When I was a teenager, nothing thrilled me more than going to a rock concert. At clubs like the Filmore and the Stone in San Francisco, the Phoenix in Petaluma and the Berkeley Square in Berkeley (duh), I saw bands like the Limbomaniacs, Dizzybam, the Blüchunks, Nuclear Rabbit, Mr. Bungle and MCM and the Monster. There was a lot of overlap and cross-polination among these bands, most of whom were related in one way or another to Primus, and all of whom were into bizarre theatrics, musical experimentation and very dirty humor.
M.I.R.V. was one of the best of these bands, always putting on a tight, rockin’ show, and now they’ve got all three of their albums, plus a couple of live shows and demos, available as streaming audio on their website. I realize that it really isn’t the same without the live show, but there’s a lot that’s worth a listen. I especially recommend Monkey Boy and Unabomer from Feeding Time on Monkey Island.
Also, WildLupin.com has a great photo page, and has this to say about M.I.R.V.: “Part faith healing, part circus sideshow, part rock opera, M.I.R.V. is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Their music has been described as ‘Frank Zappa strangling KoRn with a little help from Luciano Pavarotti.’ Bizarre as it sounds, that’s quite accurate.”
Indeed.