|
My brother and I got to the Showbox just as a line was
forming outside. At least the weather was cooler than recent days so it
was comfortable. We were entertained about 15 minutes prior to the doors
opening by this guy. I don't know how he does it. He was playing guitar,
hula hooping, playing the harmonica occasionally and had percussion goat
toes on his shoes. That was interesting.
There were also rumors that someone saw Art Alexakis from Everclear
while we were waiting. Like I cared. I never liked Art and when I met PJ
Olsson at the Showbox just the sight of "Everclear" written on
the wall made him beserk. He wasn't too fond of Art either.
When we got in I ran right up to the stage not caring where my brother
was. LOL. I was in the third row just off center. During that time I
managed to talk to a few people around me. They were very nice. As we
were waiting I saw Rami over by the merchandise stand. Argh!! I wanted
to go over there, but didn't want to lose my place.
I was standing right by 2 young boys and their father. This was their
fourth Wallflowers show. However, they couldn't really see much. They
eventually did get up to the front where they could see.
Rami came out and introduced Minibar (whom opened the show exactly 3
years earlier for the Wallflowers at Seattle's Pier). So much has
happened since then. The guys were full of energy and once again played
a lot of their newer tunes. Simon commented on how the audience seemed
to know all of the words which meant "A" they were really big
fans and went to all their shows to learn the new material or
"B" bootleggers. LOL. They put more of their upbeat songs on
the setlist including one of my favorites "Choked Up."
Even though they didn't write it (Ryan Adams did). Rami joined the group
for a couple of their songs and added a nice piano spin especially on
"Somebody Down Here Loves You." Mal wowed the crowd
during his drum solo at the end. At the end of their performance they
were throwing stuff out to the audience. That takes me back. Anyways,
Mal's paper plate set list came flying towards my direction and the
girls in front of me ducked but I wasn't all together to duck so it kind
fell onto me. I was thankful to have that as a fan and was fanning the
people around me during the break to keep our cool.
The time flew by and before I knew it the Wallflowers were up on the
stage. Jakob was wearing one of the band's t-shirts with a skull on it.
Just an odd fact. They still had Fred as their drummer (yay), Greg was
there as well, and producer Brendan O' Brien was playing guitar...oh and
the Ramilama as well. It was kind of funny as Rami was doing some sign
language to communicate to the crowd. He'd do this "I love
you" sign and then flip us off. LOL. Jakob was also playful and
talked to the audience. I couldn't make out what he was saying half the
time though. Some of Jakob's words that night went to this tall guy in
the audience and Jakob said that he used to always be that kid behind
the one tall guy at shows. Story of my life. He also talked to the boys
who made it up front and asked them how he was doing as a performer.
They were kinda shy at that point.
Jakob's voice was a little bit sore sounding as was indicated by his
radio interview earlier, but he still sounded great. He said it takes a
few more shows to get his stronger voice because he like to sing
"au naturale" and not do any vocal exercises.
My brother though he saw Art in the back singing along to "Bleeders"
he told me he didn't stay for the whole set, but it was probably best
before I got to him. (We later confirmed it was him at the show
according to tattoo descriptions).
The songs on this tour were definitely different from their last time at
the Showbox as they went mostly electric for the show and not the
acoustic route. Brendan O' Brien did an amazing job with the hook to
"One Headlight." The guys also finally did a song from
their first cd! I was waiting for that for a looong time. They also
performed a new song "Drunken Marionette" well...at
least Jakob, Rami, and Fred did. They also started off an acoustic
version of "Sleepwalker" but somewhere down the line
they messed up and Jakob said his fingers were tired and asked Rami and
Fred to start playing by themselves from the turnaround. Jakob jumped
back in and the rest of the band sneaked out to finish the song
together. "Into The Mystic" was a wonderful choice and
just one of a handful of covers that night including those of Sam Cooke
("Bring It On Home to Me") Nick Lowe ("What's
So Funny bout Peace....") and The Who ("The Kids are
Alright"). For the encore Jakob returned in a wool cap which
made me wonder since the heat in the room was rising.
During "6th Avenue Heartache" this girl jumped her way
between the two girls in front of me who were friends. They didn't want
to be separated so they moved and I was right next to this hopping,
screaming...well now I know what it's like to be at an NSync concert.
She stepped on my toes a few times (thank goodness for the strength of
Doc Martens) and fell back onto me a few times. Jakob was kinda looking
at our direction wondering what the hell was going on, but he continued
on playing like a pro. During the hoopla the camera I was hiding so well
got taken away from me since the mini chaos caused security to go up
there. It had some good shots on there like when Jakob was exposing his
Wallflowers shirt from under his jacket. All the funny faces and
expressions of Rami. Not to mention my Minibar photos! Oh well. I'm glad
to at least have enough clearance to see what was going on stage. The
hopping girl eventually went back to where she came from so the rest of
the night went smoothly.
What I didn't expect to see was Mike McCready of Pearl Jam going on
stage to play guitar with the band during their encore. There were
rumors in the past of him showing up, but it never happened.
After the show they made people move away from the stage. I don't know
how he did it, but my brother got a setlist for me. How??? He's not even
a big Wallflowers fan. Maybe that's the trick? I saw all of the Minibar
guys at the merch table and I wanted to have them sign my cd since I
didn't have them collectively sign something together.
I went to Tim first and he was wondering what it was I gave to him (a
promo cd for their song "It Is What It Is"). He then
handed off to Sid who said he would try to get it over to the other
guys. When Mal got a hold of it he was showing Simon. "Look an
obscure item!" It's so funny...and everything sounds so much better
with a British accent. My brother got him to sign my paper plate while I
was getting some merch. Got a Minibar and Wallflowers shirt as well as 2
very cool posters (one for me and my brother) as well as a handful of
Wallflower pins. Overall, I spent 60 bucks right then. I would've gotten
more but I couldn't find the rest of my 20s. Yes, I have a horrible
addiction.
I handed off the goods to my brother while I went to meet Simon. It took
awhile, but I finally got a chance to chat with him without seeming ....
well ... shy I guess. This time I managed to get more than a couple of
sentences out of me. He signed my cd and looked at it for awhile saying
that the cd looked like a beauty. During that time I asked him about a
new cd (no plans yet although they have the material), discussed an old
vinyl of theirs, and about working with Pete Yorn. Seems like nothing's
definite if they'll be on his new album, but I hope so. After that my
brother and I left the building and I saw a crowd waiting outside by the
band's tour bus. However, it was time for us to head home.
[GO
BACK TO REVIEWS]
|