The Del Amitri Concert, July 8?, 1996
by Doug Brown

Doug's back. After a 2000 mile road trip through NY, PA, MD, OH, IN, IL, and WI. Topped off with an 11 hour drive home from Chicago that started at 11pm last night after dinner downtown. Phew!

Made it to Summerfest. I went with Leah and 2 high school chums of Leah's who unfortunately weren't into the music as much as us. But they still PROMISED to see Del Amitri (and even knew who they were!). Summerfest is HUUUUGE!!! It's hard to explain it's just so big. It's occupies a few miles of the Milwaukee lakefront. At one end is a big carnival. Summerfest is lots of beer oases, food and stands, and several stages of music. It's HUUUUGE!!

The Dels show was at 10pm. Around 8:30 we mosied over to their stage. It was a big one and Jann Arden was playing (quite well) to a sedate crowd. Everyone was seated and no one was up front. Just then Leah points to a lean dude in black cuffed jeans walking around the back and says, "Isn't that the guitar player"?

It's Iain!!!! I knew I was dating this Leah chick for a reason! :) Her astoundingly good people watching ability! So we book after him but he's gone. Then we notice 2 busses in the general vicinity of where he was heading. No one in the first one. In the second one Justin is standing in the front stuffing his face! I can't imagine Mick Jagger doing this. I just can't. Funny, they didn't show this side of him in "Let's Go Home". I twiddle my thumbs for a few waiting for guidance from above (below?) and sure enough 2 chicks (of course) walk up to the door and Justin comes out to chat with them.

[PAY ATTENTION HERE CAROLINE!]

So I jog over, whip out my Del's 'net card and ask him to sign it. He holds it up and says quite proudly, "I've got one of these you know"! I have no pen though. This could have been disasterous but he kindly runs back into the bus and signs the back with some kind of indelible marker. The same hand that wrote Downfall signing my card - Woo Hoo! I could even make out some of the letters. The J and the C are particularly legible. So now I have the coolest 'net card around! Then I talked with Derek the production manager. He was very nice and even remembered me from their gig here in Rochester! He's still working on the internet/computer thing but is struggling. Apparently sending mail is very difficult for him. This band needs me. Maybe I can be drummer #27/internet consultant!

So I actually met Justin at overcrowded Summerfest of all places! What really amazed me was here's Justin and Derek and sometimes Iain standing outside the bus near where they're going to play in 1 1/2 hours and NOBODY else was there. Wait, aren't these guys famous?!

So we wandered around for a little more and came back to claim front row seats at 9:30pm.

The place was PACKED!!! Totally jammed!!! I couldn't believe it. They ARE famous! In an hour the place had gone from quiet and lots of room to a standing room on the sides only madhouse. The front section between the benches and the stage was totally empty before, and was now sardine land. And it was not a quiet crowd. Lots of action and beer cups flying around. I thought Dels fans would be a bunch of pathetic losers with miserable love lives like us. It was a little annoying that they weren't.

I started talking with a few of the people around me and they were all rabid Dels fans that had visited Alison's page. Cool! So I showed 'em my autographed 'net card and told them about meeting Justin and they were REALLY jealous - as they should have been! :) Of course I didn't want to ruin their image of him so I didn't mention his eating habits!

The Dels finally came out and everyone on the benches stood so all of us on the sides could barely see. This sucked. An incredibly warm reception though! The band rocked through several tunes and didn't play a slow one until their last tune before encores - Being Somebody Else. I must say I was disappointed in their selection of tunes. Let's try something new! Bring back some of the overlooked goodies along with the new stuff! Some new covers! Variety is the spice of life!

The mix and sound was not so good all of the time. Especially for the first few tunes. The same as when they played in Rochester. So uh, what's the purpose of all these sound checks then? I've heard several people say they have a stellar live sound but have been disappointed both times that I've seen them so far.

They played the new(?) tune "Cruel Light of Day". It's OK, but not thedels Greatest Hits material. It really sounded like a cover to me - or just another Beatlesque tune of some sort. What's with this Beatles worship anyway? Do we really need more of this 60's crap that's been done a thousand times before? I think the one thing the Dels could do to get to the top is shake off this Beatles likeness. Look at Oasis. BLECH!

The first encore was "Kiss This Thing ..." with a "friend of the band" who's name I forget on harmonica. It sounded pretty good for an old tired song but I left during this one. I just got too sick of the happy crowd, and my friends had had enough.

The set was disappointingly short - one hour or so. I drove 2000 miles for this?!?!? I really missed some slower tunes like "Tell Her" and "This Side of the Morning" and "Downfall" and "Driving". Maybe some of these were the last encores though. So hey guys, quit trying to be rock stars and do the stuff you do best.

Non sequitor: Speaking of which, we have a local classic rock station that occasionally plays new tunes. I keep thinking how groovy it'd be if they released "Queen of False Alarms" for these stations. Also, (Alison said it first) WHY OH WHY wasn't "Better Man" released as the follow up single to "Roll to Me". A great tune that A&M missed the boat on says I.

Back to rock stardom. Justin struts and swaggers a lot. Well, maybe he tries, but it comes off as some kind of parody and reminds me way too much of Spinal Tap of all things. I can just see "Hell Hole" replacing "Lust for Life" in "Start With Me". But he really knows how to spin around with that bass and not hit or trip over anything doesn't he?

Justin's hair is all one color again. Remember that weird blondish rim? It's gone. He wore rock star black leather pants and a black shirt. Do all musicians have to dress this way? Is it so you can't see them against the background of black stages and equipment? Maybe Michael Bolton could give him a few pointers. I was SOOO tempted to ask him where the purple shirt went when I met him at the bus (hopefully the laundromat!), but didn't want to risk offending him the first time I met him, like I do with everyone else. :)

Justin was using some kind of electronic device to extend his voice (he would sing, then the note would keep going). I don't know what else this thing did but I have to say I hope he tosses it. One thing I've always liked about the Dels is that they are a gimmick free band.

More Spinal Tapisms - The band really had problems ending songs. Even Leah said a few times, "Just get it over with"! They jammed away at the end of almost every song, and it seemed very sloppy. Really, Bon Jovi is dead, DEAD I tell you! I'm all for jamming, really I am, but just to highlight the band's musicianship - not to see how long we can drag out a 4 minute song.

Iain was terrific. He's a solid guitarist and showman in his own right. And he CAN sing! I really enjoyed his "Lust for Life" seg in "Start With Me". Maybe he should take over more lead vocals so Justin can practice a little more with that bass. He needs it.

Ashley's cool. Maybe too cool for this band. It must be his jazz background. Hangin with the hep cats. It's a pop band though - I guess I should be happy that he's a fine drummer. I did somehow missed the old guy (whatshisname #16 or 17?) a little, he was just a tad snappier or something. But I guess it's not like they have any real complicated drumming so just grab some Joe off the street eh? He'll just die of an OD in the back of somebody's van next year anyway.

One tune they played letter perfect was "Roll to Me" which of course got the biggest crowd reation. They played it so well that I'd have to say I really enjoyed it. Really. It's kind of sad that the one tune they're probably sick to death of sounds the best live. Also, Justin introduced this with, "This a song about nothing at all. Like a pop song should be". Oops. My favorite Del songs are the ones that ARE about something.

John was cut loose. He played his butt off, and an ugly butt it was in those dorky Wrangler-type jeans! Maybe he could wear Justin's old purple shirt from the last tour. Just wash it first! Anyway it seemed he took over many parts that Iain used to play. A real highlight was his work at the end of Here & Now. The man can play.

John also totally sucked on backing vocals. He was off key and ruined many of my favorite parts. Turn your monitor on next time big guy. Iain and even Ashley added some nice vocals but John needs some serious help. He even converted me to the Bring-Back-David-Cummings movement. At least for backing vocals. Yes Alison, I really missed him.

The band seemed very relaxed and was having a good time. Maybe too good a time. They should just give in to those urges and do the whole Spinal Tap spiel. Justin didn't spend much time chatting up the crowd, but he was energetic and even climbed up on the speakers once! I think some more stage props and cool lights would dress things up. It's too bad the only time they do cool lights is on "Crashing Down". This tune is NOT a crowd pleaser at all. In fact it's pretty much the one where everyone turns to their friends and says," So where do you want to go next"?

Overall it was a pretty disappointing performance for me, but on the other hand the girls I was with were very impressed with how good the band sounded live and Justin's sidies! Hey, it's better to look good than to be good.

-Doug