(Our staff photographer comes out from behind the lens to offer us his view...)
(Our staff photographer comes out from behind the lens to offer us his view...)
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Houston 'reens fans got an early Xmas gift on December 12th when the Smithereens took part in The First Annual Christmas Concert sponsored by local rock radio station KLOL. This station rarely plays The Smithereens because they have changed their focus so many times in search of a larger listening audience. The Smithereens were sandwiched between two opening acts and the headliner, Eddie Money. Pat DiNizio spoke to me outside the venue and said the band didn't have a sound check because Money had used all eight hours allocated. The lack of a soundcheck was apparent with all the opening acts. The show started with a local blues band called Mark May and the Agitators. The stage area was cramped and the sound mix was terrible. The guitars were uneven and the vocals just about non-existent. The second act was Cory Stevens. This band's mix had the vocals up front and loud but very muddy and incomprehensible. The Smithereens eventually came on with little or no fanfare. Half of the crowd was into them and the others were into something else, maybe themselves. (Besides the incessant chatting, fans at one point even started a chant of "Eddie, Eddie…") Jamie Hoover once again handled the bass duties for the absent Mike Mesaros. The set consisted of the 'reens standards, opening with Only A Memory then War For My Mind, leading into Groovy Tuesday. Guitarist Jim Babjak dominated the sound mix. Hearing Jim this way showed me that he is a very busy man on lead guitar. As the concert went on, the sound evened a little but was never really good. Pat commented that they were going to play the hits and some not-so-well-known tunes. The set list was as follows:
Only A Memory This show had no encore. (i.e., no A Girl Like You.). The 'reens performance also wasn't of the usual high quality that we have come to expect. The guys played with great showmanship but it lacked several Smithereens trademarks. Jamie played along really well with the others and seemed to fit right in. When I last saw them in June, he seemed a little out of place. Although I enjoyed the show, I thought it was too short (and it was), and the sound mix was horrible. In comparison with the other acts, the Smithereens were the best, even though this is the worst 'reens performance I've attended. The crowd rushed the stage after the Smithereens to see the local radio station's "shock jocks," so you can guess the mentality of some fans. It's interesting that the very same radio station sponsored the only other sub-par show that I've seen. (A benefit concert at Sam's Place, no less!) After fighting through the crowd, I noticed that the place was less than full. We made it to the stage exit and waited for the 'reens to come out, although the stagehands said they had left. Money appeared on stage with big fanfare, large video monitors and lots of stage area. He was truly the one calling the shots this evening. Pat came out and called me by name and shook my hand. He immediately began complaining about the sound mix, the stage and allotted time of the 'reens performance. (The very things that I had noticed.) Later, we talked briefly with Jim, who spoke of upcoming projects, including a possible Buzzed Meg compilation track. He told us that he has some 20 songs written just for this band, and that he will write songs with Pat for the next Smithereens album, this spring. We also spoke briefly to drummer Dennis Diken, who was receptive but definitely didn't want to talk. The highlight was a candid, wonderful conversation with Jamie. He made it quite clear that he was having a wonderful time with this band and that he would stay on as long as they needed him. He confessed to us that he was caught off guard when the band played Time And Time Again. Jamie had never played this before and had to improvise. The audience didn't seem to know this because the bass was mixed (or unmixed) in the sea of noise behind Jim. Jamie then told us that Pat asked him on stage what he was doing, and he confessed to Pat that he had never played the song before. Pat said that they had played it hundreds of times before. (No Pat, that was with the other bass player!) Even though the sound mix at this show was poor quality, I won't miss the 'reens next local performance. I also hope to see Pat on his solo tour. If you don't have his solo album (Songs And Sounds, VelVel), curse yourself once -- and then go buy it! WALK ON…
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 Photo by C. Persails | |
 Photo by C. Persails | |
 Photo by C. Persails | |
 Photo by C. Persails |