The Loud Family Tour 1998:
St. Louis
The Hi Pointe Cafe
From: Miles Goosens
Subject: [loud-fans] weekend shows
The St. Louis show was wunnerful, and I am working on a review as I find time. Yesterday we took a leisurely drive back to Nashville, plus we went out for dinner here in Music City before heading back to the domicile, so we got in later than I had anticipated. Plus Saturday had been an exceptionally full day, what with visits to the St. Louis Zoo, Union Station, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and the evening's festivities, so I was double-dog tired last night, certainly too droopy and synapse-challenged to write a decent show review. Any other St. Louis show attendee is welcome to go first!
later,
Miles
From: Jon Tveite
Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Spot the dog in St. Louis
I'm still pretty worn out from the long drive to and from St. Louis, but I've gotta say this at least: it was worth every mile and minute of sleep lost. Miles and Melissa were super-cool to hang out with, and it was great meeting the local Loud-fans as well. And, oh yeah, the Hi-Pointe show was absolutely killer, despite an opening band so bad they literally left me speechless, and a sound-guy/system that almost drove Scott from the stage. Anyway, I will defer to Miles or someone from the home team to send out the first report, but I'm sure I'll have a few impressions to add.
Jon
From: Jeff Downing
Subject: [loud-fans] Return to Interbabe (St. Louis review)
There are some who might say that the disparity in talent and simple humanity between the Loud Family and their opening act on Saturday night, Freud's Mom, could lead to an unbalanced review, since anything even vaguely melodic following Freud's belligerent aural assault would be akin to getting to dip your pinky in a thimble full of cold water while toiling in hell. Seriously, folks, this band not only sang songs about rape and the suicide of a local weathercaster, they did so in the ugliest way imaginable. To quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
They sing for spite,
They sing for hate, they sing for doom
They'll sing through death who sing through night
They'll sing and stun me in the tomb
May the name of this band never be brought up again. Let's just say that when the Louds took the stage, they were playing in front of a much more receptive and appreciative audience than just an hour before. The opening number (Frag.#9 into Not Because You Can) was mangled due to the laxity of the Hi-Pointe staff (who conveniently didn't show up for soundcheck). Thankfully, Scott was able to make the proper adjustments, and from there on they sounded great (though I wished Scott's vocals were more prominent in the mix (a complaint I've voiced after all 3 shows I've seen). The subject line speaks for itself. Besides the DfD material, Scott seemed very IBC-oriented. From the GT canon, we heard Not Because You Can, Here It Is Tomorrow, Room For One More (which was the first chill-inducing moment of the night for me, as Alison's vocals battled and complemented Scott's as deftly as Donnette's once did), and We Love You, Carol and Alison (performed shirtless during the encore. A friend of mine requested it beforehand--with a shirt, she assures me--since she is getting married next week. What was interesting was that, Tinker liner notes be damned, this song wasn't written for someone's nuptials, according to Scott). From IBC, we heard Sodium Laureth, I'm Not Really a Spring, Asleep and Awake, Where They Go Back to School, and, during the encores, Such Little Non-Believers and Ste. Therese.
Since my thoughts aren't coalescing today (note my constant need for the parenthetical crutches), I'll just go ahead and provide a few bulleted reflections:
- Gil Ray is the show within the show, a cyclonic percussive savant. And a damn nice guy to boot. I truly appreciate it when hyper-inflated expectations are met with ease.
- Meeting and supping with all the Loudfans was quite a treat. Thanks especially to Jon and Miles for putting it together, and the Melissas, Jamie, Jack, Brad, Mike, and Liz for making it all worthwhile.
- Sitting next to Scott during dinner requires a special kind of restraint; indeed, you need to have an alert mental gatekeeper to prevent your mouth from vocalizing every dumb question you've ever had about him and his music. For those wondering what he's reading on the road, he says his current book of choice is the German Hasidic philosopher Martin Buber's "I and Thou," written back in 1916. It's absolutely amazing, according to him. "He got it all right."
- Gil remarked that "Mozart Sonatas" was originally presented in 4/4 time. Scott's suggestion that they add a rogue beat started the song on the path to its current form. This was the only song where Gil and Kenny felt the need to write out their parts.
- Jordan Oakes said that the advance cassette from Alias had names for all of the fragments, though they may have been nothing more than "Post Crypto-Sicko." Can anyone here verify this?
more recollections as they filter through,
Jeff
From: Miles Goosens
Subject: St. Louis Pt. 1 (low LF content in this one)
Our trek from Nashville to St. Louis began Friday evening. I had only been to St. Louis once before. I was sweet sixteen in 1983, and memories came unbidden throughout the drive -- of riding in my grandparents' yellow Subaru, my first Walkman in hand, Talking Heads' SPEAKING IN TONGUES becoming the sunny summery soundtrack to my first sojourn into the plains and fields and startling flatness of Indiana and Illinois, the pain of a tenth grade unrequited love still festering in the heat, one last desperate postcard sent to her from the Gateway Arch itself...
Purple prose aside, this was my first trip there as an adult, and Melissa had been *through* St. Louis on a trip to Denver, but hadn't explored the city. Therefore it was important to us to spend a full day in town, which is why we did three hours of the five hour drive on Friday night. Melissa's coworker Julie has dear friends in Marion, IL, which is squarely on the three hour mark out of Nashville, so we were able to drop Julie off for a weekend in good company, stay Friday night in Marion for free with Julie's friends, and have a leisurely two-hour drive into St. Louis the next day.
We hit St. Louis Saturday morning at 9:30 AM, and decided to skip the Arch for the time being, swinging out to the St. Louis Zoo instead. Again, there's some family vacation resonance here -- my grandparents and aunt visited the St. Louis Zoo in the mid-'60s and ran into Marlon Perkins there, and Mr. Perkins was kind enough to allow himself to be photographed with them. The "wow!" factor may be lost on anyone in their early 20s or younger, but if you were a kid in the '60s and '70s, you spent Sunday evenings watching MUTUAL OF OMAHA'S WILD KINGDOM and THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY. Marlon Perkins was the host of WILD KINGDOM, and every Sunday we'd follow him and his trusty assistant Jim Fowler to an exotic locale, where Jim would subdue boars and cottonmouths while Marlon sat in the helicopter or hoverboat, intoning such lines as "While Jim wrestles with the cheetah..."
Marlon Perkins died some time ago, so I didn't expect to run into him on this visit, but walking around the zoo, I couldn't help but wonder if any of the animals captured by Marlon and Jim were still present. Could I have even seen the very episode that documented the fateful day when the animal I'm looking at now was snatched out of its native habitat?
Melissa and I had a good time at the zoo. The number of sad animals seemed at a minimum, and some (especially the polar bear swimming on its back while playing with a ball, and the nectar-seeking lorikeet that tried to eat Melissa's straw hat) were delightful. The Zoo looked considerably more worn than I had remembered it being fifteen years ago, but renovations were underway in several spots, including construction on a promisingly large future home for elephants, giraffes, and other wild beasts of the field, so in a few years the Zoo may take on a shiny and even more animal-friendly appearance.
We checked into our hotel at 1 p.m., and got the bright idea that we'd run down to Union Station (only two blocks away) for lunch before meeting Jon Tveite and his Melissa at 2. Union Station is a spectacular train station that has been converted, for better or worse, into a shopping mall, but with considerable portions of the architecture intact. Unfortunately for us, the place was jam-packed! Lines to every food-serving establishment were twenty-five deep. Later, we found out that "The Women's Convention" (what kind of women wasn't explained) had just let out from the nearby Kiel Center, but how wuz poor lil' we'uns to know? It was now 1:30, and we trudged wearily back up the rise, hoping that our hotel had a restaurant, that the restaurant if it existed would still be open for lunch, and that we wouldn't have to cut into our time with Jon and Melissa just to feed our faces...
As it turns out, the restaurant (Syberg's?) was open, and we got very tasty chicken sandwiches, which we finished just in time to meet the coincidentally slightly-late Jon and Melissa. Jon, who knows St. Louis better than us, graciously drove us the rest of the afternoon and evening, and the four of us spent a very pleasant afternoon in the vast expanse of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, where we had the pleasure of visiting such attractions as the Climatron (in which plastic dinosaurs still roam), a rose garden, and a lovely Japanese garden. Unlike AAA maps, the map of the gardens didn't indicate which areas were blocked off by construction, which meant more walking than necessary for Kansas Melissa and her broken toe, which I hope survived the pounding. I know that my Melissa and I were truly worn out the next day, and my legs were still sore even as of yesterday.
Now is as good of a time as any to mention that Jon and his Melissa are even more vivacious and intelligent than I dared hope, and they are beautiful people inside and out. I've never been to Kansas, or even had much desire to go there, but after meeting them, my mind has been busy trying to finagle excuses to visit that other Manhattan. Like all my other Loud-Fan meetings, the event exceeded my already lofty expectations, and how many things can you say that about?
We got into the Jonmobile and got over to the Hi-Pointe Cafe about 6:15. Jon and I poked our heads in and saw neither a familiar Loud-Family face nor any performance space. Finally, we asked the bartender about both, and he told us that the band hadn't shown up yet and that the concert was in an upstairs room, so then we all settled in for a beer. The Loud-Caravan finally pulled in at ten till 7, i.e. ten minutes before our reservation for the Loud-Fan dinner at Saleem's. Jon, my Melissa, and I all helped Scott, Kenny, and Alison carry the equipment upstairs, while Jon's Melissa and Unca Gil kept watch on the van. A seedy individual who identified himself only as "Charlie" came by and started talking to Gil and the Melissas. "Charlie," who looked to be anywhere from mid-40s to early-50s and down on his luck, told them that he used to play guitar in a band called Sassafras, and if need be, he knew three songs ("Stairway to Heaven," "Everybody Hurts," and Boyz II Men's "End of the Road") and could step in should a band member falter. He offered to take the Melissas inside for a drink, but the clever girls worked into the conversation the fact that husbands and boyfriends were present. By the time Jon and I had gotten back outside from calling our Loud-Fan dinner companions to tell them we'd be running late, "Charlie" had vamoosed, though we did see him walk to the bar a bit later. He minded his own business then, though.
Scott and the band waited and waited for the sound guy to show up, but he never did. Finally around 8, Scott came downstairs and said that they weren't going to wait any longer, so we should all go on to dinner. We arrived at Saleem's around 8:15 to find that our faithful group of Loud-Fans had been in place for an hour and fifteen minutes yet had not ordered their food! I sure hope they feel rewarded for their perseverance and fortitude!
The tables were situated in a "T" shape, and when we arrived, most of the space was at the top of the "T," which meant that if we sat the band members there, it might feel like a press conference rather than a friendly dinner! So the Melissas, Jon, and I grabbed the seats on the top of the "T," which meant that band members would be distributed evenly throughout the Loud-Fans. Our end got Scott and Alison, and the other end got Gil and Kenny. This meant that I didn't get to talk to Gil and Kenny as much as I would have liked, but it was great to get to know Alison! Jack Lippold, clad in an "Elvis H. Christ" shirt, and the
Miles
From: Miles Goosens And now, to the show itself! Jeff says of the opening act:
>There are some who might say that the disparity in talent and simple humanity between the Loud Family and their Jeff is not exaggerating. In the car afterwards, the four of us were trying to remember their name, and Jon's Melissa offered "the bass player's t-shirt said 'Ignorant F*@#' -- maybe that's it." This band played for what seemed like four hours, and it wasn't clear if they started playing all of the same songs again or if all their songs are exactly the same. That is, if you can call them songs at all. This band was so bad that a woman asked Jon's Melissa if she knew the name of the band, so she could avoid the group in the future and tell all of her friends to do the same. We should have let Charlie open the show instead -- three songs and he would have been off!
Scott politely offered "well, they're a mosh band," but they were third rate even by mosh band standards. The drummer seemed like the least untalented of the trio, but that's not saying much. Worst of all, they played a good 10 to 15 minutes longer than their allotted time, which potentially could have cut into the Loud Family's time on stage. After the opener's set, when the lead singer/guitarist was poised at the top of the beside-the-stage stairwell, my Melissa whispered to me "you know, one good push and..."
There were some interesting characters at the show. I'm sure the St. Louis denizens on the list can put names with faces, but there was the guy in the early '70s vest and suit; there was the guy in the torn white t-shirt who danced throughout the show; there was the guy in the tight black pants and shirt who my Melissa described as "a cross between Gino Vanelli and Don Imus." All of them hung around afterwards to talk to Scott.
The crowd was a good one. The High Pointe doesn't look like it could hold more than 100, and while I didn't count, I think we had about 50 people there, so the room felt pretty full. As others have said, Jordan Oakes' big write-up (complete with a *recent* band photo, yay!) probably helped draw people in, and at least 35-40 of the 50 were obviously there to see Our Heroes, and they made plenty of noise once the Loud Family took the stage (and gave Freud's Mom the chilly reception they so richly deserved).
This was my first Loud Family show, and my first live Scott experience outside of Janet and Andy's wedding. I could write about it for weeks. I probably will. But for now, here's some brief takes on certain songs (the regular set was the same as the other stops), and all the encores:
DFD #9/"Not Because You Can" - This was great, but the sound was totally unbalanced and everything was way too loud. This didn't stop me from thrilling to the appearance of "Not Because You Can"'s riff, and getting to hear Scott sing "if your eyes are green / you will turn and stay sixteen" live! Afterwards, Scott made the sound guy cut out the drums ("they sound monstrous up here") and readjust everything. I was standing right in front of the mixing board and heard the sound guy mutter "it'll sound like sh*t, then." However, Scott's instincts were right, and the rest of the show sounded considerably better. I even took my earplugs out during the next song, and had no ringing in the ears afterwards. Thanks, Scott!
"Sword Swallower" - Since this was my first show, and I'm Loud Family bootleg-poor, they may have been doing it this way for years, I dunno, but it did surprise me. Janet described the beat as "funky" in her Cleveland show review, but to me, it was totally the Bo Diddley backbeat -- which is very funky, come to think of it. Perhaps they could retitle it "Scott Miller is a Gunslinger." Regardless, it works! Jack Lippold came up to me about halfway through and said "It's 'Sword Swallower, isn't it?'" :-)
DFD #5/DFD #11 - It amazed me throughout how the band executed the nameless tracks on DFD with such precision -- maybe even more precision than they used on the tracks that have names! Alison's experience with experimental soundscapes really shows here, and works like a charm in interaction with "Dee-pression" - Damn, this thing rocks. I can only second all of the good things everyone's ever said about Gil, but the man *is* a drum monster.
"Room for One More, Honey" - Ahhhh. Y'know, after IBC came out, one of my initial observations was that Scott would never have to play another Game Theory song if he didn't want to, given that he had finally accumulated enough a-list LF material to fill out a show. But as long as the Family plays the GT catalog with this much passion, who cares? Scott sounds best with a female voice in the mix, and hearing him and Alison do one of the greatest dual lead vocal tracks ever was just chilling.
"Where They Go Back To School But Get Depressed" - Right when Scott started the soft and lovely intro to The Most Beautiful Song Ever Written, these two non-Loud-Fan dickheads beside of me started talking to each other loudly and rudely. As a result, I moved up into the crowd to get out of earshot, but it did mar the moment for me. May they be forced to listen to the opening band for all eternity.
"Way Too Helpful" - But then they followed with The Second Most Beautiful Song Ever Written, so I soared away on Scott and Alison's luminous vocals...
"I'm Not Really a Spring" - Live, has it always had that skiffle-beat section early on, or is that a Gil emendation?
"Good, There Are No Lions in the Street" - On reflection, the highlight of the show for me. Every section of this song was played with verve and precision, and I felt the bass-heavy middle section through every part of my being. I forgot to ask Scott how it developed from the gorgeous thing he debuted almost a year ago at Janet and Andy's wedding into the more, well, ominous and menacing form that it has now. It's still gorgeous, mind you, but now it's gorgeous in a "tyger, tyger, burning bright" way, which is a whole 'nother cat entirely.
"Spot the Setup" - For those of you keeping score at home, it was Natalie Imbruglia. I for one was glad to hear the song.
The band gave us a very generous SIX encore selections! Maybe they were making up for us having to endure the opening act, maybe it was all that garlic at dinner, but... wow. Scott, Kenny, Gil, Alison: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
"Execution Day" - Scott: "we're going to do a song that's not written by me." Alison: "or by My Bloody Valentine..." As others have said, this thing rules. I bought Alison's CD and single -- well, I was going to anyway, but this cemented it. The band seems to love to play it, too, and Scott's lead guitar work cuts loose like he rarely does on his own material.
"Here It Is Tomorrow" - See the earlier comments on "Room for One More, Honey." Glorious.
"Asleep and Awake on the Man's Freeway" - When I heard this one start, I was happy because I was going to be hearing one of many favorite IBC tracks, but sad because I was about 99% sure that this would be the closing number (especially since I had cheated and read other set lists where it closed the show). Scott's yelp and the crescendo were the stuff of legends. The end?...
"We Love You, Carol and Alison" - ...but no! A solo, shirtless Scott came back out of the stairwell (one of the "Where They Go Back To School..."-ruining cretins yelled "put your shirt back on"), picked up one of his electric guitars, and went into the one song I would have requested had I had the chance. I thought "surely this must be the end of the show." But then...
"Where They Walk Over St. Therese" - ...a still shirtless Scott called the rest of the band back onstage and asked us what we wanted to hear. I'm pretty sure it was Jon's Melissa who asked for "St. Therese," and that's what we got! Alison: "'St. Therese' is a pretty one!" Played to perfection. It amazed me constantly to see the studio perfection of the band replicated on stage, yet nothing came across with the coldness that "precision" usually connotes. Instead, everything was done with enthusiasm and feeling.
"Such Little Nonbelievers" - Finally, the closer, and a raucous one too! "Courtney, I think we missed our chance to be free" reverberated in my head the rest of the night. Six encores! Six!
And that was it. What a treat! Worth the trip and the hotel room and the opening act and everything else...
Things I'm not sure I covered yet:
- Throughout the show, Scott maintains a look of intense concentration. It's not that he's not having fun, but he's focused on getting it right, too.
- As Janet said of the Cleveland show, the band meshes together very well. Everyone is an accomplished musician in their own right, but everyone wants to make Scott's music the best it can be. They're the very definition of teamwork.
- Jeff Downing came up to me before the Loud Family went on, and "confessed" a small thing he'd said on the Jazz Butcher list ages ago, to which I had provided a mild (and apparently effective) corrective. I emembered the incident, but not that it was Jeff who had said it! I think the reputation of my powers has become much greater than the actuality!
- What was up with Helga the Barmaid yelling at all of us to get out of the upstairs room after the show? She also yelled at Alison "five minutes for t-shirts and that's all," but Alison yelled back "this is how we make our money!" I think the harpy was just eager to close up and go home...
Afterwards, we hung around to say goodbye to the band, then Jon and Melissa drove us back to our hotel and the evening (sob!) came to a close. The next day my Melissa and I visited the Arch (riding up to the top, natch), drove back to Marion, IL, to pick up Julie and take her back to Nashville, and stopped on the way at Metropolis, IL, to see the Giant Superman Statue. I kid you not.
So here we are, back in Music City, counting the days until July 25 when we can zoom to Memphis and rock with the Loud Family one more time this year. Thanks again to Jon and Melissa for a wonderful afternoon and evening, to the St. Louis Loud-Fans for a great dinner (and a special shout out to Jack Lippold for his extra contribution toward paying for the feast!), and to the Loud Family themselves for putting up with us at mealtime and playing one terrific show!
later,
Miles
From: Jeff Downing
I find the account of Mr. Goosens to be sharp and veracious, though I'm still taken aback that this was his first official show. As for names and faces:
>There were some interesting characters at the show. I'm sure the St. Louis denizens on the list can put names with [St. Louis' dancing ambassador, Beatle Bob];
>there was the guy in the torn white t-shirt who danced throughout the show
[Seen him many-a-time, but don't know his name]
>there was the guy in the tight black pants and shirt who my Melissa described as "a cross between Gino Vanelli and Don Imus"
[Jordan Oakes, believe it or not].
Jeff
From: Jamie In a message dated 98-07-14 18:28:27 EDT, jeff.downing@mosby.com writes:
>there was the guy in the torn white t-shirt who danced throughout the show
This was no other then fellow Brand X Comedy Troupe member Christopher Quain, who at one point actually came up to me and apologized..."Sorry I'm dancing man, but I just can't help it". He also pulled Brand X-er Liz onto the floor for a good half of the show. I loved watching Alison smile and feed off the energy from the front of the stage.
Jamie
From: Jack Lippold >How was your St. Louis show?!
Fabulous! I got invited to a pre-show dinner with the band themselves at a Mediterranean restaurant, so 11 others and myself got to break, er...pita with Scott & Co. By chance, I got seated across the man himself! A friend of mine said I looked like a kid on X-mas morning. Alison sat next to Scott. She was quite personable. Gil and Kenny sat at the opposite end of the table (also by chance) next to 2 of my Mensa buddies - Brad and Mike, so I didn't get a chance to talk to Gil and Kenny much. I did get an autograph from Gil later at the show - as well as Scott and Alison, but never got a chance to get one from Kenny. Oh well, I did get one from him at the IbC tour. Being rather uninhibited from the wine at dinner, I commented that Gil's picture on the LN cover resembled Peter Bonerz ('Jerry Robinson of the 1st Bob Newhart show' fame). He appeared amused. It was also a good time meeting Miles and Jon as well as renowned town and nation alterna-pop expert - Jordan Oakes. A women friend of mine (an LF-Scott experience neophyte) just had to stroke Scott's hair. After a few seconds, she felt a little silly and said "Okay, I'll stop." The play list pretty much resembled the early July '98 set lists from the site. Encores included "Where They Walk Over St. Therese", "Here It Is Tomorrow", "Execution Day" (a song of Alison's) and "Asleep and Awake on the Man's Freeway".
The acoustics at the Hi-Pointe leave a little to be desired - to the point that you had to really know the music, but the main thing, of course, was the people. The afore-mentioned friend, consequently didn't get as much out of the concert as the fans. I'll have to lend her some of Scott's legacy so she'll know just what goes on under that hair!
Jack
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Subject: St. Louis Pt. 2 (high LF content)
>opening act on Saturday night, Freud's Mom, could lead to an unbalanced review, since anything even vaguely
>melodic following Freud's belligerent aural assault would be akin to getting to dip your pinky in a thimble full of
>cold water while toiling in hell.
the rest of the band.
Subject: Re: [loud-fans] St. Louis Pt. 2 (high LF content)
>faces, but there was the guy in the early '70s vest and suit
Subject: Re: [loud-fans] St. Louis Pt. 2 (high LF content)
Subject: [loud-fans] St. Louis show - my 2-cents