Show Date : September 19th, 2009
Photos by Chris T
Black Francis. Second BF show in 6 weeks. This show was a late reschedule as he was set to perform as the duo Grand Duchy with his wife. We are rocking MusicfestNW. Third night in a row. Banging.
Rocking this show with a friend. The plan? After seeing the jammed to the rafters crowd for Thursday’s Frightened Rabbit show at Dante’s, we figured this thing was going to be slammed. A shitshow. Urban dictionary’s definition of shitshow:
Shitshow: A description of an event or situation which is characterized by an ridiculously inordinate amount of frenetic activity. Disorganization and chaos to an absurd degree
So, after exploring a little Portland underbelly, we roll thru the door at 8:30. Get something to drink. Saturday night! Of all the nights of MusicfestNW, this was the most fun night and musically the most rocking. All of the opening acts; Hill Country Revue, The Moondoggies, and especially Bobby Bare, Jr. lit it up. All are worth checking out.
Hill Country Revue
Dante’s. Really starting to love this place. Huge stage. Reasonable drinks. Hella cool security. Good enough sound. I likey.
My show record with Black Francis/Frank Black is 1 for 3. He really can be an enigma. 15 minutes before his set, Black Francis strides across the stage in a leather jacket, black rimmed glasses, carrying a man bag. As the crowd cheers he holds up one finger and leaves on the opposite side of the stage heading towards the green room.
Bracing for another night of ego-tripping I turn to Chris “It always has to be some bullshit with this guy.” And surveying the crowd…plenty of room left. Hmmmmmm. Maybe not a shitshow after all?
Black Francis hits the stage with the same instrument set-up as last time. Fender Telecaster electric guitar going through an acoustic instrument amp and then two Vox amps. Electric-acoustic sound. And, the familiar waiting game begins. The crowd standing patiently, waiting for their Pixies fix. Hardcores. Set starts at midnight.
Somewhere after the second song “Tight Black Rubber”, I see a woman I was talking to during Bobby Bare wander back from the front. Paraphrasing:
Her: “It just isn’t that good”
Me: “You think so?”
H: “Yeah, I’m just not into it.
Me: “I don’t know, takes some balls to do what he is doing”
H: “Balls are balls. This just isn’t that good and you guys are falling for it.”
Tough call. You wanna see the Pixies? Hit the Eugene or Seattle shows in November. Black Francis/Frank Black has around 16 solo recordings. Not exactly a body of work to ignore. But, on the flip. He’s calling himself Black Francis which sets expectations to a certain level. Bloody hell. Who cares? You wanna try and see Pixies songs? Going to a Black Francis show is going to disappoint you. Especially if you are looking for quantity. End of story. And judging by the crowd ebbing as the night went on. Disappointment was reigning.
So let’s get this out of the way. Here’s the Pixies songs played: Caribou. Velouria. Gouge Away. Nimrod’s Son. And….Planet Of Sound. Hearing Planet of Sound stripped of the signature guitar was a whole new twist on this song. One of the highlights of the evening.
For me, the highlight of the night was about an hour or so into the show. When Black Francis covered the folk song “That Burnt Out Rock And Roll” by Gary Green. Follow me. Let’s set the scene. Crowd has tapered off. We are into only a couple hundred people left. Not many Pixies songs have been played. It’s the wee hours of the morning. Black Francis is alone on stage with an eccentric instrument setup. Playing a small room, while Blind Pilot is probably playing to a larger crowd at the Crystal. Anyone who wants to can get within 20-30 feet of a rock legend singing:
He was an aging rock and roll star
With a burnt out country beat
And the children who once cheered his name
Now have young ‘ins at their own feet
And no one has time
For that burnt out rock and roll
But a rock and roll singer will never die
As long as the words to his songs are remembered
Without the burnt out tear that filled his eye
He build a white crystal canyon
To escape the rock revival shows
And to dream of a time
When just his music brought his highs and his lows
Only he replaces the word ‘revival’ with reunion. It is weird when you see an artist singing a song that fits a scene. Obviously, Black Francis is a smart man. Song was picked at a certain time, and I doubt he had a concrete set list. That kind of awareness and honesty isn’t seen at many a rock show. And with very little chit-chat, fortified by a hefty pull from a wine bottle (“this is a good one, Willamette Valley”), Black Francis played until about 2 a.m. No drama.
Close it. Black Francis shows aren’t going to rock your socks off. You are NOT going to get the Pixies fix you probably crave.
But. I liked the show. I fell for it.
