04/30 JackFest

Went to JackFest last night, a friend of mine had tickets for a suite at the Xcel and was good enough to invite me, so I went with him. Saw four acts:


The Gin Blossoms

Quick, name a hit of theirs besides "Hey Jealousy". They played their songs and got out. It's never good when the lead singer tells the crowd "We're used to only playing places with a Ferris Wheel." Yes, it's the part of the rock and roll lifestyle that nobody ever talks about; they focus on Bowie and Clapton and ignore the Wal-Mart greeter-lever gigs most big bands wind up playing (speaking of which, Canned Heat was at the Narrows last night and Bill Halley and the Comets were at the Medina - unless they're wheeling coffins up on stage there's some serious inheritance going on there.)


The Pretenders

I am of the era but never liked the Pretenders, so I was ready to snooze through this. I did not appreciate what a great showwoman Chrissy Hynde is. She really made their set fun to watch and their performing after the Blossoms stood around and played instruments got the crowd re-engaged.


The Stray Cats

Best show of the night, best show in a long time. Fun fact: I had previously seen the Cats in their first Minneapolis show waaaaay back when they opened for the Rolling Stones at the same location (when it was the St. Paul Civic Center). I was too young to go myself so I went with my dad's secretary. Anyway, they've just reformed and this was the first show of their tour. It was great! They sounded great, they interacted well and Brian Setzer is the reincarnation of Eddie Cochran. I wonder if Jack Knife and the Sharps and The Reverend Horton Heat and all the other outfits that have been stealing the Cats' act for the last 25 years were in the audience.

Worth the price of admission all on its own. They did a version of "Lights Out" that would have made any rockabilly spirit smile.


ZZ Top

Um...yeah. Maybe time to hang it up. Some signs your band is well past its prime:

• Your "stage show" is an LCD screen running a WinAmp visualization.


• You randomly stop singing in the middle of songs because you know the audience is singing every word along with you.


• You are, shall we say, casual about things like hitting notes and keeping the beat.


• You have obviously oft-repeated stories introducing your songs. ("Jewelry! Jewelry!")


• You have exactly one new song, during which everyone goes and gets drinks and goes to the bathroom.

The Crowd

This wasn't an act, just observations about my fellow concert-goers. Gen X is getting older. The guy with the mohawk and bald spot? Dude, the "O-hawk" is never going to catch on. But there we are, all hip and cynical and watching the Daily Show between baby feedings.



5 down, 25 to go.