Greetings friends. Hope it is all good in your hood. No post last week as I was hanging with my brother and his family. Lots of fun but very exhausting. No shows for the next few weeks so it’s time to take a journey back to the past, when the economy was strong and the US wasn’t involved in 3 different wars. Yes, I’m talking about the Golden Age of Devolver. It’s that sweet period between Memorial Day weekend 1999 and Feb 2002, when Andy quit right before their first sustained southern tour (It was only 4 or 5 shows but still). Today we look back at June 8, 2001 at the Old Mill in New Oxford. It’s not that the show was all that memorable but a story of the best-laid plans and intentions gone awry. So please allow me to present Tales from the Devolver Side 6/8/01:
Once again, I’m sorry if you don’t know these people but they are all part of the amazing community of music and people that we have here in the AYC (Adams York County.) You know, just like Snoop says, “With so much drama in the AYC, it’s kinda hard being S H E M P”. Adrian’s cousin George was moving to outside of Philly, where his girlfriend, Kathy, had just graduated and got a job. Adrian wanted to throw George a going away party but picked a day that Devolver was playing. Now back during this time, it was all about Devolver for me. What they were throwing down was blowing my mind on quite a regular basis. So there was no way I was going to miss a single note. (Sorry no setlist. Not sure what happened to the tapes. I do have the night after from the Glad Crab in Dallastown. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup that night and Flick requested Ray Bourque Jam for him finally winning the Cup. But I digress…)
So Adrian buys food and beverages. He sends out invites and gets his crib ready for a party. Except for one thing….. George doesn’t show up. Adrian throws a going away party and the guest of honor doesn’t show up. I asked George last week if he remembered where he was that night. He does not. So Adrian thinks maybe he went to the Devolver show. So everyone at the farmhouse except for Stan the Man Fidler leaves to run up to the Old Mill to see if George is there. They promise Stan they’re not going to hang out, just run up to see if he is there and then they are coming back. Ahh the best laid plans of mice and men.
So they get up to the Old Mill and no George. Of course, Devolver is laying down some jams that would turn Jerry’s beard back to its natural color of black from his early 80’s onward gray. Christine decided to get a beer and it was all-downhill from there. Every time she finished a beer it was always “Just one more beer.” And while I love her, good luck getting her out of a show before it ends. So they ended up staying until the end of the show. As they were leaving, Troy (I think that was his name. He was friends with Mike Wright) couldn’t get his car started. So they had to give him a jumpstart. They don’t even get out of the lot until after the band had packed up. It’s probably going on 2:30 AM by now. Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice………..
It’s just Stan and Cassidy, Dan’s dog, hanging out at Dan and Adrian’s farmhouse. Stan was told they’d be back soon so he decides to settle back with a fine beverage. Time slowly passes and soon Stan realizes they didn’t go up and come right back. As the night grows longer, Stan becomes drunker and more surly. Every time a car comes down Pumping Station road, he thinks it’s them, but it’s not. One car even pulls into the driveway, only to turn around. When they do finally get back, Stan comes out, his greeting to everyone who came back, and this is his direct quote I got from him about 5 weeks ago. “Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.” You get the point.
Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful Sunday after the torrential rain/wind storm last night. Furthur!
Dave Kemp
BA in American Studies
PhD in Rock and Roll
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