674]

Please! Somebody Post the whole thing! Second song!

[@hiyorisutube]

does someone know if he played 2nd song? if yes, I wanna see it!!!! Tav rules!

[@northlight1908]

Ross Johnson is my idol.

[@scott7521]

I love Ross Johnson.... funniest guy ever

[@abdallahmarsh]

I don't know why everyone's thrashing Marge. Her weltanshauung is just as much a part of Falco's context-through-contrast as his art damage. Her misapprehension is a necessary component to the life of the Panter Burns art. Yin to the Yang bitches.

[@mr.sensitive9963]

abdallahmarsh Why should that preclude the trashing though?

[@abdallahmarsh]

You're absolutely right. You've just smacked meet with some strange version of Goedel's incompleteness theorem. Merci.

[@mr.sensitive9963]

Well, I'm glad that wasn't lost on you.

[@noybnoygdb1022]

In the denunciation of thrashing Marge we see the angst reflected back at those trashing her which is otherwise invisible.

[@drasticplasticaustin]

Tav Falco wings it with attitude and fair play to him, it's wonderfully honed to throw an aural spanner in the works. I wonder what else the synth player got for Christmas?

[@davesw69]

Gus is playin' a Silvertone, I think.

[@joesoap5888]

The best rendition ever ............ as I laff my ass off....

[@mike-dj5yv]

is there any more early pre-album panther burns stuff out there

[@timbrown1834]

These guys fucking rule.

[@travisr.9789]

rock and roll tango....

[@scott7521]

😆

[@miumeu3125]

Also featuring The King and queen of the Cotton Carnival in Memphis. Hilarious!

[@TheLarryburns84]

Cedric Bixler Zavala brought me here. thanks, dude

[@alvaroramos9069]

Tav Falco fighting the rise of conservatism.

[@jbpo]

Actually acting as a conservator of great music, vs. the radical forces of the establishment.

[@MrPotatoesLatkie]

@@jbpo Actually the opposite. She was part of the establishment, he was part of the radical musical movement.

[@jbpo]

@@MrPotatoesLatkie I'll stick with my claim. The establishment forces were trying to destroy great music that Tav and Alex were trying to preserve.

[@terenceboris851]

Tav and the gang were turning early rock n roll on its side, re-examining the inner spirit of the music. Deconstruction? Not necessarily. Destruction? Not really. Appropriation of the blues & rock n roll is really what the 60s was all about.

[@terenceboris851]

the fact they did this is Memphis I think has a lot to do with having a legacy establishment of music & culture. Tav and the gang were taking it a step further and these old guards didn’t understand. It’s kinda like how Hank Williams was banned from the Grand Ol Opry.

[@RELopez-mk4ic]

There is a small community in Mississippi named Panther Burns! I wonder if the band is named after this town? Anyone out there know?

[@giuseppesangirardi6360]

more or less mate. The name is rather a tribute to the Panthera that destroyed the plantations and was burned in a sense of witchcraft and fear. Anyway, the small community you are talking about is the area where everything happened. Panther Burns Foverer Lasting

[@negascoot23]

This reminds me of when Nina Hagen was on David Letterman in the '80s* In other words: a clueless square mocking a level of artistic expression that they cannot possibly comprehend... And the artist accepting their ignorance with dignity and grace. (*It's on KZbin, clear your schedule for 5 minutes and give it a look 😉)

[@destroydate7887]

"Get Your Wings" Tav.

[@courtneyhartsfield216]

Eric is proto-grunge, wearing a Kurt Cobain Sweater, 14 years early.

[@negascoot23]

I swear, when I first watched this and saw the "King" and "Queen"--I thought they were part of the act!😜 Like some sort of absurdist performance art set piece to accompany the music... It took several viewings before I realized that the King and Queen of Cotton were SERIOUS (and that this must be the King Cotton that's still on a decrepit building in downtown Memphis) Which, naturally, just makes the whole thing that much more awesomely weird and cool... it's like Dadaist Rockabilly.

[@troylowin-green7408]

5:58 LOL!

[@aerialproducciones6091]

"thank you very much..."

[@Dats_Lyfe]

Was Kid Congo Powers in this band?

[@dougsmith7083]

Gustavo is a Champion

[@LiveinReykjavik]

Why's there no sound?!

[@fullnorris]

Hey.. Anyone know what type of guitar he's playing there?

[@fredceely]

That's a Japanese knock-off, probably early 1960s. A friend of mine had one that was branded "St. George," but there were many, many brand names for identical guitars. I think the actual builder was Teisco. The St. George sounded okay but was barely playable, and cost about $100 in 1964 (a Telecaster was $160 at the time).

[@axehound3718]

You could probably get close with some filtertron pickups.

[@DavidHeltsley]

Saw these guys open for THE CLASH in 1984 in Knoxville TN. To say the least they were not well received.

[@DavidHeltsley]

Ive been told it was their last show.

[@Truthmoses]

those 2 gay guys look like they are about to scratch Marge's eyeballs out.

[@scott7521]

Uhhh... how can you be certain they were gay.... jeez. And why is that relevant?

[@billydenkmusic]

Ah, Marge Thrasher, keeper of the lame. Good bless the Panther Burns!

[@fullnorris]

Some sort of vox?

[@faunoram]

Alex Chilton

[@raimywinter2309]

TAV had to play with the cramps.

[@nashbilisoly2307]

Marge, ... art damage..listen

[@rockymaldonado7758]

When two men man the Ms10

[@kreed1004]

It says here add a pubic comment

[@alltstate]

project much, (bitter) Ms. Thrasher?

[@samferguson9171]

cotton carnival... lol.... memphis.... lol (from there, love it, but you know)

[@duffbaker9554]

@4:51 Sounds like she was the bitter one.

[@RedChannelsStudio]

Thank god for the anti-environment in Memphis!