Electric Six @ First Avenue
March 24, 2006
Having been in hibernation (mostly) since early December, I have to say there was no better way to start spring and my return to society with a show by Electric Six. Yes, that certainly woke me up.
I wish I could say a few words about openers, The Fever, but unfortunately I have no opinion of them as I encountered Dick Valentine near the merch booth at the start of their set and it caused me to bounce up and down so intensely that I was rendered temporarily deaf (valen-tinnitus.) It also rendered me temporarily oblivious to the fact that after I gave Mr. Valentine his leave, Scott continued to speak with him for some time. I'm not sure what they talked about but when I went back to grab him Dick said, "She's back. You're Shannon. Is that your husband?" I quickly blurted out "NO! Just a friend! I'm single!"
Later, before the band played "Rock and Roll Evacuation," Valentine announced that he had been talking to a very powerful lobbyist before the show and had asked him if there was any way to stop Bush. Or something like that... Of course, that lobbyist is Scott, and of course Scott didn't even hear it. Isn't that the way it always goes? If anyone finds a recording of last night's show, drop me a line.
The show was fabulous. I can't remember the set list but they opened and closed with "Improper Dancing," squeezing the rest of the show between STOP! and CONTINUE! They played "Future is in the Future" and "I'm the Bomb," which made me happy, but did not play "Synthesizer" or "She's Guatemalan," which made me sad. No surprise, they didn't play "Honolulu." Great surprise, they covered Stevie Nicks's "Stand Back" which I must say never sounded so good.
Lastly, I'd like to extend a big thank you to Tyler Spencer for granting me that photo with Dick Valentine. You made my day. I hope your cold gets better soon. The band's scabies too.
Posted by me at March 25, 2006 5:30 PMAnd one other song they didn't play was "Getting into the Jam." Screw "Gay Bar," "Danger!'", "Dance Commander." I'm pretty sure that song and "Synthesizer" were the ones I most wanted to see live, if only for Dick's fake gunshots and crazy waving. I can only complain so much about that show, though.
Posted by: Dave at March 26, 2006 11:05 AMYeah, that's right! No "Getting Into the Jam!" That is sad indeed. The gunshots and waving were so brilliant. The Senior Smoke songs don't seem to have their own signature dance moves like Fire did. Half my dispair over the absence of "Synthesizer" comes from not getting to see Dick do the "for every boy and every girl" dance. It was good of him to give us the calisthenics. I thought maybe he'd take it easy due to his cold. What was the song where he pulled out his wallet and showed you his money? I can't believe I can't remember. I thought I had Dick memorized. Maybe it's because my copy of Fire is missing. I was gonna buy a new one at the show but they didn't have any. I bought the "Electric Six wants to take the pain away" shirt instead.
Did they play "Gay Bar?" I can't remember. I remember "Danger." I may have had too much to drink. My neck is killing me. I think I gave myself shaken baby syndrome.
Posted by: shannon at March 26, 2006 7:45 PMThey did play Gay Bar. I turned to you and made a fake punch to your head in reference to your premonition that you'd get kicked in the head during the song, but you didn't notice.
I wish I could remember what the wallet song was. You know, Dick probably wasn't joking when he mentioned "Fire" being out of print at the start of the show. I didn't notice them not having any copies, I guess because I wasn't looking for any.
I bought that same shirt but I didn't mean to. I wanted the red logo one but they were out. Oh well. We should try to wear our shirts on the same day sometime.
Posted by: Dave at March 26, 2006 9:33 PMA fake punch? I bet. So that's why my neck hurts: fake whiplash. I wonder if the wallet dance was for "I invented the night?"
We should totally wear our shirts and be twins. Perhaps I'll come to Transmission one of these nights? I think my new shirt is too big, but I'll figure something out. I forgot I already have the hot pink one that says "Sexy and Rich" in silver glitter on the front, although that one is too small.
"Fire" is out of print? I had better hurry up and order a new one. I have the files on my computer, but I'm still a sucker for those shiney plastic discs. I remember putting off my purchase of "Don't Be Afraid of the Robot" when they still had copies on Amazon--oops.
Posted by: shannon at March 27, 2006 8:35 AMWell, when they first came on stage Dick said something like "Our new album, Senor Smoke, is now available for sale here and to commemorate this occasion, we will play a song from an album that is no longer in print." And then they played "Improper Dancing."
Yeah, Transmission needs to happen.
Posted by: Dave at March 27, 2006 10:55 AMSuddenly, I feel gipped: http://flickr.com/photos/timoni/50516490/
Posted by: shannon at March 27, 2006 11:35 AM