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Midwest
Regional Report
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Edited by Todd Justus &
Tim Ward
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It looks like the thaw has begun here in the Midwest. With that, a young man's fancies turn to thoughts of spring and the music festivals that mark the coming of the summer tours (Can you say Hookahville? C'mon, say it with me, Hoo-kah-ville). For now, though, we're still stuck with our snow boots and polar fleeces for a few more weeks - if you believe the groundhog, that is. We've found that the best way to keep warm in these situations is to go directly to the venue of your choice, find a cozy spot on the floor, and dance your ass off. In the interests of facilitating such occurrences, we've included some upcoming show dates for your benefit, featuring some of the up-and-coming bands in this part of the country. Our In Case You Missed It section features a moe. review from Don Larisey in central Illinois, Tim's take on Dark Star Orchestra, and a great hookah review from our friend and noted taper The Rev. Kevin Robbins. We hope that February finds you safe, warm and ready for spring. See you at the show. Tim & Todd In Case You Missed It Dark
Star Orchestra by Tim Ward Good news! The folks of ol' Columbus, Ohio were served up some delicious boogie juice the weekend of February 4th. On Friday the Newport Music Hall featured Jazz Mandolin Project with Fishman sitting in, and Saturday night brought the Dark Star Orchestra into town at the same venue. Those who were savvy left the Newport after the shows to catch hometown acts playing in area bars--most notably Uncle Sam's Dream Machine and Chief's Tale. The Dark Star Orchestra is what I'd like ramble about. They recreated a show from 11/7/87 that was originally performed at Oakland's Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, and as the band launched into "Hey Pockey Way" I was struck by an eerie feeling that's hard to describe. Sure, I had checked out the website and listened to a tune or two, but at first I just felt weird listening to these guys play music that so closely resembled the Dead's. But I must have gotten over it pretty quickly, because I found myself "calling" the Jack Straw that came next, a ritual that propelled me back in time and made me marvel at the well-established neural pathway that must have been created in my brain. So I just relaxed my mind, content to endure the cognitive dissonance that occurred whenever I opened my eyes and saw DSO on-stage. There are some that argue that DSO goes against the spirit of the Grateful Dead's music because the Dead's music was improvisational and DSO's is not. You know what I think? Blabbidy blah blah--shut up and dance; because for as long as this project goes on, someone will be complaining about it and people will still be attending it regardless. The Newport packed in more than 800 people for the show, and all I know is this: if I get hit by a Mack truck tomorrow, I'll be so glad that I got to see a "Terrapin Station" performed the way it was by this band. I just kept looking at people with a goofy grin the whole night...so, I have to give DSO a thumbs-up. The topper for me was meeting the band after the show through a mutual friend. They turned out to be very cool and down-to-earth...so down-to-earth that they act as their own road crew. It was also interesting to see drummer Rob Koritz reach into his backpack to pull out what he called "the Bible," Deadbase X, as he answered a question about the performance. The whole experience was surreal, enthralling, confusing, and inspiring at the same time. It was different than seeing a Dead cover band, and I'll always choose Columbus' own Local Color to get that improv jam fix, but until Billy Kreutzmann commits to Further this summer, I'll be seeing DSO for my nostalgia fix. Show #277 Sat, Feb 5, 2000 at Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH www.eswing.com/v20/venues/details/venue_40117.html Performing 11/7/87 Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA 1:
Hey Pocky Way> Jack Straw, Row Jimmy, Masterpiece, Dupree's,Box
Of Rain, Cassidy> Might As Well moe., The Canopy, Urbana, Illinois by Don Larisey The boys came rolling in to the campus of the University of Illinois. The only negative of the night came with the freezing cold wait to enter the club. The long line had us anticipating a nice pat-down at the door, only to find just a slow bouncer. The crowd had a great energy waiting for the show to begin, and moe. didn't let anyone down. I first need to say sorry to Will and the rest of the taper section for being too loud around the mics. I was almost black-balled out of the area for some loud hollering! Rob and company started the first set with a crazy Timmy Tucker. This start told us they weren't fucking around tonight. Spine of a Dog followed with a "Powerhouse" tease hidden in the middle. Next came Guitar, Head leading into Captain America>Mexico. This was probably the best Mexico I have heard in a while. It set the crowd crazy into the setbreak just waiting to see what would come later. The second set started right where the first left off. St. Augustine sent the tapers in a rush to start and the crowd to groove. Hi and Lo>Meat was next and helped us realize how good moe. really is! Jazz Wank>Rebubula closed up the set. Rebubula rocks the house any time it is played, especially to close out an awesome night of live tunes. As the guys left stage, the buzz for the encore grew. Moth or San Ber'dino were my personal choices to end the night. moe. threw us all off with the Violent Femmes 'Blister In the Sun, a crazy choice! moe. tore it up as usual, changing my plans for the next Friday night. Looks like Mississippi Nights is calling. ekoostik
hookah by The Rev. Kevin A. Robbins, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Got to the venue very early. Chopp, Greg, and Bill were just unloading. The Lizard is the closest thing I have to a home town venue. I know the house sound man and the owner, so it's easy for me to walk in really early. I went down the street got a pizza, brought it back and talked to the house sound guy for awhile. Talked briefly with Chopper and Bill as they were both very busy. Set up my microphones and got ready. For those who have never been to Bloomington, or to the Lizard, I will try to describe it to you. It's a long room as opposed to wide. It would be both were it not for the half wall between the concert area and the bar area. It is very small, top capacity is around 250. The stage is very cramped. As a taper, the Lizard is a God-send and a nightmare at the same time. It is small enough to be intimate and sound terrific. It is also small enough that a chatty crowd can drown out even a loud song. Because Bloomington-Normal is a college town, the Lizard has a crowd of regulars who play pool and come see every show regardless of who it is. It almost has the feel of a neighborhood bar at times, which again has it's good and bad points. I have yet to see a show at the Lizard where the crowd wasn't a bit too intoxicated or chatty. For those who know anything about microphones, I used hyper-cardiod capsules from less than 40 feet from the sound system, at 8.5' high, and still got accurate recordings of conversations. Tapes actually sound good, but even using very directional mics, there's a tad much crowd. By the time the opening band got on stage, my wife Annie had arrived. It is always a good day when I can see a show with Annie. I get to a lot of shows over the course of a year, but very few where she gets to be there as well. Another blessing that the Lizard Lounge brings to me. ;-). The opening band, Squib Potential, was OK. I didn't see much of the opening set, but it was pretty much a decent fare of covers. Around 11, Hookah took the stage. Set One opened with a rousing Utopia. Really nice start. Good Times (Merry Go Round) was a first for me to see live, so I was really getting my energy up. Monitor gremlins went to work on Ed's ability to hear by the end of Good Times, so things came to a brief halt as Bill and Greg set things straight. There was a little made up ditty that transformed into a powerful Treehouse. Energy level by this time was getting really high. At this point in the review, I have to admit that I have been blessed with a lot of shows recently, so I am a somewhat jaded observer. Likewise, my own personal energy level was off, so take this with a grain of salt. I Been Down That Road was a slower version than usual, and really brought things back down. Good version, but I was hoping for something much more up. When I look at Hookah sets, though, this really is the pattern and it usually works, so, it's gotta be me. The highlight of the entire show for me came next. I love the long jam tunes. It took forever, it seemed, for me to hear my first Viper, though by now, I have seen several. Sister Sugar has always been a great time at every show where I have seen it. Float works almost the same for me. It is especially good when they segue it through the Funky, Funky, Cliff into some other song and then back into Float. Worked very well in Peoria when it went Float>FFC>Hush>Float. On a birthday request, not sure who's b-day, the boys pulled out a very memorable Float. In the middle, I believe was a debut. I haven't seen the Lazarus Heart on any setlists and I didn't recognize it when it was played. I knew it was familiar, but wasn't sure why. Great Sting tune. Nice cover for Ed's voice and another avenue to be explored and hookahfied. Anthony's Song gave the relief needed after that intensity, but wasn't the way to end a set, so Grass built the energy back up and ended set one. Overall, a nice opening set. Set Two was incredible. Clap for the Wolfman, another personal first, was a very nice set opener. My Own Way and Bone were both frenzied and kept us all up and energized. Silver Train fit perfectly and sustained the energy while providing a nice change of pace. Alexander II was unexpected, but took the energy WAY back up. Throughout the show, I had a guy next to me who wanted to talk hookah. He kept trying to tell me about the band. ;-) Anyway, he was trying to call the setlist. During the lull after AlexII, he was telling me what it ought to be, I don't recall what he was trying to say, but I was thinking, you know, Cliff hasn't sang all night. I thought about telling him we were about to hear John Henry, but decided against it. Never second guess your gut instinct. John Henry made his appearance. I saw the Lizard's owner/manager approach Dave, so I knew that time was short, so Somewhere Down the Line was no surprise. I was hoping for an I Wanna Be Sedated encore, as I hadn't heard that yet, but the Hush encore was perfect. I remember standing back hoping against hopes for the Ramones, and ended up grooving so hard to that organ opening of Hush that I knew there was only one way to end that show and Deep Purple was it.
Notable Dates 2/15
- Bela Fleck - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI 3/1
- Uncle Sam's Dream Machine - Northberg Tavern, Columbus, OH |
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