I know a good 40 in the morning story myself — true too. A couple of ultra-lefty Swedish ex-colleagues (and still friends) did a large Saturday night together in Brooklyn late in the last century. Awake and fragile at 10 a.m. (and facing NYC’s blue law of no alcohol sales until noon Sunday), they found they had polished off all liquids hairy of doggy in the apartment but for half a 40 of Olde English, the twist-off of which they had failed to “re-enable” amidst their festivities, thoroughly aerating the contents. I mean flat. We can almost hear the screams of cancer agony from Cries and Whispers as Jonas and Svante faced two hours of hung-over hell, but no. To their experimental delight, they discovered that twenty ounces of OE, allowed to breathe properly over an evening, transforms itself into: Volk Cognac!!!

And The Party Band of party bands from the Ninth has a label deal, and a release that celebrates the fine art of Drinking in Public. They hit a groove and work it over and over, but I have spent six months at a time of my life devouring Bukowski, and if that ain’t riding a groove unto gleeful death…The number about standing in line at an A&P in this town deserves its authors a Get Out of Jail Free card right off.

On a finger waggy note, I miss the horns on this production that, live, separate M40 from other early Butthole Surfer-wannabes, but the guitars do sound great. Anyone whose song-length fulfillment of his guitar fill is pickup-to-the-amp skreeeeee has my nod. Sometimes I even hear shades of (gasp!) early Roxy Music in the mix, with Henry Chinaskerry in puke-soaked tux doing the crooning, though.

There is even an homage to a fine olde English band known for their exceptional song crafting, and whose central, revered song crafter got himself shot in the Quarter a few New Years ago.

We start off with “Gin Instead of Whiskey” tonight and end up next to the lounge performance piece “Conversation Whore”, that staple of Nawlins Ever High Society.

With all the comment and medical study on the increased substance use here post-K, it’s nice to have a soundtrack chaser with that.