On Friday June 16, legendary Philadelphia band The Hooters will descend on the Electric Factory. I’ve been waiting for this one for a heck of a long time…
On a related note, I saw Matt Nathanson perform at World Cafe Live the other night. As always, Nathanson rocked the joint with his hysterical, energy-packed show (even though the live broadcast factor may have reigned him in a bit). But that isn’t really my point. Nathanson played two songs — a cover of James’ “Laid”, and “Suspended” — that have Hooters ties. “Laid” was recorded for the American Wedding soundtrack at Hooters frontman Eric Bazillian’s Philly studio; the two collaborated again on “Suspended” during the recording of Beneath These Fireworks.
It’s safe to say that pretty much anything goes at a Nathanson show; the other night fans yelled requests continuously — from the absurd (“Stone in Love”), to the obscure (“Amazng Again”), to the obvious (“Play some Skynyrd, man!”). So when I saw Matt perform at The Point in Bryn Mawr just after Beneath These Fireworks came out, I certainly had Hooters on the brain (heh). I refrained from yelling anything throughout the show, however, which would come back to haunt me almost immediately. When the house lights came up at the end of the night, I noticed none other than Mr. Bazillian sitting a few tables behind me. A golden opportunity — denied!
A week or two later, I had the opportunity to interview Nathanson for Songoose, and I asked him about his relationshship with Bazillian. We quickly agreed that “And We Danced” is one of the greatest and most underappreciated pop songs of all time, and Matt confided that Bazillian probably would have joined him on stage that night if summoned. This realization pushed me further into my spiral of Hooterish despair!
The next time I saw Matt at The Point, last summer for the recording of his new live album, I wasn’t about to miss out on another chance. I didn’t see Bazillian, but I knew it was originally his idea for Matt to record at the phenomenal Bryn Mawr listening room (he suggested this after the previously mentioned show), so I figured it was worth a shot. I waited for just the right spot — a moment of quiet between songs — and blurted out “Play some Hooters!”. In a classic moment, Matt stopped what he was doing and shot me a sideways glare. “That’s not one I hear to often” (or something like that), he laughed perplexedly. This, unfortunately, was not enough — after the moment passed he went right into a different song. Perhaps it was the live album being recorded, perhaps he didn’t know the tune… either way it wasn’t my night.
I did not, however, give up — at the recent World Cafe Live show, Matt mentioned recording “Laid” with Bazillian in Philly, and I jumped at the chance. “Play some Hooters!” I shouted again, just before someone on the other side screamed “And We Danced!” Matt wasn’t biting this time, however, as he just ignored our pleas and moved on. I thought my multi-show bid had come to a unsuccessful conclusion.
I thought wrong. I checked Matt’s page at archive.org this week, thinking the WCL show might have made it there quickly since it was broadcast live on WXPN. It wasn’t quite there yet (it is now), but I did stumble upon another show from 10-13-05 at the TLA in Philly. And, of course, you’ll never guess what was on the setlist… (or perhaps you already have). “And We Danced” — get this, with Eric Bazillian. Oh Fates, why must thou torture me! How long did I wait for that, only to miss it!
(I do try to catch Matt as much as possible, but I hate the TLA and think it is a terrible place for his kind of shows. Thus, I skipped that one.)
The only saving grace is that, through the beauty of the internet, I was able to get the show off archive.org and at least enjoy it within my own home. It was glorious! If you were there, I’d like to think that this performance ever happening had something to do with me — my comments in the interview and at The Point show certainly didn’t hurt the chances — so maybe a couple thank you’s will provide some catharsis. And maybe someday I might even get the chance to see them do it again…
…but better yet, I’ll definitely be there when Bazillian & the boys bust it out at the Factory in June.