Tonight can only be described as a unique experience at the Southgate House. For those of you who weren't there, let me explain.
Like I said previously, all the bullshit rock n'roll clichés don't apply to us, not because we want to be difficult (although some may argue), but because we are a seasoned rock band of veteran musicians and we don't feel the need to pander to anyone. That's the way it is. There's nothing I hate more than going to see a band I love and watching them go through the motions and that's something you will never see from us. Trust me, if we ever got to that point we'd pack it in and call it a day.
So tonight, the exceptionally vocal and excited crowd suddenly became nonchalant and apathetic during the encore break. Honestly, we were surprised as we waited backstage taking the well-deserved five minute break that we rely upon before coming back out and tearing it up. So, we figured that the crowd was done and nobody (including you dear reader) likes to witness anyone else's sense of self-entitlement. So we went back to the bus. Show over, done deal.
So Jeff heads back into the venue fifteen minutes later and comes back on the bus to tell us that nobody has left and it looks like a riot is going down. I gotta tell you, we were a little shocked because it certainly didn't feel that way as we left the stage.
So, after debating whether or not to head back onstage we decided that if the crowd felt that strongly about an encore, that we'd oblige. Due to the fact that our crew had torn the stage down and the only thing left was a piano and two microphones, we improvised.
Greg took to the stage, seated behind the piano and explained in only the way that he can why we'd not returned previously and then launched into what has become known as the 'Killogy'. At the end the rest of the band got on stage and provided vocal harmonies for 'Wolk Like Me'. All in all it turned into a remarkable musical moment and something I felt really proud of.
A unique night for sure and one I hope those of you that stuck around until the end will never forget, I sure won't.
What is really bad is Newport, Kentucky is a second home for Dulli and his old band the Afghan Whigs. (The Whigs are from Ohio.) Fans were throwing beer cans onstage. An eyewitness said people were yelling at Dulli's mom to get her son back onstage. These are probably people who have known Dulli when the Whigs were still in college.
The strangest thing is the encore was an absolutely beautiful rendition of TV On the Radio's Wolf Like Me. Dulli won the crowd over after they were ready to drive him out of town. How the hell does this guy pull it off?
I wednt to a couple shows in the Cincinnati area, though I never got a chance to goto Southgate House just across the bridge. Cincinnati is full of nice people but I must say.. They certainly don't dance to their music. Not like us East Coast punks. They just didn't seem too excited at the shows I went to.. Maybe that explains something about their lack of shouting for an encore.
ReplyDeleteThe actual show was in Newport, Kentucky. I'm betting lots of Whigs fans, friends and family came down to see the show.
ReplyDeleteI hear Dulli used to go off stage to take 29 minute cigarette breaks during the Whigs indie bar band days. That's ballsy and uppity. I'm more surprised that Dulli could pull off the encore. The crowd was ready to lynch him.
I know the show was in Newport, KY, but both cities are so close together that they're pretty much the same. Not drawing connection would be like saying that Queens and Brooklyn have no relation to each other.
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