#871: Hello ... Hello ... my old friends ... It's great to see you once again! The love of
Pugwash engenders many things. And one of those is endearing friendships ... even with folks that you haven't
(yet) met. One of those wonderful folks is
David Tolar, a huge fan, of course, of
ELO and now a confirmed member of a growing band of
Pugwashian disciples.
David has had the good fortune to be able to go see the mighty
Pugwash on their second tour of the US eastern seaboard in the last week or so. Not once, not twice but three times. I thought that it would be a good idea to ask
David to carry out the first ever stateside gig review for
ELO Beatles Forever (ELOBF).
So, without further ado, here are David's recollections and thoughts regarding those two Pugwash concerts he attended at Toad in Cambridge, Massachusetts sandwiched betwixt their gig at The Iron Horse, Northampton earlier this week thus:
Saturday 7th March: At The Toad
Despite a situation where
the boys couldn't hear themselves (due to a lack of stage monitors or wedges),
they pulled off a show so eclectic and so insanely good that it left my wife
saying, "So why didn't you hear about them YEARS AGO?" ... again! A bit of background on
the venue itself: Toad is a venue that
holds no more than 60 people comfortably, and anything over and above that is
stifling. And folks, the place
was PACKED. Stuffed to the
proverbial gills with fans that in some cases had travelled great distances just
to see the band. In fact, the venue eventually had to
stop letting people in due to the demand. Pugwash took the 'stage' just after 11:00PM. I'm using the word 'stage' lightly because in all truth, the
venue wasn't really designed with a four piece band in mind, and between the
drums and amps, there wasn't enough room for all of the band to actually BE
onstage - bassist Shaun McGee had to spend the evening on the floor
as a result.
The other
'hindrance' to the staging? The bathrooms are located right behind a
swinging door, and to actually get to the door, you have to walk past the band. A constant parade of people
walking back and forth was the result, not to mention the bar staff who also
had to weave their way around the scene. The words
'controlled chaos' came to mind!
At this point,
you're probably asking "But how was the show?" If you're familiar with the Omnivore Recordings anthology, Pugwash hit virtually every
touchstone on that collection, plus they previewed a track from their
forthcoming album, arriving in stores in August. "Take Me
Away", "Keep Movin' On", "Answers On A Postcard",
"There You Are", "Apples", "Here", "Finer
Things In Life", "Anyone Who Asks", "Fall Down",
"Be My Friend A While" and set closer "It's Nice To Be
Nice" were all from the anthology. They did a lovely version of
"Dear Belinda" which was "... dedicated to anyone named Belinda
here!" and as for the band's covers on the night, there were some inspired
moments including snippets of "Whole Lotta Love", "A Well
Respected Man", "Paint It Black" and "Sunshine Of Your
Love". The big highlight was
a simply stunning off-the-cuff version of Roy Orbison's "Crying",
featuring guitarist Tosh Flood's soaring falsetto at the end which even caught Thomas Walsh a bit by surprise.
I can't remember EVERY
little snippet that they did, of course as being at a Pugwash show is like being
inside of a jukebox that is prone to jump around from genre to genre and style
to style in ways that are unimaginable unless you've actually EXPERIENCED this
for yourselves! It's a remarkably unique performance by four incredibly
talented musicians who just happen to be four of the nicest people you could
ever hope to meet and know in the 'music industry'. So yeah ... It's 4:00AM and I'm still awake. And best of all ... I'm doing
this again Monday and Tuesday night!
Monday 9th March: Rocking The Iron Horse
It's now a Tuesday
morning, just after midnight here at Chez Nous. I'm "Giddy" ... and
amazed ... and humbled ... and grateful ... and gobsmacked ...and I could go on and on
for hours! I still can't describe what I feel at the moment. Two nights. One with a
Toad, the other with an Iron Horse. Two completely
different venues. A tiny pub/bar/local watering hole, and one of the truly
great concert venues in both Western Massachusetts and the entirety of the
Pioneer Valley. Two nights where the
crowds exceeded expectations. Two nights of amazing
people, and even more astounding music. And now, something
that might possibly be the biggest "DUH!" moment I have EVER written
in ANY review I've ever done:
If you hear them once,
you will want to hear them more.
If you like one Pugwash album, you cannot stop there. You will want them all.
If you see them
once, you will be a fan for life.
Two nights. Two polar
opposites on the surface.
The true commonality:
Pugwash
The performance tonight had a similar set of songs played as the show at Toad, with a dazzling set of
cover tunes (and some truly inspired false starts). The primary emphasis
again was on the Omnivore anthology released last fall, with additional tracks
such as "Dear Belinda", "This Could Be Good" (a track they
did at Toad that I forgot to mention the other night), and set closer "Two
Wrongs" (not done at Toad), plus not one, but TWO songs from the forthcoming
album arriving in August ("Hung Myself Out To Dry" and an amazing
version of "The Fool I Had Become", which they had not aired
previously on the tour to date) and a song that made me say "If THIS is
what the album is going to sound like, then this is DEFINITELY going to be my "Album of the Year". The remaining anthology tracks were identical to the Toad
show.
One of the more
humorous moments was when Thomas started "Hey Jude", but then
reenacted a skipping record, jumping from artist to artist (including an
inspired few seconds of "Sweet Caroline" - of all things!). The sound mix was
incredible, and more than one audience member said "It's a shame this
wasn't shot on video or recorded for a live album - this is INCREDIBLE!". And it was. This show
truly was one for the ages. Perfect. Sublime.
Ridiculously amazing. Pugwash at their best.
A brief personal
interjection: The first concert I
ever attended was on 27 September 1978, at the old Boston Garden, as I
witnessed the Electric Light Orchestra on "The Big Night" tour, with
that spaceship of theirs. Since then, I've seen
more than 2000 shows, and have personally played at least another 500 more. Tonight was in my
all-time Top Ten shows. EVER. It. Was. Just. That. Good.
Tuesday 10th March: Return to The Toad
The staging was the
same as the first show. How Pugwash managed to squeeze that gear onto THAT
stage still blows my mind - and once again, bassist Shaun McGee had the floor to
stand on - these things ALWAYS happen to the bassist, don’t they?! This show felt more
like a very loose jam or rehearsal than a more 'proper' gig, in sharp
contrast to the Iron Horse show the preceding evening. Due to an earlier
start time, there weren't as many songs aired, but that didn't mean the
audience didn't have our share of laughs and a surprise or two along the
way...so with all of that in mind, here's the set list from the
second and final Toad performance:
Take Me Away; Keep Moving On; I Want To Break Free
(a very brief Queen snippet), Kings & Queens, Hung Myself Out To Dry, Gunga Din (a Byrds
snippet), Hickory Wind (a Gram
Parsons song with vocals by Tosh, while Thomas Walsh tuned), Don't You Write Her
Off (a track by former Byrds members McGuinn, Clark and Hillman - and a song
which Thomas frequently teases), Eye Of The Tiger (a
Survivor snippet), Be My Friend A While, Apples, There You Are, Words (a Bee Gees
snippet), Dear Belinda, Here, Your Friend (the first
airing of the track on this tour), Are Friends Electric?
(a Gary Numan/Tubeway Army snippet), Tainted Love (a simply
amazing version of that chestnut), Anyone Who Asks, Answer On A Postcard, Fall Down and It's Nice To Be Nice.
That was it for my three
nights with Pugwash. To Thomas Walsh, Tosh
Flood, Shaun McGee and Joey Fitzgerald: my sincere thanks! Cheers! Dave Tolar, ELOBF's roving (if not raving) reporter!
Yours Truly KJS thinks that you will agree with me that DT has done a stellar job in reviewing all three gigs for ELO Beatles Forever (ELOBF) and adding his amiable commentary. My thanx are extended to Dave and his wife Susan for their time, hard work and sheer enthusiasm. Over here in the UK, we can look forward to this quartet of Pugwash gigs in May thus:
Saturday 23rd May
Pugwash @ The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
Tickets: from £15 each (*plus booking fee)
thetradesclub.com/events/pugwash
Friday 29th May
Pugwash @ The Barfly, Camden Town
Tickets: £12.50 each (*plus booking fee)
www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/pua2905
Saturday 30th May
Pugwash @ Westway Cinema, Frome
Tickets: £10 each (*plus booking fee)
www.songkick.com/concerts/22689828-pugwash-at-westway-cinema
Sunday 31st May
Pugwash @ The Joiners, Southampton
Tickets: £12 each (*plus booking fee)
joiners.vticket.co.uk/product.php/241/pugwash
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