Where is everyone? They�re on stage!
March 5, 2004
A while back around �95 or �96, Rich asked me if I wanted to go to a show with him at Metropol. In my mind I was already going, but I asked who was playing anyway and he told me that Josh Clayton-Felt was opening up for Del Amitri. I wasn�t much of a fan of Del Amitri, but I loved Josh�s work, both solo but especially with the School of Fish. I was definitely up for the outing at the strip district. The day of the show came and the weather forecast was not looking good at all. Those damn meteorologists were calling for freezing rain and hail and sleet and anything else that would make you stay at home for the evening. I called Rich and we decided we would weather the storm and risk getting pelted on the head to see some cool bands in an intimate setting, which is the best and only way to see any band.
We made it in two pieces to Metropol and walked into the place to find that there were only about 20 people standing around waiting for the show to begin. Del Amitri had a pretty big, top-40 hit at the time, �Roll to me�, so we expected a good crowd and we were shocked to see such a slight following. We turned to each other and said, �Are we early?� But we weren�t, the show was going to start in about 10 minutes. The bad weather turned so many people away that this was all that showed up. Once we realized what was going on, smiles came to our faces. There would be no looking around someone half-a-foot taller than you, no pushing to get a drink and then spilling it on the way back, no typical �smells� of a crowed floor, no body heat from the people standing next to you�it was cool, it was relaxed, it was our own private show with about 15 or 20 of our friends. This is the kind of stuff Mtv gives away for prizes: �Come see Del Amitri and Josh Clayton-Felt at your choice venue sponsored by Pepsi and brought to you by Mtv and special thanks to Sony, Doritos, and Budweiser. Many will enter, but only one will win.� Well, we won and we brought the true fans of the bands as our guests. A minute later, we got another surprise for the night, we heard voices from above�No, it wasn�t the rock gods telling us how lucky we were to be at this show; it was the Rons, they were there too. Ron McCutcheon and Ron Volpe had braved the ice-storm paving the roadways to watch our private show. They were hiding out in the balcony when we arrived, and once they spotted us, they got our attention by speaking to us in a normal tone (that was how few people were there). Apparently, they too were expecting a big congregation, so they thought they would get good seats in the balcony and not have to fight the crowd. Once they saw us, they came down to join us in the front row on the dance floor.
The show started and Josh was great. He didn�t play many, if any, School tunes, but his �Inarticulate Nature Boy� song list was still cool. Since he left my favorite band, School of Fish, his music got a lot groovier. I was hoping that he might do �3 Strange Days� or something maybe more obscure from those days, but I guess it was still too soon after the break-up and he wanted to show off his new stuff. All-in-all, it was a great set and the room enjoyed it. Next up was Del Amitri. They took one look into the audience of one front row arranged in a semi-circle positioned 10-foot from them. You could tell they weren�t used to this small a gathering. The fans were also not used to this either. If there would have been more people, the front row would have been inches from the stage. It was like some strange psycho-analysis experiment. Let�s put a group of 21 to 35 year-old humans facing a different group of famous 25 to 35 year-old males and measure the distance of �personal space� that �Group A� gives �Group B�. Each group was timid at first, but as the night went on, there was so much interaction that it returned to the �Mtv prize show�, as advertised. In fact, the best part of the night was that Del Amitri was taking requests throughout their set. Any song of theirs that you wanted to hear, just yell it out and they would play it. It was like a live juke box without the neon. It was great, people were belting out some older, lesser-know songs that they may not have played in a while, so they would have to consult each other just to remember the cords. It was certainly a one-of-a-kind show that I will never forget and probably ever see again in my lifetime.
After Josh Clayton-Felt was done with his performance, he walked off the stage and stood right next to us for a short period. I stared at him, wanting so bad to say something to him. Maybe I could have simply introduced myself, but I got cold feet and didn't say hi to one of my musical heroes. This would have been the perfect opportunity, but now it is too late. You see, Josh died of cancer at the age of 32 on January 19, 2000. This may seem familiar because Rich had the same heartrending fate 4 years almost to the day after Josh�s. To Josh, thanks for the music and I�m sorry I didn't extend my hand in momentary friendship and gratitude. I�m sure there are many fans of Rich�s that felt the same way I did when they heard the news about Rich. Rich may have been just a local musical champion, but he had that same look, that same air about him that all the big stars have. I used to go to his shows and watch him with his presence on stage. This complete feeling of pride would come over me. I was proud that I helped him get started with music because he was a great musician. I also got the feeling that others at the shows had the same feeling of greatness in his company. He will be missed by all his fans and I consider myself one of his greatest fans. |
