September 25, 2002 - The Iron Horse - Northampton MA
BRIAN: Iron Horse; a really, really great show, great sound, Mates of State won me over. I felt more comfortable and confident on the Iron Horse stage last night than any of the previous times I've played there (this will make 7 times, I think. Still, I doubt I could pick out Eric Suher in a police line up, nor he me). My prescription for the total euphoria I felt on stage (the 24 hours leading up to the show): 1) go out and sing Harryoke, and stay up later than intended. 2) sleep 5 1/2 hours 3) work 9 hours 4) feel metally, physically wiped out 5) eat dinner (pasta and Gardenburger) 6) 15- 20 minute nap while listening to Dukes of Stratosphere 7) wake up, shower, pick out clothes, dress. Realize I'm achy from work, take Excedrin. 8) watch 10 minutes of a October1990 performance of The Mean Wyoming at Andover High School. Feel old, yet rejuvinated. (completely random. I was looking for another videotape, I swear) 9) a small cup of very strong coffee 10) a shot of Kettel One vodka 11) a brisk walk to the Iron Horse. After the show,the caffiene and booze wore off and I crashed like a baby. TONY:Brian, The Iron Horse was my 7th performance there as well. And also my most comfortable. No, wait, actually, my most comfortable was the very first time I played there and now that I think of it, it's been 8. You see, I went to an open mic there back in college and was so cocky and proud of my songs that when I got onstage and walked under the lights and could hear my guitar and voice sounding so freakin' good in their soundsystem, I was able to turn out a most spirited performance. The audience was into it. You can imagine from most open mics you've all been to that a lot of the time the solipsistic performers don't seem to really even be trying to engage the crowd in any way or their style is so derivative and/or garden variety bluesy or folksy (and amateur on top of it) that I have to say I stuck out. "Hell Of A Guy" was snazzy, jazzy, and funny and the people laughed at the punchlines and paid attention to me. I then did "Winona Westcott," the gushing psychotic ode as it were, and capped it off with a show-tune-like arrangement of The Velvet Underground's "Afterhours." Anyway, this SFTD perf was letter-perfect. Jeez, One Lady Dancing couldn't possibly have sounded any better. Though Henning would probably scream at the very notion, I almost wish we could go back and re-record it, at a faster clip perhaps. Try to capture some of the new live juice. Hen, can you still get all the words out OK at that tempo? And I am so glad to be rid of the excessive volume issues that plagued Humbert and drove me the hell outta the Horse when Mates Of State started playing. Couldn't hear a single word, just obscured shouting, murky throbbing organ (though it did sound cool) and ridiculously splashy frenetic drums. One song or two like that is fine but we really should be grateful our drummer is an artist who utilizes dynamics impeccably. Some cool ideas in their songs but I couldn't take it. If everyone in the club is wearing earplugs, then what is the point? GODDAMNIT! I love that Adam Greenberg. Although he was just a silhouette, I could still make out his set-long grin and undivided attention, support and spirited enjoyment of the whole show. We need to find all the Adam Greenbergs out there and we'll have ourselves a super fanbase. I like that Neal guy, too. He does make you feel welcome and excited to be playing there. No wonder he's been there so long. I'm sure the artists, weary from travel, certainly appreciate his hospitality. HENNING: Eye on Northampton says: There are two musicians busking in front of Ten Thousand Villages. Pan Flute, Guitar, Percussion, you know, that Andes music. It's raining a little and the woman who works in Ten Thousand Villages just brought two cups of tea out to the guys. I thought that was pretty nice. It was pretty nice last night at the Iron Horse, too in a similar way. Lots of times when you show up at a club in a rock band, what you walk into is a harsh almost angry atmosphere. Normally, there is music blaring, the club stinks of stale cigarette smoke and beer, and the employees seem at the least mildly annoyed that you are there inconveniencing them. Say what you want about the way the Iron Horse treats local musicians, I felt very comfortable and welcome there. Ice Cold spring water is always supplied and the whole staff is very friendly to the performers. It really fills you with a sense of purpose, like you are supposed to be there, not like you are an unwelcome outsider. Lesa and I pulled up at 9:00 and the earlier show was just letting out. Acoustic Alchemy had just finished and droves of 40 somethings were stumbling out of the door. We waited for a little while with Ken until there was room for us to squeeze in. The air inside was, well, to quote my friend Miranda, walking into the club was like "walking into a mouth." It was extremely hot and humid, but as the jazz fans departed and the breeze started blowing in, it eased up somewhat. We set up our stuff on stage and did a nice quick efficient sound check. Everything sounded great. Then we stood around for a bit visiting with friends, I had a nice talk with Lauri about her house - remember our first Livingroom Concert? And I talked with Frank about the Gilbert O'Sullivan tune "Alone Again Naturally" which he forced Ken to play for him at Harryoke the night before. It's a great song. Before you knew it Neal was herding us up on the stage. And we were playing Pick a Gripe. It was a really well-played show and I felt like we were a really good band. The trick about the Iron Horse stage is that you can't see a single person's face in the crowd. This means that there is no way to guage their enjoyment / boredom levels. The only audience feedback you get is after-song applause and the occasional swaying sillouette. It makes it kind of difficult to morph the set-list to fit the mood of the crowd because you just can't tell what the mood is. It was definately an opening slot. Even though probably a third of the crowd was there to see us, I could sense the rest of the people sort of waiting for the Mates of State to take the stage. Not to say that they didn't enjoy us, I think they did, but we all know what it's like to sit through an opening band even when they are good. One Lady Dancing was perfect. Somehow we came together so well on that song, I don't know what it was. Brian's drums sounded so good, I even heard some shrieks of joy from the crowd during the middle "instrumental" bits. Wonderful. I enjoyed Max jumping up and down during Witchita, as well, and Ken's crazy trickling piano parts on Pick a Gripe are always spectacular. After the show, the outside air felt great and I stayed out there for a little bit before going back inside. Brian and I talked to a girl with a Holics shirt on (There was another girl there wearing one, too) about how she just turned 21 but she still managed to go see bands during the Loud Festival when she was 15. Back inside, Mates of State was putting on a great show. But it was LOUD. Luckily, a hugely smiling Adam gave me some ear-plugs. I enjoyed MOS and so did the crowd, all standing up front as close as they could get to the cuties on the stage. It was an excellent night for me. Thanks everyone, for coming. MAX: It's funny to hear everyone saying the Horse gig this week was their most comfortable. I felt like I got up on stage without any pants, or worse, that I was wearing pants but had split a seam in the back and nobody told me. I think I can claim the most performances at the Horse, at 19 full shows and 6 guest spots (the Nields used to have me up to play bass on one song, or to sing on another). I think it was playing for all those cool indie kids on Wednesday that made me nervous. My fave Horsey show was the first Maggies' cd release party, where we sold out the club and had a line that stretched all the way down the block. That show will always remind me how there is no such thing as too much promotion. In addition to completely plastering the town with posters, we got some ink and bought radio spots. It also didn't hurt that the poster we were using at the time, a scan of a Prozak pill blown up 800%, was photographed on a pole and published on the front page of the Gazette, in an article about how bands shouldn't poster downtown. Ironically, the story ran the day before our show and probably brought in a bunch more people. There is no such thing as bad publicity. KEN:	Pick A Gripe Uncomfortable Soup Of The Moment The New You V-66 Sitcom Theme Rock & Roll Camper Everybody Loves Martha One Lady Dancing Wichita Train Whistle Sings Omnivore