I'd never been to Lee's Palace before, which was where the show was held, though I'd see the elaborate painting covering the front of the venue.*
I didn't really have that much disposal income when I was here in grad. school. While I am not sure, I suspect that smoking was allowed, as it was in so many bars/pubs/coffee shops in Toronto in the early 90s. At least I no longer have to worry about smelling like an ashtray. Anyway, doors opened at 8:30, and I guess I got inside around 8:45.
Inside it is a little shabby and a bit smaller than I expected. There is an upstairs coat check but it doesn't seem possible to watch the bands on stage from the second floor, so it is something like half the size of Metro in Chicago. It got fairly crowded about midway through the first set. The crowd was very middle aged, and I would say the majority were a couple of years older than me ranging to 10 years older than me. I did see a few younger patrons, i.e. in their 30s, but not really that many. It was amusing that a few were claiming "their" space to the left or right of the stage, obviously having spent a big part of their young adulthood here. While there was some seating in Lee's Palace, there was not very much. I ended up standing near and half-leaning on a pillar the whole show. I actually moved back as it was pretty loud, and periodically I could feel the sound waves pushing my clothing around!
What is somewhat surprising is that Camper Van Beethoven has reformed and recorded 2 new albums together, though they don't tour all that often. La Costa Perdita is already up on eMusic, and I am waiting for the other one (El Camino Real) to turn up. They played quite a few songs off the new albums.
This is the set list as best as I can reconstruct it:
It Was Like That When We Got There from El Camino Real
Too High for the Love-In from La Costa Perdita
Balalaika Gap from Telephone Free Landslide Victory
(Pictures of) Matchstick Men from Key Lime Pie
All Her Favorite Fruit from Key Lime Pie
Sweethearts from Key Lime Pie
We're a Bad Trip from II & III
Northern California Girls from La Costa Perdita
Darken Your Door from El Camino Real
I Live in L.A. from El Camino Real
Sad Lover's Waltz from II & III
Take the Skinheads Bowling from Telephone Free Landslide Victory
When I Win the Lottery from Key Lime Pie
Summer Days from La Costa Perdita
(No encore)
I like It Was Like That When We Got There, which seems in the same vein as many of their classic songs, and Darken Your Door is quite catchy. I am not sold on Northern California Girls and I did think Too High for the Love-In went on a bit too long, given that they had so much to squeeze in. Indeed, there were a few songs I sort of expected like Joe Stalin's Cadillac (or really anything off the second album) that were not played. While I think what they played off Key Lime Pie was great, but I remember from past shows that they did great live versions of Eye of Fatima and She Divines Water (both off Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart). Summer Days was a bit of odd choice to end the set on, as it just isn't particularly strong. Even flipping it with When I Win the Lottery would have worked, though personally I would loved an extra song -- maybe Eye of Fatima flowing directly into She Divines Water. Still I guess they are just determined to prove they are not an oldies band, and for the most part the audience was willing to go along with them.
This may have been even more the case for Cracker where 8 or 9 of the songs (a bit over half the set list) were from a new double CD called Berkeley to Bakersfield. Actually the biggest single surprise was that Victor Krummenacher came back to play bass for Cracker. He's pretty bad-ass and had some incredible bass lines, so that was a plus for me. I didn't write down the whole list for Cracker, but of the new material I liked March of the Billionnaires and El Cerrito a lot. They did play Teen Angst, Low, Sweet Potato and of course Eurotrash Girl. It may have been a bit unexpected that they played This is Cracker Soul. I really did expect them to play Seven Days, perhaps as the encore, so I ended up stayed for the entire Cracker set, which I hadn't really expected to do. (I thought I would benefit by having Camper Van go on first, but it didn't matter in the end.) However, it was a good show (even though it made me feel kind of old), though I'll probably pay for it tomorrow. I suppose I really admire Lowery and the rest of the guys to write a second and third act and not just be a washed up band from the 80s (CvB) or the 90s (Cracker).
I don't really have anything more profound to say now, though I may write more after I absorb Berkeley to Bakersfield (I bought a copy at the merchandise station before the show).
* Apparently, this is a fairly recent reconstruction that is even bigger than the painting that was up in the 90s. Well, obviously I didn't pay that much attention. A bit of the story is told here.
No comments:
Post a Comment