From: Nigel Parry (nigel@nigelparry.com)
Date: Wed Feb 23 2000 - 13:15:09 PST
PHOENIX GIG REPORT
(feel free to delete if it's too long for your delicate in-tray)
I guess it started with the hiring of the car. My old '84 Dodge Diplomat (a
former government car with a searchlight and "LBJ" on the licence plate) was
too dubious an option for the 2 hour drive. The bloody thing of course
didn't have a CD player, but hey, I rented it from Budget, which *isn't*,
for the record.
Finding the venue was a nightmare. It's kind of under a bridge, and as the
traffic had been terrible on the way there, I only rolled into the
neighbourhood ten minutes before the gig started.
Actually, I rolled into the neighbourhood the wrong way down a one-way
street. Two teenagers flagged me down.
"Do you know you're going the wrong way down a one-way street?"
"Where in the humping f*ck is Jackson Street?!" I calmly replied, not
looking at all like a spitting, wild-eyed, drooling maniac.
They laughed and gave me directions. One illegal U-turn later (after the
one-way street thing, the criminal mindset was well-entrenched) and then it
was on to parking. I think you get the picture.
The Alice Cooper'stown [sic] Sports Bar and Grill is a peculiarly American
phenomenon. Owned by the famous snake-swinging rock singer of the same name,
the venue is a restaurant bar with an outside area for gigs, the latter
split between plastic chair row stalls and a New Orleans-style wrought-iron
balcony.
Decorated with rock memorabilia and with wait staff sporting the trademark
Alice Cooper eye makeup, the Cooper'stown is definitely up there in the list
of top twenty places you wish you'd visited in the days you used to do
drugs.
I was determined to make contact with other Humans. I began by walking up to
a couple of likely lads and asking them, "Are you Humans?" Needless to say,
the capital "H" was lost on them. We eventually worked it out. When you're a
foreigner you can get away with tons of bad shit.
I got an index card and some duct tape ("the tool of champions") from the
woman at the CD/T-shirt stall (CD's going for $18, which made me laugh, as
most of BC's catalogue goes for about half of that on Amazon.com these
days).
I scrawled, "Are there any Humans in this place?" on the card and duct taped
it to my shirt, as Brad previously noted. I resigned myself with the thought
that you have to be prepared to go through a little humiliation for some
social contact. At least that's my life experience.
Ten minutes later in the toilet, I'm not so sure it was a good idea.
"Has anyone given you an answer yet?" asked one fat drunk drooling man,
clearly here for all the onion rings and beer rather than All The Diamonds,
indicating at my card while holding onto his naughty parts.
"NO."
I think he got it.
When I went for a later mid-second set "Pretty Break", there was a queue
(line) of waiting guys longer than a very long thing.
Fortunately, men have those hose things and stuff sped along. It was a once
in a lifetime treat to hear BC crooning Mango, being piped into the toilet,
in a Sports Bar, let me tell you.
The setting of the gig itself was pretty good, although there's a lot to be
said for indoor, heated venues that aren't directly below major airport
flight paths.
Then again, Arizona skies are all about stars, and at least those were out
in force.
The third song, The Trouble With Normal, was excellent. The intro sounded
like neither of the versions on either Waiting For A Miracle or on the same
titled album, and when the familiar part kicked in, I was left thinking it
worked very well indeed.
The fifth song, Let The Bad Air Out, brought the startling revelation that
the various deep and falsetto voices on the chorus are both BC. That was
funny.
BC finished the set with Use Me While You Can. It's a perfect Arizona song,
and the desert all around probably was the impetus for why we saw it here
and not at any of the recent gigs in California (bar one).
I went in search for Humans during the break.
Looking at the audience, the second Cockburn audience I've seen, I was left
wondering if all of you reading this list are also mostly 40-year-old
hippies.
I tell you, the Fear gripped me when I walked in and was forced to consider
for the first time that I might be a 30-year-old hippy.
I figured there would be some of you down the front, and headed off there,
index card ablaze. Man, did I get some weird looks but it did pay off. I met
Brad and Bob and spent a few minutes chatting with both. It's always good to
meet people in the flesh and be able to scare them in person. The people
with Bob were cool too.
There's a certain sense at Cockburn concerts that there is an above average
number of genuinely nice people, which makes searching out fellow Humans a
worthwhile activity, that is, if you're brave enough to identify yourself in
front of the rest of the crowd. :-)
If you're going to be at the Tucson gig tonight, I'll be wearing a white
T-shirt with some Arabic text on it. For those that saw me in one of these
last night and are concerned for my hygiene standards, note that I do have
more than one. :-)
Although I agree with the various Grateful Dead comparisons that have
surfaced on this list to describe "The New Unnamed Instrumental", the song
begins and ends with unmistakably Pink Floyd-sounding guitar riffs. The Dead
part is the middle part, but the start and finish are unquestionably Pink
Floydian.
Feast of Fools was nothing special at this venue, mostly because - like many
of BC's songs - it hangs a lot on the lyrics, which in this instance were
largely obscured by the guitar. But, it was nice to hear a song I'm not
familliar with, in the middle of the pervading Golden Oldies and Breakfast
selection.
My favourite song of this night's gig was surprisingly "Tequila", which I am
happy will upset some of the hardcores reading this.
For those that didn't get this from people who have already posted about
this song's appearance in recent gigs, the song is actually an instrumental,
and the quirky off-base but instantly-recognisable rendition that Bruce,
Steve, and Ben delivered doesn't require any prompting for the audience to
begin screaming "TEQUILA!" at the appropriate points, an experience which
was strangely liberating.
Bruce's face during this song was very funny to watch, as his intermittent
grins revealed that it gives him a buzz to see people joining in with his
kind of quirky craziness, a kind of craziness that is all about performing
songs like Rocket Launcher, Call It Democracy and Tequila in the same gig.
Tequila was actually a very strong instrumental that went into significant
improvisation for quite some period of time in the middle.
Bruce was really ill, wrapped up like a mummy in scarfs, and what Brad
already said on the list about Dialogue With The Devil being dropped off
because of this, I had also concluded.
I found out later that BC has actually cancelled all press interviews at the
moment and is actually taking a vow of silence for medical reasons in
between his times on stage. This gives you an idea of how bad it has been.
The ride home sucked big hairy ones, as I was having a very hard time
keeping awake despite a blinding headache that you would have thought would
have helped keep me awake. Well, that's what you get for snorting cheaper
crack.
Highway 10 between Phoenix and Tucson is one of the most boring stretches of
road in the world, which didn't help. It is definitely recommended to sleep
the night in the same town as any gig you see, unless you have more than one
driver to ease the post-gig exhaustion.
I'm looking forward to the Tucson gig a lot more, for this very reason, and
also because the venue is indoors. I'm also bringing three people who have
never seen BC before, which is always fun.
Here's a good tip if you are about to bring a friend to the current series
of gigs. You know how true it is that you tend to enjoy gigs more when the
songs are familliar?
If you check out the recent run of setlists, it's easy enough to make a
rough and ready compilation tape based on their content and order, and give
it to your friend before the gig. That way their expectations are accurate,
and they'll not just like songs, they'll recognise and like them.
I was surprised how many of the people I spoke to at the gig were not aware
of any Cockburn websites or of Humans. I think we need to work on promoting
the various Internet resources a bit better at gigs.
All in all, it was an excellent musical experience, this second Cockburn gig
I have seen (first was in London in 1992), overshadowed only by the
disquieting sense that it was not always a pleasant experience for BC to be
performing while ill.
Finally, thanks to Bob and Brad for making it a Human experience as well.
That was what made the night for me.
Cheers,
Nigel
Tucson, AZ
