Caught in the Carousel

A fitting name of a club to host these dudes' second to last show of a 50+ date run across the U.S. in almost as many days. Surely a fun but fairly grueling trek.

Who else does it like this?

One read into Mike Watt's amazing tour diary entry of the tours' travels and you'll quickly discover the loose, yet focused itinerary they're on, which, incidentally, are two similar characteristics of Watt's music.

With a tour like this, they've got tight time schedules to stick to, load-in and sound checks to handle, chow to find, konks to get in, and of course, a gig to play!

And after such, if all goes well, they make their way to a host pad to wind down at. Thereby enabling the crew to catch up with longtime cross-country friends, wash the bare bones amount of clothing they have, hose off and maybe a enjoy a little booze before turning in.

Then the next morning, doing it all over again, with this particular stop in S.F. starting with a 12+ hour drive down from Eugene, OR!

When my fellow gig-goers, Kerry and Steve, and I arrived to the packed club, we quickly spotted the legendary "boat"(tour van) out front, giving us a bit of relief to know that they made it!

The second opening band was just starting up as we entered, and they played instrumental, heavy, mid tempo tunes. About 20 minutes later, out of nowhere, Watt himself ambled on stage, still wearing his infamous yellow coat AND with a neon green konk (sleeping) mask still on his forehead.

The metal grooves then switched gears to the distinct grind of the Stooges' "Fun House" and after Watt found where they were in the song (and/or actually woke up), a lively and bizarre rendition of the punk classic ensued!

Mike Watt and the Missingmen

Now if you'd been reading the tour diary like I had, or are just a passionate fan, you'd know that this particular evening was going to be a performance of Watt's new opera, hyphenated-man from start to finish, in its entirety.

Therefore with a film-like continuum about to start, I grabbed another beer and secured a good listening spot. The opera itself is made up of 30 different tunes that flow into each other, all based (or is that bass-ed?) on Mr.Watt's as-of-now life experiences here in his early 50's.

The "pieces" are so cool; lots of different kinds of fresh sounding tunes that reminded me of Watt's work with both the Minutemen and fIREHOSE, as well as tunes, to me, that shone a little light on his beloved influences/favorites like CCR, Wire, Sonic Youth, and the Meat Puppets.

An hour or so later, with the opera completed, Watt and his men (the amazing Tom Watson on the jazzmaster, and Raul Morales, a tremendously skilled drummer), held a quick huddle side stage, returned and played a full throttle encore of tunes.

After a great blast of songs from the minutemen, and Red Crayola, they then uncorked the nights' second dose of "Fun House", this time peppered with the sax playing of one Steve Mackay, the dude who blew (and now still plays) his horn with the songs' author.

A grand evening of bitchin' tunes, world-class musicianship, great pad and loose vibes!

Much thanks to the bands, my driver, and Howard Wuelfing!

For additional details:
Watt's amazing personal website—http://hootpage.com
http://www.bottomofthehill.com/ (The pad; B.O.T.H is a great place; right off the freeway, plentiful, free parking, very kind staff, and econo ticket prices!)

—Andrew Arroyo

Mike Watt and the Missingmen

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http://hootpage.com