Loudon Wainwright IIIHugh’s Room, Toronto
December 1, 2008
by Live Music Head
Some of the posts on the Loudon digest have said,
the songs on Recovery should’ve been left alone instead.
I thought perhaps I’d feel the same way
as Wainwright purists on the message board say.
But the morning after round one, I slipped the disc into play
and it was instantaneous.
From Black Uncle Remus, Muse Blues to New Paint
squeezing in a few listens throughout the day.
When the re-worked songs finished on the subway home,
the new version of The Drinking Song rocked me the most.
The Recovery record is f**king great!
Back at Hugh’s Room on Monday night,
I spot a table for three representing a previous life,
but I’m not the same girl then, not even tonight.
Following a glass of red wine, perhaps two
I’m reminded of Blue Rodeo as Jim Cuddy walks through.
The local songwriter arrives in time to see
the American songwriter forget the words, indeed.
But three songs in, Loudon Wainwright arouses the crowd
with promises of afterlife fun, and it makes us loud...
“there’ll be lots of drinking in Heaven;
smoking and eating and sex.
What you didn’t do in this life bad for you
will be totally cool in the next.
In Heaven, there’ll be beer for breakfast;
at lunch, it’s tequila and wine.
And the soup served with dinner is made with paint thinner
and the morning hereafter feels fine”.
Martha Wainwright was interviewed in this week’s NOW Magazine
and quoted as saying
“One of the reasons people are interested in my family
is that in many ways, we’re quite normal.
It’s almost like a soap opera;
people can see themselves in the characters.
I’m the younger sister, who’s a bit of a fuck-up”.
Many are interested in the Wainwright family
especially those from broken homes, like me.
As the audience recovers from their last laugh in Heaven
a capella, Loudon Wainwright goes Between...
“Honor thy father and thy mother
though they're not the same.
When one pits you against the other
it's the cruelest game.
You are stuck and you are stranded;
you must live until you die
at home, and forest and in ocean,
worship earth and sky”.
He’s a poet and he knows it.
There’s an 8x10 glossy, autographed and framed
directly across from the bar, black & white and named.
With all the other Hugh’s Room folkies, squeezed in tight,
on the wall, you’ll find the third Loudon Wainwright.
“In the picture there's a fender of our old Chevrolet
or Pontiac, our dad would know
Surely he could say.
But dad is dead and we grow old,
it's true that time flies by;
and in forty years the world has changed,
as well as you and I”.
On December 12, 1988,
Loudon Wainwright the second died;
and my friend John’s request is not denied.
Because Loudon, the Surviving Twin has not forgotten...
“First we fought for my mother, that afforded little joy.
When he left, she was heartbroken
and I was still their little boy.
But I started to get bigger and to win the ugly game
when I made a little money and I got a bit of fame.
I saw how this could wound him;
yes this could do the trick.
And if I made it big enough, I could kill him off quick.
But how can you murder someone
in a way that they don't die?
I didn't want to kill him
that would be suicide”.
With words so biting, deep feelings stir inside.
The family material, one may guess
sets Loudon apart from all the rest.
From Album III, we’re eight songs in
screaming over his guitar, it gets intense.
When Loudon shares his blues from nineteen seventy two...
“I take lots of cold showers and I go for long walks,
I wait for a pitch but the fickle bitch barks;
took a shot of whiskey and a snort of cocaine,
opened up my head and stuck electrodes in my brain.
Oh muse, where are you?”
Dear readers, I just have to say
the new version of Muse Blues on Recovery not only rocks,
but blows me away!
From the Unrequited piano, is it possible to make amends?
"Well I heard that she told you
she'd been shacking up with your best friend.
And the kick in the head is, she wants to do it again".
This “stands as one of the most arresting openers of any song”,
somebody else I read, said;
It’s reaction of lump in throat with laughter
and for this, Wainwright is master.
“Here’s another song in c
When I play piano, it’s my key.
If I was playing my guitar
I’d probably be in g, the chances are
But here’s another song in c
with my favourite protagonist, me".
There’s a recent Youtube clip of Loudon performing this song,
and I suggest everyone take a look, before too long...
“And the children that we had, are grown,
they’re out fending off their great unknown.
And I’ve noticed they’re a bit like me,
with a tendency to sing in c.
So by now it’s clear to hear and know
I don’t play a lot of piano.
But sometimes a fella has to sit
just to sing about the heavy shit”.
The voice in my head says, “Hecklers!
oh no… here we go!”
when an audience member solicits the attention of ol’ Loudo.
Mister Wainwright’s crowd just loves to engage him from the stage
and sometimes it’s quite hilarious, I must say.
Most don’t stand a chance with him, I’m afraid
but I just wish I could remember the exchange.
This audience member matched wits with Loudon;
something I didn’t expect would happen.
And then came a pause;
a quiet pause, a request just screaming to be made.
So I seized it, without delay.
“When You Leave”, is what I prayed.
I’m so close to him and to the stage,
will he hear me when I quietly say?
Song titles shout from every corner of the room,
with so many requests, perhaps mine is doomed.
Tuning his guitar usually comes with a joke...
“Let’s see if I remember that one”, he spoke.
A quick intake of breath
has my hands reaching for my chin to rest;
because he did hear me, I shit you not
and for this I’m completely got...
“The darndest thing is kids grow up,
one day some strange adults show up.
The ones you left arrive in town
"that's nice", you say, they'll be around.
Perhaps they're just a bit bereft,
but they'll forgive the one who left.
Sad stories can have happy ends;
perhaps now, you can just be friends.
It’s what you want, it’s how you feel;
What's more…
you hope your theory's real”.
As much as I loved Another Song in C,
When You Leave, simply has to be
the biggest highlight of round two, for me.
Instead of moving us with another great original
from his enormous catalogue of musical material,
it seems Mister Wainwright with age, has grown soft;
reminding me it’s the season of hell, I hope not.
You’ll never meet a bigger Scrooge;
anyone who knows me, will tell you, it’s true...
“it’s no wonder we’re depressed
when the whole thing is through”.
When You Leave is on my mind, so I put my criticisms aside.
I adore this man, and all the songs he’s writ,
But Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to end the set?
A carol both melancholy yet hopeful, so I suppose it fits,
but I wait patiently for the death and decay material instead.
Career Moves has Loudon returning to the stage
for a sing-a-long that simply begs...
“Tip that waitress, she's been waiting on you;
skip the small change, slap down a dollar or two.
Her arches are aching, her lower back shot
Her varicose veins hurt like hell when it's hot.
Her uniform’s too tight, tasteful it's not
She knows the specials, and they are not a lot.
The cook is on quaaludes, the busboy deals pot
If she had a real job she'd quit on the spot.
So tip that waitress!”
The service at Hugh’s Room has a great face;
Loudon wrote the song to meet women in the workplace.
For a male guitar player at the bar, he’ll show
the final song of the night requires a capo...
“A man's home is his castle, so the family let him in.
But what's important in that kingdom
is the women and children.
A husband and a father, every man's a king
but he's really just a drone
gathers no honey, has no sting.
Have pity on the general, the king, and the captain;
they know they're expendable, after all they're men".
After show conversation has John chatting with Jen
as I jot in my spiral notebook with blue pen.
Eventually most depart with their autograph and photo
when I step up with my Here Comes The Choppers promo.
Loudon Wainwright the Third on a stool at the bar;
signing my favourite recording from 2005,
because he’s the star.
I notice he sips red wine too, when I say...
“Mister Wainwright that was me…
Thank you for… When You Leave”.
His stylish grey hat and red-rimmed glasses propped beside;
listening to him chat with other Monday night bar flies.
A CBC radio interview he did earlier in the day
has animated conversation, but I barely heard her say;
The bartender that is, as she wiped the glasses clean
deep was I, pondering… how can it be?
To feel I know someone so well through song and dvd
and then find myself at his shoulder, a foreigner;
the songwriter who means so much to me.
When the question, “Where do you live?”, filters through
Asking me the question is ol’ Loudo, that’s who.
“Near a castle”, was my whispered reply
when the El Mocambo tavern is mentioned by some guy.
You know that bar on Spadina south of College?
“I played there”, Loudon acknowledged.
Looking away toward the front doors
a look came over his face, a look that said so much more.
“yes, I remember the El Mocambo”, Loudon mumbles again;
but me, I was hoping to talk of something else instead.
Before I get a chance to hear his great laugh,
that sour look is still planted, when Loudon asks...
“are you ready?”, to another man who sat;
“better leave now, before getting into all that”.
Whatever it was about the El Mocambo tavern,
made my heart sink,
because it appears Loudon is leaving, I think.
Placing his stylish grey hat back atop his head
meant our conversation was coming to an end.
Resting on the bar only moments ago,
the red-rimmed glasses are propped back on his nose.
Throwing back the last of his red wine
Loudon Wainwright picks up his jacket, because it’s time...
“take care Loudon Wainwright the third”, my voice cracks;
to which he slightly turns back.
Now on the Dundas St sidewalk, the two men find
as the glass doors swing shut from behind.
Throwing back too, my remaining wine
I guess it could just as easily have been mine;
who made the mistake of mentioning some thing
that unbeknownst to him or me,
would stir such a lousy memory.
But it wasn’t me;
and I wish to hell that guy never mentioned the El Mocambo
because I wanted to enquire about a talk show.
Loudon Wainwright the Third was David Letterman’s sidekick,
years ago when Dave’s dial was a daytime talk flick.
David Letterman ranks high in my Top 5;
I fall asleep with the Late Show often, that’s no lie.
Loudon Wainwright will appear with Paul Shafer alongside;
for a song, perhaps a sit down,
now won’t that be just fine?
So be sure to remember
Late night Loudon with Letterman when it airs
Wednesday, the 10th of December at 11:35.
Set List – Mon Dec 1, 2008
Didn’t It Ramble
? (a cover from the 20s with lyrics like, “the letter he longed for never came”
If anyone knows the title to this one, please let me know)
Heaven
Between
The Picture
Surviving Twin
Grey in L.A.
Muse Blues
The Movies are a Mother To Me
Santa/Jesus rap
Suddenly, It’s Christmas
Doin’ the Math
Kick in the Head
Another Song in C
Lucky You
? (Shit List or something but definitely not the Shit Song… anybody?)
When You Leave
White Winos
The Drinking Song
Susie (the Durango incident)
It’s Not The End of the World (merely the middle of the night)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
E: Tip That Waitress
Men
http://www.lwiii.com/
http://www.hughsroom.com/
