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Apples in Stereo The
Holmes Brothers |
Billie
Joe Shaver
/ 08.11.2005 Club Cafe / Pittsburgh, PA
They upped the start time for this to 7:00 and I had to race my bike over to the South Side but I got to the Café just as the band was playing their first song. I like these early shows as they have a kind of happy hour vibe, which fit right into the playfulness that Billy Joe was exhibiting tonight. My first impression of Billy Joe was that he was looking a little older and skinnier but damn if this guy isn’t at peace with himself. He just radiates a calm and self-awareness that really enhances his presence and makes him more accessible to the crowd. When he steps away from the mike mid-song and begins some goofy dance on stage you have to wonder what other performer puts so much of himself in front of the audience. The show was quite festive from the start and the band kept the crowd engaged with “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal” and “That’s What She Said Last Night,” which became a repeated theme for the evening. Billy Joe prefaced “Tramp on Your Street” with his story about seeing Hank Williams play when he was a kid and he even made a terrorist enabling liberal like myself feel a little patriotic extolling the greatness of our country before “Good Ol U.S.A.” Playing a song (not sure of the name) dedicated to his passed-away son Eddy, the band members removed their hats and turned their backs to the audience in reverence to Billy Joe as he sang solo. He played his guitar a bit during that song and others but had a brace over his left wrist which was turned into a funny story about the kind of people that come up to talk to him in public places. One thing that really stands out in my mind, was during “When I Get My Wings” Billy Joe began flapping his arms and seemed so into it that, I swear, I half-expected him to fly away. My buddy was afraid to come to this ‘cause he though he would end up crying during the show but the sad songs were kept to a minimum. There was one moment when Billy Joe was talking about wanting to kill himself that seemed a little uneasy because it wasn’t obvious whether you were supposed to laugh or not but he didn’t seem sure either. He was just telling it like it was. Also played were “Honky Tonk Heroes,” “Freedom’s Child,” and a rocking “Georgia on a Fast Train.” You can see from the pictures that this old man still has a lot of honky tonkin’ left in him as he was drenched in sweat by the time the show was over. Probably will end up on my years-best list. After the show I was throwing back a few with Dave, of Dave’s Music Mine, and promoter Jon and was able to get a picture with Billy Joe. Dave and his wife were invited to a show over at the Rex for some up-and-coming band and Jon was looking for a little confrontative fun as a rival promoter was presenting the show. Expecting to get in for free, we all traipsed over to the Rex even though Dave wasn’t crazy about the idea but it was cool and we walked right in. Onstage was dredg. I initially thought they had a little bit of a Radiohead thing going on but upon further listening it became aware this these progressive rockers rose to a level of sucktitude that I hadn’t seen for awhile. The singer would play this steel guitar that was sitting at the front of the stage on a round table covered with a paisley tablecloth. And let me first apologize to any reader who knows of or are related to any mentally challenged folks but this guy really acted retarded. He kept making these goofy motions with his hands and constantly was resecuring his earphones. I actually found myself laughing out loud once during his antics, which is not easy for a depressive drunk like myself. And the drummer was just insane. Looking at him you would have thought he was straining to interpret the complicated sonata from Beethoven’s Op. 53. But the kids seemed to like it so what can you do. I bolted and took a little bike ride through Station Square, which has really transformed itself into clubland central. The area was teeming with sharply dressed frat boys and throngs of skimpily clothed young ladies. The long lines running down the sidewalks for both Matrix and Margarita Mama's amazed me. I’m not sure whether it was the fifty-cent drafts or the swimsuit-clad girls tabletop dancing on the outdoor deck that was bringing them in. Heading towards Downtown it was easy to identify anyone headed over to the clubs as cars filled to capacity of either guys or girls were streaming across the Smithfield Bridge. Lastly, I decided to drop into Dowe’s on Ninth, which usually hosts various form of jazz most nights of the week. Some guy outside said the best band in the city was playing and, though doubting his bold pronouncement, I ponied up the $5 cover to check it out. Turns out it was some sort of nine-piece salsa band on what looked to be a popular dance night. And I’m not talking some Tony Macaroni grinding to hotties but real dancers doing some complicated Latin dance moves. It was fun to watch. There was this one guy, kinda big, dancing with his lady and he just had an enormous amount of energy and was quite smooth despite his size. It was my impression that though people go there to have fun there is also a bit of competition and no one could hold a candle to this guy. As for the band, they were fun but let me end with one suggestion. No, make that a new rule starting today. “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is never again to be played as a slow-tempo Latin love song. Nuff said? |
