The Heavy Bettys Join moe. at the Sun Theatre, Anaheim CA - 2/3/01
by Ken Sasso

The Sun Theatre, Anaheim, Ca. Bookmark their site, www.sun-theatre.com... Check their upcoming shows once in a while. If you notice one of your favorite bands on the schedule, try to fit in that show. Three Thumbs Up for this venue!!! Located in, and sharing the huge parking lot of Anaheim Stadium, the 2 year old Sun Theatre just became one of my favorite concert halls. It has motels and restaurants within walking distance and within sight of it's beaconing searchlights, crisscrossing the night sky. There's a walkway area between the main entrance and theater doors with grass on both sides, some tables, nicely lit and heated. Inside has a spacious bar area and beautiful VIP room called the Sun-Dial Lounge. Entering the music hall, you see the stage ahead of you only 85 feet away. The theater has a small GA section in front of the stage, then it rises in four tiers, each level having tables and chairs. Between the 4th tier and the soundboard area against the back wall, there is a nice space for tapers and twirlers alike.

After setting up my recording utensils, I decided to step outside for a quick cigarette before the moe.show started. Once outside, I saw 5 people wearing plastic, kid Halloween masks. They were all wearing identical masks of a little girl with blonde hair. When I looked closer, I noticed that they were playing acoustic instruments.

As I walked over to see what was happening, I recognized Al as one of them by the trademark short pants he always wears. I ran back inside and tore down my mike, grabbed my recorder, told my friend next to me to get outside quick, and went out to record the event.

They started with a Jam, then "Salt Creek." By now, the crowd inside was gathering outside, and I was able to get up next to Rob, who had the only plugged in instrument, and Vinnie who was using a small, black, upside down garbage pail for a drum. They broke in to "New York City" and then closed out with Al singing "The Harder They Come."

They wore the masks throughout that set. For NYC & Harder They Come, Chuck had his mask upside down. Later, I asked Al what the name of that opening act was, and he replied, "We're thinking of naming them "The Heavy Bettys." When asked later if the "Bettys" were going to be opening for the rest of the tour, Al said, "No. There's no more room on the bus."

Back to the show. The opening song was the dynamic "FAKER," in which Al literally assaulted his guitar. This went into a 50-minute

"MEAT" which must have kicked in Chuck's slipped mickey. Victim of having a "Backwards Day" was the reason for "Thanks a lot everybody. Stick around, we're gonna take a really short break, and be right back" "Don't go anywhere." "What am I saying? I'm full of shit. Don't listen to me." After reminding him that it was only the beginning of the show, they played "TIME AGAIN," after which he then appropriately shouted, "Thank You! Good Night!" to everyone. (I always thought that in Anaheim, slipping Mickeys was customary)

A brand new song, "CRAB EYES" rang out a reggae/ledzep sound to everyone's approval, followed by the "real" set closer, "HEAD"

After a brief break, the second set opened by boppin' the crowd with a nice "STRANGER THAN FICTION." After explaining why they don't have any Grammy's (mainly because they've died), they subdued the masses with another nice long newey, "LIVIN' AGAIN" sung by Al. Next up was a blistering "MEXICO" which showcased the guitar mastery of Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier, as they took their respective solos, then traded leads, then combined for the nonstop craziness we all bopped to (including the usher in front of me). When the explosion quieted, they finished the tale of Al and Cousin Dave. We cheered when they asked us if we would go to a show in Tijuana, if they played there. They even promised to include a donkey show. ???

Next tune up was my current favorite new song, "WATER".....

Rob Derhak just pounds his song into the ground with it's deep storyline, echoing backup vocals, hard hitting choruses, and of coarse, a jam that makes your sweat perspire.

Allowing us for much needed "cookie-collecting" time, the band went for a little space ride with "FOUR." This song rose up into a joint jam culminating into a feverish "REBUBULA." Those two songs combined for a good 40-minutes to close out the second set.

The encore was the Violent Femmes song "Blister In the Sun." As if feeling that they hadn't kick our asses enough all night, they closed this wonderful evening out with Chuck singing to an excellently played cover of Steely Dan's "BODHISATTVA."

The sound was awesome in that place, and their wild light show continues to enhance their already high-intensity performance. I agree with the man who announced the band 4 hours earlier when he shouted out, "Are you ready to have your minds blown by the jammingist goddamn band on the fucking planet?"