Who: Better Than Ezra
What: A Concert
Where: Silverton Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
When: March 21, 2009
Like most things having to do with Vegas, it began with a conquest and ended in hazy tears, hazy tears of joy that is (save for the quasi-cougars that got away). Many moons ago, Professor Puff and Smokey McSmoke-Smoke decided to take over the world, but when that didn’t work we went to plan B. Plan B, also conceived many moons ago, was to see Better Than Ezra live. Code named “Before Someone Dies”, the plan was simple enough; however, due to problems in Montreal (besides the French), BTE would most likely never play in Canada again. Therefore, it was up to us to seek them out if they ever played remotely close to us in the States, which never really happened. It wouldn’t be such a big deal for most of the younger bands that we are into, but for an aging 90s band barely treading the waters of the music scene, it felt like we were running out of time.
The answer to our prayers came in a two disc unrated extended directors cut! At the end of 2008, news from BTE’s website sung the sweet tidings of a new album. Obviously we were pooping our pants, but then we got word of an extra-Louisiana gig in none other than Sin City! And so the adventure begins!
With Professor Puff in La La Land, not working in gay porn, and Smokey McSmoke-Smoke roaming the Southlands in search of himself and an elf named Winky, there was no reason why our two heroes couldn’t make the blessed event. Not only that, but only a few moons ago the two discussed a road trip to Vegas, what with Prof P’s certain digs and such. It was like killing two Sharpclaws with one earthquake (too soon?). Clearly the boys would need to change their pants after devising a plan this sweet.
One could probably imagine that for any band, the word “Casino” might smell a bit; however, for the struggling 90s acts, it’s their bread and butter. The scene of the crime ended up being the Silverton Casino, which was off the stripe but quite attractive in a faux Rockies kind of way. Actually, the real venue was a large tent behind the main casino building, but it had a bar… After fueling up on Whiskey Sours and BTE’s new single, “Absolutely Still,” Prof P and McS walked up to the stage and were quickly the young studly hit among the slightly older senoritas. The story with them gets hazy after that.
After listening to the opening act, Harvey the Rabbit, BTE burst onto the stage with their biggest hit “Good,” a ballsy move to be sure. For a nanosecond, there was concern that the band had blown its load too soon, but those fears were soon dismissed. BTE was fired up, and they were laying on the love. They played song after song with more momentum each time, reaffirming their classic hits like “Extra Ordinary,” “Roselia,” “A Lifetime,” “King Of New Orleans,” and “At The Stars,” while even making album tracks from the fairly lame Before The Robots (2005) sound good. By the time they got to their last ditch effort “Juicy,” it felt like everyone was ready to make babies. The pre-chorus closer was a smoove take on the consistent pants destroyer “Desperately Wanting”… and how we were… The encore consisted of “The Saints Are Coming” (in honor of their recovering New Orleans), and the always iron-rich “In The Blood.” When the lights came back on, the boys were drenched in love sweat from a much sexified audience. While our two smashing gents had attended many concerts before, they had never been to something quite as sexy as this.
In the euphoria of the aftermath, the boys went after a set list, missing out on unknown pleasures with the many ladies of the crowd, but Prof P and McS meant business. Upon reviewing the set list, an unfortunate fact was discovered. The excellent “Burned” was supposed to ignite the encore, a song very dear to our duo. Besides this 11th hour change, the only other downside was the omission of the moody “On More Murder,” yet another gem for the boys. But these thorns aside, the concert was a bed of roses that everyone made love in. The band was excellent live; even with a new drummer (the original one just sold his soul to Nashville). Most of all, the band was having as much fun as the audience, and that always makes for the best concerts.
So what did Professor Puff and Smokey McSmoke-Smoke learn from all this? Well, I’m afraid that stayed in Vegas.
The answer to our prayers came in a two disc unrated extended directors cut! At the end of 2008, news from BTE’s website sung the sweet tidings of a new album. Obviously we were pooping our pants, but then we got word of an extra-Louisiana gig in none other than Sin City! And so the adventure begins!
With Professor Puff in La La Land, not working in gay porn, and Smokey McSmoke-Smoke roaming the Southlands in search of himself and an elf named Winky, there was no reason why our two heroes couldn’t make the blessed event. Not only that, but only a few moons ago the two discussed a road trip to Vegas, what with Prof P’s certain digs and such. It was like killing two Sharpclaws with one earthquake (too soon?). Clearly the boys would need to change their pants after devising a plan this sweet.
One could probably imagine that for any band, the word “Casino” might smell a bit; however, for the struggling 90s acts, it’s their bread and butter. The scene of the crime ended up being the Silverton Casino, which was off the stripe but quite attractive in a faux Rockies kind of way. Actually, the real venue was a large tent behind the main casino building, but it had a bar… After fueling up on Whiskey Sours and BTE’s new single, “Absolutely Still,” Prof P and McS walked up to the stage and were quickly the young studly hit among the slightly older senoritas. The story with them gets hazy after that.
After listening to the opening act, Harvey the Rabbit, BTE burst onto the stage with their biggest hit “Good,” a ballsy move to be sure. For a nanosecond, there was concern that the band had blown its load too soon, but those fears were soon dismissed. BTE was fired up, and they were laying on the love. They played song after song with more momentum each time, reaffirming their classic hits like “Extra Ordinary,” “Roselia,” “A Lifetime,” “King Of New Orleans,” and “At The Stars,” while even making album tracks from the fairly lame Before The Robots (2005) sound good. By the time they got to their last ditch effort “Juicy,” it felt like everyone was ready to make babies. The pre-chorus closer was a smoove take on the consistent pants destroyer “Desperately Wanting”… and how we were… The encore consisted of “The Saints Are Coming” (in honor of their recovering New Orleans), and the always iron-rich “In The Blood.” When the lights came back on, the boys were drenched in love sweat from a much sexified audience. While our two smashing gents had attended many concerts before, they had never been to something quite as sexy as this.
In the euphoria of the aftermath, the boys went after a set list, missing out on unknown pleasures with the many ladies of the crowd, but Prof P and McS meant business. Upon reviewing the set list, an unfortunate fact was discovered. The excellent “Burned” was supposed to ignite the encore, a song very dear to our duo. Besides this 11th hour change, the only other downside was the omission of the moody “On More Murder,” yet another gem for the boys. But these thorns aside, the concert was a bed of roses that everyone made love in. The band was excellent live; even with a new drummer (the original one just sold his soul to Nashville). Most of all, the band was having as much fun as the audience, and that always makes for the best concerts.
So what did Professor Puff and Smokey McSmoke-Smoke learn from all this? Well, I’m afraid that stayed in Vegas.
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S. McSmoke-Smoke
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