Graham Parker and the Latest Clowns ~ 2007 April 28 ~ Fairfield Theater Company, Fairfield, CT
Band Personnel: Graham Parker (lead vocals, Gibson acoustic guitar, Fender electric guitar, harmonica); Mike Gent (drums, guitar, backing vocals); Brett Rosenberg (guitar, backing vocals); Ed Valauskas (bass, backing vocals); Scott Janovitz (keyboards, backing vocals)
Set List (with guitars noted)
[Gibson acoustic]: I Discovered America - Hard Side of the Rain - [Fender electric]: England's Latest Clown - Get Started. Start a Fire - You Can't Take Love for Granted - [Gibson acoustic]: They Murdered the Clown - Suspension Bridge - Other Side of the Reservoir - Things I Never Said - [Fender electric]: Weeping Statues - Durban Poison - [new blue guitar from First Act Studio]: Break Them Down - [Fender electric]: White Honey [with Mike on guitar] - Sailing Shoes [with Mike on slide guitar] - You Can't Be Too Strong [with Ed & Scott] - [Gibson acoustic]: Waiting for the UFOs - [Fender electric]: Nobody Hurts You - Syphilis & Religion ... encore ... [Gibson acoustic]: All Being Well (with Brett) - [Fender electric]: Wake Up (Next To You) ... second encore ... [Fender electric]: Back to School Days - [Gibson acoustic]: Local Girls
GP also played harmonica on "I Discovered America" and "Syphilis and Religion"
Review
The Fairfield Theater Co. is a 200-seat theater designed for stage productions, easy to find off Rte. 95 and accessible to Metro-North from NYC. The staff were all friendly and helpful. The medium-sized stage faces a rising auditorium of about nine rows with four or five rows of seats on either side of the stage as well; the way the seats rise in tiers guarantees a good view for all. It is a very dark venue, dark seats, black ceiling, everything dark. They don't allow cameras which is a major bummer. It's my least favorite of the venues so far this tour, partly because the ticket price was exactly twice what I paid at any of the other venues ($40 as opposed to $20). There was a piano on stage, which Scott Janovitz, the keyboard guy, played for four or five songs.
Mike Gent again did a stellar job of opening the show, playing 8 songs, including "Black Lincoln Continental" and a great song he does with his band The Figgs called "She's Walkin' Away," in which he played the piano and was joined by Scott on the electric keyboard. This was a singalong that worked quite well, although we could have used a touch more coaching on the part sung by the women. Mike also played a funny song called "Mr. Rose," in which he blasts Axl Rose for taking 20 years to record an album; he ought to think about changing the line "you're not making Sgt. Pepper" to "you're not making Don't Tell Columbus" for these GP opening gigs. Mike enjoys singing off the mike and has a powerful enough voice that he can do it; he also has a goshdarn good falsetto.
After Mike left the stage the FTC's sound system had some annoying jazz/funk playing while we were waiting for the Latest Clowns, but then they changed the music to "Tears of a Clown," which showed that somebody there was paying attention.
The set list was much the same as for the other shows I've seen so far, with a few additions. I'm not that fond of "Sailing Shoes," that cover of a Little Feat song that I first heard at the Guitar Studio mini-gig, but when it comes to covers you're not going to please all the people all the time. Another new song was one of my favorite Parker compositions, one of the country tunes, "Things I Never Said" (from Your Country). They also did a toe-tapping "Back to Schooldays" as part of the second encore. GP added some fun tongue-popping noises during the brilliant "Suspension Bridge." During the "Wake Up (Next to You)" band introduction segment, there was some fun Motown-style jamming which led to GP singing a few bars of "Just My Imagination" before going back to his own tune.
From where I was sitting I had a better view of Scott than at the other gigs, and he's a lot of fun to watch. He sits at his keyboard -- sort of. As the songs would pick up steam and his keyboard parts got more energetic, he'd rise out of his seat like a hot air balloon as if he just couldn't stay on the earth. He also seemed to enjoy playing the real piano on four or five songs, although he did mention to me after the show that he had to adapt quickly to the piano for one song in the key of G#.
GP wore a black shirt, sleeves rolled up, string tie, and dark glasses. He actually commented on what he was wearing; I hope he hasn't taken seriously the good-natured teasing from a female fan about always wearing the same clothes on stage. Dark glasses are spreading through the band; Brett had them on for a few songs, too.
Although GP has claimed that the newspaper article that says he "trusts Mike implicitly" was misquoting him, there was a moment that shows how he does, indeed, rely on Mike. Just as they were about to start "Durban Poison," GP addressed his drummer, "Mike, you think they can sing along on this?" But then when the chorus came, not enough people in the crowd knew the lyrics, so as a singalong it didn't work especially well, but who cares, those of us who know the song did sing, and it sounded great with or without audience participation. (I like Graham's EASY singalongs, like the gulloop sound on "Guillotines of Guadaloupe" or the "doo doo doo" on "Nation on Shopkeepers.")
The other day when GP played at the First Act Guitar Studio in Boston, he was given a free guitar from the studio. He debuted this guitar, a new and shiny, dark blue electric guitar with opposing tuning pegs, for one song, "Break Them Down." Then he put it away and picked up the trusty Fender.
The final song in the second encore was "Local Girls," which had the audience singing along, and toward the end of the song Mike shouted out "Everybody stand up!" which everybody did -- Mike, next time I wish you'd issue that command at the beginning of the last song; I don't think anybody's gonna mind having people standing in front of them for just one song. Sitting for these rockin' shows is just brutal.
Seeing GP with the Latest Clowns is very different from seeing him with the Figgs. The addition of the keyboard player is a big plus; Scott's playing adds significantly to many of the songs. Another major change is that having only one guitarist in the band sets up GP to play more guitar himself. He played actual lead on three songs -- "Get Started. Start a Fire," "Break Them Down," and "Wake Up (Next to You)." This gives the audience a rare and convincing glimpse of GP the rock guitar god, while it does take a little away from his presence as the rock star vocalist, since he hasn't had the opportunity to JUST sing (with the exception of that impromptu "Cupid" the other night). The downside of this setup is that Mike Gent is buried in the back of the stage at the drums, and although he continues to sing great backing vocals, it just works better when Mike is up front next to Graham. Next time with a band, I'd like to see GP go with the Figgs (Mike, Pete and Pete) with the addition of Scott on keyboards (he could be the next "Figg du Jour."). But that's all speculation -- there may not BE a next time -- so get your sorry asses to a gig! I have driven a total of about 850 miles to see four shows so far, and I have one more which will add another 200 to the total, so don't you dare use distance as an excuse to stay home.
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