Don't Knock the Boogie

Last night we saw Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs play at the Independent, San Francisco, and it was noteworthy (or blog-worthy) for a number of reasons.

First off, it marked a long-awaited to return to live music for Leslie and me. Our tickets for this show were originally dated April of 2020. Then, when the world shut down three weeks ahead of the show, it was changed to October 2020. Then changed again. And again. For two long years, we've been waiting to see if it would ever happen before buying any more concert tickets that would just be sitting and waiting. And now, the wait is over.

The entire night was magic, beginning with getting into the City and parking. 

Okay, maybe some folks don't get why that's worth mentioning, but those of you who have driven (and parked) around SF know what I'm talking about. We sailed right in and found a free, legal, street parking space just two blocks from the venue without even circling the block. Amazing.

We checked out the theater, and there were only a dozen or so people in line, so we had time for a great dinner at Nopa, snagging one of the last available sidewalk tables without a reservation. Then back to the Independent, where we were now about 30 people back in line. Kudos to the Independent for going through the line to check vaccination cards, IDs, and tickets, and stamping our hands efficiently while out front to get us through the doors quickly when they eventually did open.

The doors opened, and we encamped about the front right corner of the stage (the venue is standing only, with limited ADA seating on the sides). Opening act was Sammy Brue, a brilliant, young singer-songwriter who put in a short, but vibrant set.

And then the moment we'd been waiting for for two long years. Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs. Was it worth the wait? I wish it hadn't have been so long, but yeah. If any band was worth the wait, and if any show could break the pandemic frame of mind, this was it.

From the opening bars of Lightning Boogie through the final crashing cords of You Wreck Me (the final encore two hours and ten minutes later) the show was pure rock and roll perfection. Even if there had been seats, we wouldn't have used them once Mike and the guys came out on stage.

This is the first time we've seen Mike as the lead-man for a whole show. He's certainly stepped out front and shown his stuff as a member of the Heartbreakers or Mudcrutch, but he was always supporting his friend, Tom, in those roles. 

Now it's up to Mike to carry the whole show, and he does it with ease. He's as generous a front-man as TP was, letting Jason "Ape" Sinay trade off guitar solos, and letting the rhythm section shine too. The band was tight and rehearsed and having as much fun as the audience was.

Mike leads with grace as well, with the soft-spoken and self-deprecating southern charm we've come to know so well from his home-bound videos shared to Facebook over the two long years of pandemic-related tour delays. 

Mike is generous with the audience with audience too. During one song Mike asked somebody up front if she was shooting video (yes) and was she going to post it to Instagram (yes). Mike then got down on his knees in front of her and sang directly into her iPhone giving her a shot for the ages. He then asked for his guitar tech to grab his own iPhone and get behind the drums to get some video of the band with the audience for Mike's Instragram account. All this without missing a note of the song they were in.

The set (2+ hours) mostly consisted of material off the two Dirty Knobs albums (Wreckless Abandon and External Combustion), plus six Heartbreakers' songs, a cover of Route 66, and an un-recorded Dirty Knobs song called Shake These Blues.

While some of this might be the same each night of the tour, there was definitely a lot that's left to chance and Mike's mood. At one point he referenced making a set list, "but that's no use to us now," and a couple of times he thanked his band members for keeping up with him because, "they never know what I'm gonna want to play next."

I loved all the Knobs material (Sugar and Southern Boy stand out), but have to admit that the highlights were a few of the Heartbreakers songs.

Southern Accents was especially moving with the subtle change of two words, "mother" to "brother" and "she" to "he," transforming the song from a memory of Tom's childhood, to Mike's elegy for Tom.

Before that could bring down the mood of the evening, however, the band immediately launched into a rocking rendition of Fooled Again (I Don't Like It), a gem from the first Heartbreakers' album.

You Got Lucky was never my favorite Heartbreakers song, but last night's extended nine minute jam on it was an amazing tour of Mike's mind and his influences as he inserted solos and licks in tribute to Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and others.

Altogether, an excellent show with no off moments or songs that didn't belong. The Dirty Knobs started as a side project for Mike between Heartbreakers LPs/tours more than ten years ago, so the band is tight and professional and doesn't miss a note. This is not a Heartbreakers show, but it's probably the best rock show you'll see this year, and maybe this decade.

Was it worth waiting two years for? Oh, hell yeah. But I'm so glad the wait is over.

Don't knock the boogie. It will set you free. It'll work for you. Last night it worked for me.

Set-List:

1. Lightning Boogie
   
2. External Combustion
   
3. Pistol Packin' Momma 
4. Route 66
5. Between Two Worlds
   
6. Anna Lee
   
7. Loaded Gun
   
8. Fuck that Guy
   
9. Refugee 
10. Rat City
    
11. In This Lifetime
    
12. Sugar
13. Southern Accents
    
14. Fooled Again (I Don't Like It)
    
15. Don't Knock the Boogie
16. Southern Boy
    

Encores:

1. Shake These Blues
2. You Got Lucky (extended jam)
3. You Wreck Me 

Gear Notes:

Mike relied on just three guitars from his massive collection: two different but nearly identical white Gibson Firebirds (one with Johnny Winter's autograph prominently on it) and a white Duesenberg Starplayer.  

"Ape" mostly relied on a standard Stratocaster, with a few switch-outs to a Les Paul, another white Firebird, and what looked like a Clapton "Blackie" model Stratocaster with a Telecaster neck.

 

Damn the Torpedoes

Sometimes I get discouraged,
Sometimes I feel so down,
Sometimes I get so worried,
And I don't know what about.
But it works out in the long run,
It always goes away,
I've come now to accept it
As a reoccurring phase.
Why worry 'bout the rain?
Why worry 'bout the thunder?
Century City's got everything covered.

I remember, sometime in late 1976, hearing Breakdown for the first time on the radio and thinking there was something there that set this new kid apart from everything else we'd been hearing. There was the validation of the viewpoint when Roger McGuinn covered American Girl on his Thunderbyrd LP.

By the end of 1979, I had just graduated High School, and I recall being in line at Tower Records, Sunset Blvd, to pick up "Damn the Torpedoes" on the day it was released. I'd already heard much of it on the radio - Refugee for sure, maybe Here Comes My Girl or Even the Losers - but nothing that could have prepared me for Louisiana Rain.

Today that rain is falling just like tears, running down my face, washing out the years, soaking through my shoes. I will never be the same since that album played through. It may only be 36 minutes and 38 seconds, but it opened up the possibilities of what a rock and roll record could be. Now it's just the normal noises in here.

I can't say I remember which was the first time I saw Tom Petty and Heartbreakers play live, but there were many shows, from Hollywood's Universal Amphitheater to Sacramento's Arco Arena.

One of my best concerts ever: Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers all together (1985?). Three hours of nonstop music. Tom & the band - Tom, Bob, & the band - Tom & Bob acoustic - Bob and the band - just the Heartbreakers - everybody all together.

My other favorite show was maybe the last time I saw Tom Petty. It was the Mudcrutch reunion tour a few years ago, and they played the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. It was great to see Tom having fun with his old buddies, back in a smaller venue outside of the areneas, not needing to be the lead man on every song.

We missed the final tour this past few months. Tickets were already sold out at 10:01 am, one minute after going on sale. He'd announced it would be the last "Big Tour" and that was fine with me. I hoped it would lead to more Mudcrutch type shows: intimate affairs with the long-time fans, where we'd all rock together. I didn't imagine that could really be the final tour.

Tom Petty was taken from us last night way too early, following an afternoon of rumors and premature headlines.

Today my thoughts are with his kids, and young grand-kids, and with the guys in the band. Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench have been the rock Tom rolled against from the start, and they form the basis of the most under-rated back-up band ever. Mike, Benmont, and the rest are all incredible musicians in their own right, and I hope I have not seen or heard the last from them.

How about a cheer for all those bad girls
And the boys who play that rock and roll
They love it, like you love Jesus
It does the same thing to their souls

Mellencamp & Carter: New Concert, Old Memories

John Mellencamp & Carlene Carter
Paramount Theater, Oakland, CA
July 25, 2015

John Mellencamp gets no respect. I know because I'm as guilty as anybody when it comes to under-estimating this rock icon. I want to review the concert of his that I saw last night, but first I need to go back 33 years or so and issue an apology.

In 1982 I was a manager for the Music Plus chain of record stores. One fine day I was at the home office attending one of our regular managers meetings when they rolled out a TV, dimmed the lights, and played us a video of a new song we would be promoting.

We thought it was a joke. We recognized the artist from his prior poor-selling albums, but this little ditty about teenagers sucking down chili dogs behind Tastee Freezes in the heartland (among other things) did not impress us. I get it now, but back then I was just too cool to relate. We laughed through it and made rude jokes about his height and how Pat Benatar's cover his previous single, "I Need A Lover," had outsold his.

The lights came up and the bosses said, "And now we'd like you to meet Mr. Cougar..." When the song had started he had apparently slipped into the room and was seated right behind us. Oops. If he overheard anything he didn't let on and very kindly spoke with each of us and signed all our copies of American Fool.

In the decades since I've slowly come to respect him more and more. While I've never been a super fan, I have bought a couple of CDs, and appreciated him as a thoughtful person, and a dedicated musician. Still, when the Mrs. suggested we see him in concert I was slow to jump on it, until she told me the opening act would be Carlene Carter.

By the time of my Johnny Cougar faux pas, Carlene Carter had already become my secret country crush. Back around 1979 I'd slip on Musical Shapes or Two Sides to Every Woman between the Ramones, Who, Deep Purple, and Kinks records that were my norm. I've followed her career off and on since then, but never had a chance to meet her or even see her live until last night.

Her performance was worth the 35 year wait. Just her and her guitar (and occasional piano) was enough to fill the hall with raw country emotion and rock 'n' roll power. Her new CD, Carter Girl, is a tribute to her family, so the show was full of stories of learning to play guitar from grandma, Maybelle Carter, getting songwriting advice from her mother, June, and watching them perform with the rest of the Carter Family. She shared how her life changed when her mom married "Big John" (Cash), growing the family, but keeping the roots close to home and their music.

Most of the Mellencamp audience may not have known who that Carter Girl was when she stepped out on stage, but by the time she was done they were cheering every song, laughing at all her stories, and singing along with (her great uncle) A.P. Carter's version of "Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)."

After her set she took a table in the lobby, signing pictures and CDs, talking with the fans, and smiling for pictures with every one of us. Getting that hug from her will stand as one of my favorite "brush with greatness" stories for many years to come.

That would have been enough for the night, but the lights were dimming in the theater, and Mr. Mellencamp was taking the stage, so we re-took our seats.

Did I mention that John Mellencamp gets no respect? I mean, I knew he'd put on a good show. I didn't know he'd put on a great one. The man, and his six-piece band, are professional rockers. They are note perfect, powerful, and play off each others' strengths like a well-oiled machine. And why shouldn't they be tight? Guitarist Mike Wanchic has been with Mellencamp for 40 years! Violinist Miriam Sturm for over 20.

There were (most of) the hits you'd expect (or demand) to hear - after all these years you kind of forget just how many he's had - and plenty of new songs too in the nearly two hour set. While most of them were played seriously, even he's now laughing at "Jack and Diane," doing it solo acoustic, while the rest of the band took a quick break.

"I don't know why I even play this thing anymore, other than that you expect it," was part of the intro. He then let the audience do most of the work, laughing and correcting them when they launched into the chorus after the first verse. "No, the chorus doesn't come until after the second verse! If I'd known then that you wanted to go right to the chorus I could have saved a lot of time and trouble coming up with that second verse."

Miss Carter came back on to join the band on a couple of numbers from Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, a musical that Mr. Mellencamp wrote with Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King). Rumor is that once the tour is over, Mellencamp and Carter will be recording a duets album together.

The show continued and rocked some more. I thought it was coming to a crescendo when the Walls Came a-Tumblin' Down, but it just continued to build from there. The entire audience were on their feet screaming along with the last several numbers. He Fought Authority, and I swear this time he won.

Bottom line: It was a thrill to hear and meet Carlene Carter after all these years, and John Mellencamp deserves our respect as one of the hardest working rockers we've got. John, I'm sorry for making fun of your video. And your name. And your height. You rock, sir. Thank you.

Mudcrutch Rocks the House in Santa Cruz

I'm up early 'cause I just couldn't sleep, and the song running through my head at top volume is I Don't Scare Easy - the first single from the re-formed Mudcrutch, who we saw last night at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.

Who's Mudcrutch, you ask? They were a band from Gainesville, Florida, in the early '70s, who came out to Los Angeles seeking fame and fortune, then promptly broke up just as they got a record deal. The remains of the band met up with some other old Florida friends and started recording under the name "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers." TP & company have had a few hits over the years, but the legend of Mudcrutch has lived on.

This past year, after a 35 year break, members of the original Mudcrutch reunited and finally recorded that first album (to be released shortly) and have set out on a two-week "World Tour" that goes all the way from Malibu to San Francisco, then down through Santa Barbara to inland of San Diego, and finally winds up with a week at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Okay, so maybe a short trip up and down the California coast doesn't sound like much of a world tour, but the t-shirt I bought says it's a world tour, so I'm sticking to that story.

So, who's in the band: Tom Petty (bass, vocals), Tom Leadon (guitar, vocals), Mike Campbell (guitar, mandolin), Benmont Tench (keyboards, vocals), and Randall Marsh (drums).

Tom Petty is certainly still the star of the show, but this is NOT a Heartbreakers tour, and TP shares songwriting and lead vocal duties with his bandmates quite handily. Most prominent among those singing-writing bandmates is Tom Leadon, who also challenges Heartbreaker extraordinaire, Mike Campbell, for dominance on lead guitar. Mike and Tom (L) traded licks throughout the evening to the crowds delight.

Mudcrutch took to the stage at 8:15, without any opening act to warm up the crowd (wasn't needed), and went right into Shady Grove, the new CD's opening track. The 90 minute (plus) seemed to take us through the entire disc, including Orphan Of The Storm, Six Days On The Road, This Is A Good Street (featuring Benmont Tench), The Wrong Thing To Do, Queen Of The Go-Go Girls, Topanga Cowgirl, Bootleg Flyer, Lover Of The Bayou, June Apple, the previously mentioned Scare Easy,and TP's latest masterpiece, Crystal River, which featured some of Mike Campbell's best guitar work.

A couple of those songs might be familiar to you as old country or bluegrass standards, but they all rocked the house. Mudcrutch filled out the set with some of the other favorites they used to perform on the Gainesville bar scene 35+ years ago, including a couple of excellent Dylan covers, Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine, and the show's finale, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 ("everybody must get stoned"). Encores included a classic version of Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues to rival the Who's famous cover.

And, yeah, you didn't hear me listing American Girl or Free Fallin' or any other Tom Petty and/or the Heartbreakers songs. And, believe me, they were not missed. Mudcrutch is a different animal than the Heartbreakers and to hear those songs would have been out-of-place and awkward, even if three out of five musicians are the same. I'm sure the show promoters would have preferred those songs be included, and that the show were listed as "Tom Petty and Mudcrutch" but the correct decision was to leave the last 35 years out.

I've been a fan of Tom Petty pretty much from the start of his recording career, and have seen him in concert many times before (including the best show ever: Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and the Heartbreakers). But this was one of the best shows yet. Seeing him not as rock-star/headliner, but as the greatest bar band from Florida, just having fun and rocking out in a smaller venue (the Santa Cruz Civic is smaller than most High School gymnasiums), brought back the magic, power, and immediacy of what American Rock and Roll is all about.

Links:
Official Mudcrutch site: www.mudcrutchmusic.com
Tour & CD info & short article about reunion
Tom Leadon bio on wikipedia