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Date: Sat 15 Sep, 2001 at 00:00
Headline: The Show Goes On
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Greetings and Salutations!
Well, you know what they say...through rain or sleet or threat of
destruction...
Thursday's show at the Urban Lounge was surreal and
cathartic. There had been talk of cancelling the concert, not only because
of the events fo this week but also specifically because a bomb threat had
been called in that afternoon to the section of town where the Lounge is
situated, but it was decided that we would soldier on. To my great surprise, we drew quite a large crowd. Some were
there to see us, many more were there to see Fade, and
still others were just hanging out and looking to escape grim reality for a
while. I could relate.
This was our first time playing the Lounge, though both Tim and James had
played there when it was known as The Holy Cow. The monitor mix was good, the stage was decent, and surprisingly well-lit also. It made for an interesting test drive before we go back to headline the place in October.
The band played well. Tim and I especially are starting to loosen up in our
performance. Watching a videotape of the show tonight, I am unsure that a
man of my, er...girth gyrating all over a stage is something that
anyone should necessarily have to witness, but it could be worse: I could be
overweight and boring. ;)
Through the entire experiece, I had one question on my mind: should I
address the events of this past week? I honestly didn't know what, if
anything, to say. At one point, I was asked to lead everyone in a toast to
America, so I raised my glass -- well, water jug -- and the entire population
of the bar joined in. I then quickly made a few jokes and got us into the
next song, as I feared that if I started to talk I would only ramble and
pontificate uselessly. I figured that anyone who had actually bothered to
come out that night was there to be entertained, not to have awkward
speeches made. They're getting enough of that on the news, I expect.
It felt weird, though. Song lyrics that I had written years before under
entirely different circumstances and about entirely different subjects were
suddenly heavy with new meaning and symbolism...to me, at least. I don't know if anyone in the audience was really concentrating on the
words (or could even hear them, for thatmatter) but they seemed to enjoy the show nonetheless.
When Fade took the stage, their lead singer Dean
actually did make some comments that spoke to recent events, and did a much
better job thatn I could have. He mentioned
how all of this felt trivial in the greater scheme of things, but
that perhaps enjoying each other's company and good music was
as much of an antidote to the problems facing us as anything. I was grateful
for that.
Fade was fantastic, by the way. They have solid
musicians, tight grooves, great lyrics, a seamless blend of pop/rock
sensibilities and hip-hop style that you just do not find around here
too often, and one hell of a frontman. Dean is a real rock star, the genuine article.
I don't know exactly how he'd feel about hearing that, but I do mean it as a
compliment. Although we were something if a desperation move for them (they
had a couple of opening bands cancel already and we knew of each other through
a mutual friend) and our styles are fairly different, I do hope we can hook
up again sometime in the future. We enjoyed the experience tremendously.
I stayed for a while after their set, soaking up the atmosphere in the club,
signing folks to the mailing list, and not wanting to step out the door. I
knew that once I did, I would have to go back to reality...and right now
reality ain't so hot.
No more gigs planned 'till October, but you never know when something
like this Thursday will come up. We'll take whatever opportunities come our
way.
bye for now,
your humble correspondent
Thom Bowers
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