From: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org (jangle-poets-digest) To: jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Subject: jangle-poets-digest V3 #80 Reply-To: jangle-poets@smoe.org Sender: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-jangle-poets-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk jangle-poets-digest Tuesday, May 15 2001 Volume 03 : Number 080 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [jangle-poets] Hat-trick weekend ["David Percy" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 May 2001 08:20:35 -0700 From: "David Percy" Subject: [jangle-poets] Hat-trick weekend Hi Janglers, DjP here. By the time you read this I'll be back on the Jangle Poets List - I uns*bbed when I left Australia. I'm on a plane right now flying over the snow-capped peaks of the Rockies (? I'm about 5 minutes out of Denver, so I'd guess it's the Rockies? My US geography isn't too crash-hot yet!) Ok, so my life took another fork in the road this weekend. I saw The Kennedys perform live. Three times. This could be a longish post, so for those of you who are in a rush, here's the Cliff Notes (RIP). Attended my first, second and third Kennedy's gigs. Met Pete and Maura Met Cone Had a great time. Did I mention I met Pet and Maura? Ok, so it starts like this: I've been in the US for a week when my new company decides to send me to Washington DC to talk at a conference that was being held there. So off I trot and - being the guy that I am - send a message to the Nields Nook asking if there's any live music I could catch during my stay. Immediately I hear back from Conehead informing me that The Kennedys are playing in DC on Friday night (Thanks to Libby for the heads-up on the FRFF showcase too - I was workign though :( ). So I change my flight from Friday to Sunday and decide to head to the Starland Cafe to see Pete and Maura and possibly hook up with Cone. After trying to get the usual suspects (bern and Sheila) to shaperone me - I'm not sure if Cone is going to warm to me and having some back-up seems like a good idea! Alas and alack - bern is stranded (she tells me she's too far away for me to collect her) and Sheila is being a Good Daughter and spending Mother's Day with her Mother. So, unsupported and alone I grab a cab to the Starland. The Starland is a smallish restaurant run by Bill xxxx (fill in the blanks Cone? [Danoff....due to the length of this post I had to personally whisk it through so I got to read it first ~ Sheila]) whose claim to fame is writing John Denver hit songs like _Take Me Home Country Road_. Immediately as I walk in I clock Pete and Maura just walking around like normal people! Being the shy, restrained Englishman that I am, I try to pretend I didn't recognise them and install myself at the bar and observe the goings-on in the mirror behind the bar. After a while I recognise Cone and when he seems relatively settled I go and make my introductions. I'm not going to blow too much sunshine up Cone's arse publically, but he's a kind, warm-hearted, friendly guy that I took to immediately. He made me feel at home and shortly introduced me to Maura. Tongue-tied and unintelligible, Maura made a huge effort to smile and nod whenever I paused to draw breath. Lovely woman. So the gig kicks off and I'm blown away. I knew Maura was a great singer and Pete was a great guitar player, but this was something else! The sound was great and the company excellent. Cone got all squirmy when the played Angel Fire - a first for him I think? As it is Bob Dylan's 60th birthday this week they played a number of Dylan covers, some of which Bill joined them for. I don't have a set list- Cone? - but lots of my favourite Kennedys tunes were belted out that night. The gig finished and I ended up chatting to Pete and Maura as they were packing up. I'm sure they were pretty exhausted, but took time to hang around and chat to me. This is about the time Cone advocated the weekend mini-road trip, who was I to refuse! Saturday - Day 2 After the relevant nutrients - eggs and Diet Coke - we set out in convoy for the afternoon gig. Not sure exactly where it was, but I followed Cone through the plodding traffic (what's up with those grass-cutters !?!) We arrived at the WRRN (? 103.1FM anyway) festival where we were promised hot air ballons, but didn't get them due to weather difficulties. Fortuitously we arrived just before The Kennedys took the stage. I installed myself on the grass with banana smoothie in hand (that was harder than expected - I pronounce it ban-AR-na and no-one seemed able to understand me!) for the short, but excellent set that ended just in time for a spring downpour which drenched me and nearly broke Cone's shoulder. Had the good fortune to meet two-thirds of We're About Nine (prolly got the name wrong, but I'm *really* tired). After a quick chat during which Cone purtloined a We're About Nine CD that I snagged to listen to for the drive to Chestertown, we hooked up with Pete and Maura and then hit the road again. We stopped for dinner at a great place called The Angler in the Kent Narrows and then did the final leg to Andy's at Chestertown. For those of you who haven't been to Andy's I have this message for you: Go! If there's a band on go, if there's not, go anyway (actually Patty Larkin is playing on June 14th so no excuses). Andy's, and Andy, is the most welcoming place and person you can imagine. Soft chairs, cool staff - hey Cindy! - everything you could want for. Cone and I laid back on the couches and waited for The Kennedys to arrive, which they duly did and this is where the trouble started... Since the previous evening two things happened: 1) I got the confidence to ask Maura to play a request for me and 2) I couldn't stop singing _Never Learn_. This is far and away my favourite Kennedys song and personally rank it as one of my favourite songs by any artist. So I ask Maura would she do this for me and she replied "Oh." After a long pause she added "We've never done that live before - it's because of the harmonies you know". I didn't know really and obviously the crestfallen look on my face stirred something in Maura and she promised to give it a go. Just before Andy and Denise (the opeing act and higly recommended) came on the four of them (Pete, Maura, Andy, Denise) were huddled in the corner and miraculously I could hear note perfect, the strains of "You left the light on through the night...." rise from the corner. I was awestruck. Soon after starting their set, The Kennedys decided to play _Never Learn_. I think Pete wanted to get it out of the way! After a truly humbling introduction that flattered me entirely, Maura sang the most beautiful version of this song. I was so moved. I find it really hard to describe how music affects me, so forgive me for not cenveying how I felt, but this was a moment of pure joy. So that was my five minutes of spotlight and I was happy when it turned back again to Pete's incredible guitar playing. A huge first set was followed by a short break and then straight back into it. Both Maura and Pete were on fire - I don't really know how it compares to other gigs, but they seemed to be playing out of their skins and really enjoying their day jobs. The Dylan theme continued and as the audience were faily reticent I with requests I shouted out a request for _Boots Of Spanish Leather_. It's one of my favourite tracks on Nanci Griffith's Other Voices Other Rooms and I knew Pete had played on it (we had talked about how good it was the previous evening). I assumed (given Pete's history on this song) that they'd both know it, but Maura didn't really know the lyrics. After much cajoling, I ended up holding the Dylan songbook for Maura as she sang. Two things you have to know about this songbook: 1) the typeface is *really* small. 2) this book is *really* heavy! If you know the song, it's pretty long, so by the end my arm was aching! I was singing along which presumably didn't help much because a) I get the verses mixed up and b) I pretty hopeless at carrying the tune. Maura of course pulled it off beautifully and my evening was made complete once again. So after that I vowed to keep shtum and not try to hassle the performers any further! The songs went on and on and eventually the THIRD set ended and there was about a dozen people in the room. It had to come to an end I s'pose, but eventually I climbed in my car and headed back for DC. I got to bed at about 4am and was rudely awakened for my flight at 6a. I'm writing this in a dazed state - I don't know if it's lack of sleep, or if it's because I spent the last couple of days with some of the nicest, kindest people imaginable. Cone, thank-you publically for taking me around this weekend and all the other stuff that you know about. Pete and Maura, thanks for being so gracious, so friendly and kind. Thanks for putting up with my questions and chatter and thanks most of all for putting on three completely kick-ass shows. This weekend was an amazing experience for me and one that I will cherish. We're incredibly lucky to be able to experience this type of music in our lives. Sorry for the overblown post - if you've got this far without skimming: well done! I try and make my posts a little more terse in future... The Kennedys: Life *is* Large. DjP Check out the Kennedys' Official Home Page: http://www.KennedysMusic.com/ Fab photos, the Official tour diary, dashboard Buddha haiku, groovy merchandise...what more could you ask for? ------------------------------ End of jangle-poets-digest V3 #80 *********************************