tBS at Styleen's

[Ted Jackson jr. EL84]

> From:          Torgo <torgo at NORWICH.NET>
> Subject:       The Brain Surgeons: Live at Spirits Tavern

> The Brain Surgeons: LIVE!
> April 5,1997 Spirits Tavern, Auburn NY
>
> "Where everybody shrieks your name."
> Spirits Tavern in Auburn NY gives me the overall feel of many a small
> tavern. Its by no means fancy, and by no means a dive, just your
> neighborhood place where folks might gather in small clusters after a hard
> days work to maybe tip a glass or three, possibly to chow down a burger, or
> shoot a game of darts. Just another bar in just another town. I half
> expected George Wendt to come lumbering through the door.
>
Well, I knew if there were 2 gigs near my hometown, I'd just have to
pick the wrong one to go to.  Actually, I didn't have much choice.
I was playing my own little gig, and my wife had the car...
But Stylene's is a different kind of bar altogether.  This place is
set up for music.  A decent-sized stage, and plenty of floor area for
moshing.  A large bar behind and down from the music area,
unfortunately the stage can't be seen from the bar.  This proved
disastrous, as only about 5 people watched the band while there were
about 20 people at the bar.  I'd never been to Styleen's, even though
I'm a local.  I'd like to play there myself sometime...


> My friends and I arrived at the bar early enough to catch the Brain
> Surgeons as they went through the tedious task of setting up instruments
> and checking sound levels, and I could not help but notice that they seemed
> to truly be enjoying what they were doing. Here is Albert Bouchard, who
> once had crews of underlings to do these necessities for him in sold out
> arenas and massive venues that held more people than the small city I live
> in, rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done. We watched them set up

This happened here as well.  In fact, Al was buzzing around between
sets, actually helping the local groups with their gear.  Al even sat
in on one tune--playing keyboard no less--with the group Static Cling
[horrendous name for a pretty good band].  In fact, they were a
pleasant surprise, even more so in that they were missing their lead
singer.  They were kind of a punked-up group that sounded very
professional.  No searing guitar work here, but everything fit
together nicely...

The second group, the Establishment, didn't do anything for me, and I
spent their set out in the courtyard doing some attitude
adjustment...

>
> "We're gonna try to do 33 songs tonight. Hope we can remember all the words."
> We met with Albert and Deb before they took the stage as they hung with
> Helen Wheels, who has written and co-written many a Blue Oyster Cult and
> Brain Surgeons tune. The thing that kept going through my head was how much
> better this was than seeing "Rock Gods" in a huge stadium, where they are
> so far away and impersonal that it could be anyone up on that stage
> gyrating to the music and you would not know the difference. Albert is a
> very (understatement) nice guy who seemed as genuinely excited about
> meeting fans as we were of meeting him. The same can be said about all the
> Brain Surgeons, a better bunch of folks you WILL NOT find. Albert told us
> they were going to try to nail down 33 songs in 3 sets that night, and we
> got just what he promised. But we got more, we got alot more.....
>
Yes and no as far as the Rock God thing goes.  True it's great to see
somebody up close, but remember, to me, BOC were like the Beatles are
to a lot of people.  They are my fave band all time, and in my
opinion, the best rock band ever.  So, to see a former member of that
band in a bar is always bittersweet, as is seeing 3OC in bars
nowadays.  I didn't even approach Al, though I know I could have.  I
didn't want to be a gushing fan, and besides, I was embarrased for
him, because there weren't more than 5 people watching the band.
Though they must have been fans, 'cause Deb made reference to the
title 'Trepanation,' asking if anyone knew what it meant, and 2 dudes
leaped up with the answer.  And these dudes were wildly appreciative
of the show...

The show itself really kicked, a tribute to the professionalism of
these musicians.  Al played his heart out.  Deb made an appearance on
guitar for DaS.  Deb, play the guitar more--you sounded great.  The
set was short, but you can't blame them given the dismal crowd, and
also owing to the fact that they didn't start til after midnight.
There was an acoustic dude on a solo act when I walked in, followed
by 2 local acts, so when tBS got on, it was late.  Saddest of all,
there actually were a few people in the bar, but they left after the
local bands!  The ultimate insult, but tBS graciously played their
collective ass off, and acted like they classy bunch of players they
are.  Al, don't be offended:  Syracuse is a shit town for supporting
anything.  If SU sports weren't doing well, the fans would dump them
like a load of toxic waste.  But as long as they win, then they're
embraced.  It's a tough town for music, too, with bizarrely skewed
tastes.  Benny Mardonnes is treated like Mick Jagger here, even
though he's virtually unknown in the rest of the world.  That having
been said, the record largest crowd at the local arena was drawn
by...BOC in it's heyday!

Overall impressions were mixed.  tBS are obviously highly skilled and
talented.  They showed a tremendous work ethic.  Any other band
would've told the bar to get fucked and walked off in disgust over
the total lack of promotion and general indifference of the place.
That tBS chose to play and play well for a tiny handful of fans shows
that their hearts are in the right place.  As long as they're
playing, I'll be going to their shows...

theo