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DON VAN VLIET (CAPTAIN BEEFHEART) "ABSTRACT COMPOSITION” 1979 AS FEATURED IN ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE’S "RANDOM NOTES” COLLECTION

LIVE FROM NEW YORK: This article about Questlove's Saturday Night Live music documentary claims no one clapped for Captain Beefheart's performance on the show. Simply not true. Ling and I booked his appearance on the show with our friend Hal Willner, and we were there at the taping. Someone in the audience did audibly shout "Shit!" at the end of the group’s second number "Ashtray Heart"—and later apologized to us outside NBC while we were standing there waiting for the limo to ferry us to the Gramercy Park Hotel for the after-party. "I never heard music like that before," he said apologetically, which we took as a compliment.

75 million people tuned in that night. The guest host was actor Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange), who came backstage to the dressing room before the group went on to tell us how much he loved the band. 

The next night, we played in Albany, anticipating a sell-out show, as, after all, we had just played before 75 million people. Only about 20 people turned up (I kid you not). And as we were loading the cars and the van with the gear after the show, the promoter and his club manager appeared in the parking lot glaring at us in a menacing way, like: "Give us our money back!"  

Don calmly remarked, "Gary, get ready to grab a guitar case. Guitars make excellent battering rams!" 

We didn't have to fight our way out of the parking lot, though—the pair just turned in disgust after clocking us and walked back into the club.

The next day, we drove back to NYC from our dinky Albany motel to prepare for our upcoming gig at the Beacon Theatre—which was a triumph.  The sun was shining on Manhattan as we headed into the city, and Little Feat's line from "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" was ringing in my ears:

"Don't the sunrise look so pretty / Never such a sight 
 Like rollin' into New York City / with the skyline in the morning light
 Roll right through the night."

 Indeed.

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