The Del Amitri Concert, March 19, 1996
by John B. Fahres

DEL AMITRI at The STONE BALOON, Newark, DE.

It was a dark and stormy night... really. The rain was pouring down in buckets, the wind was blowing, and my friend Stephen and I were totally unprepared. Soaked to the bone, we trudged into the nearest greasy spoon in search of warmth and sustinence.

As we seated ourselves and wrung out our shirts covertly behind our booth, the doors flew open. Who should trud ge in on our heels but two Dels: Andy and Justin. We were thrilled. Although we had met them the previous evening in Washington D.C., we were still a bit star struck. These guys are my idols! They are the reason (one of the main ones, a nyway) that I became a musician!

We played it cool. Stephen walked over, re-introduced himself, and politely said we were looking forward to the show. He then left them to eat in peace. I have to admit, at this point, that Justin was looking rough. I know the feeling, having played the first gig with my recent band fighting a case of laryngitis; the weather, I'm sure, wasn't helping any.

We ate, braved the weather again, and set ourselves for a great night of rock and roll. First onstage was a great singer-songwriter in the person of Josh Clayton-Felt (formerly of School of Fish). He and his band played beautifully, sticking to the newer material from Josh's solo debut, INARTICULATE NATURE BOY. Then it was time for the Dels!

It started out well enough, with the opening strains of "The Ones That You Love Lead You Nowhere" crashing through the night air to shake the Stone Balloon like never before. However, as the set progressed we could see Justin's mood beginning to falter. He began to, well, bitch about the weather, the songs, the local radio station (which is where the "free show vs. encore" rumor began). It was a little bit of a slap in the face to all the (mostly) college kids in the crowd who had bought the records and braved the weather for the show.

By the last song, Justin left the stage as Iain (bless him) led the others into an instrumental to end the night. As the last note died, many were left bewildered by the lead singer's attitude. Most of the crowd, not understanding the circumstances of his mood, interpreted the attitude as rock and roll snobbery, and may have a lasting sour impression of Del Amitri. Having caught their show the night before at the 9:30 Club in D.C., I knew it had to be something else, and figured it might be that he was ill. The others in the crowd didn't have that luxury, if the conversations swirling around me were any indication.

I happened to run into the lead singer from The Caufields (another A&M Records recording artist, originating from Northern Delaware) who had a similar impression of the situation. The problem is, we are both singers in bands, so we kind of figured out what was up. The general public can only go by what they see, and what they saw was not very pleasant.

Stephen and I got a chance to get backstage after the show, and talked to Iain, who confirmed our theory. The night ended well for me in that I was able to hang out with the rest of the band for about 1/2 an hour after the show. (Thanks to John McLachlan, by the way, for putting me a Stephen on the guest list... he is a great addition to the Del Amitri line-up, especially with his take on the end solo for "Here and Now". Outstanding!)

Here's what it all comes down to: the old saying "The show must go on." The audience doesn't care if you're sick, tired, drunk, stoned, or just a prick, at times. They want a show, even if it's a free one! I will readily admit to not being on the scene nearly as long as Justin and company (6 years for me vs. 12+ years for them). All I know is that night after night I play little hole-in-the-wall bars, either solo or with my group, The Poorhouse Rockers. It's easier to cover your butt when you have 3 others to hide behind, but the solo gigs are the worst, especially when you're sick. Letting it show on stage is the death of you, though. In my humble opinion, you might as well not play if you're going to take it out on the crowd. I'd had numerous chances (in Pittsburgh, May 1995, and 2 shows in D.C. in 1995 and 1996) to see Del Amitri at its' best. The show in Delaware, as Justin stated in his letter to Alison, was one of the worst. I sympathize with the circumstances, but perhaps there could have been another way around it.

My suggestion: Let the others in the band "have some fun". Let Iain do a full rendition of "Lust for Life". Pull out covers or instrumentals that you all can groove on, thereby letting the ill one (in this case, Justin) slump against the wall and just hold down the groove. Being that it was a free show, it was all the more reason to be loose. Pull out a B-side, like "Kestral Road". Do some cool covers... whatever it takes to fake your way through the night. Maybe you could've gotten Josh Clayton-Felt to come back onstage for an encore or impromptu jam; I'm sure he's been in the same boat before. As I said before, the crowd doesn't care, just so long as the energy, beat, and groove are there; get the crowd on your side, and they'll forgive you for a lot!

So there you go. Hope that wasn't too harsh. You wanted critcism, you got it. I just tried to be constructive about it, and to show how it seemed to those of us who weren't onstage that night. P.S. I sent out tapes to all the members of Del Amitri. I hope they were received in one piece. Any constructive critcism that you have about The Poorhouse Rockers EVICTED E.P. would likewise be welcomed because, as Justin says, that is where we learn the most.

P.S.S. If anyone would like to "check my credentials" you can check out the Poorhouse Rockers web site at : http://www.eit.com/web/folk/artists/poorhouse/rockers.html or e-mail me via the band e-mail: POORHS1@aol.com

Thanks to Alison for the homepage, to all those who will read this, and to Del Amitri for continuing to be an inspiration to me and the songs I write!

KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON!!