At the Talking Head, Saturday, September 16
With Scott Alexander, Paperback Tragedy, and Ra Ra Riot
(photo courtesy of Ben Stiefel--thanks!)
As some may remember, this show was pretty much on hold for months, as I had venue trouble and was unwilling to settle for a small show that didn’t meet expectations. So it was good to finally take the stage again, after another 4 month break.
It was a perfect storm; getting thrown with Ra Ra Riot, whom I’d never heard before (except a few songs on myspace) who have something of a following. Their presence accounted for a good portion of the crowd, and with Scott bringing his people and Paperback Tragedy bringing theirs and me bringing mine, this show had the best turnout of any of my previous Talking Head Club shows. I played 3 brand new songs, and now I know how to scream without blowing out my voice.
Scott Alexander’s style, spaztic and hard to categorize, kept a large group of people mesmerized, especially after handing out cookies after the second song. Paperback Tragedy moved me with a song about gentrification in South Baltimore “moving us dirtballs out.” I always bitch about the same thing, but I’m really just an outsider who moved in and called Baltimore home--to them this really is their home, making it all the more tragic and annoying that yuppie fucks are displacing them. Cool. Very loud.
I used my old keyboard, opting to save the one I bought on e-bay. I think I hit a level where my mistakes are not such a big deal; I can pretty much recover without too much difficulty. Suggestions I’ve been given have helped me to make the show so much better than it was 4 or 5 years ago. I’ve also borrowed one or two tricks from other performers--like when I’m only a few songs into the set and someone yells for “Man-Friend” or “Breaking the Law” (my closer) I borrow a line from Mojo Nixon, who greeted such requests with “Don’t worry, I’ll play all those super-hits later.”
I did 16 songs, including new ones “Handshake,” “Overdue” (about “relatable concerns” such as having overdue library materials) and “Be My Friend,” about myspace, where during the chorus I scream (in that aforementioned non-voice-losing way) “BE MY FRIEND! BE MY FRIEND! BE MY FUCKING FRIEND!!” and of course, I climaxed with my lotion bit.
Ra Ra Riot, a 7 piece out of Syracuse, really surprised me. As good as myspace is for some things, it is somewhat limited for experiencing music. The power and intensity of this band live was amazing--I’ve become a fan of “Dying is Fine.” They also covered Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
I was very happy for the perfect storm that led Ra Ra Riot to me for this show. For many reasons I would rate this show a perfect 10 out of 10, for the turnout, the execution, and the audience response.
www.daveygandthekeyboard.com
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