We threw together a benefit at Maxwell’s three years ago today to aid with the recovery from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. Fred Armisen comes by to play drums for the entirety of our two sets. The last four songs of the opener feature David Byrne, including an arrangement of “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” that we threw at him–am I remembering it right that he had to go online to fill in some gaps in his memory of the lyrics? Glenn Mercer finishes the night with a couple of Feelies songs, one of ours, and the Velvet Underground’s “Run Run Run” (as opposed to “Run Run Run” by the Who, the Gestures, the Supremes, or the Third Rail). Speaking of the Velvet Underground, in 1989 we make our Indiana debut, at the Second Story in Bloomington. As sparsely attended shows go, this was a real fun one, even before it started, as I watched Bob Knight and Indiana University get eliminated from the NCAA tournament at the bar on the first story. Heading back upstairs, we open (“Craig’s Version”) and close (“Pablo’s Version”) with “The Evil That Men Do,” which I suspect we’d never done before, and then return for an uncharacteristic two encores totaling seven songs, each one requested by name. Well, almost: A request for the Velvet Underground (I promised you we were speaking of the Velvet Underground) leads to us ending the first encore with “I Heard Her Call My Name,” and someone’s “Play some more Velvets” results in a night-ending “Sweet Jane.”
