Live show preview
Mike Watt and the Pair of Pliers
Mercury Lounge, New York City
Friday, October 13 2000, Saturday October 14, 2000 and Sunday, October 15, 2000
Veteran’s Day 1987: 13 inches of snow fell on Washington, D.C. in a freak early-November storm, paralyzing the unsuspecting city, right down to the normally-unflappable 930 Club, which canceled a Firehose/Slovenly double bill. Firehose bassist Mike Watt was undeterred. He phoned a tiny pad called dc space (now sadly gone) and declared that the bands would do their thing there. The 20 or so folks who got the word and braved the elements were treated to an intimate evening of Watt: swilling beer with the crowd, chiding and heckling the amazing Slovenly (singer Steve Anderson’s response: “this next song is called ‘Mike Watt Is Hogging the Tour’”) and burning through a ferocious set from so close that Watt sweat sprayed the faithful when he busted a bass string during “Chemical Wire”. Well, that’s my Watt-in concert story, everybody who has been entranced by the man who drove up from Pedro probably has one, because Watt is like that--- he invests himself in his shows, he cares, dammit, he binds and bonds, he stirs and stimulates, he...spent four months this year on his back in bed? True. Watt underwent emergency surgery early this year after an internal abscess in his perineum (area between the anus and the scrotum) burst. After convalescing, Watt is back (on a smaller, lighter bass) with the aptly titled ‘Enough of the Pissbag’ tour, which the bassman estimates to be his 40th (!) US jaunt. (Fans should see the engaging tour diary at: www.hootpage.com).
The Pair of Pliers are guitarist Tom Watson (Slovenly, Overpass, Red Krayola) and drummer Vince Meghrouni, and tone of these shows will be about as warm and fuzzy as Watt can get, which means he’ll be thanking his fans by blasting trio rock from all stages of his career: Minutemen tunes (including “Joe McCarthy’s Ghost”), a little Firehose, Dos (“Walkin’ the Cow”), solo activities (“Big Train”) and lots of covers, some expected (Wire’s “The 15th”, Urinals medley, “Tuff Gnarl”, “TV Eye”) and some not (Television’s “Little Johnny Jewel”, Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl”, Sleater-Kinney’s “All Hands on the Bad One”). There have even been reports of Lou Reed’s “The Blue Mask”. Those on board for all three nights might hear ‘em all, but no fan of Watt should let this engagement get by without catching at least one gig. Watt has reached a turning point and this tour should prove to be special.
Time Out New York, 2000
