SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Ted’s Wrecking Yard Toronto, ON (May 29 2001).
They marked the final two nights that Don Kerr would play drums with the band (after six years) with two nights at Ted’s Wrecking Yard. [Technically, they reveal at the end of the next show that there is a final show in a few days, but that somehow it doesn’t count].
The two shows together are a simply fantastic collection of Rheostatics music. Don created the setlists for both shows. The one downside on this recording is that one of the guitars was recorded very low (although Darrin, the site’s commander, has remixed the show so you can barely tell). On the plus side, it means that you can hear Dave’s amazing rhythm guitars very well. Another major plus is that Kevin Hearn plays on this night, and the set list reflects Kevin’s keyboards and songwriting contributions to the band. This means a bunch of stuff from Harmelodia (including “Home Again” and “Monkeybird” and “The Harmelodian Anthem.”
Don is leaving to tour with Ron Sexmith. In the middle of the set Don says that he is leaving because Ron has better coke (Kevin chimes in and asks if he needs a keyboard player).
The band is also in great spirits and, to send off Don in a great way, they are really at the to of their game–having fun yes, but committing a fantastic set to tape (these shows were originally going to be released on disc but fifteen years later, that seems unlikely).
The whole show is great. But some observations: “Four Little Songs” is actually “Five Little Songs” tonight with Kevin getting a verse. They also ask him about Lou Reed, and Kevin tells a story about meeting Lou for pizza. And they joke about hot knives. Kevin eventually did tour with Lou in 2009.
The setlist is a wonderful selection of old and rare songs. I barely even recognized “The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos” and can’t imagine when they played it last. They also play “The Reward” which is an underplayed gem–they even remark that they forgot how to play it.
There’s a funny bit where Kevin starts a new song called “guitar changes” while one of the guitarists is yes, changing guitars. It’s great to have an improv artist like Hearn in your show. For a real surprise (and for reasons unspoken), Dave sings “Stolen Car,” something I’ve never heard before. Since Martin’s voice is unique, it’s a very different performance–more melodic with fewer high notes.
They end the set with “The Pooby Song,” a piece of nonsense which is introduced with a long discussion of “pooby” for Kevin’s benefit.
It’s an amazing show. At some point Dave says they are going to play for a long time–and someone tells him it’s already 1 AM. Wow..
[READ: March 17, 2015] “Changeling Girl”
The girl in the title is not actually a person in the story (which I was rather was looking forward to). Rather, she is the title of a song by the punk band that this story is about (they are called The Changelings).
The first person story recounts the rise of the band. And the opening pages are full of the excitement that loving a kind of music and really embracing it can bring. It is described as a kind of montage as kids play The Clash and kids try to out punk each other with clothes or hair or names like Beamish Mingo, Helen Hopday and even Gash Ragged.
The impressive thing–especially given that I assume the time frame is the early 80s–is that the band is multigendered.
Once the story settles down into their first gig, though, it seems to lose some steam. After the initial rush wears off, we have to slow down–that middle slow section, right? (more…)
One of the things that I like about listening to Rheostatics live shows is that when they play a couple nights in a row, they play such different sets both nights. In the two nights at Vertigo, they played 44 songs and only 5 of them were duplicated (all from the newest album and a song that was on the live album). That is a fan pleasing band.
I Just Read About That... 