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February 12, 2006
Rudderless
I've seen Evan Dando live three times now. On Halloween night in 1996, at the Cabaret in Montreal with his last incarnation of the Lemonheads, he played one of the best shows I've ever seen. He consumed an entire bottle of some kind of whiskey over the course of it, remarking at one point that he couldn't understand why his voice was so shot. He and the members of Imperial Teen, who opened, manned a kissing booth after the show. It was a blast.
A couple of years ago at Lee's Palace, supporting the uneven but wildly underappreciated Baby I'm Bored, he put on a shockingly professional and enjoyable performance. He seemed sober, and Juliana Hatfield had been strategically cast on bass to keep him from doing anything stupid. I had a good time.
And then, last night at the Horseshoe… 54 minutes of hit-and-miss solo acoustic, after which he stormed off in a huff because people were talking too loud during "Big Gay Heart," one of the worst songs he's ever written. He looked like death warmed over for the third time and was either wasted or affecting wasted for the benefit of what seemed like an entire generation of Torontonians that was in attendance. Either way it was pretty sad. "If he drops dead on stage I'm asking for my money back," said one of the people I was with. "I don't care. I'll be that guy." I had a good time because of good company, alcohol, and a nice version of "My Drug Buddy."
I felt… old.
Posted by Chris Selley at February 12, 2006 10:11 PM
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Comments
Hey, "Big Gay Heart" is kind of a throwaway, but "one of the worst songs he's ever written?" A bit harsh, no/ Dando's had a hand in some really, really terrible songs. Besides, it's a co-write, and Sneaky Pete's tasty steel guitar makes it at least palatable.
Posted by: LC at February 13, 2006 03:55 PM