Shriek of the Month (ack... will be weekly again soon, I can feel it!), Vol. 14
He wasn't telling me no lie. The hook did bring me back.
After a roller coaster of Memorial Day plans (staying here, going to Lex, going to Hoboken for Fiore's, Hawaiian pizza and good times with good peeps, finally back to staying here, with the added bonus of dealing with non-functioning brakes), the weekend wound up ending on a very positive note... the sweet sounds of Blues Traveler at Rockville's Hometown Holidays concert. I hadn't heard about it until yesterday -- on a whim I checked the Memorial Day events listing on WaPo and saw that they were playing for free, proceeded to have But Anyway stuck in my head for hours, and was sold.
There are two key elements which converge in Blues Traveler that place them among the Bands That Make Me Happy. First off, of all the evolutions of American music, the convergence of R&B and country in jammy but still rocky/bluesy bands is my absolute, hands-down favorite. The Black Crowes, NMA, moe., VACO, Agents and the like are my ideal soundtrack for happy, chill days with friends and cold beer and barbecue (when it's hot) and hot tubs and fireplaces and Bailey's (when it's not), and Blues Traveler absolutely falls into this category. Second, there's nostalgia. I remember the days when being able to get past "Suck it in, suck it in, suck it in if you're Rin Tin Tin or Anne Boelyn..." was a mark of serious cool. I also have an unused ticket to see them at the Horde festival from 1997 that reminds me of sitting at the California sulking over my cheese fries wishing I'd been there instead of working in my Dad's office all day. So, clearly, I couldn't pass up the chance to see them for free and redeem a crummy weekend at the same time.
"Shut up and get to the point. How were they," you say? Well, I did a little dancing, did my fair share of singing along, the jamming wasn't Phish-level over the top, but they didn't stick to the album version either (it was juuuust right!), I got to hear everything I wanted to hear (they are not a band afraid of their hits, and in fact, they speed them up, it's impressive), plus some bonus good stuff from their new album - which sounds pretty good - as well as an excellent cover of The Devil Went Down To Georgia with harmonica subbing for fiddle that was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while, so on the whole... I'm going awesome.
Except for the one dude who tapped me on the arm and asked me not to blow smoke his way. I put it out 'cause I'm a lov-ah not a fighter, but I have several problems with his request. First, I was blowing it straight up, my apologies for being unable to control the wind. Second, it was outside. In a parking lot. With a fair amount of open space into which he could move. Third, it's a Blues Traveler concert, John Popper smoked three cigarettes during the set, and I smelled many, FAR more offensive odors than cigarettes, so give me a flippin' break.
One other thing to note, for the first time, I get Run-Around. I tend to get so into the music of bands like this that I often gloss over what's going on in the lyrics, but there's a lot here that hit home. I'll let it be the last word on this one...
"Like a game show contestant with a parting gift
I could not believe my eyes
When I saw through the voice of a trusted friend
Who needs to humor me and tell me lies
Yeah humor me and tell me lies
And I'll lie too and say I don't mind
And as we seek so shall we find
And when you're feeling open I'll still be here
But not without a certain degree of fear
Of what will be with you and me
I still can see things hopefully."
After a roller coaster of Memorial Day plans (staying here, going to Lex, going to Hoboken for Fiore's, Hawaiian pizza and good times with good peeps, finally back to staying here, with the added bonus of dealing with non-functioning brakes), the weekend wound up ending on a very positive note... the sweet sounds of Blues Traveler at Rockville's Hometown Holidays concert. I hadn't heard about it until yesterday -- on a whim I checked the Memorial Day events listing on WaPo and saw that they were playing for free, proceeded to have But Anyway stuck in my head for hours, and was sold.
There are two key elements which converge in Blues Traveler that place them among the Bands That Make Me Happy. First off, of all the evolutions of American music, the convergence of R&B and country in jammy but still rocky/bluesy bands is my absolute, hands-down favorite. The Black Crowes, NMA, moe., VACO, Agents and the like are my ideal soundtrack for happy, chill days with friends and cold beer and barbecue (when it's hot) and hot tubs and fireplaces and Bailey's (when it's not), and Blues Traveler absolutely falls into this category. Second, there's nostalgia. I remember the days when being able to get past "Suck it in, suck it in, suck it in if you're Rin Tin Tin or Anne Boelyn..." was a mark of serious cool. I also have an unused ticket to see them at the Horde festival from 1997 that reminds me of sitting at the California sulking over my cheese fries wishing I'd been there instead of working in my Dad's office all day. So, clearly, I couldn't pass up the chance to see them for free and redeem a crummy weekend at the same time.
"Shut up and get to the point. How were they," you say? Well, I did a little dancing, did my fair share of singing along, the jamming wasn't Phish-level over the top, but they didn't stick to the album version either (it was juuuust right!), I got to hear everything I wanted to hear (they are not a band afraid of their hits, and in fact, they speed them up, it's impressive), plus some bonus good stuff from their new album - which sounds pretty good - as well as an excellent cover of The Devil Went Down To Georgia with harmonica subbing for fiddle that was one of the coolest things I've seen in a while, so on the whole... I'm going awesome.
Except for the one dude who tapped me on the arm and asked me not to blow smoke his way. I put it out 'cause I'm a lov-ah not a fighter, but I have several problems with his request. First, I was blowing it straight up, my apologies for being unable to control the wind. Second, it was outside. In a parking lot. With a fair amount of open space into which he could move. Third, it's a Blues Traveler concert, John Popper smoked three cigarettes during the set, and I smelled many, FAR more offensive odors than cigarettes, so give me a flippin' break.
One other thing to note, for the first time, I get Run-Around. I tend to get so into the music of bands like this that I often gloss over what's going on in the lyrics, but there's a lot here that hit home. I'll let it be the last word on this one...
"Like a game show contestant with a parting gift
I could not believe my eyes
When I saw through the voice of a trusted friend
Who needs to humor me and tell me lies
Yeah humor me and tell me lies
And I'll lie too and say I don't mind
And as we seek so shall we find
And when you're feeling open I'll still be here
But not without a certain degree of fear
Of what will be with you and me
I still can see things hopefully."
posted by lunchbox at 11:14 PM
3 Comments:
Wow, Rockville is really climbing up the free concert social ladder. When I was there, it was usually Olivia Newton-John or Kool & the Gang.
One time I was at a Filene's at the South Shore mall in Braintree and Sophie B. Hawkins was singing in the men's section promoting something or other. That was a sad day.
um, i think that guy was REALLY trying to tell you to quit smoking! but maybe i'm reading too much into that
Nah, I think he was just being a jerk. If he were trying to get me to quit, it would've been something like, "Those are bad for you, you know." Self-righteous non-smokers aren't afraid to lay their intentions bare, IMHO.
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