A few weeks ago Beth heard that Little Feat, one of my favorite bands, would be playing at The Vic, a great little old Vaudeville theater turned music venue.
Here’s the deal: I usually pretty much avoid nostalgia trips. For one thing, if I’ve seen a band, and the show was good, I don’t feel the need to repeat. For another, I fear that the bands I loved in 1979 are not, well, the bands I loved in 1979.
But Little Feat! For those who don’t know, the band’s founder and heart and soul, Lowell George, died too young the way rock and roll stars die too young. I was lucky enough to see the band before his demise. The band played on and eventually added a new lead singer—Craig Fuller, from a band called Pure Prairie League. I was skeptical that Little Feat could be good without George, but I saw the reincarnated band maybe 30 years ago and they were terrific.
So, they’d redeemed themselves once and earned the benefit of the doubt. And, well, they’re Little Feat, dammit! The Little Feat that to this day, when I put on their live masterpiece “Waiting for Columbus,” transports me to college parties in old ramshackle houses in Urbana. To Assembly Hall in Champaign where I saw them while Lowell George was still Willin’. To Washington, D.C., when I was fresh out of college and I learned my newfound friends shared my affection for Little Feat.
These days, Beth and I save our shekels to go to Jazz Showcase—an intimate room just down the street from our place, where we get to enjoy a music form we’ve acquired a taste for and cultivated in adulthood. But, Beth and I uncharacteristically sprung for seats for Little Feat’s 50thAnniversary Tour.
Gulp. 1969. 2019. Gulp.
Some of the names have changed, some are the same, and they still banged out their signature, complex, syncopated rhythms. Beth and I even danced a bit.
And it did spark memories, but it also cast a certain melancholy. The band was good. But the performance was wanting in some ephemeral way. I was left wondering whether it was because they’re older or because I am older. Maybe both.
It did not feel or sound like it did in 1979 at the Assembly Hall. It couldn’t.
That can’t be recreated. But that long ago time and feeling, it’s not gone. It lives in the human cloud of friends and shared experience that will be around as long as we are.
And that’s pretty damn good.
Music will do that, record and fix feelings and places forever and allows us to ‘be forever young’!
I love the ending with the ‘human cloud’ – thank you.
Geez, we loved Little Feat. Saw them many times. Lowell’s death was very sad for us. Also loved Pure Prairie League – especially the song “Amnesia”.
I saw the Rolling Stones in the Assembly Hall in 1969. May they rock on forever. But I don’t think I want to try and replicate the experience. In the words of (another) old rock god, Meatloaf, “It was long ago and it was far away, and so much better than it is today.”
Wow. The Stones in 1969. Yep, don’t think that could be topped. That Meatloaf, a great thinker!
Mick wore a black jumpsuit with the silver studs, and a white scarf. I wore what we would now call a boho dress, although back then it was just . . a dress. I danced in front of the stage. Those were the days.
Mike, that Little Feat show at the Assembly Hall remains at the top of my concert list, despite the decades that have passed. That evening, I was in an auditorium to take a mid-term, and they handed out the wrong test. After collecting them and handing out another, we got a late start, and my priorities were clear – I walked out without finishing the test rather than miss the concert. I have never regretted that decision. I saw Little Feat with Lowell George. (And I dropped out of school a year later…)
While I skipped the Vic show, my husband, Norm, was there. Our nephew is touring with the band, playing sax! Small world. Thanks for sharing your memories!
Wow. What a great story! Thanks. And you made the right call! You know, I saw a bunch of shows during college, and three remain maybe the best, certainly among the best, ever: Little Feat, Frank Zappa, and Earth Wind & Fire.
Miss you on Saturday mornings, but hope you’re enjoying sleeping in.
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