After a warmer day the streets are not as nasty as they were Friday night for the Brothers K tour, making logistics much easier. My friend D and I find a parking spot on Mass Ave and walk a couple of blocks....well maybe three or four...to the Temple Bar for a quick supper. Sit next to Paul and his guitar case. He's warming up with a beer or maybe a few for an annual Fat Tuesday gig at TT The Bears (not tried yet...Paul says not if you are over 25).
Parking is the curse of Cambridge. I'd even spring for a lot, but there are none....just empty locked up Harvard parking garages. Driving down Mass Ave, pass up a questionable one, try to squeeze into a short one, can't do it. About to start a second pass when, hey that big-ass Mercedes is pulling out! Brakes, reverse, got it! This is probably the spot on Mass ave with the shortest possible walk to Memorial Hall.
Sanders Theatre in Memorial Hall is spectacular. 1,100 seats, all in the round, tightly stacked balcony, great views and every seat close to the stage. We are center balcony, excellent seats. Memorial Hall also houses a main dining hall...so it's in the same role as Woolsey Hall at Yale, but Harvard wins this one. This building is a cathedral celebrating the wealth and confidence of late 19th century Boston. Everything shines...incredible massive woodwork, grand chandelier, richly painted walls.
The crowd is middle aged Cambridge casual....we're a little over-dressed, but we look good.
Rickie Lee Jones comes out pretty much on time. With little banter, she sits down at the grand piano. Then about 20 minutes of agonizing wails and complaints in her whiny little girl shriek voice...and can't understand a word. I know we are both thinking, this is torture!Then the band comes out and things brighten up. She does a mix of older stuff I don't recognize....the loyalists in the audience seem to...and her new Biblical theme DVD. Still can't understand more than two words per song, but the band is great, and the new music is engaging, smart. They seem to be doing a lot of innovating. Drummer plays almost the whole show with mallet sticks. You sense rather than hear clearly what he is doing. The bass player uses a violin bow on his guitar with amazing results. Junior, the lead guitar, is doing a bunch of electronic stuff that keeps his hands, eyes, feet flying through every song. Meanwhile it's hard to tell if Rickie Lee is bullying, flirting with her handsome young band guys, or just playing/being a crazy lady.
Rickie Lee is good as her word that they won't do an encore. So it's a mixed review....great band, interesting eclectic sound, but very frustrating to not hear any words clearly. D sums up..."I liked that girl we saw at Fireflies better." That would be Sarah B.
No comments:
Post a Comment