2 Places At The Same Time

Two years before “Da Butt” made them go-go’s most commercially successful act, E.U. — who started out as Experience Unlimited in the 1970s — released this live album, half of which was recorded in New York and half in their hometown of Washington, DC. (The latter track might be a studio recording with punched-in crowd noise, and the album side ends with a polished studio instrumental, “Theme From Escape From Del Go-Go”.) The two long tracks are medleys of hooks and call-and-response catch phrases; anyone looking for actual songs should look elsewhere. This is the equivalent of a bootleg tape of an early hip-hop show; it’s all about the endless groove, snatches of familiar melodies, and unstoppable energy. There’s also some surprisingly heavy rock guitar on the New York side, and some slick, jazzy horn charts on “Theme…”.