Fourteen years ago today, we flew into Berlin to take part in City Slang’s 10th anniversary. It had been five years since we’d parted with the label, but nothing could diminish our love and appreciation for Christof. And I do mean nothing, because if this show couldn’t, nothing can. A seven-band spectacular set in a gigantic former post office, things started off innocently. We did our soundcheck without incident, and later began our set as we often did with “Night Falls in Hoboken.” I played that one on acoustic guitar, then switched to electric for “Tears Are in Your Eyes.” The first time I went to the mic to sing, I was thrown backwards (fortunately) by the largest electrical shock of my life. Still don’t know how the ground changed in between soundcheck and show, but it did. We weren’t precisely finished for the night, but for the purpose of brevity, let’s just say we may as well have been. Alec Empire would soon criticize our performance, suggesting that it should be every artist’s goal to die on stage. Fourteen years earlier, we took part in a triple-bill record-release show at another non-music venue, the Limelight disco (current home of Limelight Shops). Once again the reviews were not good. I can’t really argue with Robert Palmer’s critique except to say he had clearly not seen us before, because–sad but true–that night was actually us at our most confident. We brought a kitchen timer on stage with us and set it to 20 minutes, and squeezed in six of the songs from Ride the Tiger with guest bassist Steve Michener, before giving way to Mofungo (End of the World, Part 2) and the Feelies (The Good Earth). More uncomfortable memories tomorrow!
