Glitter and Doom: Tom Waits

Fox Theatre, St. Louis MO
June 26, 2008

By J Howell

Despite Tom Waits’ assured permanent status on my short list of heroes, I have mixed emotions about the St. Louis Glitter and Doom show. It’s not that it wasn’t awesome; I’m pretty sure that Mr. Waits is quite incapable of playing a bad show at this point. It’s not that his band was less than aces; they were, to a man, amazing musicians. . .

Photo © JJ Peters

Maybe part of that has to do with this being the second time that I’ve seen Tom Waits live. In Memphis, on the 2006 Orphans tour, he was a revelation. When the nearly unbearable anticipation finally broke that night with Waits’ larger-than-life appearance from behind a backlit curtain, breaking straightaway into “Singapore,” the crowd was, as Wesley Willis would say, “like a lion,” and that show just got better and better from that song on.

That was Memphis 2006. This was St. Louis 2008. We arrived at the Fox about half hour or so before the show was to begin, and the line was around the block. It was hot hot HOT out, but waiting in a long line for Tom Waits almost adds to the sense of it being an event.

We made our way in, marveling a bit at how beautiful and ornate the Fox is. We had plenty of time to revel in it, as the show began about an hour later than scheduled. As a confirmed gear dork, the extra time to check out what was onstage from our pretty-great vantage point was a lot of fun. Seated directly above the drums and percussion, I couldn’t help but envy the massive tongue drum, the assorted metal and junk alongside the kit.

The lights went down. . . Tom Waits and his band filed onstage to thunderous applause. First they laid into a new, unfamiliar arrangement of “Lucinda/Down to the Well”. This set the tone for much of the show: lots of favorites in new arrangements that seemed to meet with varying degrees of success. I expected some surprises but overall, the set was spotty. As far as Waits is concerned, the bar is pretty high; had anyone else performed this same set, it would’ve been pretty damned amazing. Given that Tom Waits is Tom Waits it was. . . okay.

Not to say that the show didn’t have its moments. Several songs thankfully reminded me why I was there and who I was there to see. Waits pulled out a few surprises as well as dusted off some dear old songs as perfectly as you could ask for. “All the World is Green” was amazing, and I was ecstatic when he followed it with “Heigh Ho,” in all its strange and wonderful Tom Waitsian glory. I didn’t expect to ever see him do that song live, and I feel privileged that he did.

Patrick Warren and Seth Ford-Young were both very, very good, performing their parts with subtlety and strength, propelling the songs without overpowering them; in a word, Professional. Omar Torrez likewise showed his skill by, for the most part, not showing off his skill too much. Aside from some beautiful nylon-string, he laid back for the most part. Sometimes a little too much for my taste. Casey Waits was a solid drummer in Memphis in ’06, and he’s only become better since. His dad must be proud, as he’s really come into his own as a percussionist.

Photo © JJ Peters

At one point I noticed a call-and-response in which Casey would clang on what looked like a large metal cone, and Tom would reply by stomping on what looked like a boxing-ring bell with a kick pedal attached. In itself, not a whole lot to write home about, but at some point the rhythm folded back on itself, switching the calls and responses subtly and deftly. Cool. The closest anyone really came to stealing the show from Tom, though, was definitely Vincent Henry. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone so masterful on many instruments in a single show, playing several horns, blowing harp, and even strumming acoustic guitar. Henry has chops and knows exactly when and where to show it.

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