"Play that Dead Man's Song"

No, it wasn't the second coming nor a ghostly cameo. Still, Warren Zevon's presence was at undeniable at the 930 Club on May 9th as the Drive-By Truckers roared through over two hours of gritty, thoughtful, and, at times, profane rock. Warren would've been proud.


The 2008 Homefront Tour is in support of DBT's latest album Brighter Than Creation's Dark. This was my third time seeing them live, having been baptized at an amazing '06 concert so vital that singer/songwriter Patterson Hood credits that show with restoring his faith in performing live music. I was there in the front row and had a similar revelation.


The Truckers' songs are often as sharply, bitterly observant yet laced with dark humor as Zevon's were. There's also hope, too. The grim realities of life require at least sarcasm and sometimes scorn, and usually those two qualities are better served when mixed with the right amount of sincerity. At his best, Zevon could and the Truckers still craft these kinds of songs and that's a compelling reason, one of many, fans keep returning to their respective bodies work.

That said, I'm still on the fence regarding how much of Zevon's savage "Play It All Night Long" from 1980's Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School is not a mean-spirited blast not to actual country folk but to a perceived image of rural America. Warren often walked a greasy tightrope regarding his lyrical intentions. How serious can a song be with lyrics like "The cattle all have brucellosis, we'll get through somehow"?



The Truckers take Zevon's ostensible joke to the next level, however, by infusing the lyrics with their considerable heft. Much like how Elvis Costello reinvigorated Nick Lowe's mild and trippy "(What's So Funny Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?" with wounded but defiant idealism, DBT's version of "Play It All Night Long" is not cheeky and sneaky but rather a howling, visceral open wound, one that large swaths of red and blue America both can relate to.



(My apologies if this next clip doesn't sell you on what I just wrote. Truth is, to quote another Zevon song Patterson quotes if you listen carefully, this aint' that pretty at all.)



The Drive-By Truckers are arguably the best rock band playing today. When they're on their game, and they usually are, they're better than even Springsteen at articulating working class hopes and fears. And, like Zevon, they frequently lace their songs with memorably dark wit. I can't recommend seeing them enough.

Pehdtsckjmba

Perhaps the good karma police decided to make up for my miserably wet but transcendent experience at Radiohead last weekend by making sure I got an amazing orchestra seat for Tom Waits in Columbus!



I've never seen him live and he rarely tours anymore. I expect nothing less than a once in a lifetime thrill, frankly. The last time I drove to the wilds of Ohio for live music was in October 2004. I saw one of the most emotional, incredible, and hopeful concerts I've ever experienced. I even went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after that. A hard act to follow, surely, yet I expect Tom Waits to surpass even that high standard. Why? He's a compelling, fascinating, wholly unique individual so striking it's impossible to take your eyes away, as evidenced by these photos of unique beauty:

Yeah, obviously very memorable and, uh, ...oh! Yeah. That reminds me. (Sorry, guess my mind kind of drifted there for a sec.) There's some other Tom Waits related news this week...

You Make Me Feel So Young

Frank Sinatra passed away ten years ago today on May 14, 1998. My mother died that same year in the fall. I know Frank was gentleman enough to meet her when she got there. (He took her coat and made her laugh, I'm sure. Asked if she needed a drink, which she probably did...)

Gwen and I danced to the bookishly passionate "Too Marvelous for Words" at our wedding last October. It's a Johnny Mercer tune Frank cut for the Songs for Swingin' Lovers! album in 1956.

One Christmas, back in the mid-90s sometime, I didn't have much money for gifts that year for my family and friends. So I made mixed cassette tapes of popular standards for everybody on my list. I called them "Lumps of Cole".

Sounds pretty gay, huh? Maybe it was a little. Still, the ladies really liked it. Frank was no fool. Here's to you, sir.

Romanes Eunt Domus

My father-in-law is featured in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's current production of the Tragedy of Julius Caesar. He's officially a paid Equity actor in the ensemble. He's even on stage as a Senator when Caesar finds out who his friends are. Steve doesn't pile on and stab away, but he does look believably horrified when the blood starts gushing.

And speaking of horrified, watching this play again for the first time since high school, I had some ferocious 9th grade Latin flashbacks.



It's a very exciting and relevant production at the new Sidney Harman Hall If you can't make it, or are just pressed for time in general, there's always 60 Second Shakespeare over the BBC website.

On a related note, one of my favorite sketch comedy troupes of all time was recently in DC. The Kids in the Hall were at Warner Theatre as part of their Live As We'll Ever Be Reunion tour. I didn't go, as I have seen them twice live (once at the Warner and once at Town Hall in New York) but I heard they were good.

KITH alum Mark McKinney recently was in a great CBC series called Slings and Arrows. I enjoy and recommend it highly, particularly if you enjoy seeing thea-tah types fret.

The Merchant of Venom

The inimitable Don Rickles turned 82 on Thursday. The master insult comedian of all time, no one was safe from his wrath. Not Sinatra. Not Carson. Not even future presidents.



I'm not sure what this comic is or what it's about, but I wish I had the magic power to insert Don Rickles into random comic panels. Imagine how much more entertaining Mary Worth and For Better or For Worse, among countless others, would be.



If I could give one birthday present to Mr. Rickles, gosh, I dunno. Hmmm. How about having the avuncular, innocuous guy , who endeared himself weekly to millions as we listened to him on American Top 40 over the years, dress up as Hitler and viciously roast him?

Naa. I'm pretty twisted, so like that would ever happen...

A-Wimp

Now that I've coached my softball team to an unprecdented 3-0 start, I thought I could strut my stuff much like a certain cheered/reviled celebrity third baseman for a major team where I lived for five years. I figured power shots on magazine covers were right around the corner for my beautiful wife and me, as well.

Then I read where Cynthia Rodriguez detailed how A-Rod passed out in the delivery room during the birth of his first child.



I'll find out in November if I can take the heat, but, really, passing out in the delivery room? What kind of a man does that while his wife is doing all of the work? What a big pantywaist. He can't run back to the minors fast enough...

"You just had a lizard"

Most of you reading this blog should know by now there's a big development coming my way this fall. We're over the moon, but I still can't believe it...

Oh, boy! Or...or...or oh, girl! Yeah, I'd be perfectly happy with either.

Gotta revisit the Oracle that is The Cos. Quick, throw me that paintbrush, sir! I need all the advice I can get!