Some Thoughts on the Auto Club Show.
The Auto Club show last night was just as good as I anticipated. I've now seen Slim and the boys on five separate occasions (and Slim solo twice), and it amazes me that they never seem to mail in a performance. It's true that they are professionals, but one might expect that they would slow down now that they are well within the mature adult bracket. But they draw from a deep resevoir. I was almost overcome with anticipatory anxiety as it got close to showtime. I felt how I imagine a junkie feels after having indulged in a large dose of amphetimines. I'm sure I exarcerbated the feeling by drinking several shots of espresso beforehand.
I felt a tinge of guilt as the opening band played, as they are my friends and yet I wanted them to play a short set. Had anyone else been the main band, I would have been happy to relax with them for hours. As it was, I was pretty impatient. And the Auto Club's choice to include a comedian on the bill didn't help matters. The guy, who hails from Davenport, Iowa, delivers his set in a ludicrously poor English accent. He looks like an 80's hair-band holdover, and supplements his act with a synthesizer. He delivers some rapid-fire jokes and sings some grating songs, and then he mercifully cedes the stage to the headliners. Actually, he very well could have been a brilliant performer. It was difficult for me to pay attention, and distraction is not conducive to the appreciation of comedy. Anyway, as Slim put it- "He's family", and he claims an affiliation with the Church of the Subgenius, so I guess he's alrite by me. Humor is such a personally subjective concept. Most of what people find funny, I just don't get. (I even wrote a post about it.) I choked down some terrible wheat beer that constituted the "special", and talked with some friends.
So I struggled through to the "main event", and it delivered the goods. They started the set with "32 Mouths Gone Dry", which has been a longtime favorite. They tore through a large chunk of the material from their last two albums, and supplemented them with a few that I hope will be on their new release this year. The crowd was not as large as I might have hoped, but still substantial for a Monday night in the Burgh. More importantly, the crowd that was there was receptive enough to be transported by the band. It wasn't the kind of atmosphere that would make you feel self-conscious for being taken by the spirit. Ordy was back behind the kit and Munly delivered his trademark intensity. Slim engaged the crowd by hopping off the stage and handing out his blessings. This despite the fact that he drove a screw (or a screwdriver) through the palm of his hand the night before he flew to Denver to start the tour. I supressed the stigmata jokes when he told me the story. As usual, I brought some folks that had never partaken of the Auto Club before. They all thanked me afterward. By the end of the performance we were all pretty exhausted.
Actually, my reaction was a good bit beyond exhaustion. As my friends tried to coax me to leave for one last destination, I propped myself on a backless stool, and leaned against the wall. I felt waves of depression hit me, as I contemplated the time I would now have to wait before seeing the Auto Club again. Looking forward to last night had gotten me through a few rough spots during the last couple of weeks. As melodramatic as it may sound, the prospect of seeing an Auto Club show has a rejuvenating effect. And as selfish as it sounds... if I had my way, the whole band would drop whatever they have going elsewhere and join Slim in Pittsburgh permanently. But you see... there is really no margin in that, because the Lord made people here "too damn slow". I'm not sure we could muster the loyal support base that Denver (or even Providence?) has. Evidently if it's not The Clarks or some Led Zeppelin cover band, this town wants nothing to do with it. I guess that's just life in the provinces. Yet I'll continue in my efforts to get the good word out, and maybe someday I'll be able to complain about the crowds at future Auto Club shows.
I felt a tinge of guilt as the opening band played, as they are my friends and yet I wanted them to play a short set. Had anyone else been the main band, I would have been happy to relax with them for hours. As it was, I was pretty impatient. And the Auto Club's choice to include a comedian on the bill didn't help matters. The guy, who hails from Davenport, Iowa, delivers his set in a ludicrously poor English accent. He looks like an 80's hair-band holdover, and supplements his act with a synthesizer. He delivers some rapid-fire jokes and sings some grating songs, and then he mercifully cedes the stage to the headliners. Actually, he very well could have been a brilliant performer. It was difficult for me to pay attention, and distraction is not conducive to the appreciation of comedy. Anyway, as Slim put it- "He's family", and he claims an affiliation with the Church of the Subgenius, so I guess he's alrite by me. Humor is such a personally subjective concept. Most of what people find funny, I just don't get. (I even wrote a post about it.) I choked down some terrible wheat beer that constituted the "special", and talked with some friends.
So I struggled through to the "main event", and it delivered the goods. They started the set with "32 Mouths Gone Dry", which has been a longtime favorite. They tore through a large chunk of the material from their last two albums, and supplemented them with a few that I hope will be on their new release this year. The crowd was not as large as I might have hoped, but still substantial for a Monday night in the Burgh. More importantly, the crowd that was there was receptive enough to be transported by the band. It wasn't the kind of atmosphere that would make you feel self-conscious for being taken by the spirit. Ordy was back behind the kit and Munly delivered his trademark intensity. Slim engaged the crowd by hopping off the stage and handing out his blessings. This despite the fact that he drove a screw (or a screwdriver) through the palm of his hand the night before he flew to Denver to start the tour. I supressed the stigmata jokes when he told me the story. As usual, I brought some folks that had never partaken of the Auto Club before. They all thanked me afterward. By the end of the performance we were all pretty exhausted.
Actually, my reaction was a good bit beyond exhaustion. As my friends tried to coax me to leave for one last destination, I propped myself on a backless stool, and leaned against the wall. I felt waves of depression hit me, as I contemplated the time I would now have to wait before seeing the Auto Club again. Looking forward to last night had gotten me through a few rough spots during the last couple of weeks. As melodramatic as it may sound, the prospect of seeing an Auto Club show has a rejuvenating effect. And as selfish as it sounds... if I had my way, the whole band would drop whatever they have going elsewhere and join Slim in Pittsburgh permanently. But you see... there is really no margin in that, because the Lord made people here "too damn slow". I'm not sure we could muster the loyal support base that Denver (or even Providence?) has. Evidently if it's not The Clarks or some Led Zeppelin cover band, this town wants nothing to do with it. I guess that's just life in the provinces. Yet I'll continue in my efforts to get the good word out, and maybe someday I'll be able to complain about the crowds at future Auto Club shows.
posted by Merge Divide at 8:29 PM
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