10,000 Maniacs

[jordan@ucbarpa.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan Hayes)]

Yo --

They were in Berkeley tonight at the Berkeley Square.

Hot fucking show.

They are from Jamestown, but Jamestown has no _scene_ so they got their
start in Buffalo, NY ... my hometown. I hadn't seen them in almost 3
years, but I spoke with John (Lombardo -- the rhythm guitarist) before
the show and he said they are playing Buffalo on the 27th of December
with a band I used to be "involved" with ...

Anyways, they played a really excellent set, and were tighter than I
remembered them. Natalie (Merchant -- Vocals), who used to be a timid
little girl (indeed, she met the guys from the band when she was 16 ...
quite a talented young lady ... does the covers too), was belting out a
capella welsh dittys between songs. Her swooning (and crooning) along
with a bit of whirling was as enchanting as her voice.

Since the last time I saw them, they added a new drummer (of course, in
exchange for theor old one ...) Jerry Augustyniak (formerly from _The
Elements_ and _Pauline and the Perils_) -- and he's never been
tighter.

Bob (Robert Buck -- lead Guitar) had his same old Les Paul Custom with
active electronics up the wazoo and his usual bag of tricks that he
exploited beyond belief -- one of the true great guitarists on this
hemisphere.

_Popart_ was the first band. A family affair, I kept waiting for Rubin
Kincaid to appear ... the vocalist was a Morrissey clone with an
attitude the size of New Jersey. 4 stars for the haircut ... 1 star for
the self-worth.

_Fields Laughing_ was second ... too bad the guy can't sing and he's so
fucking *proud* to be there ... his girlfriend in the front row (she's
cute, actually -- such a shame) LOVED the show. Such a lonely girl.

Going to see the Replacements (sell outs ... *sigh*) and the Dammed
this week ... Bay area music looking good this month.

See the Manaics if you can.

/jordan