By 2:20, we have heard twenty-one bands.
Band #27 is the Electric Prunes, or the Electric Fucking Prunes, as Little Steven says. Of course they sing I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night. Jim and I grin at each other and roll our eyes. This is so silly. Onscreen, Annette and Frankie romp on a beach.
Because the large screens also catch frequent shots of the stageside audience, we are able to see Bryan every now and then, and he's still pretty much dead center. We catch a glimpse of him during the Fuzztones, who are band #28. He looks totally ragged, but happy. I wonder if he's had any water and then decide that he's a big boy and that if he dehydrates himself it's his own damn fault. I ask Jim to go buy a couple of extra bottles of water to have on hand at the end of the day.
Chuck Barris introduces the Mooney Suzukis, who probably should have been a little further up on the program. I don't quite know what to make of Chuck Barris anymore, not since I saw Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. I know that he wrote Palisades Park, but apart from that, I'm not sure why he's here.
One of the other guest MCs is Edd "Kookie" Byrnes. He still works that comb schtick. I think they just dust him off now for nostalgia's sake. I know that later on I'll have to explain to Bryan who he is. I am old enough to remember 77 Sunset Strip.
The Pete Best Band is #33. They do a couple of numbers, including a very Beatle-y arrangement of Twist and Shout. You have to wonder what if feels like to be Pete Best.
Band #37 is The Dictators. They do an absolutely dynamite set. They're in-your-face good, full of New York swagger and attitude. This is the best set of the day so far, at least for me.
Nancy Sinatra follows. Again, I'm not sure what to think. She sings Morrissey's Let Me Kiss You, which he apparently wrote for her but which I am familiar with from his album You Are the Quarry. She closes her set with These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. The whole crowd sings along on the chorus. It's 5:50.
Big Star is on now. They do the theme song from That 70s Show. The guy behind me supplies the "We're all alright" line from the show at the end, since it's apparently not a part of the original song. Apart from that song, they're forgettable, and I'm not sure why they warrant this high a spot on the schedule.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Great you-are-there diary, DA, and there's nothing pretentious about taking notes at a freaking 12-hour show - how could you remember otherwise? Even though the show was REALLY long, the multitude of bands kept it moving, which is a lesson all festivals should learn.
Thanks!
2 - Distorted Angel
Thank you kindly, Eric! I'm hoping that Bryan will blog the full story of the Strokes and Iggy -- it's the adrenaline-fueled side of the story, and probably much more entertaining :-)
3 - Eric Olsen
Cool!
Oh and btw, my 17 year-old son has had his glasses lost, crushed, snapped, squished, several times in the last few years. I think it goes with the territory
4 - MT
Best review I've read yet on this event.
5 - Brett
I just stumbled across this blog looking for reviews of the show. I was right up front for the show, and remember a guy right next to me losing a lens from his glasses. I was the tall 19 year old wearing a blue Bruce Springsteen shirt and white Yankees hat (which was plucked right off the top of my head by some jerk during Iggy's set). It's a small world indeed.
6 - Eric Olsen
Brett, meet Bryan!
7 - Janette Fritz
How do I get concert tickets to Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival?