TOM WAITS

Cultural Event #19

I would have a picture of Tom Waits here, but blogger won't let me post pictures anymore for some reason.

Well, last night I saw Tom Waits for the second and perhaps last time. There was buzz in the line that this would be his last tour, but who knows if that’s true or not. One thing is for sure: He almost never tours.

When we got to the Auditorium Theatre an hour before the show started, it was a total madhouse. The people running the show acted as if they’d never dealt with a crowd before – now I KNOW this can’t be true, this is one of the most famous theaters in downtown Chicago. There were three different lines, none of which were marked. We were told by a security guard to wait in one line for Will Call, only to find at the front of the line that it was for ticketholders. Then we had to get in another line for Will Call, which was extremely long. They were clearly unprepared for this event for some reason. We finally got through the doors 10 minutes before showtime, and there was a long line still stretching out the door. They thoughtfully started the show 45 minutes late so everyone got in. Pretty lame nonetheless.

We chit-chatted with people in line and inside. The guy sitting next to me flew in from Lincoln, Nebraska to see the show. I heard about people flying in from New York. I didn’t talk to anyone who was actually from Chicago, but I did see one person I recognized. Anyway the show was amazing, but not as overwhelmingly so as his last show. The bass was too quiet and I couldn’t pin down what key some of the songs were in, giving the show a more atonal effect than usual (although that’s an effect he’s been going for in his more recent releases). He told some of his trademark deadpan joke/monologues. One was a riff on 9th and Hennepin (the name of one of his old songs). Imagine this in his gravelly voice with tinkly piano accompaniment:

“9th and Hennepin…. Street names don’t mean the same thing nowadays…. I told someone about 9th and Hennepin the other day, and he told me ‘my wife bought some sandals there…’ Sandals? I got SHOT there. I was caught in the middle of a pimp war. The pimps were eleven years old and they were throwing silverware at each other. You may think I’m making this story up, but it’s true.”

Anyway his vocal cords sounded just as shredded as ever. I really hope this is not his last tour. His son was playing drums, and if nothing else, I imagine that will be encouragement to keep doing shows from time to time (he’s cited the main reason for not doing shows is that he doesn’t want to leave his family).

I also had another celebrity sighting (2 in two weeks… what’s up with that?) This was a solid, “Hey, it’s that guy” sighting. He was standing with his daughter on his shoulders and talking to a fan outside. All I could remember is that he played a crazy hillbilly in something, and it was killing me until this morning when Kelly was singing songs from O Brother, Where Art Thou? I suddenly realized he was in that movie, and it was Tim Blake Nelson. He counts as a real celebrity – he got top billing with George Clooney for crying out loud! He’s also been in a ton of other movies – you’ll recognize his face if you go to imdb.