January 10, 2003 - The Iron Horse - Northampton, MA - with Freedy.
TONY: Helluva night. Helluva night. Woo yeah. So although Max and Henning rehearsed with Ken as a trio, it turned out that Ken could not make the show, as he had another commitment out in North Adams with Mark Mulcahy's rock opera thingy. In the end, it's safe to say (and this was the general consensus, not just my own opinion), but the duo was probably cooler and more compatible than a trio conceivably would have been. Since Freedy was playing purely solo, to have had that third musician onstage in SFTD, the effect would have been overkill on certain songs. Anyway, 3 guys would've been much more like a band and something more akin to a solo act was what was desired to fit the bill. And there really was nothing lacking. It was like a really great Henning open mic performance, only Max was onstage to beef up the songs with bass and pack a wallop with a dollop of chemistry. The pair went down huge. My spot on the floor was the second table from the stage, smack in the middle of the "dance floor," not too close to have to keep my head cranked at a 45 degree angle but also with nothing else in my line of vision. And that Henning is a tall one, too. At my table were Lesa plus Rob and Lori. Brian came in just in time for the first song and sat right behind me. We wuz representin'. Lesa ordered a Caesar salad that she noshed on for a solid half-hour but the lettuce pile never seemed to diminish in size. I remarked that she must have ordered the magical regenerating salad plate. Impressed, Rob and Lori both ordered the same thing. I don't think either of them were able to finish theirs either. First tune was Overs. Oh, oh, oh, so smoove. A song that goes down well anyway but Max and Henning just nailed it. Had to have been a confidence booster to just whip through such a smooth, delicious version of a song right out of the gate. For Soup Of The Moment, Max threw a leg on top of one of the monitor speakers a la your run-of-the-mill arena rocker god of yore. It was the first of many treats that the duo contributed to the performance to make it more entertaining for the folks than just a pure songfest. And whereas we experienced waning attention from the audiences for our last two Iron Horse shows as a band, the crowd was very much into our Max and Henning this evening. There was very little talking going on, all faces seemed riveted with the action onstage. They hung on Henning's every word between songs, laughed at all his comments, even the serious ones. People chuckled and aahhed as the alliteration of Day Job met their ears and responded at song's end with massive applause. However, all adored Uncomfortable- the applause for that tune was just as hearty and huge as it would be for when Freedy pulled out any of his classics. Also mad love for Photobooth Curtain and then delighted appreciation for a performance well done at set's end. It is so hard to win over a crowd who are there specifically to see a headliner. No matter how compatible your music may be with the main attraction, people often are just anxious to see who they came to see and they at best pay attention to you, at worst malign you but most often just kinda tolerate you and wait it out. In that sense an opening gig at The Horse isn't as wonderful as you think it might be but occasionally you just nail the crowd and walk away possibly trumping the headliner. Proof? People sang along (a good percentage, too- enough that it could be heard throughout the club, unamplified) to Photobooth Curtain. You really go out on a limb when you, the opening act, ask a crowd to sing along but they heartily obliged. Lovely. One last detail- mustn't forget the unchoreographed yet perfectly mirrored leg kicks in Wichita by the Henning/Max axis. Everything was clicking. Well, not everything, I guess. After all, Henning placed his capo on the wrong fret for "I Can't Believe" and Max played a few notes out of key before he realized what was going on and made the necessary adjustments but he did make them and was spotless from the second half of the song onwards. When I myself realized what was going on, I leaned over and told Brian, then as I looked back up to the stage, I noticed Henning looking directly at me and although he was in the process of singing and playing, he shook his head at me, communicating that he recognized what had happened as well. That's cool. Talk about a band on the same wavelength. I wonder if way out in North Adams, Ken (who has issues with playing songs out of their normal key in the first place- his one weakness) could feel a ripple all the way from Noho that things were off. And when Henning asked for Brian's participation on the last song- to count them in from out in the crowd, he did so but they came in wrong. Of course, Ken normally is the one who comes in first of all of us on that song so things went awry. A second count-in after realizing this rectified the situation and things were well again. But in the end, these mere two goofs only added to the charm and entertainment value of the set. Just as when Freedy stopped one of his songs midway to chastise himself for missing a chord and then resuming once he figured out the correct one, the audience just semed to cherish the human error as charming in its self-effacing down-to-earthiness. I'm not keen on writing too much about Freedy's set. Not knowing his songs beforehand (I did recgnize "Evie's Tears" but only really knew the covers he played, which included Elton's Rocket Man, Todd Rundgren's I Saw The Light, Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman and a smoove cover of Herb Alpert's This Guy's In Love With You), it's almost like he was the opening act to me. I enjoyed it and am curious to now check out some of his stuff but certainly I'd have to say that the hits that came later in the set seemed to tower over the other material. And this is not knowing what was what- I only learned this from Henning later on. I mean, of course, that's the standard op, to play your fan faves toward the end. At any rate, I remember digging Evie's Tears, Dolores, Underwater Life, You Get Me Lost (well, I did know that one, too, as it was performed by Philip at Max and Anya's wedding) and although I don't know the name of it, I also liked the song where he stopped himself partway through to correct his chords. After the show, Philip invited Freedy to hang with a group of us at Bar 19 and he accepted. So Philip, Debi, Hen, Lesa, Max, Anya, Freedy and I hung out for a few hours there. Nice job. I chatted mostly with Max myself, who was directly next to me but also spoke some bidnis with Ning later on. As we left the bar, poor Freedy took a dive, slipping on a perilous patch of Calvin Theatre sidewalk ice and he took it in stride, landing fully on the ground for effect. One second, he's walking behind me, the next, he's spreadeagled on the sidewalk with a grin on his face. Must be nice to be a solo act away from home but instantly accepted into a group of friends simply because of the amazing songs you write and perform. Welcome to Northampton. KEN: BRIAN: MAX: HENNING:	Overs Soup Of The Moment The New You Day Job 1,000 Times Uncomfortable Stranger In Your Own Town (w/ Lesa Bezo on vocals) I Can't Believe How Fast Photobooth Curtain The Wichita Train Whistle Sings