I lived in Hanover for 23 years, almost two thirds of my life. Gonna eventually retire to Burlington, VT when I’m ready to give up the greatest heady lifestyle work schedule ever. (mon thru wed 5 AM til 5 PM, thurs, 5 AM til 1 PM.) Then I’m off. Can hit a Thursday show and have a 3 day weekend. Hitting 9 shows from now until mid June. Using 1 vacation day. Pretty sweet. But while in Hanover, I want to make the best of it. And so does everyone else. Last night on March 26, a whole lot of like minded very cool people got together and put on one amazing night of music, good vibes, and fund raising for a good cause, the Halt Hunger Jam. It is without a doubt the headiest thing that has EVER occurred within the borough of Hanover
First, this was all EyeDeal Production, a company run by one Mr. Josh Perkins. Amanda (I never got your last name) also is doing a lot of the work that goes into these shows. They had it at the American Legion Hall, Post number 14. This is where we had the Chad Wolfe Memorial show with Devolver and Winter House Band Halloween 2009. Perkins set it all up. We load in at 5, Slade doing his thing on the sound. As always, the sound was outstanding.
Jim Grennin (sp), friend of Brian Davis, did a quick acoustic opening set. Couple covers, venue starting to fill up. Perkins doing what he wants with the drop ceiling. Another thing about Perkins, he knows his hospitality. 2 kegs of treog’s , well played sir. I introduce the band as “Soccer legend Diego Maradona’s favorite band: Frank Miller’s Beard”. Adrian totally misses it. Then Frank Miller’s Beard redefined music.
Not sure even how to describe this electric folk/rock assault. Frank laying down some cultured bass lines, Andy Miller owning the mic, and Andy Beard was MVP of FMB. But wait there’s more. Corey O laying down the rhythm on tablas and other drums that looks really cool. Ian playing a driving violin/fiddle. I could form a band just around him. The lights, the atmosphere, incredibly beautiful. A light show to rival Bucket’s at Devolver. Great covers, I don’t recall the setlist. Just mind blowningly Acid Testish.
Wide variety of demographics within the audience. Lots of straight folk who read the article in the Evening Sun and Flipside and thought benefit for food bank was worth it. Parents with kids. Two kids who had a high school garage band. A 6 month old baby. An 81-year-old man. You don’t have that diversity at a Prodestent church. People getting a good drunk buzz on but none of the insane treat fueled madness that was typical of a golden era of a certain local band that I may or may not have seen over 200 times.
They end, I do my best vaudeville act as I give away doorprizes. Not sure too many were actually given away. Would like to give a mad shout out to the York Silver Bullets, a semi pro team based out of York. The guy who runs it, I think his name was Chris worked the door. He was huge. Intimidating yet thoughtful. Worse job when it comes to shows. He did an outstanding job.
Then Boxcar Social brings IT. They laid down their amazing blend or rock, bluegrass, and just a dash of funk. Beard comes on as a special guest and they redefine Women Smarter. I am serious. It’s usually a celebration of women but they had a dark, typical of late ’67 Stones flirting with the Dark Side type of vibe going on. Bravo! No one does it like that. They were on fire. Watchtower with Andy Miller. The original wailing whale. Andy shredding it. Set I:
Funk #12
Caught Up In The Sound
Frannie May
Franklin's Tower*
Wagon Wheel*
One More Time
Man Smart, Woman Smarter ^
Bananas & Blow ^
43
D
Set II:
All Along The Watchtower%
Comin' Into Los Angeles%
Sittin' On Top Of The World #
SPAP > Paradise City > SPAP > 3 LIttle Birds > Spaceman#
Push > Which Way It Is > Push#
Something To Say#
Get On Down#
*-w/ Jim Grinnen ^-w/ Andy Beard %-w/ Andy Miller #w/ Ian Carroll -Entire show with Craig Walker
Funniest part of the night. Perkins had a 60 dollar gift certificate for the Hanover Laser Hair Removal Center. Didn’t actually have it. Will get an email about it. It was a real gift certificate. No joke. Just struck myself as rather humorous.
I was exhausted and walked home. Love the local shows, strolling back to my apartment of 11 years. How crazy is that? The scene is what you make it. And we have made a pretty cool little scene here.
Dave Kemp
BA in American Studies
PhD In Rock and Roll
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Furthur March 18 & 19, 2011 at the Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA
March 18th and myself go way back. Saw the Dead at the Cap Centre on 3/18/91 and again at the Spectrum on 3/18/95. They took the 19th off in 1991 and I traded my tix for the 19th in ’95 for the 18th. I had a test on Monday or Tuesday of that week back up at PSU in a really weird 20th century minority American Lit class or something. First time I ever met anyone (my prof) that had multiple eyeglasses and would change what she wore during the week. I ended up missing the debut of Unbroken Chain on the 19th but the entire first set was less than 45 min (incredibly weak guys) and the setlist was much better on the 18th, so it all worked out.
My friend Rachael (of the Phish NYE run and partner in crime with Caroline Peters, her faux fur coat) cruised up from VA on what might have been the most beautiful day of 2011. It was the last day of winter and the high was 75 degrees with lots of sunshine. We missed most of the awful traffic of the Schuykill Expressway by getting off at 476 south. But just like looking into the open maw of the Sarlacc pit in Return of the Jedi, we could see the clusterfuck that is Philly traffic as 3 interstates merged into a nonmoving mass of metal and cries of motherfucker, get outta my way.
The Mothership (my new car, a 2005 Honda Accord that resembles a spaceship according to Rachael) got us to the Days Inn. It was a rather new hotel with Swiss Miss like arches that resembled a ski chalet more than anything. The desk lady was really cool. She said she was blown away by Heads’ dedication to our Thing and wished she could be that dedicated to something besides her daughter. She did mention she saw the Biscuits once, hope that’s not the only impression of our scene she’s had. This was also the first time I began to notice some weird influences, that being of the 3 Stooges. As most of you are aware, my nickname is Shemp, from the Stooge that replaced Curly when he passed away. I’m gonna guess from blunt force trauma to the skull after 20 years of performances. The man behind us in line checking in had a t shirt with Curly on it playing a thrash metal bass (why this description? Because Curly’s arms were covered in tats, and his stance and style of bass reminded me of the bass player from Anthrax) The guy looked like Ron Pearlman from Sons of Anarchy. (Side note: My friend Chris Hnat says that he wants to redo 3 Men and a Baby with Pearlman as the result of a gangbang involving Gary Busey, Bruce Willis, and Corky from Life Goes On. Nothing to do with my adventures but really funny. Hence the opening image.) You know it’s gonna get stranger, so let’s get on with the show.
We eat at a really phat diner next to the hotel. I was telling Rachael about who else I knew going to the show. One of them was my friend who I shall refer to as Bud. He used to be a BIG player on the scene back in the early 90’s, but like all of us has mellowed with age. I talked about how he always went on his own schedule and once made his friends turn around almost half way to a Pittsburgh show because he forgot his tickets. I said how he wanted to catch a ride with us but I said no way cause I roll to my own schedule and didn’t want to be late or miss anything. So while we were eating, I get a phone call from Bud, saying he was already at the theatre. Rachael rightly pointed out that this guy I talked so much trash about actually beat me to the show. D’oh.
So upon recommendation from the front desk lady, we took a cab to the theatre. Rachael asked the cabbie how his night was going. He replied he just got off a break and felt really relaxed and tired. Based on the way he sounded, I’m gonna guess he was either, stoned, drunk, or had just got laid. He somehow safely got us to the show. Our seats where dead center under the balcony three rows in front of the tapers section. Found out at setbreak my friend Butch was actually in the tapers’ section. While outside for a smoke break, ran into Bud. The venue had set up a tractor-trailer for the fenced in smoking section. Bud started scoping out the setup and was convinced that people could sneak under the trailer and get into the show for free. He then realized that might start a big rush, but I’m convinced he was trying to figure out a way to get into the show for free while selling the tixs he had for the next two nights. Always hustling that Bud is.
Here’s the setlist
I: Feel Like a Stranger, El Paso, High Time, Beat It on Down the Line, Wang Dang Doodle > Big Bad Blues, Don't Ease, Cold Rain and Snow
II: Cryptical Envelopment, New Speedway Boogie, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Rosemary > Morning Dew > Cryptical Envelopment > Eyes of the World > The Other One, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Playin in the Band
E: Brokedown Palace
Previous ''Wang Dang Doodle'' 2/13/2010 [79 shows]; Previous ''Beat It on Down the Line'' 2/14/2010 [78 shows]; Previous ''High Time'' 6/26/2010 [52 shows]; Previous ''Rosemary'' 5/30/2010 [57 shows]
First set was great. Never heard anyone in any configuration play High Time. Loved the Wang Dang Doodle ‘cause that’s the 90’s Dead I saw. Cold Rain was a nice upbeat way to end the show. During set break, a guy at the end of the row puked right between his legs. He proceeded to sit there until his buddy came and then he moved over so said buddy could dance in it. Stay classy Philadelphia.
The second set raging. Cyrptical and then New Speedway? Could have been 1970. The Hard Rain was a lot slower than Dylan’s very danceable version from the Rolling Thunder Tour in 1975. Rosemary was like a giant Quaalude slipped to an unsuspecting crowd. I’ll admit, when they went into Morning Dew, I wasn’t too geeked. Boy was I wrong. (yes sometimes it happens). This Dew built and built with Phil all over it, just laying waste to what was left on Upper Darby (or Upper Dump as the locals call it). Then back into Cryptical, which flowed into an amazing Eyes. Might have been the best one I’ve ever seen, and I once saw one with something like 6 guitarists on stage.
Then the boys got serious. The Other One charged and built up a good head of steam. This lead into my all time fav twofer China Cat>Rider. Any 2 songs better sum up the magic that is the Grateful Dead? China Cat displays Hunter’s genus with words with a tip of the hat to Dylan’s speed infused word play poetry without ever aping it. And then I Know You Rider. I will have a separate entry at some point on the total awesomeness of this song. Need proof of the Dead’s amazing power to transform space and time? Then look no further than this song. A dark tale of revenge spun into an uplifting centerpiece of any show. I’m thinking that’s it for the show but instead they pull out Playin’. Wow, a full version complete with heavy wahwah guitar and Other One teases from John K. From the Morning Dew on, it could have been 1973. Brokendown Palace was a nice hug for us as we headed out into the night.
So after an awesome show like that, you just want to get back to the hotel and reflect on the show you just saw right? No heavy thinking or awkward situations right? Just find a cab and head back. We got one rather quickly compared to Sat night. The driver looked like Sayid from Lost. Rachael asks him how his night is going and responds well. Tells us he just became a citizen and we’re both like congrats. I give him my thoughts on how immigration is what makes America great yada yada yada. (Yes I am qualified to speak on this. I have a BA in American Studies). He’s from Pakistan and has worked all over the world and decided to settle in America. He then asks me something I never thought I would hear in a cab.
Do you know Hitler?
What the fuck? I’m in a cab with an Islamic Nazi? I’m wondering where this line of thought is going. He proceeds to tell us of a cricket match that was played between America and Germany sometime during the 1930’s because I can’t imagine it would have been during WWII. The match went on for 5 days (not that atypical, I think on average they can go 2 to 3 days). Hitler decided to declare the match a draw and proceeded to kill everyone in the stadium. This is why he declares; there is no cricket in Germany or the USA. No, the reason there isn’t any cricket in the US is because we have baseball and it was not exported here when we were England’s colony.
He then asked me “What is the deal with the blacks?” I told him the theories of one David Simon, creator of the Wire. His thesis is that the school systems have failed the inner cities. The only industry available for jobs is the drug trade. Unentractable poverty. The cabbie didn’t want to hear any of it. Finally get back to the hotel, chill out and crash to have the energy for round two.
Ate another phatty meal at the Springfield Diner and headed down to South St. to check out the sights and neighborhood. First store we see, the Condom Kingdom. Rather large store for such a tiny product. Lots of bars and a place called Sexploration right next to the Philadelphia Record Exchange. Could spend all day there. While walking around, Ran into Bud again. Passed some douchebag on the street dressed as an extra from the Jersey Shore. Wanted to stop him and take his picture like he was a beast in a cage in an old Dutch zoo. Stopped randomly at a place with an outdoor patio that billed itself as the birthplace of Larry Fine, Larry from the 3 Stooges. How crazy is that? Again perfect weather.
After a little stress of traffic and my GPS repeating over and over “Traffic Congestion ahead”, we make it to the Homewood Suites. Team Switzer/Talbert were coming down for Jamie-Lee’s birthday so I got hooked up with a phat suite. Passed the Beaumont St. Water Treatment plant on the way there. First thought, boy it would be easy to dose that.
We get to the hotel and the front desk guy is having a bizarre argument/discussion with some a-hole on the phone for a good 5 minutes. The suite is amazing. Lots of room. Corner room with a clear view all the way to Delaware, all overlooking the poop tanks of the water treatment plant. Great decedent 70’s vibe with Derek and the Domino’s raging on the Ipod dock. Two separate parties in each room, felt like I was on a good Stone’s Tour. The room color scheme was out of Miami Vice, all pastels and shit. Greg, Josh’s brother, does an outstanding job of playing a clueless tourist in order to make sure we’re not getting ripped off and we get our cabs and go to the show.
I: The Music Never Stopped > Brown-Eyed Women > He's Gone > Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, Althea, Looks Like Rain, Big Railroad Blues, Not Fade Away
II: Jack Straw > Dark Star > We Love You > Dark Star > Help on the Way > Slipknot! > The Eleven > The Wheel > Black Peter > GDTRFB > And We Bid You Goodnight
E: One More Saturday Night
Music to open? Hell yes! Love Tom Thumb Blues. Althea for Rachael’s dog. A NFA to end the set that confused the shit out of Switzer. Did I miss the set break? Lots of people trying to gatecrash in really unimaginative ways. Moved up to the balcony for the second set. The secret of Furthur? The drummer, Joe Russo. That guy is so kicking Bobby and Phil’s asses. I’ve seen the Grateful Dead do 4 Dark Stars and they were all boring, slothlike songs. Russo infuses these Dark Stars with energy and Phil responds. He was thrashing around with his bass like a madman. The We Love You was nice and dark. Help, Slipknot, The Eleven, yes please! Bid You Goodnight closer was fantastic while the encore was predictable. Wait forever to get cabs (I almost flag down a cop car thinking it was a cab, D’oh) The cabbie we got didn’t speak any English. The passenger side door would not open so the driver had to get out and open it for Josh every time. He also coughed the whole ride so I think he had TB. Back to the hotel to crash after an amazing night.
Get up somewhat early because Rachael had a 5-hour drive after we get back to Hanover. Go to the best free breakfast at a hotel I have ever had. Waffle making station, bacon, potatoes, and all the orange juice you could drink. That shits more valuable than gasoline. It was also a great American melting pot. Jews eating with Muslims. Wrestlers with hippies (I bet we stank). Black, white and indians, all celebrating in Philly over our mutual love of danish.
Happy birthday to Jamie-Lee, you had a hell of a show on Sat. And thank you to everyone that hits the road in search of joy and never ending splendor. Just attended the Halt Hunger Jam last night, WOW. The headiest thing to ever occur in Hanover. Blew the 2005 tsunami benefit away. NOTE: All the insane Devolver shows we put on ourselves were outside the borough limits. That review will be up next week. I have Furthur this Friday, April 1st, or the Feast of Fools Day. The road goes on forever!!
Dave Kemp
BA in American Studies
Ph.D. in Rock and roll
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Tales From the Devolver Side 3/17/01 ATO House, University Park, PA
Hello. Hope everyone had a great St. Patty’s Day. I could do a whole entry just on great shows I’ve seen on 3/17: (’93 1st Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds, ’95 Dead at the Spectrum, ’01 Devolver at ATO up at Penn State, the same frat where I partied as a student), but that would deny me entries for my It Was 20 Years Ago Today series. (Yes you’re gonna have to wait ‘til 2013 and 2015 to hear about those tales). But fables from the golden era of Devolver are always on the table. I know some of you probably won’t know everybody I talk about in here and for that I am sorry. But for those that were there and know these people, get ready for a blast to the past.
As some of you may be aware, I have been writing a book about my experiences with Devolver. I’ve been working on this off and on (more off than on) for quite some time now. But I’ve decided to start writing about some of the adventures and posting them here, and assembling them at a later date in the form of the book. So I am proud to present the first of a continuing, never-ending series, Tales from the Devolver Side. First up 3/17/01 Penn State.
Devolver got this gig through their contacts with the Corbins. I don’t remember any of their first names, but it was a group of 3 or 4 brothers who went to Hanover High school and then Penn State. I actually knew the oldest when I went to Penn State. I graduated with Chad Reindollar from high school and he was a brother at the ATO fraternity (I try not to use the abbreviation frat, cause frat members would always say, You wouldn’t call your mother a moth, your father a fath, your country a cunt). My first encounter with the Corbins was at a party there my freshman year. The youngest of the brothers passed out and ended having a penis drawn in magic maker on his face.
I saw a lot of good music there when I went to school there. The best band I saw there was the Dirges. They were heavily influenced by REM and kicked ass. They were the first band I ever heard cover Rocking in the Free World. And if you read my entry about seeing Neil Young in Feb of 1991, you know how important that show was to me.
ATO does St. Patty’s day right. They get up at 7 for a champagne breakfast and drink all day. They did it like that in the early ‘90’s and they did it like that in the early Aughts. Devolver was scheduled to play right after lunch so we rolled our caravan up and proceeded to load in. This might be the second most inglorious job in rock and roll. The first? Loading out. The band just ripped it up (or bombed) and now you have to tear everything down. (I don’t miss everything about those times.) A DJ, whom I remember from when I was a student, was spinning tunes. It was mostly crap like Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, etc. The crowd thinned out as we set up and did soundcheck.
So when the Beast was ready to unleash, pretty much anyone who was going to graduate from Penn State during the years of 2001-2005 had left. It was just the Devolver crowd but what a crowd. We had at least 30 people drive up separately from the band and crew. And we took over that place. I honestly don’t remember anyone that wasn’t extended Devolver family there. The boys threw down their typical, mind-blowing show.
3/17/01 ATO fraternity house, State College, PA
Set I
Edge, Bogey, Coming Home, Surprise, Everything Comes Around, Funk II, Tangled Up in Blue, Pedallic Sax
Set II
Turnaround, Looking Blind, C Numb, Side of a Mountain, Cross-eyed>Bogey, Bubblespeak>Dehydration Jam>I’m A Man
Now being back at Penn State and living out my dreams of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (well, two out of three ain’t bad), you know I was prepared for this show. Made some tea and was really enjoying the show. However, I was also drinking a lot of beer ‘cause I was back at school, ala Frank the Tank. That plus tea leads to dehydration. I was three shades of pale and had to take a seat during the second set. Scott Shimkonis saw what rough shape I was in and got me some H2O. I some how recovered and enjoyed the rest of the show. Would not have been cool had I passed out during the show. Imagine how pissed I’d be had I missed any great jams. So right around the time the boys finished up and we were packing up, people started to return to the house. I guess they all went to take power naps and were now ready to resume their St. Patty’s day festivities. We left and ended up staying at some friends’ place on the other side of town. I can recall walking through town and leading our group via shortcuts, all of which got us to where we wanted to go.
The next morning Zach and myself had to drive the van back home with all of the equipment in it. We went to The Diner for breakfast and grilled stickies. I frequented this place A LOT when I was a student. We head home and did one of the things I miss most from that time. We listened to the show from the night before. When we got to the Jam after Bubblespeak, I exclaimed, “What the Fuck is this?!?!?!?” Zach said this was a jam they built around the chord structure for Bubblespeak. I totally missed it when they played it because I was barely holding onto consciences. I immediately called it the Dehydration Jam and the name stuck. They brought it back a few years ago into regular rotation. Thus, I had the extreme pleasure of naming a Devolver song.
So there you have it, the first in many of Tales from the Devolver Side, populated by the coolest people we know.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
Ph.D. in Rock and Roll
As some of you may be aware, I have been writing a book about my experiences with Devolver. I’ve been working on this off and on (more off than on) for quite some time now. But I’ve decided to start writing about some of the adventures and posting them here, and assembling them at a later date in the form of the book. So I am proud to present the first of a continuing, never-ending series, Tales from the Devolver Side. First up 3/17/01 Penn State.
You can stream the show right here
I saw a lot of good music there when I went to school there. The best band I saw there was the Dirges. They were heavily influenced by REM and kicked ass. They were the first band I ever heard cover Rocking in the Free World. And if you read my entry about seeing Neil Young in Feb of 1991, you know how important that show was to me.
ATO does St. Patty’s day right. They get up at 7 for a champagne breakfast and drink all day. They did it like that in the early ‘90’s and they did it like that in the early Aughts. Devolver was scheduled to play right after lunch so we rolled our caravan up and proceeded to load in. This might be the second most inglorious job in rock and roll. The first? Loading out. The band just ripped it up (or bombed) and now you have to tear everything down. (I don’t miss everything about those times.) A DJ, whom I remember from when I was a student, was spinning tunes. It was mostly crap like Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, etc. The crowd thinned out as we set up and did soundcheck.
So when the Beast was ready to unleash, pretty much anyone who was going to graduate from Penn State during the years of 2001-2005 had left. It was just the Devolver crowd but what a crowd. We had at least 30 people drive up separately from the band and crew. And we took over that place. I honestly don’t remember anyone that wasn’t extended Devolver family there. The boys threw down their typical, mind-blowing show.
3/17/01 ATO fraternity house, State College, PA
Set I
Edge, Bogey, Coming Home, Surprise, Everything Comes Around, Funk II, Tangled Up in Blue, Pedallic Sax
Set II
Turnaround, Looking Blind, C Numb, Side of a Mountain, Cross-eyed>Bogey, Bubblespeak>Dehydration Jam>I’m A Man
Now being back at Penn State and living out my dreams of sex, drugs, and rock and roll (well, two out of three ain’t bad), you know I was prepared for this show. Made some tea and was really enjoying the show. However, I was also drinking a lot of beer ‘cause I was back at school, ala Frank the Tank. That plus tea leads to dehydration. I was three shades of pale and had to take a seat during the second set. Scott Shimkonis saw what rough shape I was in and got me some H2O. I some how recovered and enjoyed the rest of the show. Would not have been cool had I passed out during the show. Imagine how pissed I’d be had I missed any great jams. So right around the time the boys finished up and we were packing up, people started to return to the house. I guess they all went to take power naps and were now ready to resume their St. Patty’s day festivities. We left and ended up staying at some friends’ place on the other side of town. I can recall walking through town and leading our group via shortcuts, all of which got us to where we wanted to go.
The next morning Zach and myself had to drive the van back home with all of the equipment in it. We went to The Diner for breakfast and grilled stickies. I frequented this place A LOT when I was a student. We head home and did one of the things I miss most from that time. We listened to the show from the night before. When we got to the Jam after Bubblespeak, I exclaimed, “What the Fuck is this?!?!?!?” Zach said this was a jam they built around the chord structure for Bubblespeak. I totally missed it when they played it because I was barely holding onto consciences. I immediately called it the Dehydration Jam and the name stuck. They brought it back a few years ago into regular rotation. Thus, I had the extreme pleasure of naming a Devolver song.
So there you have it, the first in many of Tales from the Devolver Side, populated by the coolest people we know.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
Ph.D. in Rock and Roll
Sunday, March 13, 2011
It Was 20 Years Ago Today : The Misses
Hope everyone’s enjoying this early taste of spring we’re experiencing. Got Furthur next Friday and Sat., so one last look to the past in my awe-inspiring series, It Was Twenty Years Ago Today. Today is going to be a little different though. This entry is about the shows that I could have gone to but didn’t. I know, I know, you all look to me as some perfect Oracle of music knowledge. But even once and awhile I get it wrong. (But most of the time I’m right). So for the final entry until 2012 rolls around, It Was 20 Years Ago Today: D’oh. What was I thinking?
The first and biggest regret of my entire concert going career came in the Fall of ’91. I was a freshman at Penn State and struggling mightily. My main concern my senior year of high school was getting in to the main campus for Penn State. I did not want to spend my first two years commuting to Mount Alto or York. I wanted the full-blown college experience. So I picked a major that guaranteed I’d get placed up there, Meteorology. I had no interest in it and figured once I got up there, I’d change it. Well, that first semester I struggled with the basic calculus and chemistry classes. So when a show was announced with some college rock bands (that’s what they called alternative music before it was alternative), I checked when it was against my syllabus and I had a chem test the morning after the show so I bailed on it. Who was playing you ask? Nobody really, except the Red Hot Chili Peppers headlining, with Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam opening.
I know, I know, what the fuck was I thinking? Well, I’ve always strived to do my best when I was in school so the test took priority. Plus, I hadn’t really embraced all things that are good rock and roll. Pearl Jam was a total unknown to me (But I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard Alive. Walking to Brian Wiekel’s dorm room when he lived in the East Halls. I was walking down the hall and it just emanated from someone else’s room.) The Pumpkins I might have heard of but not really familiar with their stuff. This was during the tour for Gish. The Peppers I was a little more familiar with. I had heard Mother’s Milk and they were on tour supporting the incredible, one for the ages album Blood Sex Sugar Magik. So I missed out on seeing 3 of the major bands of the decade right before they exploded. Sigh… but I have seen PJ like 6+ times, so my rep is still intact.
The other big regret my freshman year was the Public Enemy/Ice T tour. I know what you’re thinking, Uhh Dave, you’re not really known for your hiphop knowledge. While this is true, I have an incredible respect for what Public Enemy threw down on their first 3 albums. Fight the Power might be the best hiphop song EVER. Where has all the political hiphop gone? And this was Ice T with the band Body Count, who released the controversial song Cop Killer; somewhat foreshadowing the LA riots in the spring of ’92. It would have been nice to have this on my resume, if for no other reason that some cultural diversity. Oh well, I can’t hit them all but I try my damnest. Sorry this is so short but I have to write next week’s entry this week. Plus, everyone has to cut back in this recession.
Dave Kemp
BA in American Studies
Ph.D. in Rock and Roll
The first and biggest regret of my entire concert going career came in the Fall of ’91. I was a freshman at Penn State and struggling mightily. My main concern my senior year of high school was getting in to the main campus for Penn State. I did not want to spend my first two years commuting to Mount Alto or York. I wanted the full-blown college experience. So I picked a major that guaranteed I’d get placed up there, Meteorology. I had no interest in it and figured once I got up there, I’d change it. Well, that first semester I struggled with the basic calculus and chemistry classes. So when a show was announced with some college rock bands (that’s what they called alternative music before it was alternative), I checked when it was against my syllabus and I had a chem test the morning after the show so I bailed on it. Who was playing you ask? Nobody really, except the Red Hot Chili Peppers headlining, with Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam opening.
I know, I know, what the fuck was I thinking? Well, I’ve always strived to do my best when I was in school so the test took priority. Plus, I hadn’t really embraced all things that are good rock and roll. Pearl Jam was a total unknown to me (But I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard Alive. Walking to Brian Wiekel’s dorm room when he lived in the East Halls. I was walking down the hall and it just emanated from someone else’s room.) The Pumpkins I might have heard of but not really familiar with their stuff. This was during the tour for Gish. The Peppers I was a little more familiar with. I had heard Mother’s Milk and they were on tour supporting the incredible, one for the ages album Blood Sex Sugar Magik. So I missed out on seeing 3 of the major bands of the decade right before they exploded. Sigh… but I have seen PJ like 6+ times, so my rep is still intact.
The other big regret my freshman year was the Public Enemy/Ice T tour. I know what you’re thinking, Uhh Dave, you’re not really known for your hiphop knowledge. While this is true, I have an incredible respect for what Public Enemy threw down on their first 3 albums. Fight the Power might be the best hiphop song EVER. Where has all the political hiphop gone? And this was Ice T with the band Body Count, who released the controversial song Cop Killer; somewhat foreshadowing the LA riots in the spring of ’92. It would have been nice to have this on my resume, if for no other reason that some cultural diversity. Oh well, I can’t hit them all but I try my damnest. Sorry this is so short but I have to write next week’s entry this week. Plus, everyone has to cut back in this recession.
Dave Kemp
BA in American Studies
Ph.D. in Rock and Roll
Sunday, March 6, 2011
It Was 20 Years Ago Today Grateful Dead 7/12/90 RFK
Ahh your first time. I’m sure most of us remember it. The awkwardness, the newness, hoping you don’t screw up and make a fool of yourself. At least that’s how I felt the first time……. I saw the Grateful Dead. What, you thought I was going some where else with this? While I may have redefined blogs about my own awesomeness, Dan Savage has already done that for sex columns.
http://www.avclub.com/features/savage-love/
He’s also the guy that started the whole Santorum thing. Santorum compared consenting male adults having sex to bestiality. Mr. Savage took offense and the rest is history. Go ahead, Google Santorum and see how Savage redefined one man’s last name. So I bring you another installment of my semi famous series, It was 20 Years Ago Today, The Grateful Dead, RFK 7/12/90.
I tried to convince my folks to go let me see the Dead in the summer of ’89 but that was a no go from the start. So when the Spring Tour was announced, the boys were doing 3 shows in mid March. My folks agreed but I couldn’t get tixs so I was resigned to do with a t-shirt that a friend got me in the lot. Said friend also picked up a lot of treats and whatnot in the lot. He ended up getting busted, shunned by the faculty (he was a straight A student and stealth Head, so all of this came a surprise to a lot of people). He has gone on to be a successful businessman and has a beautiful family. So suck it squares!!!
I made sure to get my ticket request into the Dead’s lottery to ensure myself tickets for the grand event at RFK stadium in Washington DC. This was back before the Internet and you had to snail mail it in. For a bunch of hippies, the Dead had slot of rules to follow. First, you had to have a #10 business sized envelope. Then, a 3x5 index card upon which you enter your information. Each show had to have it’s own card. After that first show, to this day I always have those within a short grasp. Actually went old school to get Hampton tixs for Furthur this April. Got the tixs and saved almost 15 bucks on each tix. Furthur!!!!!!!
I went down to the shows with an old friend from Clark Summit, a suburb outside of Scranton. I lived there from the mid 70’s until 1988 when I moved down to Hanover. His brother got us into the Dead (a whole long and funny story which will appear here sometime in the near future when I don’t have anything to write about). I stayed in touch with him after I moved down here and we were all set. My vehicle of choice was a grey 1986 Plymouth Horizon. I loved that car. Had it through high school and then shared it with my brother through college. Had some AMAZING dead stickers on it. Sweet little ride, heady stickers, I am ready for a show.
Got directions to the stadium that took us through a rather normal section of DC. And by that I mean ghetto lite. But for every show after that, I took the same route to the stadium. State route 50 into the city, left on New York Ave., left at the Lucky 7 liquor store. They always hung a banner that said, “Welcome Deadheads.” Follow that for a mile and the stadium and lots are on the left. We get there and find a parking spot in the Lot.
Holy shit, THE LOT. You can just imagine how my mind was blown upon my first experience in the Lot. Vendors everywhere, people stopping strangers, just to shake their hand. Such a sense of brotherhood and friendship I have never experienced before with some many strangers. And then I went through puberty a second time. Why you ask? Two words HIPPIE CHICKS. Wow, cool chicks who by the way they dress and the music they’re into make me feel like I’m at a show whenever I’m around them. Where the fuck do I sign up. To be honest, a lot of my love for hippie chicks can be traced to actress Olivia D’Abo, who played Kevin Arnold’s hippie sister on The Wonder Years. No Winnie Cooper for me, give me the hippie chick!! Now you see why I embrace the concept of HMLL’s so much?
After behaving and soaking up the Lot, we head into the show. We had floor seats (general admission) and head in. We went down front not knowing any better. Holy shit was it crowded. I mean like on a Japanese subway car crowded. One of the reasons why I’d rather have room to dance than be way down front.
No room to dance, and I’d like to apologize to the older Heads who I keep bumping my backpack into. Hey, I wasn’t always this cool, believe it or not. Edie Brickell and the New Bomienians opened. They were ok and after a long wait, the Dead finally came on stage and the Bus pulled out.
07-12-90 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, D.C. (Thu)
1: LTGTR, Stranger, Bertha, Little Light, Queen Jane, Stagger Lee, Cassidy, Tennessee Jed> Music
2: Box Of Rain> Victim> Foolish Heart> Dark Star> Drumz> Watchtower> Mr. Fantasy> Hey Jude Finale> Touch E: The Weight
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians opened - "Funiculi Funicula" tuning before "Bertha" - "Take A Step Back" before "Box Of Rain" - final "Hey Jude Finale"
Let the Good Times Roll opener? Hell yes. Bertha! Complete with a rainstorm. It ended up raining for a good part of the first set. Cassidy, Ten Jed, Music Never Stopped, all classic GD, I was in heaven. During Music, some really fucked up guy grabbed my arm and tried to take me up front. Somehow got myself out of that and waited through setbreak. I also learned a very important lesson about chafing. Boy, does it hurt when you get rained on at a show and dance. At Phish Camden 2000, it rained cats and dogs and I was ensconced in my poncho. Adrian was all like, this feels so good, you should be dancing in the rain, etc. He then had to deal with chafing the rest of the evening. We all have to learn one way or another.
Phil comes out and does the Take A Step Back thing. Have I mentioned how crowded it was? Wasn’t a huge fan of Victim or Foolish Heart and Victim seemed to be very long. Then Dark Star. Holy shit. Only the fifth Dark Star since they brought it back. Some Heads have never seen it and I get it at my first show. While cool, I was totally sober and not as enlightened to the power of music, so I thought it was a little boring. Drums and Space was rather LONG, but Watchtower blazed out of it. Then Brent steps to the forefront and does Dear Mr. Fantasy>Hey Jude Finale. Wow, so wanted to hear that. During Touch, they had a skeleton as tall as the stage dancing along side it. Rather cool and never saw that again. The encore was a perfect way to send us off into the night.
So we get out to my car and it won’t start. Holy shit! In downtown DC, no cell phone, first Dead show and this!?!?!!? Guys parked next to us jump-started us and we let it run awhile. Turn it off. Won’t restart. Uhoh. So once I start my car, don’t turn it off. Sit in traffic just to get out of the Lot, follow another crazy way out of the Lot. As we’re on Route 30 in MD (my absolute favorite way to roll home from a show), the headlights start getting dimmer. Damn, better turn off the radio to conserve power. And the windshield wipers. Somehow made it home. But what am I saying? I was home down at RFK
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
http://www.avclub.com/features/savage-love/
He’s also the guy that started the whole Santorum thing. Santorum compared consenting male adults having sex to bestiality. Mr. Savage took offense and the rest is history. Go ahead, Google Santorum and see how Savage redefined one man’s last name. So I bring you another installment of my semi famous series, It was 20 Years Ago Today, The Grateful Dead, RFK 7/12/90.
I tried to convince my folks to go let me see the Dead in the summer of ’89 but that was a no go from the start. So when the Spring Tour was announced, the boys were doing 3 shows in mid March. My folks agreed but I couldn’t get tixs so I was resigned to do with a t-shirt that a friend got me in the lot. Said friend also picked up a lot of treats and whatnot in the lot. He ended up getting busted, shunned by the faculty (he was a straight A student and stealth Head, so all of this came a surprise to a lot of people). He has gone on to be a successful businessman and has a beautiful family. So suck it squares!!!
I made sure to get my ticket request into the Dead’s lottery to ensure myself tickets for the grand event at RFK stadium in Washington DC. This was back before the Internet and you had to snail mail it in. For a bunch of hippies, the Dead had slot of rules to follow. First, you had to have a #10 business sized envelope. Then, a 3x5 index card upon which you enter your information. Each show had to have it’s own card. After that first show, to this day I always have those within a short grasp. Actually went old school to get Hampton tixs for Furthur this April. Got the tixs and saved almost 15 bucks on each tix. Furthur!!!!!!!
I went down to the shows with an old friend from Clark Summit, a suburb outside of Scranton. I lived there from the mid 70’s until 1988 when I moved down to Hanover. His brother got us into the Dead (a whole long and funny story which will appear here sometime in the near future when I don’t have anything to write about). I stayed in touch with him after I moved down here and we were all set. My vehicle of choice was a grey 1986 Plymouth Horizon. I loved that car. Had it through high school and then shared it with my brother through college. Had some AMAZING dead stickers on it. Sweet little ride, heady stickers, I am ready for a show.
Got directions to the stadium that took us through a rather normal section of DC. And by that I mean ghetto lite. But for every show after that, I took the same route to the stadium. State route 50 into the city, left on New York Ave., left at the Lucky 7 liquor store. They always hung a banner that said, “Welcome Deadheads.” Follow that for a mile and the stadium and lots are on the left. We get there and find a parking spot in the Lot.
Holy shit, THE LOT. You can just imagine how my mind was blown upon my first experience in the Lot. Vendors everywhere, people stopping strangers, just to shake their hand. Such a sense of brotherhood and friendship I have never experienced before with some many strangers. And then I went through puberty a second time. Why you ask? Two words HIPPIE CHICKS. Wow, cool chicks who by the way they dress and the music they’re into make me feel like I’m at a show whenever I’m around them. Where the fuck do I sign up. To be honest, a lot of my love for hippie chicks can be traced to actress Olivia D’Abo, who played Kevin Arnold’s hippie sister on The Wonder Years. No Winnie Cooper for me, give me the hippie chick!! Now you see why I embrace the concept of HMLL’s so much?
After behaving and soaking up the Lot, we head into the show. We had floor seats (general admission) and head in. We went down front not knowing any better. Holy shit was it crowded. I mean like on a Japanese subway car crowded. One of the reasons why I’d rather have room to dance than be way down front.
No room to dance, and I’d like to apologize to the older Heads who I keep bumping my backpack into. Hey, I wasn’t always this cool, believe it or not. Edie Brickell and the New Bomienians opened. They were ok and after a long wait, the Dead finally came on stage and the Bus pulled out.
07-12-90 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, D.C. (Thu)
1: LTGTR, Stranger, Bertha, Little Light, Queen Jane, Stagger Lee, Cassidy, Tennessee Jed> Music
2: Box Of Rain> Victim> Foolish Heart> Dark Star> Drumz> Watchtower> Mr. Fantasy> Hey Jude Finale> Touch E: The Weight
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians opened - "Funiculi Funicula" tuning before "Bertha" - "Take A Step Back" before "Box Of Rain" - final "Hey Jude Finale"
Let the Good Times Roll opener? Hell yes. Bertha! Complete with a rainstorm. It ended up raining for a good part of the first set. Cassidy, Ten Jed, Music Never Stopped, all classic GD, I was in heaven. During Music, some really fucked up guy grabbed my arm and tried to take me up front. Somehow got myself out of that and waited through setbreak. I also learned a very important lesson about chafing. Boy, does it hurt when you get rained on at a show and dance. At Phish Camden 2000, it rained cats and dogs and I was ensconced in my poncho. Adrian was all like, this feels so good, you should be dancing in the rain, etc. He then had to deal with chafing the rest of the evening. We all have to learn one way or another.
Phil comes out and does the Take A Step Back thing. Have I mentioned how crowded it was? Wasn’t a huge fan of Victim or Foolish Heart and Victim seemed to be very long. Then Dark Star. Holy shit. Only the fifth Dark Star since they brought it back. Some Heads have never seen it and I get it at my first show. While cool, I was totally sober and not as enlightened to the power of music, so I thought it was a little boring. Drums and Space was rather LONG, but Watchtower blazed out of it. Then Brent steps to the forefront and does Dear Mr. Fantasy>Hey Jude Finale. Wow, so wanted to hear that. During Touch, they had a skeleton as tall as the stage dancing along side it. Rather cool and never saw that again. The encore was a perfect way to send us off into the night.
So we get out to my car and it won’t start. Holy shit! In downtown DC, no cell phone, first Dead show and this!?!?!!? Guys parked next to us jump-started us and we let it run awhile. Turn it off. Won’t restart. Uhoh. So once I start my car, don’t turn it off. Sit in traffic just to get out of the Lot, follow another crazy way out of the Lot. As we’re on Route 30 in MD (my absolute favorite way to roll home from a show), the headlights start getting dimmer. Damn, better turn off the radio to conserve power. And the windshield wipers. Somehow made it home. But what am I saying? I was home down at RFK
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
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