10/15/99 Pietasters, Spring Heeled Jack w/ Pilfers @ WOW Hall
This is going down as one of the greatest shows EVER. The Pilfers started everything off right. Usually Oregon crowds are slow and put the openers through their typical Northwest posturing by standing with their arms folded. Not tonight. 2nd song and the crowd was pogoing and skanking like mad! See, the Pilfers make the crowd work just as much as they do. They give you a cue and you have to answer them with whatever sound they tell you to make. During a slow song Coolie, the singer, hopped in to the crowd and got the single girls in a circle and then went around, found single guys, and paired them up with the girls and they'd slow dance together. He stayed on the floor for the rest of the song and the trombone player sang. I was amazed at how good of an act these guys were.
Spring Heeled Jack was up next. I was considering hanging out in the back during their set, since I'd only heard a few songs from them and they weren't all that good. Besides, I was thirsty and I wanted to save my energy for the Pietasters. But I stayed in the front. And boy am I glad I did!!!! First off, their trumpet player is awesome!!! He's got this huge afro and some dirty dance moves and he can BLOW that horn!!!! Besides having terrific music and playing the most fun live ska possible, they were also good at talking to the crowd and getting everyone excited. I was blown away at yet another amazing act.
Spring Heeled Horns
As if the show could get any better, the Pietasters finally got on stage. Now, the Pietasters were one of the first bands I heard when I was introduced to ska 3 years ago and this was my first time seeing them. Yeah, I was excited. Really REALLY excited. With some help from a friend, I got past the extremely large people in front of me and ended up front and center. The band lived up to the exptectations I had for them, playing rowdy ska and smooth soul all nicely put together.
Their trumpet player is amazing - really great at his instrument.
During a solo of his Steve Pietaster, the singer, came from behind him and undid his belt and pulled his pants down to his knees. He didn't do much about it until Steve went for the boxers.
Spring Heeled Jack horns join the Pietasters
Spring Heeled Jack members kept coming on stage to play along, Coolie came up and sang, and it was general madness on the stage. There were people everywhere. Steve was talking about the good weed in Eugene (as had the rest of the bands) and SHJ's trumpet player came up on stage and lit a joint. While the music was playing, Steve reached over to the SHJ trumpeter and tugged at his pants, mooning the crowd.
The Trumpeter (I wish I knew his name) pulled them back on and stood up facing the crowd. Right then Steve yanked them really hard, taking boxers off with them and the crowd was subjected to a full frontal shot. The LOOK on that guy's face! He grabbed his nuts and flew off the side of the stage, his pants around his knees. Another song started and The Trumpeter dove on to Steve while he was singing, trying to pull HIS pants off. He succeeded in only losing his own again, so he resorted to trying to strangle Steve with the mic cord. They were rolling around on the stage 2-feet in front of me, but the monitor prevented me from seeing anything except Steve's head as The Trumpeter choked him. I considered lifting my camera up and snapping a shot, but I have a feeling The Trumpeter wasn't wearing any pants at the moment, and there's some things I just DON'T want a picture of. More chaos ensued as other band members from other bands joined the dogpile. Mics, bodies and pants are flying everywhere while the band played "Freak Show" with the crowd shouting the lyrics for the incapacitated singer.
They played another song and left the stage. The crowd chanted for "Maggie Mae" and a few moments later, the band got back on stage and played a few more songs including "Drinking and Driving" and a new one called "Wasted." They finished off the set with what is fast becoming my favorite song in the whole world, "Maggie Mae." You know when you see pictures of punk shows where the singer holds the mic out into the crowd and everyone tries to get their face in the mic? Well, Steve decided to do this right over my head, so I spent the song leaning back singing into the mic above me and smothering my face in Steve's suit. Sadly, the show had to end there and I had to take off to catch my ride. If this tour is coming anywhere near you, YOU BETTER GO!!!!!!