Review: "Watt Jam" - 12/14/05 - First Ave. - Minneapolis, MN

Coming out of deep holiday madness-induced lurk to share something I originally posted over on the Watt List to clear up some mistakes/misconceptions about the Mike Watt set at the big First Ave. shindig a few weeks ago. There obviously was a lot of other stuff going on that night (Rifle Sport reunion in the Entry! Jayhawks rising from the dead! Craig Finn everywhere! 4 new Golden Smog songs! The return of prodigal son DJ Kevin Cole!) but it would take a documentary-length screed to share all the joy that took place. Suffice it to say that out of the countless nights (rough low-side guess: 25 x average of 60 = 1500!?!) I've spent at First Ave. over the last 25+ years, this was one of the most amazing.

Happy Festivus from MN.



==================================




OK y'all, here's the official scorecard for the Mike Watt extravaganza at the First Ave. 35th Anniversary party a few weeks ago. Somebody at soundcheck referred to it as "Wattjam," so that's what i'm going with.


WattJam
First Ave. 35th Anniversary Party / Benefit for DEMO
First Ave. - Minneapolis, MN - 12/14/05


intro by Steve McClellan (First Ave. guru)
Down On the Street
TV Eye
1969 +
I Wanna Be Your Dog + # ^ @
Freight Train $ @


Mike Watt - bass, lead & bg vox
Kraig Johnson - gtr, lead & bg vox
Ed Ackerson - gtr, bg vox
Peter Anderson - drums
Gary Louris - gtr
Mike Reiter - drums +
Craig Finn - lead vox # and gtr $
Marc Perlman - piano ^
Grant Hart - piano @


All songs are Stooges covers except "Freight Train," which was originally done by Sister Double Happiness on their self-titled 1987 SST album. Since fIREHOSE and Run Westy Run were also on SST - and toured together -- it's no big surprise that "Freight Train" eventually found its way into both bands setlists. "Freight Train" was also recorded for Kraig Johnson's 2003 solo EP (now unfortunately out-of-print in the states) and has been the "showstopper" at every live show Kraig has done with his band The Program for the last 3-1/2 years.

"Freight Train" is one of those amazing songs that sounds like an ancient cover you've heard a million times before. Indeed, it's been mistakenly attributed to everyone from The Stooges to the The Replacements. That it's one of the very first rock songs i'm aware of to deal with AIDS (clue: SDH were from San Fran) makes it even more fascinating (sample lyric: "i swear to god i didn't mess around / that modern plague put me in the ground"). For my money, Kraig's live reading of "Freight Train" is definitive; he's pretty much made the song his own since he first started singing it with RWR 15 years ago. All the more reason to search out his EP and/or live Program/RWR recordings.

The other names should be fairly well known outside of Mpls save for the drummers. Peter Anderson is the busiest musician in Mpls these days -- drumming with The Program, Iffy (featuring the Johnson bros), and Polara (led by Ed Ackerson) are his main gigs, but he's also recently played with Mark Mallman, The Honeydogs, The (Olympic) Hopefuls and about a zillion other bands. Mike Reiter, who helped provide the authentic tribal stomp on "1969" and "Dog," has played in a number of Mpls bands over the years. Reiter's Watt hook-up occurred when he played with the Mofos in the early 90s.

All in all, an amazing night. It's to Watt's credit that he didn't hesitate to come to MN when he heard about the gig (which was also a benefit for a musicians non-profit formed by Steve McClellan, a close friend of Watt). Watt reportedly said he would show up with his bass and do whatever was required. Kraig and a few of the boys initially had an idea for a Stooges tribute and that's exactly what transpired. Many of the locals here in Mpls are still reeling from what turned out to be one of the best short sets of pure rock ever to take place inside of the hallowed walls of First Ave.

At the end of his set, Watt roared "START YR OWN BAND!", the punk manifesto distilled down to its simplest form. A perfect end to a perfect performance from one of the coolest guys on the planet.