smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Robert Mootz" <thinkzinc@msn.com> |
| Subject | Walter and the Living Room Debriefings |
| Date | Mon, 2 Feb 2004 13:08:03 -0800 |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (4.0 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Just thought I'd share some musings from the living room show we did with Walter Clevenger and his merry band of lactose monarchs in Olympia this weekend. First, to Ira - the Mighty Original Living Room King - reading your posts in recent years, along with the Michael Carpenter show we attended in Portland last year, assisted greatly with taking the deep breath and going for it. And without a doubt it was one of the greatest environments for a music experience one can imagine. Thanks for the inspiration.
Now, despite advance pleadings with Walter to wear a neon-paisley jumpsuit and go falsetto on Real, he opted for the traditional dairy kings vibe in an old flannel shirt. Our living room turned out to be superb for the sound with high ceilings and large windows behind the band. It was full-electric (at sensible volume) and we managed to commandeer a great PA. We arm twisted close to 30 folks, about half of whom were uninitiated in a musical-vegan sense. I have spent a full day responding to attendees thanking me for inviting them, dealing with rantings about what a great time they had, and expressing complete befuddlement why these guys were playing at my house instead of the Moore Theater. (I just explain Walter's resistance to use the hairspray we left by the sink for him, his ability to write clever, catchy songs, carry a tune, that they have a non-robotic drummer, along with their obvious abundance of talent and sheer joy for playing. Thus, they fail to meet the definition of "next big thing." They then all seem to ask "Cool, so does this mean its going to be an annual event?")
So, Wyman Reese has joined the band and was toting keyboards along which added a new dimension to their live sound. He plays all proper and sophisticated-like from the wrists, not the elbow. And drinks fine chardonay. But don't let the civility deceive you. He adds brilliant melodic fills, frees up Steve (Gawd, he's good) to grind fiercely with even more punchy leads and counters. And after the first set, Wyman wrestled away Walter's set list and proceeded to chop it up, drop the songs in a bowl, and have the crowd draw titles to shout out the order randomly which was waaaay-spontaneous and cool and engaged folks in even more fun. Of course there were still enough diabolical attendees around to shout out Heats rarities and hoot calls for Free Bird to sustain that essential audience-at-a-Kenny-G-in-hockey-arena-atmosphere. It goes without saying that Henry and Mike establish one of the most solid grooves around (I'm just a back-beat slut) and their amazing tightness just never fails to keep my jaw agap. Nor did it fail to astound the audience. No shortage of enthusiasm, adoration, or CD sales which calmed my nerves profoundly. And several folks dropped in more than the requested $5 donation. These guys love to play and it really shows. Even more so in such an intimate setting and with a crowd that's 100% there to listen to them.
They of course nailed everything from Full Tilt & Swing and a bunch of Love Songs From Myself tunes as well as proffering some new ones and an unbelievably killer cover of And Your Bird Can Sing. Criminy. Three sets, nearly all of the usual early birds even stayed to the end! These guys have been one of my favorite bands for years now and getting to experience them in such a setting was simply incredible. I also went down to see them with Pamous Phaces in Salem the night before and they slayed the large crowd there as well (as did the Phaces) but the tight setting of the living room gig was simply phenomenal. The boys obviously enjoyed themselves as well and it was less stressful; the schlepping and packing back up could be done after a nights rest. Why, Mike Fernandez even effused that it was one of the nicest performance experiences they'd had during the entire two stop tour and he was sure the band would remember it fondly for days....
David Bash, you'd better watch over your shoulder. Regional Pop Undertow is nipping at your heels...
EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Bob
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.