Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Jan and I went to see Neil Innes last night.
He was freakin' hilarious.
He was totally acoustic.
His act reminded me of me.
But funnier.
The audience was a good mix of people who knew him from the Bonzo Dog Band (smallest group), to people who knew him from his work with the Pythons (biggest group) and people who came to hear Rutles songs (almost nearly as big a group as the Python group).
The sheer numbers of us who knew the Rutles tunes, well enough to sing BACKGROUND for Neil, was truly amazing.
Two tried and true lines that never fail to get a laugh:
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it's wonderful to be."
and
"My career truly spans."
OF COURSE he sang "Brave Sir Robin." So did we all.
The stories he told about the Pythons were sidesplitting.
If he shows up in your municipality, you NEED to go see Neil Innes. I haven't felt that good after a show in years.
--------
I'm really impressed with the Phoenix Suns coming out at 4-0 to start the season. If they win tonight, they'll tie their best starting record when they went 5-0 in 1986 before losing a game...
...and then finished 36-46 for the year. A good start does not a good team make. But these guys appear to be for real.
-------
It's getting harder to find touring folk acts that might be enticed to come play at Fiddlers' Dream. Thing is, we're smoll. But, the audience usually buys more stuff (CDs, T-shirts, etc.) than the performer anticipates so they always make money.
We're knocking around various names; I like to get established, nay, LEGENDARY names in if possible. Thing is, most of the legends are dead. That makes them cheap but rather unreliable. They never show. The living ones can cost too much. We all want Janis Ian. But she's still too bankable.
About 3 years ago I booked Dave Van Ronk into Fidd's. I had no idea that it was going to be his second-to-last show ever. But it was. And even though he was clearly in pain, and suffering from what he thought was colitis but which turned out to be last-stage colon cancer, he was still fantastic.
I want my legends healthy from now on. When I suggested we book Tom Chapin this year, my first thought was to ask about his health. (He's fine and he was great.)
Hell, if I'd known, we could have booked Neil Innes.
TT
He was freakin' hilarious.
He was totally acoustic.
His act reminded me of me.
But funnier.
The audience was a good mix of people who knew him from the Bonzo Dog Band (smallest group), to people who knew him from his work with the Pythons (biggest group) and people who came to hear Rutles songs (almost nearly as big a group as the Python group).
The sheer numbers of us who knew the Rutles tunes, well enough to sing BACKGROUND for Neil, was truly amazing.
Two tried and true lines that never fail to get a laugh:
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it's wonderful to be."
and
"My career truly spans."
OF COURSE he sang "Brave Sir Robin." So did we all.
The stories he told about the Pythons were sidesplitting.
If he shows up in your municipality, you NEED to go see Neil Innes. I haven't felt that good after a show in years.
--------
I'm really impressed with the Phoenix Suns coming out at 4-0 to start the season. If they win tonight, they'll tie their best starting record when they went 5-0 in 1986 before losing a game...
...and then finished 36-46 for the year. A good start does not a good team make. But these guys appear to be for real.
-------
It's getting harder to find touring folk acts that might be enticed to come play at Fiddlers' Dream. Thing is, we're smoll. But, the audience usually buys more stuff (CDs, T-shirts, etc.) than the performer anticipates so they always make money.
We're knocking around various names; I like to get established, nay, LEGENDARY names in if possible. Thing is, most of the legends are dead. That makes them cheap but rather unreliable. They never show. The living ones can cost too much. We all want Janis Ian. But she's still too bankable.
About 3 years ago I booked Dave Van Ronk into Fidd's. I had no idea that it was going to be his second-to-last show ever. But it was. And even though he was clearly in pain, and suffering from what he thought was colitis but which turned out to be last-stage colon cancer, he was still fantastic.
I want my legends healthy from now on. When I suggested we book Tom Chapin this year, my first thought was to ask about his health. (He's fine and he was great.)
Hell, if I'd known, we could have booked Neil Innes.
TT
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