After two local bands, the stage was cleared for the TUBES. Prairie Prince checked out the drum kit. Roger Steen plugged in his guitar. Keyboard players Gary Cambra and ... made sure their equipment was ready, too. Rick Anderson brought out his bass, plugged in and flashed an "OK" sign as he and the others left the stage.
A few minutes later the band, without Fee, came on stage. It was around 9:30 on a Thursday eve and the TUBES began to play Up From the Deep. The sound was just right in the Theater, and Gary Cambra did a fine job in the vocals, but of course we wondered where Fee was.
As soon as the TUBES began, I knew tonight's show would be fine music. Shod in well-polished Docs, Rick Anderson punched out the bass line with precision. Guitar player Roger Steen was in command of a beautiful Gibson Les Paul and sounded great.
But we really wanted to hear Fee with the rest of the TUBES. And when the second song began, Fee ran onto the stage and the show moved into high gear as the band began to play Sushi Girl.
The band belted out tune after TUBES tune. I can't remember the play list, but everything they played was fantastic. About three fourths of the way through the show Fee remarked that Venturians were indeed a fortunate people to have such a fine concert theater in which to hear rock and roll. He acknowledged the "small but mighty" cadre of devoted TUBES fan who came to attend this Thursday evening show.
Prairie Prince kept the heartbeat of the show at an adrenaline pace. The people that attended the Ventura show thoroughly enjoyed it. People of all ages, attire, and hair style attended. There was a lot of dancing and up close interaction with the band. From the moment that Fee came on to the stage to the end of the third encore, just about everyone there was on their feet.
The first time I heard the TUBES play in Ventura, Fee was not in the group. For a lot of reasons, but especially because of no Fee, that was not a great show. The club was a converted attic over an old Woolworth's Five and Dime store. The show was late getting started. The sound overpowered the house and was prone to feed back. We had to leave early to pick up the young one from her baby sitter. That show was probably back around 1984. I figured that was probably the last I would see of the TUBES.
Mr. Hate, WPOD, Genius of America... they made it look easy that night at the Majestic Ventura Theater.
To my pleasant surprise, just last year the TUBES returned to Ventura for the first time since that so-so show back in 1984. They played outdoors at the 1997 Ventura County Fair. They were fantastic, especially when they played songs from Genius of America. They played two sets that night and we enjoyed them both. Of course they played the classic repertoire in addition to a lot of the new songs.
Musically the band explores new territory in Genius of America. There is a maturity tempering their intensity. We bought the disc after that show at the Ventura Fairgrounds. The more we listened the more we came to enjoy the new music from the TUBES. The theatrics were gone, no burlesque, no circus, no TUBES dancers. Instead the band brought a new, more melodic, accessible, and sweeter sound.
So, the music has mellowed, but Fee is still a one-man show, as entertaining as a three-ring circus.
The TUBES played a great rendition of Mr. Hate at the Ventura Theater. Interlaced with the song, Fee ranted about topics of the day including Gray Davis for Governor of California and the Southern Baptist convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Mr. Hate also ranted about cigarette smoking and how absurd that people are not allowed to smoke wherever they please in California. Fee smoked a cigarette to show how "cool" it looked to smoke when one knew how to do it "right." With plenty of absurd facial and hand gestures, it was high satire and kind of scary. Mr. Hate jumped into the audience and tried to drag a few victims onto the stage. Ladies dancing in front of the stage seemed shocked as Fee began to (faux) wail on a Security guard. Then:
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Later, when the show really was over, after the third encore, Fee and Roger stayed on the edge of the stage a bit longer. Fee extended his hand to fans who wanted to a personal touch from this rock legend. Roger stayed long enough to very kindly sign the booklet from my Genius of America CD. Wow, what a show it was. Maybe the TUBES will come to play some where near your town. When they do, go see them and take someone you love.
At this concert , Fee mused that perhaps rock and roll was riding off into the sunset. I don't know about that.
In my humble opinion the TUBES have never played better than their 1997 release GENIUS OF AMERICA material. Be that as it may, the CD failed to get deserved recognition. As Fee put it at the Ventura Theater show, "Genius of America may as well have been released in 1897." So, TUBES fans, please listen to the CD, play it for others who may not have heard it or realize the TUBES are still alive and well, and tell your local radio stations that you want them to play the TUBES GENIUS OF AMERICA CD. It spans rock to rap to Western to comedy music and even romantic ballads. It's all there, a wonderful fusion of finely textured tunes.
Did you like this page? If you did, click here and write to me. If you didn't, let me know that, too. Tell me how you think we can apply the Completion Backwards Principle and help the TUBES get the recognition this band deserves so that they don't just fade into the sunset. This page was rapidly created using a Sony Mavica FD-7 camera, Trellix (the document builder for the web era,) and Microsoft Image Composer.