The Jesus Lizard
Fillmore Auditorium
May 5/6, 2025
Photos by Paul Piazza
The legendary noise rock outfit TheJesus Lizard brought their incredible turbulent and tuneful raucous performance to the Fillmore for a pair of shows in early May.
Long known for their adventurous music, the group was cited by Steve Albini, the innovative late producer, as “the best band of the 90s, hands down.” The four-piece band tore through the proceedings with fierce intent, which delighted the crowd, many of whom have been following the band closely since the early 90s.
After launching in the late 80s as a three piece with guitarist Duane Denison, bassist David Wm. Sims, and vocalist/crowd inciter David Yow, the group caught the attention of Albini, who also produced records by Nirvana, the Pixies, and P.J. Harvey, among many others. Drummer Mac McNeilly came aboard in that time span, and with Albini on the dials, the band kicked out two of the eras seminal records: Goat and Liar. Both are on Chicago’s legendary Touch and Go Records.
They toured relentlessly and were regarded as one of the best of their time, but hardly as commercial as many of their peers who were breaking through right and left. McNeilly left after the making record Shot, the band’s first on a major label, to focus on his family. It was a great record, with a slightly different sound for Yow’s vocals. After enlisting a couple of different drummers, The Jesus Lizard disbanded in 1999.
They reformed briefly again for some tour dates in 2009. Then they decided to permanently reunite in 2017, but with the restriction of very limited touring that year and in 2019.
The band began writing music again, and in 2024 released their first record in 26 years, Rack. The record was well received with some calling it a “fine balancing act of controlled noise and vocal bedlam.” The band featured seven of the new tunes at the Fillmore show and they seamlessly fit in with the band’s classic belligerent repertoire. The remainder of the set drew mostly from Goat, Liar, and Shot. It was a doozy.
The night was a reminder that this band is still one of the most significant rock n’ roll quartets to ever conquer any stage or venue. They sounded brilliant from beginning to end. All of the players were at the top of their game and especially Yow, who spent much of the show swimming atop the crowd in cowboy boots while singing. We are all fortunate they occasionally choose to dust themselves off from their respective busy lives in different parts of the US and get together and tour once in a while.
Opening on this evening, was I Speak Machine, a visual and audio collaboration. The pair behind it are Tara Busch and Maf Lewis and their intent is to create eye catching videos and ear shocking audio to be used for film scores. It was a strange and jarring opening set.
