peawinkel 
Golden Retriever
Registration Date: 03-24-2005
Posts: 529
Location: Alabaster, AL
 |
|
| Roe vs. Pritzl - Marietta, GA |
     |
The Roe vs. Pritzl Winter Tour rolled into Marietta, Ga on the evening of January 20, 2006. The venue was the strip mall-turned-hip church known as Vineyard Community Church. I've been a big fan of Mike Roe's going back to 1983's Ping Pong Over The Abyss by The 77's, but I had only seen him once in the early 90's when The 77's played Inner Seeds @ Atlanta. They were the last band to perform (save the best for last) and only got to play 20-25 minutes due to some stupid local curfew ordinance. Fast forward 15 years and I get another opportunity.
The show was excellent. Michael Pritl was first up and he performed several songs. I'm not at all familiar with Pritzl's or Violet Burning's music but was very entertained by his sincere presence and heart-felt delivery. Mike Roe stepped up next and performed songs from his most recent solo release, 2002's Say Your Prayers. He introduced The Itch Is Back by feeding us a bogus story of a recurring rash. He couldn't sell it and admitted he made it up. We knew better. We're fans. We know he has a way with words and loves lyrics and titles that denote dual if not multiple meanings. The instrumental highlight was his prelude to Lutheran Hymn. I'm amazed how one guitar can sound like three. The quote of the night came during his Sunshine Down intro. He mentioned how The Lost Dogs had stolen it and, Derri, being the "girl of the band", sang it in his "girly voice", but that he would perform it with his "manly voice". He also played The Boat Ashore to go along with 5 songs from Say Your Prayers. After Mike's solo set, Pritzl joined him on-stage and they collaborated on a few. They did three 77's songs: The Rain Kept Falling In Love, I Can't Get Over It, & The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes, And The Pride Of Life.
I realized how special this evening was for Doctor Love when he introduced I Can't Get Over It. He recounted a story of how a young guy hung out with the band in the early days and they used him as a roadie. He wanted to be a songwriter so Mike encouraged him to try to do it, and he would help him with it. He got all excited and came back with the chords that Mike would develop into this song. The irony was that this was the first time Mike ever introduced a song where the co-writer was in the audience. Dave Leonhardt from nearby Douglasville was in attendance. Another tweak: Eve Of Destruction has been replaced as the lead-in to The Lust. Let's call the new prelude.....the Ambien theme. It was an extraordinary evening of great music from two wearied performers. In collegiate sports vernacular, this is the SEC East leg of the tour. They had played consecutive nights that week from Kentucky to Tennessee to Georgia, with a 6 hour road trip to Gainesville, FL on the horizon.
Afterwards, I introduced myself to Michael Roe in the Gentleman's restroom. I said "It's funny that I meet you after Peawinkling in the urinal." He replied, "So...you're peawinkel. You're a troublemaker." I noticed in the mirror of the restroom that I had this Mark David Chapman glow about me. I reapproached Mike near the merch, gave him a picture of my son to give to his daughter, and asked him about the new 77's DVD. He was excited to talk about it. It will include all seven Roe/77's videos ever made and assorted live clips from various sources and eras. The criteria from Roe is entertainment. He wants us to wish to watch it repeatedly. It will be available in time for Cornerstone. He gave me grief over how lame my fradulent Doc Love user name was on the Blueboard. I picked up Say Your Prayers ( I had everything else on the table with the exception of Orbis) and a Roe vs. Pritzl tee shirt for my wife. It works perfectly for her to always have a reminder of her graciousness and permissiveness for me to see constantly. I do thank her for allowing me to shirk my family obligations on this evening of musical bliss. Chatting with Mike was like hanging with a bud. Roe's buds. It's all starting to make sense now. My Chapman glow faded and I wished I could have hung out later but I needed to head back westward. I told Mr. Roe I would see him in the cyberworld and I hit the road for Alabama. After I crossed the state line, I drove in rain for the remainder of the trek. And you know the song that refrained through my mind..........rain on (falling down on me).
|
|
