SHARING THE SHOWS
I’d been looking forward to this all week. I find shows are even more enjoyable during the school year, because they’re offsetting the energy expended at work. After a day spent working on my book, running, and starting Season 2 of Disenchantment, Maggie picked me up at 2, and we headed north.
After some rubbernecking on I-95 (see the “I-95 Asshole Song”) and conversation set to the soundtrack of some Grateful Dead, we stopped at our friend Nicole’s in Arlington, where she made us some delectable fish tacos and we got to play with my nephews, Boba and Lando. Lando climbed on the back on my neck and said, “I’m on the back of your neck and you’re gonna like it.” I took over the wheel to get us to the Anthem, and I was reminded of why I generally don’t drive in New York City. The traffic going to the venue inspired some nice invectives on my part, directed at the other drivers, and we were turned away from two parking garages. Third time was a charm as we made it into one right on the Wharf, but finding a space proved to be a challenge. Fortunately, we got lucky when we saw someone leaving their space. The next obstacle was the line, which stretched all the way back to the end of the pier. We were instructed to “stick with this friends, this is a battlefield” by one of the attendants. The DC skyline was beautiful, even if some of its inhabitants are, well undeserving. At any rate, we made it in at around 8:15, and we ran into Keith just as the band was opening with “Easy Wind.” Normally a slow song, this group did a nice fast-paced jam around it. That ruined my prediction of an “Alabama Getaway” opener, given the political locale and the recent strife around abortion, but I still dug it. In fact, I was 0 for 4 on my calls (“Throwing Stones,” “US Blues,” and “One More Saturday Night” did not close the show). Still, JRAD was like nothing I’d ever seen before. Any disillusioned heads who are calling Dead & Co “Dead and Slow” need to see this group: JRAD is the antidote. I’m calling them Postmodern Dead. I think I liked JRAD’s version of “Easy Wind” even better than the Dead’s original. “Feel Like a Stranger” followed, then “Cumberland Blues.” Subsequently, “China Cat Sunflower” graced the stage, but they did not go into “I Know You Rider,” like the Dead and most cover bands do. They just looped right back into “Cumberland.” At that point, I saw a dude in a long beard that looked like Dusty Hill. Or Billy Gibbons, it doesn’t really make a difference. Definitely not Frank Beard. There was a long buildup to “Jack Straw.” Apparently those are a trademark of the group. “Turn On Your Love Light” closed the first set, and it had a nice piano solo from Marco Benevento. Set Two started with “Alligator,” which seemed to have a “Feelin’ Alright” tease. “Me and My Uncle” was next, followed by “Scarlet Begonias.” But instead of going directly into “Fire on the Mountain,” “Cream Puff War” followed it. I was surprised by The Band’s “Ophelia;” I had only heard Widespread Panic play it. Then came “Fire.” At that point, a woman passed us and yelled, “I lost my husband.” I said to Maggie, “On purpose?” I then laughed really loudly at my own joke, and some guy looked at me. Speaking of laughing at my own jokes, something that defines my personality, I invented a new one. During “Space,” I wanted to sing loudly, “This is what space smells like!” That’s from the Phish song, “Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” so I’d expect no laughter, and I’d then laugh at my own joke for a few minutes while my friends would roll their eyes and strangers wouldn’t stop to shake my hand, but they’d just stare. The whole situation would be entertaining to me. Sadly, they didn’t play “Space,” so I couldn’t execute. I’ll just have to save it for Dead & Company in November or DSO in December. “Black Muddy River,” one of Maggie’s favs, closed the set. The band announced that this would be their last show of 2019, so they’d do it big. Marco teased “Tennessee Jed.” At some point, I’d like to see Dead & Co or a Dead tribute play in Tennessee, so I can say “there’s no place I’d rather be” and then laugh at my own joke. But they tricked us, a staple of their shows. The Band’s “The Weight” was the first encore. Eponymous band member Joe Russo started to play what sounded like “Drums.” Upon hearing my theory, Maggie went out to smoke a cigarette. About 30 seconds afterwards, they launched into “Samson & Delilah,” upon which I started to text Maggie what they were playing, but she beat me back. The big surprise was their third encore of Spacehog’s “In the Meantime,” which brought me back to 1995, when I was a senior in high school mopping the aisles of Nyack, New York’s Cinema East in exchange for free popcorn and money to spend on my growing cassette and CD collection (I couldn’t pick just one). Those were fun times, and it was a great show. Blew my mind. Anyway, we met up with Mark outside the venue post-show and chatted about upcoming Dead-style shows. Some great times coming up. Not so great, however, was the $45 we spent on parking, just as much as the ticket. Next time I see a show at the Anthem, I’m parking somewhere outside DC and ta king the Metro. It was craziness. We switched drivers at an Exxon in Arlington, and upon enjoying some New York style rainbow cookies and Virginia-style peanuts (purchased from Ynot in Virginia Beach, and the Peanut Shop in Williamsburg, respectively), I was out like a light. My 3 a.m. arrival was greeted by Chester jumping on my leg and demanding treats. I seem to be a cat magnet. And my Sunday’s been enhanced by a free download of last night’s show, which was posted almost immediately after it ended. It will grace my office computer this week.
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ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas - AMC Hampton 24 - Hampton, VA - September 26, 20199/27/2019 It had been a month since I had been to any type of live music-related event, in person or on screen. Since the school year started back up, I’d been getting up at 5:30 in the morning to work on my book; this is when I’m at my sharpest on an intellectual and creative level. So my energy has been focused on my writing, teaching, and recuperation from the energy exuded in both things.
Today was a typical day, filled with two lessons that appeared to engage both of my classes, grading, meetings with students, and the usual chaos. Following a post-work run and dinner, I headed to the theater to meet Maggie. Dinner was accompanied by that episode of King of the Hill where ZZ Top appears and spends half of the episode pissing off Hank, including at 0:36 of this clip. Maggie and I talked for a bit before Adam came by to chill with us. Gary then arrived, and we were in the theater. Previews consisted of biopics/documentaries about historical figures Judy Garland, Thomas Edison, and Roy Cohn. We also got previews of the Roger Waters concert film, Us and Them, the upcoming Metallica concert film, S&M2, and the Bruce Springsteen documentary, Western Stars. So many movies, so little time and money. Gary also treated us to some pictures of the soon-to-be-rebuilt Surf Rider, which he’s framing after the unfortunate fire that destroyed it a few months ago. The film opened with an overhead shot of what I’m assuming is LaGrange, Texas, as their classic “LaGrange” played over the soundtrack. Actor Billy Bob Thornton described his experience seeing ZZ Top as like “seeing Bugs Bunny in person.” I felt the same way when I saw Phish for the first time. John Homme from Queens of the Stone Age had an even more apt description: their choreography created a mystique; since they were so flashy, it kept you from knowing who they really were. Made sense the way he put it. We were treated to a history of how the band formed in the late 1960s; they saw a poster blues artist ZZ Hill, right next to one of BB King. At first, they combined “ZZ” and “King,” until one member (I forget who) said that King is “up top.” Hence the name, “ZZ Top.” When their organist left for Mork & Mindy, guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard (the only beardless member of the group) found Dusty Hill to play bass, and the trio was born. Some random items that stuck out to me:
The band started out as a simple blues rock group in the 1970s, but during a hiatus, they were treated to the punk movement, and their new sound was slightly more aggressive. Hence came Eliminator, the 1983 album that spawned the songs for which ZZ Top are most known (“Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’”). According to Homme, Eliminator functions as most people’s introductions to ZZ Top. Side anecdote: I found 1985’s Afterburner in my Dad’s CD case and pretty much wore the heads out on it after two weeks. We also saw that with the onset of MTV, ZZ Top was part of the innovative new combination of music and video. Director Tim Newman had the vision of incorporating narrative into music video, so “Legs” told a story about a cook and a salesgirl overcome some harassers and bullies and find love. In Adam’s words, the movie ended quickly, an assessment with which I agree. There was a quick montage of a couple of their videos and an appearance of Johnny Carson before final reflections from the band. I might have liked to know about the 80s through today, including their popular culture appearances, like in King of the Hill and Back to the Future III (“Doubleback” is my favorite song of theirs). That’s a minor quibble. Overall, it was a nice break in a hectic week, and it was nice to hang out with good friends, even if it was only for a few hours. P.S. Drew, "Waiting for the Bus" wasn't played, but Winston Marshall from Mumford & Sons referenced it, saying that was the first ZZ Top song with which he identified. |
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