Equus: Moonshake - Peel Session (29 January 1993)

Moonshake are my favourite discovery from this period of John Peel’s shows (late 1992/early 1993). Had I known them at the time, I would have been a dedicated fan, and with my usual flair for timing, I’d have been pledging my devotion to a band that were on the brink of falling apart. Unlike with Marion, 3 or 4 years on from here, I wouldn’t have seen Moonshake dissolve yet, but at the time this show was broadcast, they were on the way towards fracturing, as musical tensions became personal ones and Margaret Fiedler, who takes vocals on the first and third tracks of this video, would leave to form Laika, and leave David Callahan, who sings on the second and fourth tracks to continue with Moonshake for a further four years. So this session is a prized artefact, capturing the original lineup of Moonshake, live and experimental.

What draws me to Moonshake is the smorgasbord of styles and textures that they work into their songs. They make eclecticism sound effortless, and their unwillingness to stand still, pulls the listener with them in whatever direction the band go.  The experimentation in this session saw Moonshake gender swap on two of their tracks - Mugshot Heroine and Sweetheart - which have already had their studio versions included on this blog.  My take on this can  be found here and nothing has changed my opinion that Callahan benefitted from this more than Fiedler did.

Indeed, my overall feelings on the session is that the material recorded for it showcased Callahan better than Fiedler. Both of the other tracks in the session play off ideas of interdependence.  In Beautiful Pigeon, an album track which had been released as the lead track on an EP, this takes the form of sexual desire. However, it works the trick less convincingly than on some of Fiedler’s other Moonshake tracks such as the original version of Sweetheart. Meanwhile, Coming, which was one for anyone listening in who had been following Moonshake since it was recorded for their debut EP, First, two years earlier, focuses on a meeting of minds while teasing the prospect of reconciliation.  It’s an unusually cordial track from Callahan helped along by a parachuting guitar line which, with its choppy, squally riffs suggests the feel of conversation and fierce debate before eventually talking itself out and arriving at a place of accord, if not outright peace.

Video courtesy of FruiterThanThou.