Before Portland, well at least before our last trip to Portland… Was there ever a before Portland? A B.P. that delineates some golden age from the heathen, dark days when there were no bridges slinging the Willamette like sutures? Wow, just barely out of the gate before I totally derailed myself.
As I had begun to mention, on Friday night – before going to Portland on Saturday – we went and saw us a little show. Kickers left with the grandparents, earrings put on Biff, parking procured for an astronomical price, and it was us for a night at the Showbox to see Camper Van Beethoven and Built to Spill.
After two quick whiskies and a couple of PBR tall boys (I said it, PBR tall boys), we got into a good position for the coming of CVB. Biff and I had gone to see Camper Van Beethoven when they reformed a number of years back and we were both pretty blown away by the show, so we were jazzed for another shot at seeing them live. Save for the bass player, these guys do not look like a band. Lead singer David Lowery, in his beard, glasses and paperboy hat, looks like one of those 40 something men who hang around coffee shops and speak to promises of a great writing career soon to come. Jonathan, the violinist, looks like any number of men you might see wandering the streets of any small burg in northern California; very long hair, untucked flannel shirt, crazed look in the eyes of just having ingested any number of psychotropic drugs. The bass player, in his short silver/gray hair, plays bass as if nothing else makes him feel sexier or cooler. I like that.
I get all hot over a band who does not have that cookie cutter, “I’m in a band” look and can rock it like nobody’s business. I was crazy down with the CVB from the get go, but when they invited Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch on to sing their “Good Guys & Bad Guys”… Well I was somewhere else altogether. I was pretty thrilled with the Camper Van Beethoven set, but when I realized that we were scant minutes away from Built to Spill, I got all tingly in my stomach.
I really don’t feel like I have developed any other words of praise to bestow on the good men of Built to Spill, I have not learned to explain a way that this band makes me feel any better than I could do last year. And yet I will vainly try again for a moment…
Built to Spill is one of VERY few bands that take me to another place altogether when I see them live. They give me that dry mouthed, adrenaline filled thrill of being caught in a moment that will never happen the same again ever. They give me that drugged up feeling without taking any drugs. A Built to Spill show for me is something I would equate to a tent revival – call it God, call it the infinite, call it magic, I am left feeling a hard sought connection and as though something has fundamentally effected my soul. It’s church, praise Jeebus.
The guys were on fire and seemingly having a good time. I remember at one point looking up at Doug while he tried to find God up there through closed eyes, apparently hanging around the crystal sculpture of guitar runs he had just left in the air, and I laughed an honest and true laugh. Hearing “Car” with Riley now in my life became an emotionally overwhelming moment – the line, “I wanna see it when you find out what comets, stars and moons are all about” made me hold my breath and cry. I can’t really explain it, but in that stoney/dream logic that holds true in the middle of an experience like this, I felt that this show was a necessary door to go through before we hit the road, a blessing from the boys for a good trip.
After the final notes of “Velvet Waltz” reluctantly shimmered out of existence, Doug walked around the stage, picking up his gear and talking to a handful of fans. I felt as though I was walking around in small little circles, enjoying the sense of fulfillment I was swimming in. When he sort of glanced my way, I waved up to him and called out “thank you.” He gave me that sideways wave and that smile.
Good show. Good, good show.
Rocktober song of the day: "I Would Hurt A Fly" by Built to Spill
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