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"The
Name of the Band is Cowboy Mouth from New Orleans
Louisiana!" This is what we were told to tell
our friends when they asked who we saw at the Rave that made
our voices hoarse.
It’s
been two days now since the show and I’m now listening
to the Cowboy Mouth CD I acquired in the absolute strangest
of circumstances (which I won’t go into as it will make
some question my integrity). :o) But let’s just say
that since the show, I’ve had some sort of proper
alignments of my planets or something, and I’ve been
kind of lucky and in a really good mood. I’m not saying
it was because of Cowboy Mouth, but I would be curious to
know how things have gone for others since the show. I know,
it’s only 2 days and I shouldn’t really read much
into it, but I’ve been in a true funk through most of
2001 and this is the best I’ve felt all year! (my
fortune cookie on NY Eve read “The current year will
bring you much happiness.” I had about 4 hours of
“current year” at that point, and it was all
downhill after that!)
But I
digress... as usual.
The beauty
of this band is their obvious love for music, and how their
energy draws you in immediately - thanks in part to their
amazing drummer and front man, Fred LeBlanc, who makes you
part of the show even if you don't know a single song
lyric!! And by the time they leave the stage, you'll KNOW
and REMEMBER the songs you heard. I will admit that prior to
Thursday, the day after the show, I didn't own a CM CD
(although I did have some Dash Riprock stuff from
Fred's earlier days). I first saw them at a weird time in my
life and it kind of slipped my mind, musically. But
I never ever forgot "Jenny Says Let it Go" and
"Love of My Life." They opened for Barenaked Ladies in '99
and it was obvious then that this was something
extraordinary!! Part hard-hitting pop/rock show, part
spiritual revival, part aerobics class, Cowboy Mouth is as
pure and powerful as the land from which they came! The
phrase “power pop” is so overused
these days, but that is a great description for CM.
Powerful, poppy. The lyrics aren’t necessarily
poetic or profound, but true, heartfelt and passionate songs
of love and life. There’s no mistake these guys are
great musicians, but with the exception of a keyboard solo,
there wasn’t much showcasing (except for the
drums)… until they had the crowd singing “Amazing
Grace” and ended in BEAUTIFUL 4-part harmonies.
**sigh** you gotta love that. Gave me chills.
This is
definitely not a show for those who hate "audience
participation," or those who prefer to just stand and bob
their head and worry about the line at the bar or a light
for their next cigarette. Be ready to scream. Be ready to
move. Be ready to sweat a lot if you’ve got the guts to
stand in the crowd, and sweat a little if you’re
outside of the crowd. (if you don’t even attempt
to sweat, you may as well go home. ) I, myself, prefer
some elbow room to move, especially with a band that I know
will require much more than a sway or a head-bob. But rarely
does a concert require much more than the Hanging
Out… Casual dance,
as seen on my darling zefrank’s site (click on "invite"
then "gift").
If you are
going to a CM show (I think they said they’re playing
Summerfest again this year), here’s a little hint:
stand by someone you find yourself attracted to, as
there is a point early in the show where Fred encourages a
bonding, “greet your neighbor” type thing.
“Turn to a person next to you, someone you don’t
know, and introduce yourself, shake their hand, hug them,
dance with them…” What a perfect opportunity to
get to know a stranger. However, don’t push your luck.
The enthusiastic man standing next to me turned, we
introduced ourselves, hugged, and then he pushed his luck
and headed for the lips. My head quickly turned, however,
and he ended up kissing my cheek. Ah well, “A” for
effort!
I really
urge you to read Fred’s bio on the Cowboy Mouth site.
It’s a funny and perfect story about a boy who wanted a
garbage can for Christmas. But there is one part of it that
describes the scene on the last song “Jenny Says Let it
Go” Allow me to paste it here: “…The venue is
completely dark. And everyone seems to be crouching on the
ground while some lunatic is going on about believing in
yourself and letting in all go. About finding the passion in
your soul that you may have forgotten about or may have let
someone kick out of you. Then all of a sudden the light
slices through the blackness with a vengeance unmatched
while a thousand people jump as high as they can with their
hands in the air -- screaming as loud as possible to assert
and to celebrate their very existence.” As I said. Rock
show / Revival / Aerobics. Medicine. I don’t care if he
does it at every single show, in every city. It works. And
he means it, every time!!
Thanks
Fred!! I am HEALED!!
Okay...
Imagine if you will taking 3 middle-aged truckers… one
tall, slightly weathered and thin, with graying hair,
mischievous but nice smile, wearing a denim jacket… one
who is large and round, wearing a black older-styled country
western shirt and a nylon trucker-type hat… one rather
slippery looking character with large tinted glasses and
(probably) gold chains… Then, adding a gum-snapping,
cigarette smoking, big-haired diner waitress wearing
glittered lettings, a miniskirt and a satin jacket. For the
tall man, give him a guitar to wail on. For the round man,
keyboards & tambourine. For the slippery man, put him
behind a drum set and let him bang away. And give the
waitress a silver sparkly bass guitar in which she can
occasionally check her ‘do & makeup when she’s
not jammin’. There you have them – Southern
Culture on the Skids. Hillbillies at their musical best.
And DAMN proud of it!
The first
song was a little rough, as they had what was probably one
of the most disturbing sound problems I’ve ever heard.
A loud thundering came from the right side of the stage and
it felt as if 10 Harleys were hiding somewhere, revving
their engines. So the band decided to have a beer and let
the sound crew fix the problem before jumping back on stage
and rockin’. From “Liquored up and Lacquered
Down” to “Voodoo Cadillac” these guys are
great fun to watch – probably more so after a few
drinks, but at $5.00 a cup for nasty domestic beer, only the
truly wealthy can afford to get truly liquored up at the
Rave!
The true fans had their best trailer trash clothes on –
hats, overalls, daisy dukes. Their show marked a first (and
hopefully last) for my concert-going experience. They have a
song called “Eight Piece Box.” It’s about
fried chicken, of course. They invite females up on stage to
dance and eat from a bucket of fried chicken, but instead,
they pelted the audience with bits and pieces of foul fowl.
J (spoken like a true vegetarian) I almost got hit with a
bone, and continued to feel bit and pieces beneath my feet,
along with the ever-present beer. It was a great time and a
nice “southern-style” compliment to Cowboy Mouth.
I think these two bands would be totally incredibly fun
to hang out with!!
Oh
– and the CM/SCOTS tour bus? Totally outrageous!!!
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