96 TEARS / TIGHTEN UP / ONLY THE LONELY / UPTIGHT (EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT) / COME SEE ABOUT ME / ONLY THE LONELY / CATHY'S CLOWN / MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE / LAND OF 1000 DANCES / 96 TEARS / EVERY DAY / ELENORE / HAPPY TOGETHER / I'M WAITING FOR THE MAN / HAPPY TOGETHER / VENUS IN FURS / TIGHTEN UP / BLUE SUEDE SHOES



performed: see below
Almost from the very beginning, Plaastik has written in something called "OLDIES MEDLEY" on setlists. This self-explanatory tactic to take off on bizarre jam tangents is not at all confined to oldies, but since all members of the band are fond of so much music from the '50s and '60s, it does tend to be a fixture. This wasn't so frequent on Information Tour shows, but it returned in 1994... except with often shorter medleys to incorporate more of Plaastik's actual fan favorites. And it wasn't done at all on the Science Tour until the last two nights. The medleys run anywhere from eight minutes to, in some very early shows, two hours, and nearly always kick off with "96 Tears" or "Tighten Up." Various band members have revealed that these two beloved songs are a "safety net" when the medley stunt is done. Most of the best and most insane examples of all this madness come from the first two years of Plaastik shows, but one of the wildest ever is the most recent one, 11/21/01 -- fifty-five minutes with a forty-piece orchestra and, to boot, several members of Sun Ra's free-jazz unit, closing an already unusually lengthy show. This one also exemplifies the addition in recent years of Plaastik's own songs to the pool of options.

Bootleg aficandos will find this one example of the tomfoolery to come from a studio session (John Cale, for whatever reason, was keen on the idea when the band got sick of working on "Pay Me"; they'd never been able to get a producer along for the ride before) mild in comparison, but it's quite nuts and a lot of fun, plus at over twenty minutes a nice bargain on a cheap single. You'll notice the two Velvet Underground songs here, no doubt inspired by the presence of one of the Velvets' own at the soundboard. Later on the same evening they'd do a silly version of "Sister Ray."


[? & the Mysterians/Archie Bell & the Drells/Roy Orbison/Stevie Wonder/Supremes/Roy Orbison/Everly Brothers/Chuck Berry/Wilson Pickett/? & the Mysterians/Buddy Holly/Turtles/Turtles/Velvet Underground/Turtles/Velvet Underground/Archie Bell & the Drells/Carl Perkins cover]