(I would like to point out that none of the images reflect that particular evening, or concert, and were only grabbed from the internet and used to enhance the experience of this blog.)
It was a Tuesday night. April 25th 1995. The fallout from Kurt Cobain had settled and the grunge thing thankfully was following the example set by the dinosaurs. Like all unwanted trends, many of the bands faded into obscurity. The best ones went on to experiment and enjoy a little bit of success. Trends come and go. But the true masters of the music scene rock on forever.
I heard about this special tour that was gearing up. The legendary Mike Watt was releasing a solo album and assembling one hell of a back up band to support it on the road. The tour was to stop at a newer club in DC called the Black Cat. Rumored to be partially owned by Dave Grohl.
At first there was little talk of this show. Tickets quietly went on sale so I grabbed two, for me and a friend. I called up one of my best buddies and said "Dude, you will not want to miss this concert." As the day approached word got out and things started to blow up.
The night of the concert was almost comical. There were people begging for tickets. Literally begging. Some were lying on the ground and crying. Before we got to the door I overheard one guy say "If I don't get in there tonight I'm going to die." He said that he just had to see Eddie. Oh well. Sucks to be that guy. We proudly pulled out our tickets and went inside. On that night I witnessed one of the most magical concert experiences I have ever had. A perfect night.
The opening act was a band called Hovercraft. Eddie Vedder wearing a wig on drums, his wife, and two other guys playing some weird droning shit while movies played on the screen in the background. I actually thought they sucked. But we were there for something far cooler and a couple of beers later I was able to deal with the horrid musical turd that exploded from the ass of the stage. Next up were a brand new band. A band we were most excited to see. I think, even though I wanted to see Mike Watt, I was just as stoked to see this other group. That band was called the Foo Fighters.
They had only played a few shows so we were seeing something fresh. I thought they rocked that night. At the time I had no idea Dave Grohl would be singing and playing guitar, so that was kind of cool. Pat Smear was in the band then too. They were tight and played a bunch of songs from an album that hadn't come out yet. The rest, as they say, is rock history.
When Mike Watt hit the stage all hell broke loose. But it was a subdued kind of hell. We were like some exclusive club or something that night. We all had tickets to one of the hottest shows of that year and we knew it. Mike Watt played songs from his solo album, Ball Hog or Tugboat.
He also played some cover songs. The coolest of which was a cover of the Blue Oyster Cult song "The Red and the Black." Watt's back up band that night was Eddie Vedder and Pat Smear on guitar and Dave Grohl on drums. Sometimes Grohl played guitar and the drummer for the Foo Fighters played drums.
Everybody on this tour wanted to downplay their roles as rock stars and I actually think that was what made this night so spectacular. There were no ego trips that night. Just a band playing some songs. They were quite simply one of the tightest and most rocking bands I have ever seen. When we came out of the club most of the beggars and the losers had gone home. I think I saw a few of them touching the building and making animal noises. I don't remember. All I know is that I was there and it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen in my entire life.
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