Jesus Lizard reunites, brings primal show back to the stage

Seeing a Jesus Lizard live show was one of those experiences music fans of the 1990s just had to have.

It was primal live rock 'n' roll at its best. The band rocked with an unmatched ferocity while singer David Yow stripped off clothes, screamed into the microphone and hurled himself without warning into the crowd.

Those who missed out on seeing this stellar Chicago band back in the day, take heart: The Jesus Lizard is back and tearing up rock-club stages once again.

"It's been great," said Evanston resident Mac McNeilly, the band's drummer. "It's been such a blast to be with these guys again, to play these songs again. It really feels like no time has passed."

The reunited Jesus Lizard made its debut at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in London earlier this year. They've played a handful of clubs since, and have three shows coming up at Chicago's Metro.

The reunion shows mark the first time McNeilly has played with the band since 1997, when he left to spend more time with his family and other professional pursuits. The band continued with replacement drummers before breaking up in 1999.

So what brought McNeilly and the rest of the band back together?

"It's hard to say why, but things just seemed right for this," McNeilly said. "I've been able to spend time being a husband and father. We've all been doing different things, but now we're all at a point where we can do this, and where we want to do this."

Though never a huge commercial success, the Jesus Lizard cultivated a devoted following in the '90s that grew with the release of each record. In 1995, the band secured a spot on the traveling Lollapalooza tour, the highest-profile gig for an alternative act at the time. It also landed a deal with major label Capitol Records. (Up until then, the band's records were released on Chicago-based indie Touch & Go.)

Formed in 1989, the Jesus Lizard offered a true musical alternative during the ensuing grunge-soaked era. Its songs were controlled bursts of noise that combined the energy of punk with a unique sense of experimentation.

Every member of the band played a vital role in its sound. McNeilly and bassist David Sims anchored the songs with pounding, propulsive rhythms. Duane Denison delivered inventive and varied guitar parts - everything from Zeppelin-ish chords to piercing, atonal solos. And then there was Yow, whose howling vocal style made him one of the strangest and most compelling frontmen of the day.

Chicago producer Steve Albini, who produced the band's Touch & Go output, gave the music a dark twist by distorting Yow's vocals and sending them deep in the mix; it made Yow sound like an assailant yelling at his victim through the fabric of a ski mask. The result was striking, and sometimes downright scary.

"It was pretty aggressive music," McNeilly said with a laugh. "None of the stuff we did was commercially oriented, which is one reason I think the music holds up. It wasn't full of gimmicks or tricks."

The band's return to the stage has many fans wondering if a trip to the studio is far behind. At this point, though, there is no new Jesus Lizard record planned, McNeilly said.

"We're all open to the idea, but nothing's on the horizon," he said.

In the meantime, McNeilly and the other band members are focusing on one thing: playing together with as much intensity as they did during the Jesus Lizard's first run.

"We played something like 100 shows a year together during the high point of our first run, so we got to know each other really well in a musical sense," he said. "That all came right back when we started together again this year. It feels great for us, and so far it looks like the crowds have been loving it, too."

The Jesus Lizard

When: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28; 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31

Where: Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago

Tickets: Nov. 27-28 sold out; $51 in advance for Dec. 31, $61 on the day of show

Info: Call (773) 549-0203 or go to metrochicago.com

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