Liner Notes :

The following review appeared in Bucketful Of Brains magazine just a few weeks after the 1986 Roskilde festival. I saw Steve when they came back to Denmark in November 1986 and he told me then, that his record company had circulated this review all over the world, and during recent interviews, journalists were asking him about the Roskilde show. I felt proud to have helped stir up some interest in the Syndicate and this show in particular. You gotta remember that in 1986 many of the band's original fans had moved on after the Medicine Show, and the new line up toured their asses off in 1986 and 87 building a new fan base which continues to this day with Steve's solo albums. About 10 years ago, Mark Walton passed on to me the original master soundboard cassette of the show. For whatever reason, I tossed the tape aside and never listened to it until about 2 weeks ago! Well, let me say this: the sound quality of the tape is great, however being a soundboard tape, there is little or none of the atmosphere, shouting, and crowd noise of 45,000 crazed fans.

Pat Thomas in San Francisco - Easter Sunday 2000 The Dream Syndicate at Roskilde
The Dream Syndicate made their debut in Denmark at a surprise appearance at the Roskilde Festival on July 5th. The Cult had been scheduled to play at 10 PM on Saturday night and a crowd of 45,000 people had gathered in the pouring rain for the show. A few minutes before the Cult were supposed to come out, a guy comes out and says in Danish that the Cult can't make it and they've got something better - The Dream Syndicate from Los Angeles.
99 percent of the 45,000 people look at each other and say: Who the hell is this? What happened was beyond anyone's expectations - Steve Wynn and company walk out on the stage and Steve says: What a long strange trip it's been, we were in Italy yesterday when we got a phone call to come up here and play - We just got here today.
And with that explanation they started off into "Tell Me When It's Over" - fast and furious, sounding more like Led Zeppelin playing "Rock n Roll" than the band from "The Days Of Wine And Roses" - later on, "That's What You Always Say" would get the same treatment.
The new line up with Paul B. Cutler is more powerful and streamlined than anything else Wynn has had before - and that was just what he needed to push the band over the top that night. After just a few minutes of playing - most of the crowd were going crazy, screaming and yelling as if they'd known the band for years. This made the Dream Syndicate push harder, making new songs like "Out Of The Grey" and "Now I Ride Alone" instant classics.
The whole feel of the show was larger than life - like watching The Who at Woodstock or Led Zeppelin at their peak in the early 70s. Wynn has wanted this kind of band for a long time (witness the "Medicine Show" album) and now he's got it. The band has become much more and something much different since the early days with Kendra Smith. Basically what I'm trying to say, is this isn't underground anymore. Wynn wants to play for the masses and now he's done it. Those 45,000 people put a smile on his face you could see from a mile away. Cutler was the ultimate hero guitar hero and Kari Precoda never crossed my mind during the whole show. I was in a state of shock for the most of the show - both from the band's performance and the fact that they have "made it" as they say - at least in Denmark. It was bound to happen sooner or later and for those who have followed the band since it's early days - it was a proud moment. The Danish musical press saw this show as a history making event - like Hendrix making his first American debut at Monterey Pop - ten or fifteen years from now, people will see it in the same way - that "I was there" feeling.
Perhaps it is fitting they closed the show with Neil Young's "Cinnamon Giri" - a blistering version by the way - because Neil Young made it all come round full circle-Young breaking out of the Buffalo Springfield and pushing himself to star status with the great Crazy Horse on his 1970 tour. And they say lightning never strikes twice.

Pat Thomas in Denmark July 1986

The Tracks