Got Milk Stout?

Last night Wyatt and I, along with others, attended the Richard Butler concert. The show was very good. The opening act, Trisha O’Keefe, was a good opening act. She had a singer songwriter style that was grabbed the audiences attention and put everyone in the mood for the main event. The fact that she was sweet looking, didn’t At All!! (Apparantly,Wyatt rates the pix from the show, so I'll go with a picture of Trish . . . .Thanks Vinnie!. . . .Lowman? Lowman!)

Before I get to the main event. . . and the trumping of Wyatt at the show, I’d like to talk about the new WXPN World Café Studio. That venue for the show was great. It had an upstairs and downstairs stage. Richard Butler was downstairs. With about 200 people or so, it was full-ish. . . .quasi-filled (with a hyphen) but not crowded. There was a bar and table for those who wanted dinner. The bar had a Milk Stout which was tasty but gave me a homogenized hangover this morning. Got Milk Stout? We were able to hang right at the stage without being penned in. The place was beautiful.

Now, Richard Butler! Richard came out with his patented bow. He had Teemu Selanne on bass and some guy that looked like he should star in the show Weeds on keyboard. He played a very good mix of his new album, Love Spit Love and Psychedelic Furs material. It was scaled down versions of the songs because he didn’t have the full band behind them, but that’s not to be taken as a negative. When the show was over, I thought it felt short, but it was well after 11:00 so the time flew faster than it seemed. Always a good sign for a concert.

During the show, Wyatt’s brother-in-law asked me if the guy behind us looked like Tim Butler (another member of the Furs and Richards Brother). I said it looked like it. I told my brother to ready his camera phone. I faded back and introduced myself. . . .”big fan. . . .BIG Fan!” Not to be out done, Wyatt hung after the show and shook his hand with an introduction himself. Both shook Richard’s hand on the way off the stage. However, Wyatt was one upped when I made Richard Butler laugh. As I said, we were right at the stage. People were yelling requests. When I saw the Furs a few years ago, they played Roxy Music’s “Virginia Plain”. It was incredible!! There were maybe 2-3 people including myself that knew the song (Roxy fans and Furs fans have a small common set).
Anyway, I yelled out “play Virginia Plain” and Richard laughed and said “that’s the other crew”. He looked generally entertained by that.

I’ve seen the rise and fall of the Furs. In the 80s, I saw them at the (now Defunct) Chestnut Cabaret in Philadelphia and then at the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby. Years later, I saw them at the Philadelphia Spectrum Showcase. A fairly big venue. I saw them again at the Cabaret. The Roxy incident was at the Theatre of the Living Arts on South Street (still Philadelphia) and last year at the Trocadero (same area), a small whole in the wall. This was a step up as a venue and the new CD songs very good if you like your Furs on the mellow side.