For anyone who has seen the film Dig! it wouldn’t be too unfair to surmise that the Brian Jonestown Massacre and in particular Anton Newcombe are at certain times anyway, as mad as a bottle of crisps. I feel it’s important to remember that they have some great tunes and seeing them live is well worth it if you get the chance. The first time I saw them was at the Tapestry Music Festival in Wales and they were spellbinding, I would later go on to forget where my tent was pitched. Anyway, here are three videos all connected to the band. The first is the group themselves playing Let Me Stand Next To Your Flower live in Paris in April 2010. There is another great live version of this found on the BJM anthology Tepid Peppermint Wonderland: A Retrospective.

The second is a cover version of the BJM track Hide and Seek, played solely on a piano and sounding rather beautiful. Good on the guy in this clip for being such an accomplished ivory tinkler.

The third is the track Ready To Go by The Dilettantes, fronted by BJM percussionist and resident comic Joel Gion. It’s a catchy track, in fact it’s bloody great. I met him once and he was a thoroughly nice chap, something that certainly comes across in Dig!