Saturday, May 17, 2008
Was (Not Was) at Wonder Ballroom 5.17.08
Second hot consecutive spring night--thank goodness it felt closer to warm. It was wonderful sit outside and have a drink at 9pm. Music season is here. After dinner and a logistic pause, I urged Pam to sit out on a patio and have a drink outside The Wonder Cafe, the supplementary hangout of the Wonder Ballroom where we were able to see a tour by Was (Not Was) which basically a first opportunity after many many years, especially in a tour setting. And what a happy dancing soul review from the quirkier side of Detroit it Was (ha ha)
The Was Brothers were kind of in this project and producer zone that was reflective of the more interesting kinds of things going on in music, or at least my record collection during the eighties. Hal Wilner's multi-guested tributes to Nino Rota, Mingus, Disney etc. and his early bookings Saturday Night Live to a degree, and syndicated music show Night Music were pure smorgasboards of joy for the avid cross-genre but jazz-based listener. Bill Laswell was another, but his kind of robot funk didn't really ever appeal to me.
Probably most among the new creative visioned producer presense to my ears was the guy from Was (Not Was), Don Was. He was the hero and celebrity-level producer of Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time and a bunch of other records where he had the formidable talents doing their thing with a great deal of authenticity and care. The role of recording producer has basically been his livelihood for the past 20 years, but one gets the sense that the return of Don and is also the chance for them to live their soul R&B dream on stage and in records. Don Was has one of the most consistently unique presences with his heavy dreads, dark glasses and (at least on Saturday night) cowboy hat. He was very cool and thankful of anyone who made eye (I mean dark glasses contact) Pam was really nervous I was going to start talking to him. She need not worry Was is a music nerd guy who knows how to quickly spot and deal with music nerd guys. "Thanks for coming out." was a good standard way to deal with our kind.
And among the most notable aspects of Was (Not Was) is the three man line of "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, Harry Bowens and Donald Ray Mitchell. These guys are something else. They do a mix of choreographed moves but the cool thing about their dancing is that it isn't entirely an act. I am convinced this music forces you to move with a certain style. Pam remarked at how three guys at that age were able to keep up the pace, especially at the end.
Was (Not Was) got one of those novelty videos on during the eighties about walking a dinosaur. It was only the most public of their strange little world content and to some degree music-wise. They are clever gentleman these brothers Was. They don't mind being a bit bratty or audacious. One of my favorite moments was the live Mos Sunshine Superman and Superfly. I would describe their humor and attitude as somewhere between They Might Be Giants and Frank Zappa.
Tahoe Jackson & the Love Bullies were the opening act. We caught about a song and a half. It was darned difficult coming inside when the weather was as impressive as the evening had been. The full song we caught was atmospheric open jam funk with Tahoe up full and front improvising mostly calling the shots to her lover. The crowd kicked into high dancing gear and gave a big stop the show applause at the end of the first natural break after the opener, Papa Was A Rolling Stone and a song about bombing the government that merged into aforementioned Sunshine Supermanfly.
posted by well-executed buffet at 11:59 PM
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