|
.......Secret Livestock Report:
Even though no one admitted to wanting to go to Livestock, we found out that several so-called friends schlepped to Zephyr Hills for some farm living. Oh yeah, they said they had VIP passes and that they were only going because it was free. Sure. Others, and we’re not mentioning any names out of respect for their dignity, wanted to see the last touring remnants of Nirvana, Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters. Luckily, they all survived to tell tales of wild drinking, lost flip-flops, and celebrity fondling. Hmmm - sounds like a night at Mastry’s after a Little River Band concert at Jannus.
......now back to less 98Rock sponsored events.
.......Taste of Art Walk
Saturday, May 13, the downtown St Pete art galleries and boutiques were open late (until 10:00 p.m, oohhh, two hours shy of midnight, we’re crazy!) for the Taste of Art Walk. Judging from the size of the crowd on Central, it was a success. There was food, catered by area restaurants, alcoholic beverages, yuppies and a mime! Does the fun ever start! At least our downtown scene doesn’t have coyote art, like our sisters’ in Gulfport does. We had respectable artists like Hugo Porcaro, who’s still up at Urbana, Hugh Williams and Miss Carrie Price at Star Booty and Bask at Fusion. By the time you read this, you will have undoubtedly already read how fabulous it was in Sterling’s column ‘cause we saw him flitting all over. After all the excitement we needed some refreshment, so we of course headed to The Emerald, that mecca of society culture, for a gimlet. We hobnobbed with John Vitale and Courtney Kessel, whose entourage was spilling over from the Fusion Gallery. And, we bumped into Gerald Hamill, who reminded us that Spacious International was playing at the Globe after 12:00. How cosmopolitan, a band starting after midnight, we are one step away from the East Village. It was a good thing too, because after seeing Tommy, the one-man band, we were all hyped up. It was like a flashback to our days at the Dresden in LA when we were on that Swingers kick. (We were so money, baby.) He played hit after hit on his Casio, guitar, and horn (all at once!) - we loved his long distance dedication of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’. You can imagine how excited Gerald was, he was acting like a teenage girl at a Backstreet Boys concert. As a matter of fact he set up the St Pete swan song of Spacious with Tommy supporting for June 9th at the one and only Emerald Lounge.
PS - what’s up with Jon Wilson leaving The Emerald out of his guide to (fun) on Central Ave. See the Neighborhood section of the Sunday (21st) St Pete Times.
Meanwhile, over at the Globe, the usual eclectic patrons were swilling mochas in an attempt to stay conscious for the late show. Among the formally attired post-prom set we saw style guru Jorge Vidal with devotees, film enthusiast Alfie, and recent publishing mogul Camo Matt, who flagged us down to give us a copy of his hot-off-the-press zine, “Trivia”. It looks like a promising, cool zine for once. Full size pages, with great graphics, a lot of which Matt draws himself. Sorry to say that our night of excess caught up to us at about 1:15 , only a couple of songs into Spacious International. (You know how it is when you’re on the set early) We heard from JoEllen that the party rambled until the wee hours, very chic.
And speaking of chic, how ‘bout that Lakeland Civic Center? Almost everyone has fond concert memories, from Deep Purple and Skynyrd, to Nirvana ( didn’t Culture Club play there, too?), and now Nine Inch Nails. We hauled ass over to dairy land in record time, only to be subjected to a four-hour security check. Not really, but it seemed like it especially when you have to pee. Inside, the crowd was what we expected - a pitifully low ratio of 1 in 10 for coolness. A Perfect Circle was finishing their set so it was hard to ascertain why the heavy PR. Maybe it’s because they have the singer from Tool and a token chick bass player - does that make you see dollar signs? Anyway, after they finished we set out on a beer quest, but all we found were Evil Don, Rudy and Danielle. No Beer! Whose idea was that - no brewskis? Does Trent think his music is intoxicating enough? Probably. Maybe he didn’t want the temptation - he’s looking a little “healthy” these days. Whatever he’s up to, he’s still an angry dude and who can blame him with all these poseurs around. (Hopefully you’ve heard the song by now.) All in all it was a great show with the most interesting light show since the Flaming Lips X-mas light overload. And to prove that NIN knows what side their bread is buttered on, they dragged out the old ‘Closer’. The 98 Rockers got what they came for and so did we.
WMNF Tropical Heatwave
Next stop on the hit parade was the WMNF Tropical Heatwave. YborCity was, as usual, rockin, despite the fire. A nuclear bomb could go off and those little Ybor freaks would still be scurrying down 7th with the cockroaches. And of course, none of the heatwavers who save their energy all year for this one-night bacchanal were going to let disaster get in their way. The Cuban Club was packed to the balconies. We saw “Parker” Mike in the cantina, Jay and Ronnie in the beer line, Gina V. scribbling notes on Homer Erotic, Jack Spatafora checking out the Dismemberment Plan, Ozell and Jennifer observing, and Doug and Val squashed into the Cherokee Club for the Blue Rags. Out by the bandshell, the masses were gathering for Alejandro Escovedo (former member of all seminal West Coast punk bands and subsequently all seminal cow punk bands). His set was held up by an electrical glitch (let’s get that checked out before this place burns to the ground), so we had to endure the Latin, ska, swing throw-it-in-the-pot-and-stir band “Los Mocosos”. Horror of all horrors, a drum circle erupted while they were skankin’ away. What’s with drum circle people? I’m so in tune with harmony because I drum barefoot with thirty other people -’tever. Anyhoo, Alejandro comes pulling up in the gig van (driving) and finally takes the stage with some new bandmates. Pat of Tallahassee’s Casual T’s plays lead now, and sounds great. They started with a D.B’s-esque ‘I Was Drunk’, then played a lot of tunes from Bourbonitis Blues - jeez, you think alcohol might be an influence. Including covers of Ian Hunter’s ‘Irene Wilde’ and Gun Club’s ‘Sex Beat’. But the highlight was the Stooges’ ‘I Wanna be Your Dog’, which whooped everybody into a frenzy. Definitely the best act of Heatwave, next to the ever-nutty Waco Brothers.
The Waco’s had plenty to say about Ybor culture and the fire. They pulled out all their Hee Haw favorites, like George Jones, Jimmy Rodgers and Minnie Pearl. And they were throwing their room keys in with every cd purchase. Plus swim team members got special favors, are they Wacky or Waco? And as if all that wasn’t enough, they played Sunday night at Skipper’s. Unfortunately, the audience at Skipper’s wasn’t very enthusiastic, so afterwards they went to the Hub, under the supervision of Margaret, for a night of drinking. Good thing the Hub doesn’t have White Lightning.
Remember Buck Owens and Roy Clark love ya
oooooxxxxx
Taffy and Cotton
SPIFFY
“Head On” - Julian Cope’s new book
Neko Case’s “Furnace Lullabies” - believe the hype
Billy Zoom.com - directions to his home where his amp fixing shop is, lots of X stuff including summer tour dates
Joey, Ryan and Phillip’s parking garage jam session making the SP Times
Rick Rose Rude - the limited edition “Model Girlfriend” E.P - highly collectable and soon to be cult classic
IFFY
‘Brass Monkey’ on the Hub’s jukebox
Skipper’s margaritas - easy on the sour mix. Whatever happened to lime juice?
Marky Ramone and the Intruders making their way to the Brass Mug so soon, again.
Bartenders at Tropical Heatwave - volunteers? Hope their day jobs aren’t Emergency Medical Technicians
|
