Notes on the Parr Concert

Friends,

Last night's Charlie show was another treat. Not because he's awesome, which he is, but he had a special guest with him. Now, once I (along with the Ghost of Nostradamustache & Kami) got to see Charlie's concert with a full band called Devil's Flying Machine up in Duluth at Pizza Luce. It was an amazing damn concert. Last night, he had a hillbilly percussionist with him.

The guy, whose name I couldn't clearly hear because Charlie's between song patter is usually mumbled, so I think his name was Wayne or something, hard to know. Anyway, the guy played the washboard (he had three different kinds of washboards), the spoons, and two things I've never seen played before. First, he played what looked like a railroad spike with a hammer. And there was a method to it as well as he was able to get different pitches of ping off the spike by hitting it in different spots as he laid it across his lap.

The other thing I had never seen before, Charlie got out his banjo (which I don't think I've seen him play live before, usually just an acoustic and his National steel, but that's not the really unique thing), and the percussion guy cozied up close to Charlie. The percussion guy produced two small, straw like drum sticks and then beat on the banjo strings while Charlie played it (what was interesting too is that he was not wearing finger picks that I could tell when he played the banjo, but was wearing them when playing his acoustic). It gave the effect of the banjo sounded like it was picked much faster than it was in reality, and but really it was a subtle effect overall, but something really interesting.

I was enjoying myself quite a bit until the venue reared its ugly head. I don't know who are these people that show up to the Charlie Parr shows to dance like hayseed ravers, but they were out in force this time doing their strange kicky dances (Lord of the Dance hoedown, really). So once they got enough booze in them, they clotted that very, very small area in front of the Sugar Room stage.

To call it a stage is generous since it is approximately 3 inches off the floor. And Emily & I had to sit at the table closest to the dancers, in the middle because of the 7 tables they have at the Sugar Room 2 were reserved, 4 were taken, so we had to take what we could. We had assumed, wrongly, that with this being the summer, the Sugar Room would be less crowded for a Charlie concert. Soon it became uncomfortable to sit where we were as we could no longer watch Charlie play on account of the hayseed ravers, and also because of the 400 pound woman wearing a neon green sweater pullover kept getting in the way.

Then this asshole came up to us and said, "Hey, I was talking to my friend Rick and we think you should move your table so more people can dance so could you join the table behind you?" First, who the fuck is Rick, and why would I give a fuck about the dancers? It's my opinion that dancers at the Sugar Room aren't dancing because they are moved to do it, it's because they want to be the show. And you know, I don't want to look at the white people kicking around and hopping. For God's sake, there's only about 4 feet of room in the place to dance at all, so why force the issue? I mean, go to a symphony, and if they play a waltz, it's not like you have the right to piss off people to swing around. So, Rick's friend & I compromised by moving the table back about two feet or so, but not joining with the other table. It got even more overwhelming, so I paid the tab and we left. Thank god it got to be too much after Charlie played Jubilee & 1922.

There was one other thing that surprised me. There was a really high number of done-up women, ready for a night out to go man-trolling. And the guys, for the most part, seemed on their game as well. So, it made me realize that people didn't go to this concert to listen to Charlie play, but it is some kind of scene. They wanted to hop around in tight quarters. A cracker juke joint for young professionals. I was completely unaware that either Charlie, or the Sugar Room, were a part of this roots music version of the Haze that is apparently what this is all about. I had assumed the crowdedness before was just because people liked Charlie Parr and wanted to listen to him, but this time it all dawned on me.

I tell you, I'm glad I got to see Charlie play one last time before I go to Madison. And if he stops by there while I'm living there, then I know what to be prepared for.

viva el mustache