Should Have Left Them As A Memory

On Saturday, I had nothing else better to do with my evening, as my wife was attending a convention, so I headed to Fort Worth for a low rent music festival. It was only $5 to get in, and the headliner that night was The Smithereens, whom I used to like, so why not? There were probably 90 to 100 people there, splitting their time between two stages set up at opposite ends of a parking lot. As I walked in, The Flametruck Subs were bashing away at their peculiar brand of psychobilly. I was drawn in by their stage antics. They're a four peice band that cultivate the 50's look and sound, complete with a girl drummer who stands while she plays, and that requirment of any retro-themed band --- the stand up bass player. Their musical ability was marginal at best. But I did like the twin punk rock go-go dancers they had performing at either end of their stage. They really added some strange sex appeal to the performance. I couldn't take my eyes off it.

I wish I could say the same for the Smithereens. I liked these guys when they came out in 1985 with "Especially For You." I played that album over and over. I saw The Smithereens once, in 1987, and then I was done with them. I can't even remember why they fell out of favor with me. Twenty years later, time has not been kind to their lead singer. I remembered him as a smallish, New Jersey dude who was losing his hair prematurely. Today, he's added at least 100 pounds. He's freakin' enormous, and not in a muscular way. I was sort of uncomfortable watching him rock while pulling on a cigarette. I feared a heart attack could hit him at any moment. The band sounded good. But then I remembered why I stopped being interested in them --- as competant as they are, The Smithereens are basically a bar band. They produced a few rock anthems, but not enough of them to sustain a complete show like Cheap Trick can. So I headed home during the encore. I might have stayed for the last two songs if the Smithereen's had em' some go-go dancers.