The snoe.down Wook Flu left in it's wake, a monumentally wretched and terrible mood that only lifted with a Magical Curse-Breaking Hug from one Lo Faber.
And that's how this review is gonna start. Instant better. There was some pre-show shmoozing and eventually Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell hit the stage to thunderous applause. The same I imagine, as Charlie Sheen received at Radio City. Dos Heteros started off with the beautiful Blues standard Poor Boy Long Way Home to warm up the room. Then came the sparks. A comforting Weird Dream (niiice!). Gretchen, Electrocute, Ballroom- awesome. It was good to hear the boys again. It's been too long (February). Northern Sky (debut of a Nick Drake song) was sweet and moody. Run To You was oozing with goodness. Edgar's Back In Town was cute.
At some point around now, they wanted to know if anyone had requests and there were numerous shouts from around the room. I've been fruitlessly requesting something for 15+ years, but yelling it at that particular moment was more about having a response to bug them with. "New Eyes!" It's one of my very favorite (and unfortunately incredibly rare) God Street Wine tunes. There's always been a faded hope, but it didn't seem realistic until they broke out Edgar's back at Joe's Pub. I caught at least 1 smirk before someone else screamed for Fortress. Their ears perked, they repeated in unison, "Fortress...", like they had yet to even consider it.
This may have been when they played a wonderful Strange As It Seems (or was all the screaming before Edgar's?). No matter.
The intro for the next song was kept slightly cryptic, but it all added up quickly to me. A song they haven't played in over 15 years. A song they never really learned how to play in the first place. No. It couldn't be. They wouldn't---- as a duo?? A song they were playing for me? My jaw dropped. I believe this is what The Britains refer to as being "gobsmacked". Rendered speechless because Lo & Aaron were about to play NEW EYES. I just stood there in shock. They were gonna play New Eyes. THEY FUCKING PLAYED NEW EYES. They fucking played New Eyes and I stood there smiling like a fool, while actually holding back tears. And it was SO SO GOOD!!!!! It's such a fast moving song, with so many changes- and they fucking nailed it with amazing energy and precision. Like they had even practiced! When the song peaked and they hit the chorus, there was a table full of cheers from the House Right side of the room. It was spectacular.
I'd say that they have no idea how much hearing that meant to me, but the only reason they would ever finally pull that nugget out was because they knew exactly how much it meant to me. So if you're reading this, guys (and Weiss too, cuz I'm sure he had something to do with it) -- again-- thank you. It meant the world to me. I really needed that.
Those bastards. 15+ years of harassment ends in success. What the hell am I supposed to request now? Eh, who are we kidding, I'll keep requesting New Eyes^. In fact, I'd love to hear it at Joe's Pub in May. All quartet-like (though Jason Crosby could shred on it too).
You'd think it'd be a blur from that point on. There was definitely a Post New Eyes Buzz happening, but I was still mentally at the show. Dos Heteros totally ripped through a beautiful Waiting For the Tide and completely tore up a high-energy Nightingale. The dueling guitar section towards the end was absolutely wild and inspired. Crazy good Madness.
They premiered Pancho + Lefty (Lo on vocals), a howling cowboy ballad, written by Townes Van Zandt, but covered by the likes of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, & Emmylou Harris. It's really freakin' cool to see what covers they pepper into their sets. It's both a peak into Dos Heteros psyche and a music history lesson. My Babe (Aaron on vocals) as well, was fun, bouncy, and spectacular.
Wendy rocked. Molly grooved. Thirsty cleansed the palate.
Lizzy Loves from the band Reflections (who were playing the late set) sang backup for the last 3 songs: Dead Flowers (how can you lose?), Dark Hollow (reeeeaaaaally nice to hear Lo sing this again), and Swing Low (mmhmmm).
A round of thank you's, goodbyes, more hugs, and I went back to my sister's Bachelorette Party, which I had very mysteriously snuck out of a few hours earlier. Don't judge me, you won't win.
Aaron's iPad/teleprompter was strapped to his mic stand for the whole set-- it gets closer to his face with every show. However, it seems that the closer it gets, the more they actually "get creative" with the lyrics. So, perhaps leave it at the bar and see what happens?
In totally random Jersey News, Snooki Lohan's mom was there, doing what looked to be a photo shoot for the cover of Steppin' Out.
Budke's kids were sick (way to go, Budke) and he couldn't go, so there's currently no archive DL link to direct you to. There is rumored to be a single recording of this show, but I haven't seen or heard anything yet. It would be a damn shame if it doesn't exist, but this show could then become the Stuff of Legend. Or I could totally be lying about the whole fucking thing-- you'd have no idea, YOU FOOLS!
The boys were totally busting to play, I think the 6 weeks off was too much for them. You could tell they felt great up there. Seeing them on a regular basis is like eating really good pudding. When was the last time you had great pudding? WTF do you have against pudding anyways? Get over it.
Lo Faber & Aaron Maxwell (aka Dos Heteros), 4/9/11, Mexicali, Teaneck, NJ: 10 HUZZAHS!!!! NEW EYES, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
SETLIST
Poor Boy Long Way Home
Weird Dream
Gretchen
Electrocute
Ballroom
Northern Sky
Run To You
Edgar's Back In Town
Strange As It Seems
New Eyes
Tide
Nightingale
Pancho + Lefty
My Babe
Wendy
Molly
Thirsty
Dead Flowers*
Dark Hollow*
Swing Low*
* w/ Lizzy Loves on vocals
Thank you to Weiss for the setlist and for whatever he had to do with the New Eyes.
UPDATE: DOWNLOAD THE SHOW!! WOOOOOT! Thanks for securing this, Weiss, etc.!
http://www.archive.org/details/lfam2011-04-09
^ and 6:15, and Dirty Little Secret, and Watcha Gonna Do About It?, and Miss Leonardo.
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