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Oh, the night was coming to a close, the cute dudette I met earlier
seemed mad at me because I think she misunderstood my "It's not
like he was wearing a fur" comment, and the last band of this
chilly May day and night was coming up - Erasure. To my surprise the
place was still packed, I half expected most of the crowd to bolt
after Nigel and Gavin, but they stayed. It was Erasure's time to
play.
Unlike some of the bands previously, I was pretty knowledgeable
about Erasure's repertoire. The thing I didn't know was that this
band sort of really wasn't a band. I'm checking out the stage and
there are five microphones, a keyboard-looking thing, and an
acoustic guitar. Where's the drums, where's the rest of the guitars,
where's the band? And then the band came out. Out front, Andy Bell
on vocals, in back Vince Clark on keyboard and synthesizer buttons,
and in between were the back-up singers.
Colorful, oh yes they were, most of the colors of the rainbow were
present in the robes and clothes of the band.
As much as I was familiar with Erasure's music, in all honesty I
forgot about most of it, and I forgot about how bouncy, synthesizer
based, and how much fun they could be. All of a sudden those bad
fraternity dance parties started to come back to mind, all of a
sudden I was singing along, and as I looked at the crowd everyone
was dancing along to what had to be the band with the fewest
instruments I could ever remember seeing.
Andy Bell was totally animated - singing with those familiar
vocals, bouncing up and down around the stage, while Vince, hmmm,
well, when he jammed on the keyboards was really cool, but I guess
his real work comes in programming the synth music he brought forth
with a touch of a button.
I've got to give Erasure TWO THUMBS UP to end the night because
any band that could keep this very tired and cold crowd going for
the last forty minutes really deserves it.
The Dude on the Right's Final Words
So, the day was coming to an end. As I look back on Q101's
Jamboree 97, in a bit stolen from Wendy and Bill in the mornings on
Q101, I can say I learned a few things. I learned about a dude
called Moby, and I must be getting some of his CD's. Very cool. I
learned that there is a job just dancing around on stage, and it
very may well be the coolest job in the world. I re-learned that
punk is still some of the best music out there. I learned that I
still don't like Beck, although he is one of the best performers
I've ever seen. I learned that mustard comments can be taken out of
context by a cute dudette with some gorgeous blue eyes. I learned
that cold is a state of mind until your body is numb. I learned that
one song doesn't make a band - sometimes it's better, sometimes it's
worse. And I learned that any weather forecast can be predicted by a
Q101 Jamboree show.
In all this had to be one of the most diverse group of musical
outings I have ever seen. From techno to jazzy, from punk to metal,
all that was needed was some classical and some country and the day
would have covered it all. Whatever they say, the Q101 Jamboree is
always an event I look forward to because I learn so many things.
TWO BIG THUMBS UP for Jamboree 97, and if the cute girl with the
gorgeous eyes reads this, e-mail me and I'll re-explain that whole
fir comment.
Until the next one, I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!
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