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Option38.com > Music : You Is HERE
Supersuckers at the Bluebird Theater
"Thank you very much, we're the Supersuckers..."
Oct 13 - Denver, Colo I've never been a devout follower of the band as, like Fishbone, they seemed to pop up on a marquee about once a year, somewhere in town. But thanks to a free email ticket promotion from AEG Live, I got just that-- free tickets to go see the band. Heck, the only thing it would cost me would be my time and the gas to get down there. Since it was at the Bluebird, that meant I would also get to practice my parallel parking skills!
So with my overhead costs succssfully lowered, I took off to Colfax Avenue and arrived about
10 minutes into the opening act: the Railbenders. They're a local band, playing cowboy rock, who
seem to pop up on marquees around town about three or four times a year. They're a good bar band
and feature a stand-up bass along with a steel guitar. Not quite rockabilly, yet similar
to bands like the Road Hammers. I usually hate country music, but these guys didn't offend me.
With truck drivin' song titles like "Drive a Truck" and "Drivin' Back to Denver The Supersuckers hit the stage about 40 minutes later...but only after one of the longest roadie equipment checks I can recall! The band opened up with lead singer/bassist Eddie Spaghetti telling everyone: "in the beginning there was rock....then someone invented the wheel and things began to roll!" (although the stoner next to me informed me that the lyrics were "then someone invented weed". Yeah, whatever hoss.... but "weed" wouldn't make any sense). Spaghetti has a quirky voice that you either love or hate. Visually, he looks like the offspring of a Hank Williams, Jr and Les Claypool amorous reproduction. They tore through four songs, then stopped to "officially start the show". For the first half of the show, Spaghetti would continually repeat himself every three or four songs by saying: "Thank you very much! We're the Supersuckers! How's everyone doing out there". Upon his first repitition, I thought he was simply brain-fried...but after the third or fourth time, I had to feel he was messing with the audience.
Since I'm not a huge fan,
a few of the songs I could remember were "Bad, Bad, Bad
But then the show seemed to drag on. And on. And on. With all the songs mulching together.
That's a common criticism of punk-ish rock songs, but it held true. I was actually
thoping the Railbenders would come back, just to kill the monotony. By the time the 'Suckers got
to "Pretty Fucked Up", I was pretty fucking tired. They have some silly lyrics and fun songs, but when
their set dragged on for well over, I kept thinking: "dammit, hurry up and play Born with a Tail so I can get out of here!"
I deiced I would wait for that one song-- my favorite and an absolutely underrated classic-- but as luck would have it,
it was their final number. Really, not so bad considering I got to see the entire show. Including
a 20 minute version of Willie Nelson's "Bloody Mary Morning Somewhere in here, they talked about the concept of "awesomeness", as detailed in the book "Awesome-etics"... that book with the volcano on the cover (I saved you the trouble, though...the book's not available on Amazon). As their set wound down, Spaghetti schooled the audience on their tradition of not playing an encore. Most bands will plan on an ancore, but the Supersuckers won't leave the stage until their job is finished. It also allows them to not waste our time and they can squeeze in two additional songs instead of one. Spaghetti suggested that the next time a band comes to the Bluebird and goes backstage before an encore, the audience should get up and leave on them. Fun idea... and it actually makes some sense. Don't dick around with your planned encore...just play your songs and quit jerking with us!
Then the band did their "mini-encore" by turning their backs briefly and finishing the show with their
theme song: "Born With A Tail It was a pretty full crowd and while roughly 1/3 had left before the "mini-encore", everyone seemed satisifed and in good spirits. For about the fifth straight show, I didn't see the "Guy Who Looks Like Jesus", so I may have to retire that my usual concert reviewing gimmicks. But I did see a buncha' guys with facial tattoos. Like the kind Samoan Warriors scrawl on themselves. I also saw a few jackets for a gang called the "Helldoradoes". I'm not sure if these were the tattoo-faced guys, or if I was just confused. If it turns out they are a gang, if I ever get into trouble with them I can say: "hey, I saw you dudes at the Supersuckers show! You're allright". I'd go see the Supersuckers again.... if they were on a multi-bill with three or four other bands. They're good for about 12 songs, but for a headlining bill they can linger on you. Even the self-proclaimed "Greatest Rock n' Roll Band in the World" can be a bit tiresome in large doses. Comment about this article: Contact The Asshole Who Wrote This!
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", I just couldn't
bring myself to say anything negative about them. Darnit, all of their songs were about drinking
and truck driving! I'm completely fine with that. They even did a cover song of the semi-famous "I'm home gettin' hammered while
she's out gettin' nailed". They brought out the Supersuckers' Eddie Spaghetti
for their final two songs: covers of Hank Williams' "
" and Neil Diamond's
. As long as they're not playing at a country bar, I wouldn't mind
seeing these guys again.
", "
", "
" along with
"
", aka:
the obligatory "stuff off our new album"! They really seemed to plug the new album, urging everyone to
stick around after the show and pre-order the CD. I thought that was either a curious or pathetic
business move. In this modern era of short attention spans and one-song downloads, getting fans to pre-order
a CD is kinda' questionable.
". But two hours? Spaghetti kept thanking everyone for
coming out on a "school night" and making this Monday seem like a "pretty awesome Thursday", but some
expedience would've been nice.
". Finally! My sentence was complete! But it made it all worth it, as
that song simply destroyed. "You know! I'm in league with Satan!"
