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september 04, 2002 - denver, co - lion's lair
So Swearing at Motorists got plunked into Denver's one and only Lion's Lair Wednesday night, the bar that members of Tricky Wu called "too scary to play in." Lion's Lair is still publishing the wonderful "Modern Drunkard" magazine, which actually has had a good string of summer issues, given the collapse of the rest of the publishing industry. Guess there's always barflies. When someone like Melt-Banana plays Lion's Lair, the tiny little bar is too crowded to move, but I'm sad to report that this was not a problem at S@M, since only about 25 or 30 people came out. But Dave Doughman wasn't deterred, and he liked the old LL. "It's intimate like a house concert, but with the ambience of an armpit. Perfect for rock and roll!"
Ah yes, Doughman, the mandatory Doughman story. John and I get to the bar, and here's a familiar skinny guy on the corner, hailing the finest of Colfax Avenue. "Hey, aren't you Dave Doughman?" I say. "Yeah, got any pot?" Neither of us did, but I warned about undercover cops cruising, and Dave said he thought all Denver narcs had been put in prison.
There was a contingent of Dayton folks at the bar, and we got into loud animated discussions on the merits of GbV, S@M, Devo, and Pere Ubu. Many good one-liners, all of which I forgot.
The Doughman traveling circus is interesting. They have a passable comedian from LA, Jason somebody, opening the show. Then, a solo British singer/experimentalist named Scout Niblett charmed the crowd with her excess of silliness and sincerity.
Dave is now touring with a drummer named Travis, who is not the drummer on the new album, and is obviously not Don Thrasher, either. Not sure if Dave and Don are even jamming together any more. Dave and Jason made lots of jokes about Travis's dad checking Web sites for the moral character of Dave, but after endless jokes, Dave allowed as how it's good to see parents care about the moral fiber of their kids' business associates, and he dedicated the rest of the show to Travis's dad.
Many good songs from This Flag and Number Seven Uptown were played, and I think I even heard a Mellow Struggle song here and there. (S@M songs go by even faster than GbV songs, so sometimes it's hard to remember.) Dave did an excellent cover of Pedro the Lion's "Magazine" (what an interesting choice), and even played a few bars of Gillian Welch's "Ruination Day." Dave said that the tenor of the nation has turned him into a Gillian Welch fan. "Some people say the world changed with 9/11. I say the world changed forever when O Brother Where Art Thou was released."
Oh that Dave Doughman is one funny guy, and the S@M traveling performance-art show is worth catching when it comes to your town.
-- Loring Wirbel
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