They were really at the top of their game in 1993. They were putting out some great music. Natalie would leave the band shortly after this, and she has had a successful solo career. She would be replaced in the band by Mary Ramsey (a singer I enjoy just as much as Natalie), but I think 1993 was possibly the biggest year for everyone associated with the Maniacs.
A high school friend and I got tickets to catch their show at Starwood in Nashville back in '93. We were both super excited about this one, as we probably knew every word to every song on all of their albums.
We talked to a nice fellow at a Green Peace table set up inside of Starwood. He told us to make sure we stayed for the whole show (duh), because there might be a cool surprise towards the end.
I remember having a great time at this concert, and just really enjoying the music. At one point during the show, Natalie stopped to take an injured bug to the side of the stage so he would be out of harms way. I remember Jimmie Dale Gilmore coming out to sing a couple of songs with them. I remember Natalie letting a fan sing the Michael Stipe part of "A Camp Fire Song". Speaking of Michael Stipe, they would bring him out on stage later to do some songs with the band and to close the show. Even back then, Stipe was a VERY big deal, and the place went nuts. This was just a great show.
Some side notes..... This would be the first of MANY Maniacs and Natalie shows I would attend. This is still one of my all time favorite bands.
In my opinion, their late guitar player, Rob Buck, is probably one of the most underrated guitarists ever. He played some WEIRD, BIZZARRE solos. This was still some mellow music, but when he got going, he exploded with some crazy solo out of left field. He was a true original.
Concerning this specific concert... I remember thinking some time ago that I wish I had caught World Party in concert at some point. They had a few songs I liked back in the day. Well, while looking through some scrap books, I found this ticket stub and realized that, I had in fact seen them open for 10,000 Maniacs. I bring this up just because, I have forgotten seeing some bands live after going to a ton of shows. Also, we were so psyched to see 10,000 Maniacs, any opening act would have been forgettable to us.
This was my first ever show. My mom drove me and a friend because we were only 15. I remember beginning to walk towards the parking lot because my mom was expecting us to be there by a certain time, and Natalie was saying she was bringing out a special guest. Completely jokingly, I said to my friend "Michael Stipe". A second or two later, she said "Mr. Michael Stipe" and my friend and I completely lost our minds. I would say at the time my friend and I both would've named R.E.M. and The Smiths as our favorite bands (with 10,000 Maniacs not too far behind, of course) so this was just about the best surprise guest the universe could've mustered for us. We ran back to the stage, got as close as we could - the security could see we were not going to be stopped and just let us go. Perfect encore to a great show, and an unforgettable night that kicked off an enduring passion for live music. Anyway, thanks for sharing this - I'd completely forgotten about World Party as well!
ReplyDeleteHAH! Hey Andrew, thanks for stopping by and sharing your memory! I SWEAR I remember a couple of kids almost hurding over seats (not even going through the walkways) to get closer to the stage when Stipe came out! This is still a great memory for me that holds up well as I get older.
ReplyDeleteI was there at that show. However, my memory of the show is a lot different. And for a very good reason. I was able to get backstage and meet Dennis Drew and Natalie Merchant. Great show. Of course that show had so many. I'm a native Nashvillian and remember all of this. Thanks for brightening up an old man's day.
ReplyDeleteHey Mike, thanks for that! I would love to hear about your experiences at that concert!
ReplyDeleteAnytime man. Just let me know when.
ReplyDeleteAnytime.
ReplyDeleteHe Mike, drop me a line about it at jimerado@hotmail.com.... This was such a great show!
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