Random access memories and mis-rememberings from September of 1995: Toast (on a stick). Bonfires on the lawn. Jewel eating grapes backstage. Larry “Bud” Melman introducing us to the largest crowd we’d ever played for at the time at the Blockbuster Pavilion in Charlotte, NC. All of it an early lesson in playing sheds.
We’d just upgraded from a Dodge Caravan to an actual van pulling a trailer. It was endless stretches of late-night, after-show drives, windows down to stay awake, listening to truck stop tapes you could buy for a buck from the bins. We’d play clubs during the week and radio shows on the weekends, six days on, one off.
I remember watching Buffalo Tom, who was headlining, from the side stage at that Charlotte show. Might have been the first time I ever got to do that—10,000+ people singing “Summer Song” and I’m standing amidst a maze of road cases, entranced. When we returned to the same stage in 1997, the crowd sang “Lucky” along with me; it was goosebump material.
I’ve always been a fan of the Boston music scene, and I made the pilgrimage to The Boathouse in Norfolk for every Boston band that came our way in college. Dinosaur Jr. was (is?) always in heavy rotation in my car, as are the Pixies, Lemonheads, Breeders, so many more. And, of course, Buffalo Tom—a seminal Boston 3-piece rock outfit that I truly adore.
Today’s offering is a live version of us doing “Taillights Fade”—one of my all-time favorites from the album Let Me Come Over—with our very own Bostonian, Tommy J, leading the charge.
Thank you, Buffalo Tom.
Yours,
JR
Remember this from a dive bar show in (I think) Eau Claire, WI- an absolute treat to hear it again.
Your music and words speaks to the soul and minds of many! The world is a less enjoyable place without your creativity. It’s been missed.. Thanks for coming back around!