Kid Congo Powers Pays Tribute to Mentors

Most artists are lucky to play with - at a stretch - just one decent band yet Kid Congo Powers has had more good fortune than most having contributed his idiosyncratic guitar sound to psychobilly pioneers the Cramps, the influential blues-punk outfit the Gun Club and also Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. An impressive track record by any standard, the guitarist has paid tribute to his former mentors.

Playing the legendary 100 Club Sunday night (Nov. 29) with his current band, the Pink Monkey Birds, Kid Congo was moved to praise the late Cramps front man Lux Interior.

Introducing a version of 'I'm Cramped,' Powers said, "I wanna thank Lux Interior for this. I wanna thank him for the music and the photography and everything. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. Actually, none of us would be here tonight!"

He also paid tribute to the Gun Club's deceased leader Jeffrey Lee Pierce by tearing through the band's classics 'Sex Beat,' 'For The Love of Ivy' and an instrumental version of 'Mother of Earth.'

The Gun Club's influence is keenly felt to this day, most notably on the White Stripes who have also been known to play the band's 1981 debut album, 'The Fire of Love', its entirety prior to taking the stage. Singer-guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce died in 1996 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

The Cramps' Lux Interior passed away on Feb. 4 this year.

Spotted in the crowd at last night's concert were Spiritualized's Jason Pierce, Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie and Power's former Gun Club colleague, bassist Rom Mori.