No WTO Combo

Talk about a supergroup trying to fight off another supergroup. In the winter of 1999, the World Trade Organization, or WTO for short, planned on having a conference in Seattle, Washington. I'm not going to take up review space talking about just how evil the WTO is, or all it's myriad problems, I'll leave that research up to you [a good place to start is the Institute For Consumer Responsibility or the International Forum On Globalization]. What I'm here to do is talk about the content *on* the CD, and talk about it I shall.

In response to the conference and in support of all the protests across town, Jello Biafra got together with some of his Seattle friends, forming a band called the No WTO Combo to play a one-off concert at the Showbox. This is cool in itself, as almost anything penned by Jello is gold. What made a good thing even better are his fellow bandmates:
Guitar - Kim Thayil [of Soundgarden]
Bass - Krist Novoselic [of Nirvana]
Drums - Gina Mainwal [of Sweet 75]
Talk about a music lover's dream lineup. This album was recorded live on December 1st, 1999 in front of over 400 rabid protestors as well as music lovers. It consists of 5 tracks, the first being a 15 minute rant delivered by Mr. Biafra himself. It seems well thought out, even though I'm going to assume that the majority of it was improvised. In the last 5 minutes or so of his speech, the rest of the band starts to noodle in the background, building to a climax and kicking off their first song, a cover of the Dead Kennedys classic "Let's Lynch The Landlord." The band tears through it with reckless abandon, and the audience definitely ate it up. After a short break to introduce the band, Jello and company come back with two brand new songs, "New Feudalism" and "Electronic Plantation." These sound like they would have been DK classics back in the 80s, at least musically, but the lyrics are obviously contemporary to the situation at hand. This CD is worth buying for these two songs alone. The rock continues for another extended blast with the band's rendition of "Full Metal Jackoff," originally written by Biafra with D.O.A. The over 15 minute long rendition never loses steam, and gets the crowd to a fever pitch at the end, chanting "No! No! W T O!" It's inspiring, really.

For those of us who have either been disillusioned with the consistent legal problems concerning the DKs, or if you just didn't enjoy the last material by Lard, this will really quench your thirst for good old fashioned California hardcore.

MP3s
Let's Lynch The Landlord
New Feudalism