It was the traveling Anton Newcombe show at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday night. Meltdowns on demand. Dig! - the Musical, coming to a club near you. Those seeking to experience the most chaotic and memorable moments of Dig! got what they desired. Provoked by hecklers, Anton lost control, argued with the crowd, threatened physical violence, ended the show early. He stuck to the script.

That suggests that Anton was acting. That he was lucid and aware of his artifice. No, he's certainly not acting and there has to be something certifiably disturbed in his mind. Dude is manic. Whether adjusting mic stands, climbing ladders to counsel soundmen or fiddling with a forever out of tune guitar, Anton couldn't stand still for a moment. Between songs were given over to incoherent rants that ranged from pleas for pity to the hubris of a man with a well known God complex. Dig! and the taunts it inspired on Saturday was acknowledged repeatedly. Anton is a movie star and he's trapped in the solitary confinement of his most famous trait: his mania.

The night followed the script - play a song, trade insults with the audience, play another song, trade more insults, leave the stage. Yes there were songs. And the songs were amazing, particularly the closer "Swallowtail". They were enough to make me forget Anton's brutish rants, paranoia and narcissism. Almost. If the man is half the genius he claims, he should let his songs do the talking. They were rather convincing arguments on Saturday night.

Download everything by Brian Jonestown Massacre here, including their recent performance at Lollapalooza.

Photos to come.