concert memoirs pt. 44 - gang of four & wire

Gang of Four with John and David at First Avenue.

John and I had discovered Gang of Four when we watched the concert movie 'Urgh! A Music War'. It is a great film with a lot of great bands, including The Police, The Fleshtones, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, XTC and many others. It was released in 1982 and I have it on video, but from what I can tell it isn't available anymore. That's a damn shame.

One of the really stand out acts was Gang of Four. They had such a strong stage presence. The way Andy Gill played guitar was mesmerizing. After watching the film, John and I agreed Gang of Four was worth checking out. John soon picked up their first two albums and we were astounded.

It took many years, but we finally got the chance to see the band live. It was late 1995 or early 1996 at First Avenue. And for cheap! I think I paid $4.00 at the door. If I would have remembered to bring along a Club 241 comp. ticket, I would have gotten in for free. Club 241 was what Club Degenerate had degenerated into. Most often just dance nights with the occasional concert.

At the time, I was working nights doing janitorial work (I went to art school for three years to become a janitor, oh well.). I was cleaning the service area of a St. Paul car dealership that night and I was hauling ass to get done.

I finished up and high tailed it the disco for the show. David and John were there when I arrived. They remembered their comp. tickets and got in for free. Jerks!

This was a really excellent show. The three of us were right down front to witness Jon King and Andy Gill up close. They put on quite a show. Andy Gill is one of my all-time favorite guitarist and it was a gas to watch him play.

They played a good mix of their stuff, old and new. I had purchased their latest album, 'Shrinkwrapped', so I was familiar with those songs, which were very good. 'Shrinkwrapped' is a much better album then their previous release, 'Mall'. 'Mall' had a couple of good tunes, but overall I thought it a weak effort from an otherwise great band.

The band sounded great and I was pogoing like a crazy person. And when they played 'Anthrax' off their first album, the brilliant 'Entertainment', I was overwhelmed by the wall of feedback that Andy produced. At one point of the song, Andy dropped his guitar to the stage and kicked it sliding across the stage to Jon King. Jon then kicked it back. The noise was beautiful, man, beautiful!

Wire w/Peaches & Gonzales at First Avenue with Amy, John, Dave & Rosemary.

This is probably the last concert I've seen at First Avenue (maybe anywhere). If it was then it is also the last time I've been to my old haunt. John has continued to visit the club, but I had gotten married in 2001 and a child would arrive in August 2003, so I dropped out of the concert thing. Now, I don't want to sound like I'm blaming my wife and kid for this, because I had long since begun losing my interest in going to concerts.

Amy and I met John there. We hung out at the bar straight back from the stage and chatted while the awful Peaches & Gonzales stunk up the stage. They were doing some arty sex songs that just didn't do anything for us. I got the impression that they thought what they were doing was art.

Well, their art sucked.

I realize Wire can be considered an arty farty band. Hell, I never knew what they're singing about, but that never bothered me. Their songs are so cool. Have you ever heard 'Ahead' off their great album 'The Ideal Copy'? It just may be the coolest song ever.

John realized that Amy and I weren't interested in getting down front to see the band. We had had our fill with dealing with the audiences at these shows. John excused himself and went off to find a spot close to the stage. Amy and I stayed right where we were.

We were soon joined by our friends, Dave and Rosemary. They are friends from our Cold Side days. I met Dave when I started working at Cold Side. He was in the office and I was in the art department. Dave soon found a better job and left Cold Side, but we kept in touch.

While Dave was still at Cold Side, I learned that he was quite a guitarist. He's damn good. He and Richard (another Cold Sider) convinced me to get together with them to play "music". I play a rather lousy rhythm guitar, but I consented and the three of us have been getting together somewhat regularly ever since. It's been ten years now and I still play lousy.

Anyway, he and his wife, Rosemary, joined us and we stayed at the back of the bar. We chatted a little and watched the band play.

Wire's new material at the time was angrier then we had heard from them in a long while. In fact, John remarked on that after the show. He said he preferred their less angry stuff from their 'Ideal Copy' and 'A Bell is a Cup...' days. I tend to agree, but it was cool to watch the old punkers tear it up.

concert memoirs pt. 43 - the guess who & don williams

The Guess Who at the Cabooze with John, some other high school friends and lots of beer.

How embarrassing this night was. It's the only concert at which I've ever been so drunk. After this night, John took to referring to The Guess Who as my favorite band. It isn't, but I sure acted that night as if it was.

It was sometime during the summer after my first year of art school. I had adopted some of the "arty punk" fashion and style (whatever they were) and John and I had started getting into the indie music scene. This show was more for the guys we went with. They were more "normal" and into the mainstream scene. They thought John and I had gotten a little weird, but we were still cool.

The Cabooze was hosting these Canadian has beens. (Just look at that picture. The picture is more recent, but that's pretty much what they were like when we saw them.) It was two-for-one night and, for some reason, the guys kept giving me their extra beer. And I was soaking them up. By the time the band played, I was pretty lit.

I'm not sure how many were original members, but it appears that Burton Cummings was not involved. They played their hits and I rocked out like this was the greatest band ever. I had learned to appreciate the fun to be had while slam dancing, but, because of my state of inebriation, I had forgotten that The Guess Who didn't play the kind of music that lended itself to slam dancing. Nor would the audience appreciate my choice of dance.

Not that I was in full skank or anything. I wasn't flinging myself around, but I wasn't very careful about bumping into the people next to me. I wasn't being very violent, but I was a getting a little out of hand.

At one point, two fellows standing behind me pulled me aside and told me to settle down. Actually, they were pretty cool about it and I immediately complied. John also told me to knock it off. He didn't feel like getting beat because his friend was being a moron.

I settled down and watched the rest of the show when something interesting happened. The band was closing their set with their song 'Share The Land'. The song contains the lyric, "Shake your hand/Share the land". As they get toward the end of the song, they sing that part a cappella and reach out to the crowd to shake hands. Press the flesh. Give the audience a thrill.

Guess who (no pun intended) came climbing over our backs, clambering through the crowd to get their chance to shake the band's hands. Uh huh. It was the same two fellows who dressed me down for my inconsiderate behavior. "Do as we say! Not as we do!"

At least, we didn't get beat up that night.

Don Williams (country music legend)

My wife, Amy, indulged me on this one. I don't think she's much of a country music fan, but I think Don Williams is great. Especially his earlier material. In the 1970s, he was big, but when Amy and I saw him in 2002 he was playing smaller clubs and casinos. He retired from touring in 2006.

Despite losing his audience to the crap country of Garth Brooks and Toby Keith, Don still could put on a terrific show. He played his crowd pleasers and mixed in a new song or two. His band played well and he still had the pipes.

Amy and I sat at a table at the back of the room, but we still had a good view of the stage. Don was so smooth. He sat and sang his best tunes and the audience loved him.

He had this easy manner to his stage presence. And he kept thanking the crowd for being so kind. His deep voice would smoothly roll out, "Oooh, you're sooo nice. You are sooo kind. Aren't you folks just something?"

He was being sincere. He really enjoyed playing for an audience.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Don's songs of romance had me looking at Amy and being so thankful and in love, there was some sort of salty discharge coming from my eye.

Hmmm, what was that salty discharge?

concert memoirs pt. 42 - babes in toyland & johnny thunders

Babes In Toyland (Minneapolis band)

At first, I wasn't sure of my memories of this band, but I was able to get a hold of John and he confirmed what I remember. When we saw them, Babes In Toyland had four members. They had a lead singer. Kat Bjelland played guitar and did backing vocals.

While John and I were hanging out at First Avenue every Tuesday for the Club Degenerate dance nights, we got to know a woman named Cindy Russell. Cindy was also a regular of Club Degenerate. She would be out on the dance floor before the night really got going, dancing to whatever Kevin Cole was playing. She was very theatrical in her dancing as she made use of the nearly empty dance floor. She twirled and jumped and threw her scarves in the air for dramatic effect. She even did a couple on stage dance cameos for Club Degenerate.

This is Cindy Russell. She gave me this picture way back in the late 80s.

John and I became familiar faces to her and she began to come over to talk to us. She'd bum a cigarette from John and, soon, John and I became her ride home. Not every Tuesday, but many of them, John would see her move from group to group, looking for a ride. She'd end up with us.

One night, she told us that she was in a band. She introduced us to the bass player. I'm not absolutely sure, but I think it was Michelle Leon. And I think I bummed a cigarette from her.

Cindy told us that her band would be doing a cameo during an upcoming Club Degenerate. So, John and I were right up front to check them out. They were introduced as Babes In Toyland and Cindy was their lead singer.

They were pretty rough and Cindy didn't have the best voice. One song was called 'X Means Danger', I think. Another song dealt with a father molesting his daughter. Pretty cheery stuff, eh?

Cindy's involvement in the band didn't last long. The Babes as a quartet had produced a demo tape that they sent on to Steve Albini. Albini was in the bands Big Black and, later, Shellac. He also produced records, most notably Pixies' 'Surfer Rosa' and Nirvana's 'In Utero'. So, he was kind of a big deal.

Cindy told us that he listened to the demo and advised them to get rid of the singer. He said her voice was "too husky". So it was goodbye to Cindy. She got the boot.

Babes In Toyland soon became big stars as a three piece band. I guess Albini was right.

There you have it. Babes In Toyland was once, however briefly, a four piece band. And you won't find this info anywhere else.

Johnny Thunders (Glam/punk rock legend)

This was probably one of those special Club Degenerate concert nights. But, since I don't have a ticket stub, I can't be certain.

I didn't know much about Johnny Thunders at the time. I think I knew about his involvement with the New York Dolls and his big solo tune 'Chinese Rock'. I did know he was pretty important to the punk scene.

He wore what looked like silk pajamas, as he playfully engaged in insulting the audience. He'd make some disparaging comment about the audience. We would give him the finger or yell, "F@$k you!" It was so punk rock.

John and I also had the honor of standing next to one very big Johnny Thunders fan. It was Paul Westerberg (of The Replacements, as if you didn't know). It was Paul who wrote the prophetic song 'Johnny's Gonna Die' about Thunders. It wasn't long after this show when Johnny did, in fact, die.

concert memoirs pt. 41 - fuckin' shit biscuits & the suburbs

Fuckin' Shit Biscuits (Minneapolis band)

With a name like Fuckin' Shit Biscuits these guys must be good, right? Well, it depends on what you mean by "good". Were they great musicians? No. Did they have great lyrics? I couldn't tell you. Were they fun to watch? Absolutely!

John and I loved it when these guys what make an occasional cameo appearance on Club Degenerate nights at First Avenue. Their music was a bunch of noisy crap, but their attitude was fantastic. They were a punk "jam" band (at least that how they were described online in the only listing I could find about them) that wasn't as concerned with making music as with making noise.

I know I have said that John and I don't do audience participation, but the Biscuits were different. Their idea of audience participation consisted mainly of having the audience throw beer at them. They would have the front of the stage lined up with plastic cups filled with beer as they began to play. The lead "shouter" would announce, "Free beer! Free beer!" The crowd would advance and grab a cup, drink a gulp or two, then throw the remainder at the band. Halfway through their first number, the band would be soaked with beer.

John claims he was the first audience member to throw a beer, thus setting off the tradition. He might have been first, but it was so long ago I can't remember.

We'd seen them several times at First Avenue. Always threw beer, sometimes paper airplanes and, once, raw fish. The raw fish was brought out by the band themselves. They threw it out to the crowd, so we threw it right back at them.

During one of their cameos, they gave out cassettes of their live performance and John managed to nab one. Another time they threw out guitar picks. I snagged one and discovered it had the words "Shit Biscuit" printed on it. I still have it.

They made a horrendous noise, but put on a good show.

A couple notes about the band photograph.

First is the circled audience member. That is very likely my friend, John. John and I both remember being at that particular show and it sure does look like him.

Second, John pointed out something interesting about the photograph. There appears to be no women in the audience. I can't spot any, can you?. It's all men. John said of this, "Seems strange having a bunch of dudes watching dudes in loin cloths."

Strange indeed.

The Suburbs (Minneapolis band)

I had intended to see the 'Burbs at First Avenue in July or August of 1984, but the event was sold out. So, my first time seeing the band and my first time entering the legendary Minneapolis nightclub would have to wait.

My inaugural visit to First Avenue would happen a month or two later (The Replacements, 9/5/84). I would see The Suburbs a year or two later at the Cabooze. This would be the only time I would see this band.

The Cabooze is an odd sort of club. It's located right next door to a biker bar called Whiskey Junction, and the two bars share an outdoor patio area. The layout of the Cabooze is long and narrow, with a back section that has two levels of pool tables and a bar.

The stage area is pretty cramped. The ceiling is somewhat low and from the stage the metal rafters are easily accessible. A fact I will refer to later. The stage itself is pretty small, but they managed to get the five member band on it.

It was a packed house for the band. They were already long established local legends and were starting to get real national attention. They were about to sign to a major label, when John and I saw them play.

Tight and highly energetic, they kept the joint jumping. And Beej took advantage of the metal rafters to swing himself around. I seem to recall him swinging over to stand on the bar and play there for a while.

It's a shame the band broke up just before they had a chance to break the national scene.

Incidentally, in 1996 I interviewed for the job of production artist at the failing Minneapolis t-shirt printing shop, Cold Side Silkscreening. (Seriously, they're in desperate need of business. If you need t-shirts printed get in contact with them. www.coldside.com ) During the process, it came down to two candidates; me and Bruce Allen, former guitarist for The Suburbs.

Bruce was quite the talented graphic artist, but, at the time anyway, he was also bursting with nervous energy. Bruce's edginess was a concern for the nearly comatose art directer who would be working closely with whichever of the two candidates they picked.

Apparently, I was the calmer of the two. I also possessed considerable graphic arts talents, so I was hired.

Sorry, Bruce.

concert memoirs pt. 40 - trip shakespeare, big black & the three johns

Trip Shakespeare (Minneapolis band)

I mentioned this in my blog about Breaking Circus, but I want to go into a little more detail on First Avenue's New Band nights. Back when John and I were going to Club Degenerate, First Avenue's weekly dance night featuring punk, post-punk, industrial, indie, etc. music, on each Tuesday night, we could cross-over to the 7th St. Entry to catch New Band Night. It was free and a good opportunity to possibly see the next big thing from Minnesota.

It was during these New Band Nights that we first saw Breaking Circus and numerous other bands that I've forgotten since. But, I haven't forgotten Trip Shakespeare. Since it was New Band Night, it must have been Trip Shakespeare's first time playing at First Avenue, albeit in the Entry.

They were a three piece band then. Matt Wilson's brother, Dan, had not yet joined the band. As I recall, they were all dressed in matching grey business suits. I don't remember if they wore ties. Maybe. I do remember liking their catchy tunes right away. I also recall that the gal playing the drums, Elaine Harris, was standing at them. I don't think I'd ever seen drums played that way until then.

Matt Wilson had an usual stance and moves while playing. He would sort of lean back and squat slightly, then sway side to side while stomping his feet in time to the music. At least, that's how I picture it.

I bought their first LP, 'Applehead Man', when it came out. For some reason, I got rid of it. I wish I hadn't.

Big Black at First Avenue 1986 or 87 with John.

This was a very loud show. They started off the show with what I think was customary for them, lighting off a brick of firecrackers. I don't know if they amplified the fireworks at all, but it was damn loud! And it must have taken a minute or two before the last firecracker exploded. The smoke and smell of gun powder hung thickly in the club for the rest of the show. I'm not sure the fire marshal would have been pleased.

So, Big Black was a three piece band using a drum machine. They were loud and very, very angry. The sounds they made were incredible. I still think the opening guitar riff of their song 'Kerosene' is one of the all-time greatest moments in guitar rock history. And Steve Albini pulled it off brilliantly live.

I especially liked Albini's use of his guitar strap as a belt. Cool visual. As if the guitar was attached directly to his pelvis.

The Three Johns w/Lesley Woods in the 7th St. Entry with John.

This was an interesting (and fun) night in the Entry. It started with Lesley Woods, fomerly of the great UK band Au Pairs. It was just her, a microphone, and a boom box. John and I stayed at the back wall and watched her tell a story or two, perform some Au Pairs tunes and some of her solo work from there.

I thought it was pretty gutsy to get up there like that, solo with just a backing tape playing on a boombox. But, then it's pretty gutsy to do anything in front of a group of strangers.

Then came The Three Johns. Boy, were they fun. They were another three piece band using a drum machine. Playing some really good guitar driven post-punk dance music was their thing. They released some really good singles. Such as, '(He's a) Brain Box' and the brilliant' Death of a European'. Their albums were ok, but it was their singles that made them special.

During their set, it was their between song banter that stole the show. They were very funny and they took special enjoyment out of razzing some of the gals in the audience.

"Oh, look! It's Madonna!"

"And there's Madonna, too!"

"And another one!"

concert memoirs pt. 37 - los straitjackets & the church

Los Straitjackets “Rock & Roll Party” w/Big Sandy & Pontani Sisters

10/26/01 First Avenue w/Amy & Mark Ticket Price: Unknown

We were late for this show. I don’t remember why, I’m guessing that we thought Los Straitjackets would be going on later.

The “Rock & Roll Party” was the teaming up of Los Straitjackets, normally an instrumental band, with vocalist Big Sandy. Big Sandy was a pretty big fellow with the right kind of voice for the band. He sure seemed to be having a good time, but Amy and I stayed back from the stage. That made it more difficult to get into the swing of things.

Other than that, I don’t have much to relate about this show.

The Church w/Love-Cars
4/17/02 First Avenue w/Amy & John Ticket Price: Comp. Tickets

The Church is still one of my all-time favorite bands, but they haven’t done much for me after the 80’s. It seems that decade is where they left all their best material. From their earliest material released in 1981 (you can find it on the ‘Of Skins and Hearts’ CD) to their last album of the 80’s, ‘Starfish’, you will find some great and often brilliant songs. For me, their stand out album is their second release, ‘The Blurred Crusade’. It is fantastic from beginning to end.

Then came the 90’s and ‘Gold Afternoon Fix’. I just couldn’t warm up to that album. I liked the song ‘Metropolis’ and one or two others, but ‘You’re Still Beautiful’ was such a lousy song and ‘Russian Autumn Heart’ wasn’t much better.

I gave them other chance with their follow-up album, ‘Priest = Aura’. I was disappointed again. I think the audience they had found with ‘Starfish’ left them as well. Their subsequent albums became harder to come by even though they were still producing them. They may have some great songs in the 13 or so albums they’ve released since I left them, but I don’t know. I have heard a song called ‘Louisiana’ which I thought was fairly good.

So, all that leads me to the last time I would see The Church in concert. It was very much the same story as the last time John and I had seen them (First Avenue, 9/30/98). Very mid-tempo, very ethereal, very mystical, but lacking any kind of energy. Nothing like the first three times we’d seen them.

It is true that I didn’t know much of their material and that most certainly affected my enjoyment of the show. But, the same was true when I saw the band for the first time and I thoroughly enjoyed them then. The first time I had seen them it was new and exciting and entertaining. The last time was tired and boring.

Oh well, we had complimentary tickets for the show and John met us there. We enjoyed hanging out with him.

concert memoirs pt. 36 - david byrne & rev. horton heat

David Byrne w/Joe Henry

5/22/01 First Avenue w/Amy Ticket Price: Unknown

It looks like May 2001 was legendary musicians month. First, Iggy Pop and now David Byrne. That makes a pretty good month for music.

Neither Amy nor I had ever seen the Talking Heads. This would be as close as we would get so we were really looking forward to this show. David did not disappoint even though certain audience members... More on that shortly.

Things were running late that night. I don’t recall why. In fact, the audience was not allowed in through First Avenue’s main entrance, we had to file in through a side entrance which led directly to the VIP lounge in the main room’s upper level. We had to hang out there while the staff completed setting up the stage.

Once the setup was completed, we were allowed to file out of the VIP area and take our places by the stage. Amy and I were able to get right down front for Joe Henry as he came out to warm up the crowd.

What I remember of Joe Henry’s set was a certain group of three or four gals and one guy standing just behind us. Mainly I remember one of the gals in particular. She loudly talked and talked and talked and talked and talked about how great Joe Henry was last time she saw him perform.

Finally, Amy and I turned to the group and Amy said, “Would you shout up so we can hear him now?!” The gals just looked at us as though we were the ones being rude. The lone male of the group gave me a look as if to say, “Hey, man, they dragged me here. I don’t want any trouble.”

So, Joe finishes up and the audience tightens up to the stage in anticipation of David Byrne’s arrival. Remember, Amy and I were very close to the front of the stage. There were perhaps three or four people directly in front of us.

As David gets on stage and starts to play, the troublesome group behind us was at it again. This time the mouthy chick, along with one or two of friend gal pals, decided that they deserved to be closer to the stage. They began to attempt to push by us, but Amy and I did our best to keep them in their place. We were here first. Fair is fair. We soon realized that it wasn’t worth the fight.

The gals, fresh from their rudely won victory, got up front and did that whooping dance that only women do. You know the dance. The one where they dance their arms in the air and whoop it up because they are having such a great time. You never see men do quite the same dance.

Amy and I moved over a bit and soon had forgotten about the rudeness, because David played so well. He mixed in a few Talking Heads tunes with his solo material. Everything he played was very good.

He also assembled a few local musicians. He explained that he needed a string quartet for some of his songs. I forget the reason that he didn’t have those musicians touring with him, but his people had to hurriedly search for qualified local musicians.

Musicians were found and they had little time to rehearse before the show, which may explain the delay and detour at the beginning of the evening. But they were pros and they played beautifully. David was so grateful for them.

There was a special moment during the performance. It wasn’t the rude gals being acknowledged by David for whooping it up so well. No, it happened during a quiet moment between songs. David was explaining something about a song, when an audience member standing beside Amy and me shouted, “We’re all here for you, David!”

David seemed a little surprised, but he smiled sweetly and said, “Thank you.”

Rev. Horton Heat w/The GoToHells & Death On Wednesday
6/11/01 First Avenue w/Amy & Mark Ticket Price: Unknown

The one thing I have to relate about this show is the apparent breakdown of the Reverends drummer. The Reverend didn’t seem happy that night. It wasn’t noticeable most of the night, but toward the end of the show he seemed quite bothered. Something was wrong.

The drummer was having trouble keeping it together. Maybe it was too much drink or drug taking or something else, I couldn’t say. I don’t recall if the drummer was dismissed or if he walked off, but the Reverend ended his set playing an old Country and Western classic, possibly a Patsy Cline tune. It was just him singing and playing guitar, Nature Boy Jimbo on bass and the audience clapping along.

When he finished the song, the Reverend said, “You guys sure do keep a good beat!”

Oooooh, BURN!!

concert memoirs pt. 33 - the the, boss hog, bob mould, manplanet & los straitjackets

The The

5/6/00 First Avenue w/Amy Ticket Price: $18.00

This was the second time I had seen The The and the first for Amy. Amy and I were pretty tight by this time. We were close to moving in together at her apartment. One bedroom, shared with a dog and a cat, pretty cramped, but we enjoyed being together.

Anyway, that really has nothing to do with the show. The show we enjoyed, but I don't recall much from it. A single, bare light bulb dangling over Matt Johnson's head comes to mind, though I can't be sure I'm remembering correctly.

Boss Hog w/The Delta 72
5/20/00 First Avenue w/Amy & Mark? Ticket Price: Comp. Tickets

Boy, there's so little to relate here. In fact, Amy and I had completely forgotten we'd seen Boss Hog. The ticket stub surprised us. "We saw them?!" was our response.

When I examine my memory of this show all that I can picture is Amy and I and, maybe, Mark standing on the upper level right above the left side of the stage. I can picture a woman strutting the stage, but I could be way off.

Bob Mould
5/26/00 First Avenue w/Amy Ticket Price: Unknown

This was a good show. It was just Bob on a stool, center stage, with his acoustic guitar. He played acoustic versions of his solo material. Bob Mould is one of my favorite guitarists and he was playing really well that night.

Amy and I were able to sit at a table on the upper level to the left of the stage. The table was right up at the railing, so we had an excellent, unobstructed view of the performance.

Bob would give background information on some of the songs or tell stories related to them. He would then play his songs with great intensity. So great that we could tell that his hands were hurting.

Manplanet w/The Hot and Tulip Sweet & the Trail of Tears
6/3/00 First Avenue w/Amy & Mark Ticket Price: Comp. Tickets

I mentioned Cold Side before. It's a struggling t-shirt printing shop in downtown Minneapolis. Well, Amy and I were both working there at this time and several of our co-workers were either in bands or had been in a band or two or three. One such co-worker was Mark. Mark was a member of the band Manplanet, kind of a Devo-type band. They had a pretty good local following and Mark got us tickets to take in their big show at First Avenue.

Amy, Mark (not the Mark in the band) and I arrived after Manplanet had taken the stage. There were several other Cold Side employees (present and former) there as well. The three of us decided to just hang back by the bar and watch the show.

The show was space themed in its stage presentation with lots of space props. The band members wore some sort of spacesuit, each a different color. I think our friend's was purple.

I remember one of the stage props, suspended above the front of the stage, had fallen onto the crowd. Fortunately, no one was hurt. In fact, it kind of added to the fun of the night.

Los Straitjackets
7/6/00 7th Street Entry w/Amy Ticket Price: $8.00

This was a blast!

A very festive night, spent with Cold Side co-worker, Lee Ann and her then boyfriend, Stefan (Stefan passed away a couple years ago from a drug overdose); a former Cold Side co-worker, Dave, and his wife, Rosemary. We were all gathered at the front of the stage. If you're not familiar with the Entry, its stage is only about 18" up from the floor, so you can get very close to the performers. Very intimate.

Los Straitjackets are very fun. They play some damn good guitar driven surf music. I danced as I hadn't danced in a few years. Great fun.

concert memoirs pt. 31 - robyn hitchcock & stereolab

Robyn Hitchcock w/Tim Keegan

11/11/99 First Avenue w/Amy Ticket Price: Unknown

This was my first official date with Amy, the woman who would later become my wife. We did the traditional dinner thing first at a nearby restaurant, Pizza Luce. We then made our way over to First Avenue and were greatly entertained by Mr. Hitchcock. Robyn delivered his usual good show while Amy and I held hands. How sweet.

It was at this show that some gal standing next to Amy "accidentally" nudged her. She sweetly apologized to Amy saying, "Oops, I bumped you." We're pretty sure that this gal was hitting on Amy. Amy has told me that it wasn't unusual to have women occasionally approach her. Hmmm.

Here's where I have to apologize to my wife. You see, this concert was on the same night as the concert Joe Strummer was performing at another Minneapolis club, The Quest. Amy had won tickets to that show! But did we go to see Joe Strummer play? Nooooo. No, I had bought the Robyn Hitchcock tickets and I was the man, so we had to miss Joe. Even though it would have been a wash or we could have sold the Hitchcock tickets to someone else. Typical male thing, eh girls?

Who knew Joe would die three years later? I had seen Joe Strummer before, but Amy never had. And she never would.

Robyn Hitchcock is still alive. Not only that, but both Amy and I had seen Robyn Hitchcock prior to this show (although not together). And we would see him again later when he toured with The Soft Boys!

What the hell was I thinking?! We should have gone to see Joe Strummer. What a jerk I was. Dumbass! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'm such a dope!

I'm sorry, Honey Bunny.

Stereolab w/Papa M & Jim O'Rourke
12/4/99 First Avenue w/Amy Ticket Price: Unknown

Amy and I enjoyed this show. Stereolab is a very cool band, although I'm not as enamored with their more recent material. However, I don't have much to tell about the show. I don't remember any specifics, except one.

The audience. Or rather a small group of people in the audience who were standing near us. They were smoking. (This was before Minneapolis banned smoking in bars and restaurants.) Smoking in itself can be annoying, but it was more the way this group smoked that got under our skin.

They all held their cigarettes up by their mouths when not taking a drag. One hand holding the elbow of the arm held straight up with the lit cigarette also pointing straight up smoldering away. Allowing the smoke to drift right at us through the duration of the show.

These chain-smokers just struck us as being so pretentious. Oh, how European to smoke that way. It's Stereolab, let's all act European.

This show may have been marking my growing disinterest in concert going. I had already cut my concert going to one or two shows a year. However, when Amy came along, I started going to more shows. Still, I found myself far more annoyed with the crowds of people. Amy was having the same feelings.

I must have been much more tolerant when I was younger. Plus the fact that I was usually dancing down front and didn't pay much attention to the audiences. I guess that as I was aging I danced less and was more likely to observe the people around me. I was beginning to think that staying home would be more pleasant.

concert memoirs pt. 30 - love & rockets & buzzcocks

Love & Rockets w/Orgy
3/5/99 First Avenue w/John, David & Kjrsten Ticket Price: Unknown

The opening act, Orgy, was ok. Just ok. I hadn’t heard much about them before the show. I knew they did a cover of New Order’s brilliant “Blue Monday”. About all this new Goth band did was remind me that the bands they resembled were much, much better.

Case in point, the headliner Love & Rockets. This was my second time seeing this band, the first time since their hit, “I’m Alive.” I never thought much of that song. It isn’t an awful song, but L&R have much better songs. Songs that don’t have Daniel Ash doing that annoying growly voice technique.

L&R were doing a techno-industrial sound at this stage of their career. They still had much of their style from before (including some of the Ash growl), but they were bringing in that techo sound that you would find in the ‘Run Lola Run’ soundtrack.

I really liked it. The show was loud, fast and flashy. I had their latest album, ‘Lift’, so I was familiar with the new material. My friend, John, however was not. I’m not sure how much him enjoyed the show. David may have known the material, but David was always more accepting of new stuff if it moved him. L&R were really moving the crowd that night.

I liked the gimmick when, during the song “R.I.P. 20C”, David J had a sign out in front of him that listed all the acronyms used in the song. Not an especially exciting memory - it just stands out.

Correction 1/21/09: My friend, David, informed me that it was his now wife, Kjrsten, who attended the show with us, not his ex-wife, Diane. I made the correction. Sorry, David and Kjrsten.

Buzzcocks w/Lunachicks, Down By Law & Boris the Sprinkler
11/6/99 First Avenue w/John & Amy Ticket Price: Unknown

Uh, does that say “Amy”? A concert with a woman? Who is this Amy?

Well, it had happened before that I attended a concert with a woman (Paytee, The Jayhawks, First Avenue, 7/9/95), but this time was a bit different. Whereas the earlier show was with a female friend, this young woman was more important.

There’s a story here. I stated before in this series that I had worked at a shirt printing shop in Minneapolis. I left the company in the spring of 1999 to work at an ad agency. Although, I had left that company, I still kept in loose contact with the guys still working there. I would even visit if I got off early at the agency, which was rare.

Because I had left Cold Side (the printing company) was left with one staff artist and they needed two. They hired a talented, young artist named Amy.

I got off early on a Friday afternoon and decided to go pay a visit on my friends at Cold Side. The day had been a particularly stressful one and I thought it would be nice to unwind with my old coworkers.

When I arrived, I was almost immediately set upon by one of the printers. He was so excited he was like a little puppy. Jumping around me and telling me that I just had to ask Amy out. He said she was perfect for me. That she was so much like me that they had taken to calling her Amy/Jim.

I wasn’t much of a ladies’ man (still ain’t much of one) and any talk of getting me involved with a woman made me want to run for the hills. I ain't gay. I'm just afraid of women. I told him if he didn’t settle down I might leave.

I didn’t leave.

A group of us ambled over to a local bar (Amy was in the group). Amy and I sat together and, as the night wore on, we found the rest of our group had all left. We didn’t close the bar, but pretty close to it. I got her home, we hugged, and we parted at the door.

She told me that I had nice hands.

Well, as evidence that the printer was right about how much alike Amy and I were, we each had a ticket for the Buzzcocks show the next night.

This brings me to this entry’s show. John and I headed to First Avenue together and we met up with Amy there. The three of us sat in a corner somewhere upstairs as the opening acts played. John and I have always had a habit of irreverently joking around. We would joke around just about anywhere whatever the situation. We were joking around that night and Amy joined right in. Amy is very funny.

The Buzzcocks played and they were great as always. Amy and I opted to stay off the floor, but John was itching to get into the slam dancing. Off he went, but he didn’t last long. He came back winded. Well, we weren’t getting any younger.

When the show ended, I didn’t hang out with Amy. I know, I know. I just met her and I wanted to take things slow. Yeah, sure! I was scared.

Well, I would be seeing more of Amy, after all, she did become my wife.

concert memoirs pt. 28 - semisonic, bauhaus & the church

Semisonic

6/6/98 First Avenue Alone Ticket Price: Unknown

I must admit feeling strangely smitten by this band. At least, at the time. It must have been the catchy tunes that were reminding me of Trip Shakespeare, the previous band of Dan Wilson and John Munson. When I bought Great Divide I wasn’t aware of the connection. I heard a couple songs on the Modern Rock radio by them, I liked them and thought I’d take a chance on buying the album.

I quickly became aware of the connection and it made sense. There is a lot of Trip Shakespeare in Semisonic’s sound.

Anyway, I went to the show alone and was right up front, leaning on the stage, watching the band play. I was very impressed by how big their sound was. They were a three piece band, after all. In fact, for a portion of the song Singing In My Sleep (I think) drummer, Jake Slichter, played keyboards and drums at the same time!

He played a melody line while keeping the beat. How is that possible?

I guess good musicians just make it look easy.

Bauhaus
8/26/98 Historic State Theatre w/Norman and others Ticket Price: $34.50

This was a big time show. Finally able to see the Goth legends in concert.

I was working at Cold Side back then. Cold Side was (still is) a failing shirt printing shop in downtown Minneapolis and many of its crew were jazzed to see the band. Lee Ann, my then art director, had a front row seat. From which she was able to easily admire Daniel Ash’s butt. My seats were too far back for me to get a full appreciation of the greatness of his backside. How unfortunate.

Since I lived in St. Paul, I decided to hang out downtown to await the show. I would meet up with Norman and a couple other Cold Siders, with whom I had seats, at the theater.

I met up with the guys and we headed in to take our seats. While we sat in wrapped anticipation, I spotted a couple familiar faces. It was Lou and Troy!

Who are they? Well, I’ll tell you.

Lou and Troy were two of my old art school classmates!

I know!

Ok, I’ll stop channeling Craig Ferguson.

Anyway, I hadn’t seen Lou and Troy for years. So, I ambled over to say hi. I was greeted by an enthusiastic, “Dim!” Dim was the nickname I picked up in art school. I’ll tell the story some other day. And, yes, my website’s and blog’s name Dimland is derived from the nickname.

I sat and chatted for a couple minutes when Lou spotted something that shocked him. He pointed and said, “Check out that dude! He’s got tattoos on his face!” I gotta say that for having gone to art school and hanging out with punks, hippies, goths, and other assorted weirdoes, Lou could be really square at times.

So, we looked over and, as I expected, it was my friend, Norman. Norman is tattooed and pierced all over, including his face. I said, “Oh, yeah, that’s Norman. I work with him. He’s cool.” My art school friends were impressed.

The show itself was pretty good. It opened with the band taking the stage, everyone but Peter Murphy, that is. In his place at center stage was a large TV monitor. As the band began to play In the Flat Fields (I think), Peter’s face appeared on the screen. His pale, gaunt face sang at us from that TV.

I joked with friends later that it would be funny if he had been up in the hotel room and would sing the whole concert from there. Actually, it wouldn’t be that funny considering I paid $34.50 for a ticket. He did take the stage in person after the first song.

They sounded great, they played their hits, Ash shook his ass. I guess it was worth the $34.50.

The Church
9/30/98 First Avenue w/John Ticket Price: Unknown

This was the fourth time John and I would attend a concert of The Church. But, something was missing. The Church had been and still is one of my favorite 80’s bands, however, their albums lost their luster after Starfish. Their next two albums, Gold Afternoon Fix and Priest = Aura, had some good moments, I still like Metropolis and Ripple, but over all they were disappointing.

I’m pretty sure there had been at least one more album after Priest which I knew nothing about. So, John and I didn’t know much of what was played that night. That wasn’t a problem the first time we saw the band (First Avenue, 11/14/84). The only song that I knew of theirs then was Electric Lash and I still thoroughly enjoyed that show.

This time around they just were, I’ll say it, boring. Slow, mid-tempo, too stuck in the ethereal for my tastes. It may be that at age 20 I was more open to hearing material I didn’t know then I would be at nearly 34. Whatever the reason, John and I just didn’t feel engaged in the show. We spent the entire show standing off to the side of the stage, leaning against the bar, watching from there. Bored.

After the show, John and I were trying to figure out what went wrong. John said that they never really got rocking until they played You Took during their encore. And, by that time, it was too late.

It was a shame that they’d lost their edge. We would see them one more time, stayed tuned.

By the way, You Took is a great song from their great album, The Blurred Crusade. And if you only know The Church from Starfish, their commercial breakthrough album, and the albums that followed, do yourself a favor and go back and find the albums they released before Starfish. Not a clinker in the bunch.

concert memoirs pt. 26 - the jayhawks, frank black & cheap trick

The Jayhawks

7/9/95 First Avenue w/Paytee Ticket Price: Comp. Tickets

It should be well noted here that this was not a date. Paytee and I were just friends. Paytee was a woman I had worked with in 1993-94. We were both laid off from that job and went our separate ways.

It would have stayed that way had we not met up again at a mutual friend’s party. We realized that we enjoyed each other’s company and we started hanging out together. This concert was one of our hanging outs. Again, it wasn’t a date.

There’s not much to tell. I had a couple comp. tickets for the show so we went. Paytee didn’t think much of the band, so we left.

Frank Black w/Jonny Polonsky
4/13/96 First Avenue Alone Ticket Price: $8.00

I went to this one alone. Frank Black had some pretty good solo material and I wanted to check him out. Besides, I had never seen Pixies and this might be as close as I would get. Incidentally, he didn’t play any Pixies tunes.

He was really having a good time playing up the “rock god” thing. He’d stand at the front of the stage, fists on hips ala Superman, while nodding his approval as the adoring crowd cheered. I’m sure it was all an act. At least, I hope it was.

This wasn’t an all-age show. You had to be 21+ to attend. So, I couldn’t figure out how an obviously underage kid could be there jumping around on the dance floor.

When the show ended, I asked the child how he got in. He told me it was his mother who brought him. His mother! Apparently, a parent can bring their kid to a show at the First Avenue. I’m not sure I like it, but it’s legal.

Updated 9/22/08

I just learned that my future wife had also been to this show. We didn't know each other yet, but we were there together. Awwwww.

Cheap Trick w/Flipp
7/11/97 First Avenue Alone (?) Ticket Price: Unknown

Finally! After more than 13 years since John and I weren’t able to see the band because of a snowstorm, I finally got to see Cheap Trick play live. They had been a favorite band of mine for years and they were worth the wait. I’m sure they had come through town many times in those 13 years, but this was the time I saw them.

They were very good. It was easy to tell these guys were old pros at the rock’n’roll. Very professional and very fun.

Rick Nelson was funny and still quite the showman. He must have brought ten guitars including the four (or was it five) guitars in one and the double guitar made to look like a cartoon of himself. He threw out an album jacket when they played Surrender, a custom at Cheap Trick shows. He also threw out a couple dozen guitar picks. Each emblazoned with his mug. I snagged one.

The rest of the band were right on. Robin Zander’s voice might have lost a little of its range, but he was still great. He still had the rock star thing going, even if he tried to hide it a little. I say that because during an instrumental section of a song, he snuck over to the side of the stage, out of sight of most of the audience, and took a great big swig from a bottle of Jack Daniels. Rock’n’roll!

The opening band, Flipp, was impressive as well. A local band with a sort of a Kiss meets The Sex Pistols thing except they are better musicians. Flipp generates a love/hate reaction. I thought they played really well and had some good songs and were fun, as did most of the audience. But some audience members disagreed.

When Rick Nelson thanked Flipp for warming up someone shouted, “Flipp sucks!”

That surprised Nelson. “Really? They did?” was his reaction.

Anyway, I was most impressed when at the end of their set Flipp’s lead singer got behind the drum kit and played Back In Black. Big deal, right? I should mention that he played guitar and drums at the same time. Sure it’s a gimmick, but it was still impressive.

concert memoirs pt. 24 - buzzcocks & paul weller

The Buzzcocks

11/20/93 First Avenue w/John Ticket Price: Unknown

Geez! Of the last five shows I attended at First Avenue (or anywhere else, I’m sure) three were is see The Buzzcocks. I guess I really liked these guys. You will also notice that the numbers of shows I went to per year had greatly reduced. One or two a year was my pace.

If memory serves, this was the show at which the band had television sets dressing the stage. They were promoting their first new album in quite a while, Trade Test Transmission. I may be mistaken but I think the album title refers the test screen that used to be seen on the TV at the end of the broadcast day. I could be wrong. Anyway, I think that’s why they had the TV’s.

The televisions were plugged in and the screens were just showing snow. And, at the very end of their show, Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle each grabbed a microphone stand and smashed out the TV screens. It was a cool effect, however I don’t think the First Avenue staff appreciated the stunt. I saw the staff fellows sweeping up the mess rolling their eyes and shaking their heads. Anything to stay in show business, eh, boys?

So, the next day the band was at the downtown Minneapolis record store, Northern Lights, (No, it’s not there anymore.) doing an instore record signing appearance. I got my copy of their new album signed by the band. I forgot to ask them if the First Avenue people knew they’d be smashing televisions, but I did remember to gush all over Pete Shelley about seeing his fantastic solo show (First Avenue, 8/20/86) and going on about how great it was.

What a fanboy I am!

Paul Weller
5/16/94 First Avenue w/John Ticket Price: Comp. Tickets

It had been more than six months since John and I had gone to a show at First Avenue, but we would still head down there fairly frequently for the Tuesday and/or Saturday dance nights. First Avenue’s usual practice in those days was to hand patrons as they walked in a few complimentary tickets for upcoming concerts and a couple dance nights. Usually, the concerts didn’t interest us much. So we didn’t make much use of them.

You might also get some comp tickets from the bartenders. John and I had gotten to know one bartender, Pete, pretty well. Ok, we didn’t hang out with him or anything, but he knew us and what we drank and thought we were pretty ok. Now and again he would flip us a couple comps. I’m certain we weren’t the only ones he’d do that for.

One Saturday night at the Disco (that’s what we called First Avenue), Pete grabbed a couple comp tickets for us. As he was picking them out, I said to John that it would be so cool if he gave us tickets to the upcoming Paul Weller show. We were planning on buying tickets, but we hadn’t yet. Well, Pete slapped two tickets to the Weller show in front of us. Thanks, Pete!

John and I were both big fans of The Jam and The Style Council, so we were pretty geared up to see Paul in concert. We had never seen him before.

He was promoting his self-titled solo album, which I had and knew very well. John wasn’t as familiar with his solo material and that was all that Paul played. No Jam tunes, no Style Council tunes. Paul had moved on.

I really enjoyed the show. John had a harder time with it not knowing any of the material. But he did perk up at the end of one of Paul’s tunes (Bull-Rush, I think) when he kicked into a few bars of The Who’s Magic Bus. He told me that he wished they had played more of it than they did.

This brings to mind the story about our discovery of The Jam, so I may as well relate it here. It was 1984, I was in art school and John was going to the University of Minnesota, poli/sci major. We were both getting into new music. The underground stuff. Stuff we weren’t hearing on the radio. We were looking for anything that was cool.

On one of my visits to the local record store one of the fellows working there asked if I’d ever heard of The Jam. The record store guys knew me to be a huge Who fan and figured that I might be interested, so Marty (one of the guys) put the band's first album, In The City, on for me to hear. I liked what I heard, but I didn’t want to spend money on them just yet.

John had bought the second album by The Vapors - Magnets. (Yes, they had a second album. They put out two and they are both very good. Too bad they only had the one hit. The name escapes me... Turning... hmmm... Turning Burmese. Something like that.) Anyway. John had heard good things about a band called The Jam and wrote the name on the inside of the cassette cover of his copy of Magnets. By that time, The Jam had broken up and Weller was doing The Style Council thing, but John was intrigued by what he had heard.

He picked up the cassette of The Jam - Snap, a collection of their singles. He popped it in his car stereo and drove around listening to it. This was John’s favorite way to listen to new music. I was working at Wendy’s back then and John came through the drive-up. He pulled around and I leaned out the drive-up window to chat. He held up the cassette case and exclaimed, “These guys are great!”

He was plenty excited about them. John isn’t one to go into major displays of excitement, but he was pretty jazzed about The Jam.

And through John, I got jazzed about them, too.

concert memoirs pt. 23 - buzzcocks, the the, killing joke & buzzcocks

The Buzzcocks w/Jazz Butcher

11/20/89 First Avenue w/John & David Ticket Price: Unknown

Here we go! We really were anticipating this show. The Buzzcocks was one of our favorite bands. I’m not sure about my friend David, but John and I had never seen them before. David is a few years older than John and I, and had gone to lots of concerts. He might have seen them before.

Anyway, the closest John and I had previously gotten to see The Buzzcocks was the fantastic Pete Shelley solo show (First Avenue 8/20/86). That show had impressed the hell out of us, but now we were going to see them all! We were ready!

They kicked off with ‘I Don’t Know What To Do With My Life’ and we went crazy. Slamming, pogoing, skanking! What great fun it was. And we kept going right through the chanting chorus of ‘I Believe’. “There. Is. No. Love. In. This. World. An-Nee-Mooooooore!”

We were spent. And we loved it.

The The
2/21/90 First Avenue w/John Ticket Price: Unknown

Well, look here, it’s another all-ages show.

For reasons unknown to me this show had been rescheduled from 11/6/89, but what does it matter?

This was another of my favorite bands from the 80’s. I just love the album Soul Mining! This show was in promotion of their lastest album, Mind Bomb. A very good record in its own right.

I know it’s hard to call The The a band, when much of their material is Matt Johnson’s. Working mostly solo in the studio, then getting a touring band together. At least, that's what I understand to be true.

I don’t have a lot to relate about this show. I enjoyed it and I’m fairly certain that The Smith’s legendary guitarist, Johnny Marr, was in the band at the time.

Killing Joke
3/1/91 First Avenue w/John Ticket Price: Comp. Tickets

I don’t have much here. But have you noticed that I had only one show listing for all of 1990 (The The, First Avenue, 2/21/90)? Well, I had really been dropping off the concert going thing since about 1987 or so. Both John and I had begun to lose interest in the whole process.

So, anyway, that’s it.

The Buzzcocks
11/18/91 First Avenue w/John, David & Diane Ticket Price: $11.00

Another great show by a favorite band. As I recall they set off again with ‘I Don’t Know What To Do With my Life’ and ended the main set with ‘I Believe’. And they rocked us with another outstanding punk rock show in between.

I think it was at this show that David’s girlfriend, Diane, attended along with us. And it was also the show at which I was feeling ill. I’m not sure what was going on, but I felt pretty lousy. Still, I pushed myself in the slam dance pit. I wasn’t about to let the band down.

So it was more slam dancing, sweating, pogoing, exhaustion, with a little illness thrown in for good measure. Lots of fun.