|
|
Roadtrip of the Month
Edited by Rob Turner
by Rob Turner - basis4aday@aol.comPeople got cold feet, and I received so few responses that I will have to wait until next month to include other people's Roadtrips.
Here goes:
Hello again everyone! This month we go from The Paradise Rock Club in Boston, to The Beacon Theater in NYC, and to Webster Theater in Hartford. Next month I hope to begin including your stories from the road. Please send them in any format and they will be considered for the article. It doesn't matter what band you're seeing, just write about your road trips, and maybe include some highlights from the shows. You can send a bunch of disjointed thoughts or a fully written article, I don't care. Just send in your stories in whatever way you are comfortable with. I will honor requests for anonymity as well. So far, I have only received stories from Disco Biscuits fans. While this pleases me as another example of the intense loyalty of Biscuit fans, I would like to have experiences from fans of a bunch of bands.
My road trip of this month was an unintended precursor to my move to Georgia as southern fueled rock and roll dominated the menu. The first part was not a very long drive. As a matter of fact, I just had to jam over to Storrow Drive and take the first BU exit. Even though I live in Waltham (for now) I don't make it over to my old alma mater very often. It's always nice to drive (or walk) around Commonwealth Avenue, what used to be my "campus." Tonight it was off to The Paradise for the full throttle improvisational mayhem that is Government Mule. This club used to be overshadowed by The Channel over by South Station. They had a better sound system and light show, but since the Channel's demise The Paradise has grown and improved. Football fans may recognize The Paradise as the place where Drew Bledsoe became so moved by Everclear's "jock rock" performance that he took it upon himself to hurl his considerable frame into the swaying masses. I am a huge Patriots fan, and I unabashedly adore Drew, but an NFL quarterback stage diving is the stupidist thing I have ever heard of. My memories of "Boston's Rock Club" are more rosy than Drew's probably are.
I remember sneaking in the back door to catch the Indigo Girls during the days when "Closer To Fine" was beginning to become ever-present on FM radio, and they were starting to get big. This was an incredible show, and a window to the future of these two outstanding songwriters. I remember the gender twist they offered on "Romeo + Juliet" and their unique take on "All Along The Watchtower" like it was yesterday. I also vividly recall walking to my first Phish Paradise show (it was their first as well) from a buddies nearby apartment. My friend Ben Hunter had rewarded me for hanging posters and handing out flyers by tossing me on their guest list (something that hasn't happened to me since the band's club days). Before that gig they had been relegated to the nearby Molly's (where one night they did 2 Little Feat covers!!!!) playing their hearts out for about 50 people! Once they played Paradise, they seemed to just take off, and I couldn't be happier for this creative, disciplined, and incredibly well-managed band.
Los Lobos, Sugar Minott, Pat Metheny, Flyin' Mice, The Why Store, Sebadoh, Allgood, Go Ahead (with Brent and Billy K), X, Social Distortion, Gibb Droll, Ninja Custodian, Jiggle The Handle these are just some of the many, many shows I've seen at this troubled Boston institution. Now they have a police presence at every show because of the "Bledsoe incident," but it's still a great place to see music (as Boston area clubs go anyway, is the Middle East a nightmare now or what?).
If I go way back to 1985 or so, I once donned a turtleneck and a suit jacket and dress pants to get in underaged without ID to see members of The Band play a set. I was so scared, I thought if I was caught it would be straight to jail with me. I made it in and loved the show even though one of the members who was scheduled to show up (either Garth Hudson or Richard Manuel) didn't make it. All I remember of this show is being disappointed at Rick Danko's take on "It Makes No Difference," Danko is a great performer when he is on, he just wasn't this particular night. I drove home so proud that at 17 I had snuck into a 21+ show. Image is everything, remember if you're gonna dupe, dress up!! More recently, we were in a situation where we had 3 people for Elvis Costello (a rare club date) and only 2 tickets…and I remembered how I used to sneak in, and there I was at 29, stealthing into the show the same way I used to when I was 21…or younger…pathetic don't you think? Another time I was in there under aged for a WBCN Rock n Roll Rumble (a local radio station's esteemed local band competition) and I met local DJ Mark Parenteau. I just thought it was the coolest thing to meet him, because he was one of those DJs that didn't have a "put on" voice, he just spoke in his normal voice. I had also learned so much about music from him in my younger days. I probably made a fool out of myself, but if it made him feel good, it was worth it. (New Yorkers can hear Mark everyday on his afternoon shift on 104.3 FM. Much of their play list is classic rock songs that you've heard a million times, but once in a while Mark will bust a nug like The Who's "Pure and Easy" or the Stones "Shine A Light" - usually "deep cuts" are heard on their "sixties at 6" feature)
This was my first Mule show since seeing them follow Smashing Pumpkins on the HORDE tour. The Pumpkins are a tough act to follow, especially when you are playing a smaller stage adjacent to the main stage as they were in the baseball stadium at Oklahoma City. The Pumpkins had concluded their set with an intense 15+ minute cover of Joy Division's "Transmission" complete with some D'Arcy and James Iha antics (two band members with a romantic past). The Mule won the crowd over, and their close of "Painted Silver Light" "She Said, She Said>TNK jam" and an awesome "Mule" probably earned them some new fans in the Midwest.
The Paradise was only their third show since releasing "With A Little Help From Our Friends" a brilliant live double CD that everyone should own. I overheard some folks raving about the previous night's show at Irving Plaza, where apparently Oteil Burbridge, Bernie Worrell, Derek Trucks, Bobby Sheehan, and members of Big Sugar had joined them onstage. Before I could ask these guys about this show, I saw the familiar face of Matt Carlson. Matt is a huge fan of quality, improvised music, and he is always trying to work shows into his busy work schedule. It was great to enjoy this burning show with Matt, and by the time Warren started his solo on "Thorazine Shuffle" we were locked in. My memory of the rest of the show was foggy, so a big thank you goes out to Jim Baadshaug. Jim has many of the Mule's setlists on a web site (check it out http://hmt.com/music/GM/mulebase/index.html) and his site helped me sort out what Mule played. I remember the jam coming out of "She Said" being particularly creative, as they teased "Tomorrow Never Knows" and a few other Beatle numbers. Matt seemed to respond well to the extended version of "Blind Man," and the double encores with Big Sugar found Warren blistering the slide guitar to new heights. "I Ain't Superstitious" reminded me of mid-80s Grateful Dead tours.
When Friday morning came, I still didn't know what Dave and I were doing for the weekend. A trip to Vermont is always welcome, and with Government Mule at Higher Ground Friday, and Uncle Sammy set to play two LONG sets at an open private party in Burlington Saturday, it looked like we were headed to Green pastures. There were so many other options though most notably the conclusion of The Disco Biscuits hugely successful Winter '99 tour was going to be in Pittsburgh. It would have been nice to see so many friends, and hear that sick Bisco (I'm told they delivered a VICIOUS show) but with about 15 Biscuit shows on the near horizon, and with a new job starting next week, and still needing to find a fourth roommate (ugh), I felt compelled to stay near home. Still the options for Saturday were many. Miracle Orchestra was up at the Common Ground, a great venue in Brattleboro, Vermont. ViperHouse and Inasense were up at the Stone Church in New Hampshire, but who wants to get pulled over after the show?? Thanks to their overly-excitable local police force, I only make it up to Stone Church once in a great while. Deep Banana Blackout was at The Living Room in Providence. I have seen them a few times, but I haven't quite been grabbed by them yet. They are clearly talented, and so many people that I respect greatly speak very highly of them, so I'm gonna check them out again whenever I can. I was also interested in a band called Cosmik Debris which was slated for a gig in Lynnfield, Mass. Not only is their name a Zappa song title, but they also were on the Howard Stern show last year doing something disgusting to get their CD played on the show. The fun and friendly Fox Trot Zulu (with Pretty Cool Chair) was down at the "Ocean Mist by the sea" a lovely little club nestled on the water in Rhode Island (which will be hosting Uncle Sammy and The Disco Biscuits on 4/24). Also, the elusive freebeerandchicken was at the Rhinecliff Hotel in Rhinebeck, NY; and Juggling Sons and Blind Man's Son were sharing a bill at the funnest club in Worcester, Tammany Hall. But when my buddy Dave Venue called me Friday morning and left a message (I didn't answer as I was sleeping off a WarrenAllenMatt hangover) saying "Rob, Allman's tonight, second row center of the balcony, just got ‘em." Wow! You see we had learned from an Allman Brothers fansite "Hittin' The Web with the ABB" (http://www.netspace.org/allmans/) that Friday was their 30th Anniversary to the day!! Dave, who has become one of the most concert savvy people I know, is the only reason I was able to drive to New York with the assurance of a nice center balcony seat (Dave also just recently snagged me a Phil + Friends ticket, what an incredible guy!!). He must've checked Ticketmaster's web site one hundred times last week until he finally nailed some releases!! You are the man Davey Saslavsky!! After going back to sleep for a couple of hours, I had to hustle to get my errands done and meet Dave at 2:15. We have a little spot west of Boston where we can leave a car and just take one to our destination. We had decided to see Government Mule and Derek Trucks at Webster Theater on Saturday, so we drove directly there to buy our tickets and get a feel for the area. We were surprised that it really wasn't that far out of the way, and the next thing we knew we were on the Merritt Parkway nearing the city.
Thanks to the "traffic on the ones" on 1010 WINS, and Dave's knowledge of New York's many little highways, we made it to the city early enough to hang out with an old friend. Lisa Henkoff has been one of my closest friends for almost 15 years now. We dated each other for about half of the time we were at Boston University back in the 80s (remember the 80s people?). She is a very funny and incredibly warm person that I am lucky to know. Dave was also excited to see her because he adores her as well. We enjoyed about an hour with her, partly trying to talk her into blowing off her rehearsal dinner and going to this show, before we had to head in the direction of The Beacon
We had one of those nightmare cab rides that happen once in a while in New York. The driver wasn't crazy, he just wasn't crazy enough!! He was painfully slow, inching along 79th street (when he could've crossed town at 86th) and planting himself behind left-turners (turners can be a pain in the ass), even when he had plenty of room to swing around him. He was repeatedly ending up in the wrong lane and timidly correcting his error. We were trying to telepathically get him to wake up and drive like an NYC cabby should, but our attempts failed miserably. He did get us there in time to have a quick couplea slices and still catch the beginning of the show. We were pleased to find that the seats Dave had snagged off the Ticketmaster web site that morning were in fact in the dead center of the second row of the balcony. The Allmans had the Beacon more dolled up than ever for their 30th Anniversary run. Dickie Betts confirmed that this was indeed the big night by mentioning more than once that it was in fact the actual 30th Anniversary night. Before performing his new song, "Good Times Don't Fade Away" Betts commented that it was particularly appropriate on this night. I also enjoyed Jack Pearson's vocal on "Killing Floor," Jack will definitely be missed. He may not have Warren's balls-to-the wall approach, but he is a great player who lent much subtlety to the Allman's sound. Many of you out there probably know somebody who has last fall's pay-per-view/radio broadcast on tape. If you listen to some of the quiet guitar work from Jack on "Back Where It All Begins", you will hear what I will most miss about him leaving the group. The excitement of having Butch's son in the band is clearly tempered by the sadness of losing Jack. Other highlights of this show were the welcome returns of "Leave My Blues At Home," "Revival," and "Les Bres in A Minor," all of which had not been played in some time before this year's Beacon run. "Les Bres" was incredible, with a wild drum jam and some spectacular basswork by Oteil Burbridge! They also played a "Blue Sky" with the "Franklin's" intro that they have been doing for a while now. They tributed the Dead further with a spiraling jam in "Blue Sky" which was reminiscent of some of the classic Grateful Dead jams of years past.
I was a little disappointed that they decided to truncate the acoustic set this year to two songs. "Seven Turns' was very sweet, one of their more recent "classics" They also played "Melissa" which was harder to enjoy as a couple of guys a couple of rows behind us, who were moderately interested in the show at best, let their babbling conversation become so loud, the music was drowned out. They ignored the stares and gentle "shhh's" that surrounded them. This is one of my pet peeves. Somebody tell me who these people are that go to incredible shows with outstanding musicians and they can't shut up during the delicate moments. What could be so important to talk about that can't wait until the band has finished their show? Do these people realize that folks have paid lots of money to hear the MUSIC, not the irrelevant babble of some idiot who fails to respect an artist or those who have paid to see that artist. I see a lot of Dylan shows, where sometimes this can be a big problem. Don't get me wrong, there are quite a few wonderful people chasing Dylan these days, but one runs into some ornery bastards as well. Some of the people who talk during Bob's quiet songs, are also the same people who harshly yell at people to sit down so they can watch the band rip through "Highway 61" like its on a life size TV. I mean I don't mind sitting when the band is playing quietly, but you gotta boogie on the rockin' numbers. Do you think Dylan wants to play his high energy numbers to a bunch of people staring at him….no, he doesn't. (Once at a Poughkeepsie, NY Dylan show, a group of older folks kept yelling at me to sit down during "Tangled Up In Blue" EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE PEOPLE DANCING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, which stands to this day as the most absurd audience complaint I've ever come in contact with.) You know, if someone is dancing in front of you, you can stand up, (unless you're in Poughkeepsie) but there's not much you can do if some self-important asshole decides to talk loudly when everyone else is trying to listen. Never, ever, ever be afraid to ask someone to be quiet during a show. These are musical events people, use the ears, not the mouth!! I am venting, I apologize.
After a 3 song encore which started with the always welcome "Revival" (I hadn't seen it in years) and culminated with a short but intense "Whipping Post," we were back on the New York streets. We walked over to a jazz club called Iridium, and we tried to get in for the last fifteen minutes of the show and maybe a drink or two. The woman didn't think our "peeking in" would be a good idea. So, I can't tell you what the club is like. I was impressed that they had a show coming with Donald Harrison sitting in with Terance Blanchard. Two "young lions" sharing the stage! It is also the new haunt for the legendary Les Paul, who plays the club every Monday night.
For the ride home, we had the benefit of a real New York cabby, as he blasted us uptown with the authority of a Manhattan regular. It was Dave's turn to pay, and he rewarded our Andretti with a chunky tip. Hiram Bullock was playing with Will Lee near where we were staying, but it was too much money with very little music left, and again the person at the door was inflexible. We just found an all-night restaurant and ate the meal we should've had hours before, and less than an hour later we were dozing with visions of the Webster Theater in our minds.
The next day, Dave wandered the city, and came up with some CD bootlegs from the Dylan/Van run we had caught in January of 1998. We are not in the Dylan or Van taping circle at all, unfortunately, so we have to purchase a boot once in a while….sorry. We buy every live CD these artists release so we should be allowed to further augment our collections if the labels won't. I hung out and watched hockey. I love hockey. It was nice to have a couple of hours to watch two hockey games at once. It's great to hear a team's local announcers if you're a hockey fan, and on this day I was switching between the Devils and the Rangers. The playoffs are just around the corner (well, not for the Rangers I guess), very exciting mid-April to mid-June television entertainment! After the games, we blasted up the Merritt Parkway, hoping to find somewhere to watch the Connecticut/Ohio State game and get a good dinner at the same time. We tried a Ruby Tuesday's in some mall just off of I-91, but there were only seats at the bar and the bartender was more interested in the game! Luckily we stumbled onto an amazing little restaurant called the Baci Grill just off of I-91 a few miles North of the mall. Connecticut won this game, as most of you know, defeating Ohio State convincingly to advance to the finals where they would beat Duke. Even though I am more of a Duke fan (my girlfriend's alma mater), it was nice to enjoy one of the Huskies big wins with a bunch of their fans. We had a very nice waitress who was very good at her job, but she unintentionally provided us with some entertainment as well. At one point in the game they scrolled news about one of our fighters getting shot down over in Kosovo. She became instantly distraught because she somehow got the idea that the pilot was being tortured on Yugoslavian TV. How she got that from what was on the screen we will never know, but we had a good laugh about it later (when we learned that the pilot had in fact been rescued by American soldiers). After congratulating some of the UConn fans we set out for Hartford.
We arrived early enough to take advantage of the convenient parking behind the Webster Theater. It was almost time for the Duke/Michigan State game, and we learned that there were no TVs inside the theater. This meant we had to miss the local band that was opening the show and find somewhere to catch this game. There was an interesting bar across the street from the theater, so we decided to give it a shot. I walked right up to the bar and asked what kind of beer they had "Bud and Heineken only" the bartender said. We like to buy Heineken in Stern markets like Hartford (they are a strong supporter of the show) so I grabbed a couple of those. I went over to the juke box and noticed that it was all Spanish music, and then I turned around and noticed that almost everyone in the bar was Hispanic. There was a DJ playing salsa music, and I think he got nervous that I was going to play something on the juke box that would compete with his show, so he starting CRANKING the salsa music. I happen to enjoy salsa music, and Tito Puente (salsa is only a part of what he does) in particular, so I was quite happy with our pre-Mule scene. The television was in the corner of the bar where there was an intense game of Dominos going on. We were able to enjoy the social dynamics of these barflies, as well as watch Duke hold off Michigan State. There were some very friendly ladies who may have been many years our senior in age, but they had youthful spirits and were not afraid to flirt. At one point we exchanged obscenities in Spanish, causing some eruptions of laughter. One of the women taught Dave how to say "don't bother me" in case he thought they were annoying. How thoughtful! We were quickly assimilated into their gang, and some of the folks even started to take interest in the Hoops. One time as I returned to from the bathroom to find Dave on the dance floor with the most aggressive of the ladies. She was trying to wean him of his "chicken dance" and get him to salsa. The whole bar seemed to enjoy this lusty moment. Later on, when I mentioned that I loved Tito Puente, the same woman had the DJ put on a couple of his songs, and she dragged me out on the dance floor. I shook hips with her for a while, until it started to get a little too sexy, at which point I returned to my Heineken and the Hoops and Dominos. We hadn't even gone to the show yet and I was already breaking a sweat.
After heartfelt good-byes we went over to the theater to see Derek Trucks Band. Their band is very good although it still seems to be searching for its identity. The drummer is a phenomenal, energetic presence for the band. Derek is clearly on his way to becoming an outstanding guitarist, he already knows how to play with other players. Warren joined the Trucks Band for a rousing version of Howlin' Wolf's "44" (the same Wolf song Clapton was doing on his blues tour a few years back). Derek knew when to play his lead, when to get into some interplay, and when to just let Warren rip. He is very savvy for a young player. He was also bold enough to offer a cover of "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" which the Allmans would probably be gettin' into at The Beacon the same night (ABB didn't do it at our show).
At the set break we looked over the theater. It seems to be a fifties or sixties style movie theater. It has arched ceilings, and if you look closely you can see a bunch of those little speakers the sound would have come out of before the "high tech" movie era. This is a great venue, and I spoke with someone who knows the booking agent and suggested that they bring The Slip, Big Wu, Uncle Sammy, and The Disco Biscuits for a huge show there sometime before these bands are too big! Dave was hoping that someone might write a "venue of the month" column on this place, so if you live in Hartford and you can write, email Dave. You can check this club out and see Tragically Hip on April 30 or you can catch Acoustic Junction with Mighty Purple and Dayz Amaze Me on May 1.
Even though the Mule repeated a bunch of songs from the Paradise gig, their set was still absolutely incredible once again. I certainly didn't mind hearing "Thorazine Shuffle" or "I've Been Workin'" in the middle of "Mule" or "Devil Likes It Slow" again. It was even better to get some of the gems that we hadn't heard in Boston, like the set opening "John The Revelator" which features Warren's soulful voice. At Webster we also got a little Grateful Dead style jam that led into an instrumental "Truckin" and then into "Trane" which was a different approach than the "Trane" they released on their "Live at the Roseland Ballroom" CD. John Duva sat in for some pedal steel on "I Shall Return" and Dave Mason's "Sad + Deep As You" which was a very moving version to close the set. It was during the encore that the sparks began to fly. Derek came out for a blistering "Spoonful" and Derek seemed to play even better on this song than he did in his entire set. Little did we know at the time, but we were dancing to the future and past guitarists of the Allman Brothers. Whether Derek is playing with the Mule or sitting in with The Allmans (before joining them), he seems to rise to the occasion and deliver his best stuff while still respecting the other players on the stage. This bodes well for future Allman Brothers Band shows. The rest of Derek's band started making their way onto the stage as Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun" was riffed before the new ensemble launched into the show stopper, a 20+ minute version of "Afro Blue" with the entire Trucks band that completely rocked the house. Mesmerizing jamming, interplay, and an Earth-shattering drum solo sent folks staggering back to the street. If this band comes to your town, or if they are sharing the stage with your favorite band (hello SCI fans!!!!) please do yourself a favor and check ‘em out.
April Issue: Home | Editors | Features | Columns | Photos | Regional | New Groove
Road Trip | Tour Journal | Venue | Levels | Ghosts | Homegrown | Inaudible | CDs | Charts
JamBands.Com is published on the 15th of every month. Submissions are due ten days earlier on the fifth of each month. Please contact the specific editor for the section you are interested in contributing to. For general content comments, please e-mail jambands@jambands.com. For all technical web site related issues, please contact Sarah Bruner or David Steinberg