Webb and the guys sounded fantastic last night. Jimmy, bearded and (for the first set) bespectacled, showed off his unique blend of power and finesse. He must have a new kick drum head, it didn't have his name on it. Tom was mixed perfectly so you could hear him playin' his heart out on the Hondo bass and his harmonies were spot on. Webb was in fine voice and had a "new" guitar to show off, a red 1961 Epiphone with a wonderful-sounding P90 pickup. It's getting a refret at Killer Vintage today. I swear, Webb is still improving as a guitar player...he seems to do more interesting stuff and play with more creativity every time we hear him, and he meshes perfectly with Bob. He does all this while still holding down the "chucka-chucka" rhythm that lies at the heart of many of his songs. Really cool.
I must mention the wizardry of Mr. Bob Williams. He played something different and fun on every number. As Bob has become completely familiar with all the songs he has really put his stamp on them. Among all the highlights, his work on "Landlord" stood out to me. He used a slide, but also played behind and in front of it, moving all over the neck as he coaxed the perfect tone from his guitar. It was somethin'!
Unfortunately, there was an incident that messed up the first set. About 2/3 of the way through, someone back by the bar collapsed on the floor. I didn't see it, don't know what happened, but the band was asked to stop playing. An ambulance was called and they got the guy taken care of, but it took a while. Webb announced that this would be the break and they would play a long second set. I know this screwed up Webb's carefully planned setlist, but the second set was fantastic and I don't think anyone in the crowd was put out at all. Well, just the one guy...
The Gramophone is a small club and wasn't packed, but those in attendance included many hard-core fans who were very happy with the show. We sure were!
Special thanks to Chris for selling swag (I bought one of the cool new caps). It was great to see him, Nese and Kelly, Glenn and Bootsy and everyone else.

Sounds great wish I coulda been there. Hope the guy is OK.

WOW, that was weird. All I know is I was standing at the bar getting our drinks and I heard and felt something at my feet. A tall kinda heavy guy was laying there with his eyes rolling in his head and trying to speak. Then he turned a bit white for just a moment and his eyes stopped in a cold stare and his mouth moved but not like he was in control (have you ever seen someone's life leave them?), I thought he died there and was really expecting a blood pool to form under his head. He hit the floor really hard! As far as I could tell he wasn't drunk, we (Kelly and I) think he had a seizure. He had only been there about two songs. He was still alive and kicking (not just a phrase, he really was) when someone starting pumping his chest (totally uncalled for since he was still conscious and no m2m, clearing his airway or tilting his head...amateurs). There was an obstetrician there that was helping out, she informed us that he wasn't pregnant!? Anyway, he got up and fell again very shortly afterward, then the fire truck showed up. After a bit the parmedics convinced him he needed to go to the hospital. It set Webb back and as mentioned, screwed up his fine set list but after gathering different setlits, the band put on a rockin' show. I was getting another night of Webb the next night anyway so who am I to not be happy that some gems might get played. Class act!!! This band is so good. So glad to have been there, it's really not that often that people fall at my feet! Really I hope the guy is okay and lives a long comfortable life. Nice to meet Chris and to see TommyLee and PammyLee again. No Beatle Bob though. Kelly had a great time too.

Wow, you guys are gettin' good at reportin' the facts...especially the part about me being so good. I"M KIDDING! Yeah, I really hope the guy is okay, too. Thanks to those of you who did come. The Beatnecks really are all that. I'm proud to serve with them but, I always feel like I'm IN that band, ya know? The very first posters read "The Beatnecks FEATURING Webb Wilder" NOT "Webb Wilder & the Beatnecks." Anyway, it was fun and thanks to all who came. Thanks to Nese and Tommy Lee for reporting from "the front." BTW, I've had the guitar for a while. Just finally bit the bullet on getting it refretted. I DID get it from Dave at KV to begin with, however. WW

Lest, I forget...THANKS YOU, CHRIS for seelling swag for us! You are a solid sender, my friend. Best of luck in your endeavors. WW

Sorry I didn't notice the guitar Webb, I'm really more interested in what you do with it than what it is. And man o man, you sure know how to handle it! Maybe if you played bass I'd pay more attention to what IT is (who am I kidding, I'd still be more interested in how you play it and if the soundperson did good), but you have no complaints from me.

Sounds like a great show out on the Western rim of Wilderhood! Tommy Lee I think you could get a job reporting concerts for Rolling Stone magazine. I'm glad to hear that, once again, there were no fatalities at the show. That's always a good sign.
These guys are a very tight and professional band and deserve national acclaim!

Nese, thanks for filling us in about the guy who collapsed. We weren't aware of the details, it all happened behind us and there were plenty of people crowding around him already.
Here's the setlist from the Gramophone, courtesy of Glenn S:
Set 1:
Flat Out Get It
Ruff Rider
Human Cannonball
Pretty Little Lights Of Town
More Like Me
Poolside
Lookin' For A Fool
Drinkin' Wine Spodie Odie
(this is when the guy hit the floor)
Set 2:
Big Time
Still Waters Run Deep
I Just Had To Laugh
Lonely Blue Boy
Pretty Is As Pretty Does
Who Will The Next Fool Be?
Wild Honey
One Taste Of The Bait
Hittin' Where It Hurts
Hoodoo Witch
No Great Shakes
Don't Slander Me
The Rest (Will Take Care Of Itself)
V8 Ford Blues
Meet Your New Landlord
Deep River Blues
Tough It Out
Baby Please Don't Go
Encore:
It Takes Time
Jumpin' Jack Flash

Even though it wasn't related, it's still curious the guy collasped during that song!

Webb noted during the show that V8 Ford Blues was a "maiden voyage", the first time the band has covered that tune. Deep River Blues was one of those songs that Webb sometimes picks a bit of to fill a few seconds on stage, but they ended up playing the whole thing. Both sounded mighty fine.
Drinkin Wine Spodie Odie is a dangerous song to play...I saw Jerry Lee Lewis do it once and the whole first row passed out cold.

The Killer's "power of suggestion" is STRONG! He's supposed to be here @ Jack White's 3rd Man Records soon on Nat'l Record Store Day. WW

Record Store Day is a fun event, I'm glad somebody invented it!
Here in St. Louis we have celebratory activities at Vintage Vinyl and even more at Euclid Records...John Doe, Jill Sobule, the Skeletons, the Bottle Rockets and a bunch of other bands are playing there.

Jack White? one of The Figures Jack White?
Record Store Day is the Saturday of the MS150, I seriously doubt I can partake in any related activites, but I do know I won't be saddle sore! I too am also glad they invented the RSD, wish it had been while I was still working at one though.

Yep!
Third Man Records was originally founded by Jack White in Detroit in 2001. In March of 2009, a physical location was established in Nashville, TN. Third Man Records in its current state serves as record store, record label, live venue, and one stop production house with a rehearsal and photo studio, darkroom, and production office and distribution center. All of our records are produced by Jack White in his own Third Man Studio, then printed and pressed right here in Nashville. With our unique set-up we can have an artist recorded and photographed in one day and have records for sale in our store within weeks. In this way we are bringing a spontaneous and immediate aesthetic back into the record business.
Located at 623 7th Avenue South, Nashville, TN.

No, I take that back...it's the better-known Jack White from the White Stripes and the Racontours.
I hadn't heard of the drummer Nese is talking about.

Oh the other White Jack. The Jack I was talking about is in Nashville area, he used to play with Rick Springfield too but I didn't find that out until last year. He'll always be a Figure to me! There are more reunion shows for Gary Myrick and The Figures coming soon but with Gary still taking it easy after prostate surgery, travel is limited. But if you are in Texas, I suggest you check for tour dates, it is not to be missed!

Hey Hey! I'm back on the tubes!

My plans to conquer the world via the internet had to go on hold for a spell because - TRUE STORY - a squirrel chewed through my internet cable. (I shouldn't have to mention this, but it was the cable OUTSIDE. As far as I know, no squirrels live inside my abode.) The man doesn't keep me down, and there's no way some squirrel will either. Time to get out the plastic explosives....

I had a great time at the show. It's always the best seeing and hearing this amazing band perform. It was great getting to meet you Nese, and I hope to see you again. And it's always a blast to see TommyLee and PammyLee.

Wait...I hear some scratching. Got to run!

Welcome back, Chris!
Dang squirrels...
Say, could you send me a knock-knock? We need to exchange some info.

The enemy has been identified, thy name is Varmint Cong

A squirrel chewed through the fuel line on my car a year or so ago- TRUE STORY- smelled gas, saw a pool under the car, had it towed in, mechanic showed me the teeth marks. Hope he got a good mouthful!

Several years ago, I read an article about a park somewhere in the West that was plagued by raccoons eating visitors' radiator hoses. They set out traps for them, but couldn't catch any of the bemasked culprits.









Until they started baiting the traps with old radiator hoses.

Squirrels - The Bane of Humanity
An anti squirrel infosite for squirrel haters
- Have you ever been victimized by squirrels? -
Have you ever been a victim of squirrel violence and/or mischief? Ever swerve your car to avoid street frolicking squirrels and crash or nearly crash your vehicle? Did you miss your favorite television program because a bushy tailed squirrel spawn of satan chewed through your cable wire? Have you ever been hit squarely in the forehead by an acorn that was lobbed by a squirrel? If you answered yes to any of these questions you are a victim of squirrel related violence and you have come to the right place for anti squirrel supporters!

- What the squirrels don't want you to know -
You've seen them high up in the trees and inside shrubs big and small. On the busiest city streets and most remote of meadows. They can swim and scale vertical walls. Their teeth and claws are sharp and can rend flesh easier than a fat kid can eat his way through a wall made of fudge. Squirrels have an agenda that you might not know about. Sure they look cute and harmless, seeming to live their lives eating nuts, playing in the trees, and chasing eachother across your front lawn. The fact is they have far bigger plans: Global domination and human enslavement. This Anti Squirrel website is here to tell you what the squirrels don't want you to know.

- Our Goal and how N.A.D.S began -
The goal of N.A.D.S (North American Defense against Squirrels) is to educate the population of the potential devestation squirrels are capable of and to uncover their plot for global domination, while continuing to push the envelope in ground breaking anti-squirrel tactics.
http://anti-squirrel.com/

All I can say is, GO NADS!
Hey...

Ba-da Boom!!!

The Angry Squirrel (apparently my story exceeds the permissible limit so I am breaking it into 2 parts)

I never dreamed slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a
residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect.
I was on Brice Street - a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me.
It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it -- it was that close. I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me.
I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal lovers, never fear.

Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves!
Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was
standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming Victory Touring Cruiser with steadfast resolve in his beady little eyes.

His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt!

I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, "Bonzai!" or maybe, "Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!" The leap was nothing short of spectacular...
He shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me
squarely in the chest. Instantly, he set upon me. If I did not know
better, I would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the attack.

Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of
activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!
Picture a large man on a huge red/white and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, puttering at maybe 25 mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing...

I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally
managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there.
It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of
the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel.

This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel. This was an EVIL
MUTANT ATTACK HURTLING PROJECTILE SQUIRREL OF DEATH! Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands and, with the force of the throw, swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact, he landed squarely on my BACK and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved.
Not improved at all.
His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was
startled, to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw,only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a VICTORY can only have one result.

Torque.

This is what the Victory is made for, and she is very, very good at it.
The engine roared and the front wheel left the pavement. The
squirrel screamed in anger. The Victory screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in. well .. I just plain screamed like a big ugly girl!
Now picture a large man on a huge red/white and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn t-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel, with a demonic squirrel of death on his back.
The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder. With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike.
This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I
really did not want to crash into somebody's tree, house, or parked car.
Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle...my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.
About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying
sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he was an evil mutant NAZI attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got INSIDE my full-face helmet with me.
As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the squirrel, however. The RPMs on the Victory maxed out (since I was not bothering with shifting at the moment), so her front end started to drop.

Now picture a large man on a huge red & white and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffysquirrel's tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet. By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.

Finally I got the upper hand ... I managed to grab his tail again,
pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could.
This time it worked ... sort-of.
Spectacularly sort-of ... so to speak.

Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge red/white and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by, and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.

I heard screams. They weren't mine... I managed to get the big
motorcycle under control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross street. I would have returned to 'fess up (and to get my glove back. I really would have.

Really... Except for two things.

First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody's front yard, quickly moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver's seat was standing in
the street, aiming a riot shotgun at his own police car. So, the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to "let the professionals handle it" anyway.

That was one thing. The other? Well, I could clearly see shredded
and flying pieces of foam and upholstery from the back seat. But I could also swear I saw the squirrel in the back window, shaking his little fist at me.

That is one dangerous squirrel. And now he has a patrol car. A somewhat shredded patrol car but it was all his.

I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made a gentle right turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves, and a whole lot of Band-Aids, and a new pair of underwear.

My God, Tater, that's some story.

You know, I have a theory about this. Squirrels can evolve, much like human serial killers. They start out with small acts of cruelty and subversion. Sometimes they make it look like an accident to cover their tracks. But once they discover they crave the sick thrill they get, the situation escalates as they progress to ever-more-insidious acts of violent malevolence.

Now... I know they can look very similar, but on the off chance... have a look at this, and see if this little furball doesn't look familiar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40kPEjZpM8M

Now the little monster has a taste for spilling human blood. And perhaps worse, he has a like-minded accomplice. Downright chilling.

Tater, that was you? I ran across that story on the internet a few years ago (I don't think I even knew you then). I used to tell this story but now I've had to print it out to let people read. I SEE this and it makes me laugh too hard every time.

I do belive that story has grown a tiny bit since the last time I pulled you over...next thing you know the squirrel will be squeezin' off a couple of rounds from the riot gun...or drivin' off in the cruiser...

Now that you mention it I think I did see the little cuss pull out some sort of weapon when he was in the back of that cruiser!

Damn! Squirrely! WW

LMAO, as the kids say!!! Incredible story, Tater, and really well written to boot! This thread has really taken an interesting turn...

I saw that squirrel on youtube- laying on his back laughing and waving a glove in the air

So now I'm reminded of the old Mel Blanc voiced character .. the trench-coated Secret Squirrel and his Fez-wearing side-kick Morocco Mole. I've since learned that Hanna Barberra Records released a "Secret Squirrel and Morroco Mole: Superspy" (HLP-2046) LP album in 1966 ... my I be the first to suggest that WW cover one of these gems?

Thanks for providing the positive, self-incriminating ID, Mister Bodine

I have a Secret Squirrel puppet in my folks basement.
lol. Tater, what a great tale.
When I was a kid we ate squirrels in a sorta meat sauce. Rice or potatoes were good. Now, I feed the birds and squirrels. Possible food source. Not to mention the occasional rabbit. Dad says the Welsh call cats "Roof Rabbits", so they are fair game, too.
It may come to that.
MB in KC