Roky Erickson

Roky and the Hounds of the Baskervilles at the Forum in London on 13 April 2016 was a mixed experience. Great to see a legend, even in bloated, shambolic form. A decent band who made a good fist of providing him with support. But a misjudged set which exposed the relative thinness of the Elevators back catalogue (sure there are the 5-6 all time greats, but much of the rest is dismal generic 60s filler) and Roky's now almost completely shot voice made it hard to pretend this was much more than an excuse to pay homage to the legend as opposed to enjoy his music.

Kicking off with Earthquake, it was clear from the outset that Roky's vocals, which were back in the day defined by his effortless soaring over the babbling musical chaos below, weren't really up to the task any more. Most or all notes destroyed by rough edged barking. This hurt most on the more tedious songs, where it was harder to suspend time and disbelief, Spash No1 being the worst, perhaps to endure.

Thats not to say there weren't times when the last 45 years were shoved to one side and Roky flew. She Lives in a Time of Her Own worked. As did Levitation. And Rollercoaster is such an astonishing achievement of a song it survived all attempts to vocally wreck it.

But we cheered and applauded Roky as much for who he was and what he represented than what he was delivering on the night. And he seemed to respond, waving his hands in the air, even if he didn't say much.

The tragedy is that, come the encore, he ditched the Elevators songs which were clearly at least half an octave too high to deliver effectively at his age, kicked away his stool and tore through an astounding version of Two Headed Dog that raised the roof. And sent the crowd wild before he wandered off the stage.

This was a gig that would have been 100x better if it had been Roky playing his Aliens/Explosives/Evil One tunes. They'd have been in the right register for his voice, more in keeping with what he is capable of delivering, and - on the evidence of last night a whole lot more fun to play and watch. Quite why ATP decided to impose a concept and inflict a set that included a tune from Bull of the Woods so meaningless to Roky that he had to read the words off a piece of paper, I don't know. But (apart from the encore) it was only fleetingly fun. And that was a shame because Roky is and can be special.

I caught a Roky Erickson concert when he came to play at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, California last year. The venue was fantastic as always, really classy, spacious, and immaculately clean; it’s regarded as one of the best clubs in America for good reason, after all.

I had no idea who he was, but my friend who grew up in Texas swore up and down that I would love seeing this show so eventually I gave in and said okay. I’m so glad that he did, because my life was objectively worse without Roky Erickson in it. There’s a lot of variety in his music, from stuff he plays on his harmonica to some mellow rock stuff (I really liked I Walked with a Zombie) to some of the more intense psychedelic rock stuff – it’s also worth noting that psychedelic rock is a genre that he actually helped pioneer.

It was a great night out with the friends jamming out with some fantastic music. Roky Erickson doesn’t tour outside of the South too often, which makes me jealous of two things now (the other thing is that Texas BBQ), but everybody that lives down there should check him out if you get a chance.

Overall this was a decent show, not too good, but not bad. Roky didn't actually come on until 11:30, which certainly built suspense but was also kind of a drag. His singing sounded great, almost exactly like his old records, but he seemed pretty out of it, not speaking to the audience once, preferring to have his bassist speak for him. He also didn't play too much guitar and would frequently drop in and out of singing; I know he's pretty old so he gets some slack, but still disappointing. However, still very cool to see someone who was such a rock pioneer live.

Saw Roky at The Double Wide in Dallas Oct 4.Had been wanting to see him for 45 years. The 13th Floor Elevators played in Houston in August of '68. Roky was absent due to being arrested for a bogus hot check charge. Stacy Sutherland filled in for him at The Electric Light Circus club.I was disappointed. Got buried in shift work and family till I retired. Roky is 67, my wife and I are 66. We could have been grandparents to the audience.It was incredible! We were welcomed and felt part of the experience that is Roky Erickson!!!

Quite good, but a little bit uninspired sometimes from the band. Roky as cool as ever. Sitting on a stool holding his guitar and during solos just putting his hands together and smile.