Concert Reviews - The B-52s & The Smithereens
Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 6:46 pm
OK, I typically don't review the concerts I attend, but figured I'd jot down a few words about a couple shows I saw this week...
The B-52s - Wednesday, 1/19, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
This was my first time seeing The B-52s, and I was concerned going in that either Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, or both would be kinda rough on the eyes (and possibly the ears) after 35 yrs of performing. While Pierson, the oldest band member at 62, showed signs of her age in the midsection, she still came out in a black dress with fishnet stockings and looked quite presentable for a gal her age. Wilson, 53, though sporting sunglasses throughout the show, still looks doable. Both women have long forsaken their trademark B-52 bouffant 'dos, with Wilson wearing her long blond locks straight and Pierson donning a garish red wig. Guitarist Keith Strickland, the band's original drummer who took over as lead axe man after the 1985 AIDS-related death of founding member Ricky Wilson (Cindy's brother), looks to be about 15 yrs younger than his age of 57. The ever-campy Fred Schneider acted as though he was a 20-yr-old despite being nearly 40 yrs older than that, and his voice never changes.
There was no opening act, and the band took the stage somewhere around 9:30. The crowd was a mix of fans ranging in age from early 20s to 60+. The show opened with Schneider asking, "What's that on your head?" as the band broke into "Wig," at which point a chick at the front of the stage tossed a multi-colored wig to Schneider who then tossed it into the crowd where it was caught and re-tossed by yours truly standing about 10 ft from the stage. They then got things rolling with "Private Idaho," and proceeded to play a set that featured tunes from their 2008 Funplex CD, their first studio album since 1992's Good Stuff, including the title track and "Love in the Year 3000." They also played the title cut to their 1982 Mesopotamia EP. The band did a good job of playing the songs concert-goers who paid $45 a ticket wanted to hear, such as "Party Out of Bounds," "Love Shack," "Roam," "Deadbeat Club," and "Cosmic Thing." The highlight in this reviewer's opinion was their rendition of "Give Me Back My Man," with Wilson doing all the vocals and Schneider breaking out the glockenspiel. "Planet Claire" was their first encore number, and the show predictably closed with "Rock Lobster." I was a little disappointed that they didn't play "52 Girls," "Quiche Lorraine," or "Strobe Light," but hey, it was still a very enjoyable show, especially due to the fact that it was held in such a small venue. Well worth the time and cost.
The Smithereens, Saturday, 1/22, The State Theater, Falls Church, VA
As with The B-52s, I'd never seen The Smithereens before. While never a huge fan of theirs, I've always liked their songs played on FM stations. After having stood for the whole B-52s show, we decided to sit in the balcony to watch The Smithereens. Even from there, it was readily apparent that frontman Pat DiNizio is tippin' the Toledos at around three bills. I've also never seen a guitarist who wields the instrument as low-slung as he does. Seems it hangs nearly to his knees when he plays.
There was a trio of women playing acoustic music onstage when we arrived. Didn't catch their name, and frankly wasn't impressed with what they were playing, although they did do an OK cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." The next act was a five-piece band calling themselves Long Duc Dong, which woulda made Katy start a new message board or something because they played nothing but 80s covers, including a couple songs from The Alarm ("Strength" and "Rain in the Summertime"), Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning," The Knack's "Good Girls Don't," INXS's "This Time," Cheap Trick's "Surrender," and their closing number, Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind." The highlight was when they did The Plimsouls's "A Million Miles Away."
The Smithereens's set started kinda slow, with the band pretty much just standing in place playing music. But as it progressed, DiNizio and the rest of the band interacted more with the audience and became more animated onstage. At one point, bassist Severo "The Thrilla from Manila" Jornacion (who replaced original bassist Mike Mesaros in 2006) peeled an orange and tossed the rind into the crowd. While I've seen many drum solos performed, I can't recall ever seeing a drummer play as a lead musician while the rest of the band played. This happened last night (I believe during "Room Without a View"), when DiNizio, The Thrilla, and lead guitarist Jim Babjak all stood to the left of the stage playing rhythm while drummer Dennis Diken went off on the skins. Very cool.
The Smithereens have also shown some originality by being unoriginal. While some bands cover songs, they cover albums, having paid tribute to the Beatles by recording Meet The Beatles as Meet The Smithereens, and also covering The Who's Tommy. DiNizio mentioned that they always get requests to play Beatles music but seldom honor them. They made an exception last night and did "Hold Me Tight." Among the highlights of the show, however, was when they played a trio of songs from Tommy - "Sparks," "The Acid Queen," and "I'm Free."
As the show was nearing its close, they broke into "Blood and Roses," during which Babjak and The Thrilla left the stage and played on the floor among the attendees. The bassist's return to the stage recalled the scene from This Is Spinal Tap when guitarist Nigel Tufnel needed help from a roadie getting back on his feet after playing Angus Young-like on his back; a roadie assisted Jornacion getting upright after he backed his way onto the stage. (Incidentally, The Smithereens paid homage to Spinal Tap by naming their third album Eleven.) Their last pre-encore number was "A Girl Like You," during which they mixed in snippets from The Youngbloods's "Get Together," The Byrds's "Feel a Whole Lot Better," and The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes." Among the other songs they played were "Behind the Wall of Sleep," "Yesterday Girl," "Top of the Pops," "Only a Memory," "House We Used to Live In," and "Blues Before and After." They also played a few songs from their upcoming release due to drop on tax day.
Wasn't really expecting much from this show, which was a true bargain at only $20 a ticket. But I got far more than expected - they played for over 2 hrs and did a meet & greet for which I didn't stick around after the show. While I won't go so far as to say I was blown to smithereens, I'd consider seeing them again next time they come around this way.
The B-52s - Wednesday, 1/19, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
This was my first time seeing The B-52s, and I was concerned going in that either Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, or both would be kinda rough on the eyes (and possibly the ears) after 35 yrs of performing. While Pierson, the oldest band member at 62, showed signs of her age in the midsection, she still came out in a black dress with fishnet stockings and looked quite presentable for a gal her age. Wilson, 53, though sporting sunglasses throughout the show, still looks doable. Both women have long forsaken their trademark B-52 bouffant 'dos, with Wilson wearing her long blond locks straight and Pierson donning a garish red wig. Guitarist Keith Strickland, the band's original drummer who took over as lead axe man after the 1985 AIDS-related death of founding member Ricky Wilson (Cindy's brother), looks to be about 15 yrs younger than his age of 57. The ever-campy Fred Schneider acted as though he was a 20-yr-old despite being nearly 40 yrs older than that, and his voice never changes.
There was no opening act, and the band took the stage somewhere around 9:30. The crowd was a mix of fans ranging in age from early 20s to 60+. The show opened with Schneider asking, "What's that on your head?" as the band broke into "Wig," at which point a chick at the front of the stage tossed a multi-colored wig to Schneider who then tossed it into the crowd where it was caught and re-tossed by yours truly standing about 10 ft from the stage. They then got things rolling with "Private Idaho," and proceeded to play a set that featured tunes from their 2008 Funplex CD, their first studio album since 1992's Good Stuff, including the title track and "Love in the Year 3000." They also played the title cut to their 1982 Mesopotamia EP. The band did a good job of playing the songs concert-goers who paid $45 a ticket wanted to hear, such as "Party Out of Bounds," "Love Shack," "Roam," "Deadbeat Club," and "Cosmic Thing." The highlight in this reviewer's opinion was their rendition of "Give Me Back My Man," with Wilson doing all the vocals and Schneider breaking out the glockenspiel. "Planet Claire" was their first encore number, and the show predictably closed with "Rock Lobster." I was a little disappointed that they didn't play "52 Girls," "Quiche Lorraine," or "Strobe Light," but hey, it was still a very enjoyable show, especially due to the fact that it was held in such a small venue. Well worth the time and cost.
The Smithereens, Saturday, 1/22, The State Theater, Falls Church, VA
As with The B-52s, I'd never seen The Smithereens before. While never a huge fan of theirs, I've always liked their songs played on FM stations. After having stood for the whole B-52s show, we decided to sit in the balcony to watch The Smithereens. Even from there, it was readily apparent that frontman Pat DiNizio is tippin' the Toledos at around three bills. I've also never seen a guitarist who wields the instrument as low-slung as he does. Seems it hangs nearly to his knees when he plays.
There was a trio of women playing acoustic music onstage when we arrived. Didn't catch their name, and frankly wasn't impressed with what they were playing, although they did do an OK cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." The next act was a five-piece band calling themselves Long Duc Dong, which woulda made Katy start a new message board or something because they played nothing but 80s covers, including a couple songs from The Alarm ("Strength" and "Rain in the Summertime"), Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning," The Knack's "Good Girls Don't," INXS's "This Time," Cheap Trick's "Surrender," and their closing number, Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind." The highlight was when they did The Plimsouls's "A Million Miles Away."
The Smithereens's set started kinda slow, with the band pretty much just standing in place playing music. But as it progressed, DiNizio and the rest of the band interacted more with the audience and became more animated onstage. At one point, bassist Severo "The Thrilla from Manila" Jornacion (who replaced original bassist Mike Mesaros in 2006) peeled an orange and tossed the rind into the crowd. While I've seen many drum solos performed, I can't recall ever seeing a drummer play as a lead musician while the rest of the band played. This happened last night (I believe during "Room Without a View"), when DiNizio, The Thrilla, and lead guitarist Jim Babjak all stood to the left of the stage playing rhythm while drummer Dennis Diken went off on the skins. Very cool.
The Smithereens have also shown some originality by being unoriginal. While some bands cover songs, they cover albums, having paid tribute to the Beatles by recording Meet The Beatles as Meet The Smithereens, and also covering The Who's Tommy. DiNizio mentioned that they always get requests to play Beatles music but seldom honor them. They made an exception last night and did "Hold Me Tight." Among the highlights of the show, however, was when they played a trio of songs from Tommy - "Sparks," "The Acid Queen," and "I'm Free."
As the show was nearing its close, they broke into "Blood and Roses," during which Babjak and The Thrilla left the stage and played on the floor among the attendees. The bassist's return to the stage recalled the scene from This Is Spinal Tap when guitarist Nigel Tufnel needed help from a roadie getting back on his feet after playing Angus Young-like on his back; a roadie assisted Jornacion getting upright after he backed his way onto the stage. (Incidentally, The Smithereens paid homage to Spinal Tap by naming their third album Eleven.) Their last pre-encore number was "A Girl Like You," during which they mixed in snippets from The Youngbloods's "Get Together," The Byrds's "Feel a Whole Lot Better," and The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes." Among the other songs they played were "Behind the Wall of Sleep," "Yesterday Girl," "Top of the Pops," "Only a Memory," "House We Used to Live In," and "Blues Before and After." They also played a few songs from their upcoming release due to drop on tax day.
Wasn't really expecting much from this show, which was a true bargain at only $20 a ticket. But I got far more than expected - they played for over 2 hrs and did a meet & greet for which I didn't stick around after the show. While I won't go so far as to say I was blown to smithereens, I'd consider seeing them again next time they come around this way.