Glitter and Doom: Tom Waits

Photo © JJ Peters

Somehow though, for all the ability of Waits’ sidemen, there were points that weren’t as exciting as they could’ve been. “Hang Down Your Head,” “Lucky Day,” “Johnsburg, Illinois” and “Lost in the Harbour” were all achingly beautiful (and pleasant surprises: I didn’t expect much—if any—Alice material, and I don’t know that I’d ever actually heard “Lucky Day” prior). “Make it Rain” didn’t quite bring the set back into high gear, lacking the stomp of the recorded version. “Lie to Me” was livelier, though it seemed to lag a bit at the beginning. “On the Other Side of the World” was another unexpected treat; “Singapore” was the Waits we all came to see. “Dirt in The Ground” was amazing, especially the interplay between the keys and horns. “What’s He Building” was exactly as you’d hope it to be, even if Tom’s bare light bulb didn’t work after it descended from above. “Sixteen Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six” was dragged somewhat, but fortunately “Rain Dogs” delivered, ending the set.

Of course, after a few minutes of stomping and cheering from the crowd, the band returned for three encores. A few bars into the first, it seemed like Waits covering a T. Rex song; the band sort of boogied along as such until Waits began singing and I realized it was “Goin’ Out West.” Ugh. I understand the urge to keep things fresh by changing up arrangements from time to time; often that results in some pretty amazing stuff. This was not one of those times. I really, really missed Joe Gore’s signature
low, twangy, creepy single-note-over-detuned-awesomeness-rhythm-guitar that really makes the Bone Machine original. “Anywhere I Lay My Head” brought the music back up to snuff before Waits closed the evening with “Innocent When You Dream,” which single-handedly made up for all of the lackluster bits throughout the set. By the end, Waits had the entire Fox Theatre singing along; it was perfect.

Was it worth the drive and the ticket prices? Absolutely. Was it as good as Waits is capable of? At times, it was easily as good as anything I’ve ever seen, including Tom Waits himself; other times it could have been better. In Waits’ defense, there were some issues with the sound at the Fox, especially his voice. During his banter between songs, there was something just a little off, a little echoey, making him almost unintelligible at times. Unfortunate, since he told some pretty great stories about the ghost of Enrico Caruso haunting the venue in Tulsa the night before, the State of Oklahoma mandating chewing tobacco but banning the word “Chrissakes,” and his family thinking him crazy for buying the dying breath of Henry Ford on Ebay, trapped in a Coke bottle. At one point, Waits asked if the crowd could hear the howling he could onstage; maybe there were monitor issues? If that was the case, that would certainly make some of the songs that were less than stellar more than forgivable. For that matter, their performance on those songs may have been relatively amazing, if the musicians couldn’t hear themselves or each other properly.

Given the range of material, it would be difficult to put together six people capable of performing all of the songs equally well. This is why I have mixed feelings about the show—the tender side of Waits’ repertoire could not have been better. Performing those songs, Tom and his band could make you cry. The “weird” songs were similarly satisfying in their iconoclastic Tom Waits way. The Bawlers balanced diamonds on blades of grass, the Bastards clanged and boomed and steamed, but the Brawlers. . . they just didn’t look so good without a shirt.

Click to read. . .

A list of the band members who performed in the show and the setlist

Pages: 1 2 3