Lou Barlow and Bobby Bare Jr - Comet Ping Pong basement show
Well expectations were high, but muted as I worried it could be a train wreck.
Few stats
gorgeous night in late august DC, decided to just get a 30 min walk in pre show
Show started around 9:45, and no openers.
Show was billed as a song swap, which I think is a great format
pre show Bobby was walking around with a 20 something blonde who was following closely his every move
The boys took the stage on barstools and the room was buts2nuts, luckily some of the taller people decided to stick the the left side
I'm a huge fan of bobby and his best work is on YSCL and FTEOYL which we got some of the best
I'll Be Around, The Terrible Sunrise, Flat Chested Girl from Maynardville, Visit Me in Music City and Valentine and Let's rock and roll
no dig down, but can't get everything
I saw him about 2 years ago and started doing something he never did in the past is do: his dad's songs
his 90 year old dad asked him, 'why don't you ever play my songs' and he was like, why the fuck not, never wanted to ride his coat tails so was the very thing I was never going to do, but now that my dad asked, I was like, people need to hear these songs
Most people associate this song with gram parsons: Streets of Baltimore
Well the first recorded version was a hit for his dad in 66 (written by Tompall Glaser and Harlan Howard)
I of course know it as an Uncle Tupelo Song (via a coffee creek boot)
needless to say, it was amazing and the crowd was rapt
He also did Daddy, What If ...written by Shel Silverstein
This is a duet with BBJ as a 6 yr old and his dad. Ended up being a huge hit, and he got nominated for a Grammy (but lost to the pointer sisters) but he was on He Haw and Old Opry because of that
He then goes on that lou usually does the little kid part, but he had a special guest tonight
The blonde 20 something was his 20 yr old daughter who did the kid's vocals in the song
So that was cool
There was some really good banter between lou and BBj
They were discussing how they met via GBV and touring together and Lou was like "I finally learned that Bob Pollard didn't actually hate me in real life, but was a stage thing, he feels it's import to slag everyone from the mic"
then then launched in to a killer cover of Game of Pricks
Lou had some great stories about coming back to Dino jr and what that was like and did some of the newer stuff, damn did it crush
they were killer
Garden was the only one I remembered the name
they finished with a great cover of:Cum On Feel the Noize
I'd like to say that 99% of Americans associate this with Quiet Riot, but it's really Slade hit, as Koz would surely comment
after the show, got to talk to BBJ at the merch table and bought a trucker hat (he had some GVB vinyl for sale too)
I was telling him I wanted to see him keep touring, and he kind of switched to a GVB response
"That band is never going to play live again, zero chance"
Was kinda shocked he lead with that, but I'm sure everyone keeps asking him
but then he was like, thing is we are still recording, so definitely expect more music, just no touring
