The Del Amitri Concert, September 1, 1997
by Darren Holmquist

If you're interested in a very long winded "What Happened In Minneapolis", read on. If not, delete now!

Muggy. Humid. Sticky. Three words that truly describe Minneapolis in September. Laura and I sat inside a place called Lucky's waiting for the show. Lucky's is an open air bar right next to the stage. Eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the floor, as is the custom in the bar. Barenaked Ladies had a good strong following and we listened to them from the safety of the of the covered section. We listened to the band, and watched their devout following get drenched in a torrential downpour as the band started a "Don't Rain On Me" rap.

We were able to nose our way up to the front of the stage with little trouble. The band came on about 15 minutes late, and started out the normal set list.

Then something went wrong. Feedback in the monitors. Not a good thing. Justin gave up singing Just Like A Man and stayed away from the mic. Although, I think it was Andy's mic that was the problem. This, according to his violent reaction to the continued wail. Mark got up and left his drum kit to go talk to the monitor monitors. He said later that all of a sudden he was getting just guitars and a little vocal. He motioned to the mix guys and they turned all the guitars off and put up full bass through his monitors. That's when he got fed up and went to talk to them in person.

Justin apologized profusely.

Minneapolis is a big Dels town. There were several Change Everything t-shirts, the type of which I haven't seen before.

Paper Thin caused a stir, as people hadn't heard it before. So did a joke Justin made about Princess Diana and the rest of the royal family.

The show went very smoothly from there on out. And for those interested, Justin did wear his leather pants.

The guys probably each dropped about 13 pounds in just pure sweat. Justin looked like he walked straight out of the ocean with his bass. The guitar itself was sweating!

I finally got to hear Drowned On Dry Land live. Several people asked me what that and Paper Thin were, and what disc are they on. I was singing all the words, you see...

Kris and a roadie finished off Iain's bottle of whiskey while he was doing the harmonies on Downfall. I think Iain really wanted that last slug! As, he slung the bottle under the drum riser when they handed him the empty bottle!

Kris also sang back up on Downfall.

Andy sang one note on Drowned On Dry Land, but stopped at a roadies request.

Instead of Kiss This Thing Goodbye, they ended the show with Girlfriend by local heroes The Replacements.(Is this correct? Is there a song by The Replacements called Girlfriend?? When I asked Iain about it, he was so drunk I had a hard time understanding.) Justin said the band had learned it in Colorado. They all came out center stage to say goodbye, which I hadn't seen them do before.

The band then retreated to the bus to begin the post-tour party. The bus was packed to the gills with the usuals. Mark actually apologized later, for not getting me in on the festivities. He said it was so crowded they could hardly move.

They did all come out eventually. Quinner recognized me. Which surprised me, as I only had time to say a quick hello to him when they were here in Portland. He was hoping to move the party down to a club on 1st Avenue. (Or maybe it was called The 1st Avenue, that wasn't clear) I guess it's one of the bands' favorite hang out while in Minneapolis.

There was the usual assortment of autograph hounds. I introduced myself to Iain. He just laughed called me another infidels spy. Justin took up a young lady's offer to buy him a beer, and walked across the street to a bar. There were a few fans who had stuck around long enough to see where they were going to go. And were treated to a personal audience for their persistance. Who and what did I talk to and about? Here goes...

Talked with Quinner; among the topics were the days spent in CA. Now, I know the rest of the story! He also said that September is pretty much booked for radio and TV appearances in the UK in support of Medicine. It all starts on Monday.

I met and talked with Derek for quite awhile. He was trying to talk me into going to the Barrowlands show in November.

Mark says that the strange cd he bought while he was in Portland was pure shite. I didn't ask, but it sounds like it's probably on the side of the road between Portland and San Francisco!

I turned the tables on Iain and gave him one of MY guitar picks as a joke. He then dug into his pocket and came up with a hand full of his. After the show, the roadies handed out Justin's picks and gave one to me specifically. I'm still not sure why. Does Justin chew on his picks?? This one is full of teeth marks! Iain's was worn, so it's been used alot. It's the red triangle one with Del Amitri on one side, and something else on the other. What's on the other side?? I can't make it out.

Justin came inside and we talked off and on for the rest of the night. Kelli, he's mailed off the lyrics package. (winner is lucky #7) So, it's on it's way.

Talked alot of music stuff, why he cut his hair, and B-sides. He says, that the current plan is to release an A-sides greatest hits package in the UK, and a B-sides package in the US. That's the way I remember it, anyway. This should happen next year. (Subject to change at any time, of course!)

I asked him what his favorite B-sides were. He immediately said, In The Frame. And then had to think of the name, but came up with Someone Else Will. He started to explain what it was, then realised who he was talking with! He then said there's a very obscure one he really likes called "Long Journey Home". I had to inform him what disc it is on, though. He didn't know. We also discussed I&P and a couple of things that we agreed on trying to work together on to get done. One of which is a great idea that I probably would've never asked of him. But "our kid" Douglas prompted me. Next tour, Justin and I are going to try and find the time to sit down and have him talk about each Dels song, in order. He said he's got a great memory for that, and that it'd take a couple of hours. "Currie Remembers".

We talked about the mix on SOSP. Justin says they did approach Bob Clearmountain to mix it. But Bob didn't want to mix a simple, straight forward rock album. Justin feels the album suffered because of that. He likes the mix on Twisted.

What I forgot to ask him, is if they'll be recording the Albert Hall show with the orchestra. I think it's an obvious show to record. Both audio and video. If anyone gets the chance, ask him before that show gets near! Mike??

We also discussed the video for Not Where It's At. He wasn't happy with it. He had the director, the concept, everything thrust on him. I asked if he likes the video for Medicine. His face lit up, and he said "Yes! You want to see it!?!" We took off for the bus like a bat outta hell, and he put it in. He said he liked the director's reel, and he laughed when he read the treatment. And laughed even harder when he saw the final edit.

We all drank a ton of Guiness, with my pint glass rarely getting near the bottom before he's handing me another one. Everyone was buying Iain hard alcohol but he kept setting it down in favor of a Guiness.

Justin, Kris and Mark were off to another party and Quinner chastised them "be back on the bus by 11:30 tomorrow morning!" Quinner, Iain, Andy, the roadies gave us a ride back to our hotel, as they staying across the street. They gave us more beer and we all gave a big salute to the end of the tour. And then they were off to bed.

And so endeth the US tour of '97.