SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Call the Office London, On (August 11, 2000).
Call the Office sounds like a great live venue. It sounds small and intimate and, for this recording anyway, the sound quality is great.
The band is in great form with a ten minute version of “Fat.” Then there’s a bunch of new songs: “In It Now” (the first time I’m aware of them playing it), “CCYPA” and a great version of “The Fire.”
Then they jump back to an old song and play “Torque Torque” with a very funny introduction about how they wrote this back in the early 60s and that it out-dorks the Doors (the Doors had no bass player). Dave also says they’ll never play Full Moon Over Russia because it’s too hard.
There’s a lengthy introduction to “Satan is the Whistler” in which Martin tells about writing it–how it was originally going to be about Bigfoot (he used to read Bigfoot books as a kid) and the scariest thing about the Bigfoot stories was when people heard whistling. The intro devolves into some funny talk about Whistler, the city, and extreme sports. Someone eventually winds up describing the song as Ian Anderson skiing.
There’s a sadly aborted “Junction Foil Ball.” Not sure if they just never played it or if there’s a problem with the recording.
There’s also an “off color” joke about Michael Jackson and Bubbles and Dave teases the jokester (Don Kerr?) saying that a guy with neck beard shouldn’t make off color jokes.
“Feed Yourself” a song they don’t play often enough sounds great here with some awesome soloing chords and effects in the middle. And “Legal Age Life” also has some funny silly parts in the solos.
“Horses” (which the fans have been cheering for all night) sounds fantastic–a great version of it. The middle section has Dave talking and ranting (all with his voice echoed). It’s quite intense. As is the final “Moon” high note at the end of “Dope Fiends and Booze Hounds” which they cap off with another fast run through “Satan.”
As I said this is a great sounding bootleg (and the notes on the site agree: “This is one of the best sounding Rheos boots I have heard. Listen to Don’s drumming. It is awesome. I loved seeing him play.”
[READ: March 2, 2015] “No Slant to the Sun”
I have read so many stories by Boyle, and they are all so very different that I never really know what to expect–or even where they will go.
This story begins with the title–“there as no slant to the sun–it was just there, overhead.” It is about a man, Sten, and his wife Carolee on vacation. They are on a cruise and are currently taking a day trip to an island garden path (although he seems unsure where they are–not Mexico or Guatemala or Belize–somewhere with a lot of rum where they listen to reggae).
They, along with everyone else, are on a bus, being driven maniacally by a man wearing earbuds (listening to reggae) as he flies over potholes and around harsh left and right turns.
Sten refuses to drink the water here even though everyone else does. And despite his thirst he sticks only to the rum based drinks (and so is a bit drunk and parched). He will only drink bottled water, but he forgot his bottle. When Carolee falls asleep he roots through her purse for her water (which he then drops and it rolls under another seat).
All the people on the bus (mostly older retirees) are unhappy with the driving. Finally Sten gets up to say something to man and even flicks out his ear buds. But the man ignores him, clearly disgusted by the white people on the bus. He grudgingly says they can have a restroom break in five minutes, although it’s more like 15 before they get to the site of their hike–something that Sten now regrets given the heat and his thirst.
As soon as they settle in, a car roars up next to them and some local boys get out. One has a gun. And the boys start demanding everybody’s wallets and jewels.
It’s then that we learn that Sten was once in the military. And he has to decide if he should react to this insolence.
The story went in a direction I absolutely did not expect. I enjoyed it, especially the way the ancillary characters react to what happens. I never intentionally seek out Boyle, but I always enjoy his stories (and I am astonished at how prolific he is).
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... 