BOC: Born to be Wild, etc.

[Chris Baker]

Theo wrote:

> (Born to Be Wild) was the last song of the night at the time, and the
>  mayhem it wrought was an appropriate ending for the show, though in
>  reality it's just a cover tune.  Still, it would be cool to see them
>  throw it back in the setlist from time to time...

As I recall, yes, they did close the shows with it, and then at some point
moved it to the position as the last song in the pre-encore set, which I took
as an admission that 1) there were better songs to close with in terms of
dynamics, but 2) It had been part of the show for long enough that they were
hesitant to dispense with it.  About the latter, it was definitely the kind
of thing that stays in concert-goers minds, and probably got more
word-of-mouth than most of the songs that actually smoked more, since
everyone knew the song even if they didn't know the whole BOC catalogue.  For
that matter, I myself remember telling friends about it, since it was like
the Tyranny & Mutation sleeve come alive, plus the bit with Buck duckwalking
and Eric alongside him like some kind of WWII sidecar...

Given all of that, listening to recordings of it was always kind of
frustrating, since shod of the visual hooks it suffered a lot, I felt.  The
playing was more of a jam than anything else in the show, and after a set
that consisted of tunes that seemed honed for maximum live impact I felt that
this song let up on the intensity.

Come to think of it, it seems to me that what replaced it at show's end was
DFTR, which was another tune that I felt was not the best show-closer.  I
think it's one of BOC's best songs, and the live versions of it have been and
can be staggering, but I think the band was better off closing with something
harder.  I have always assumed that this was the thinking behind moving DFTR
in the same manner as BTBW, from final song of the night to last in the main
set.  If Buck does not really excel on the solo at DFTR's end -- and he
usually does, and then some, but he's also human and at the mercy of the
sound people -- then the end falls somewhat flat, and who needs that? On the
other hand, closing with The Red and the Black is about as surefire as you
can get.

Thought of heading down to Hollister today to see the SummerDaze
show...thought for about three seconds.  100,000 bikes and my Honda Civic?
 For a six-song set?  I was wondering today if they thought about breaking
out BTBW again...can you imagine?  It's probably written into the contract
that they couldn't.  I wonder if it would have gone over real well (and I
don't mean with John Kay) or started a riot.  I'll have to ask Buck and Eric
via the AOL boards, and report back...Sure Golden Age of Leather was done.

Final point:  Do anyone else find it strange that the band only has time to
do about half of their usual set, and apparently has seen fit to leave the
drum solo in?  And this is the Nth drummer, too, not like someone who needs
the spotlight.  I've never seen the guy play, but come on...Godzilla could
use a diet even in the regular set.