So, finally I have time to post about that Tesla show last month. I’ll start by saying that the show was in a place called the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD (just outside Baltimore). I don’t want to call the place a “dive”, because it’s really just a concert hall. There is a nice bar/restaurant/pool hall right next door (called “The Rec Room”… same ownership, I guess), that’s just too nice to allow the Recher to be called a dive. But the actual Theatre part (yes, they actually spell it in the British way) wasn’t all that nice. Plain concrete floors, fake-flame sconces on the walls, velvet/velour curtains… ummm… it looked like it may have been designed by the lead signer from the Scorpions (or Iggy Pop, or Jan Micheal Vincent, or any other random 80’s icon).
Well, we got there around 8 pm, and the show didn’t start until 9… which meant that Tesla wouldn’t go onstage until 9:45 or 10. So, we headed to the Rec Room for a beer (or a few beers is more like it) and played a few games of pool. Man, I haven’t played pool since I was in the Keys for work in January, and before that… who knows? There was just no way I could play that well with that little practice. But, OK, I didn’t play that badly. In fact, for the 3rd time in my life, I dropped the 8 ball on the break. I’m still amazed at how watching that 8 ball move towards the side pocket seemed to happen in slow motion. But it fell!
So, around 9:45ish, we headed next door for the show. Believe it or not, the show was a sell-out! We walked in, scoped the crowded, narrow concert hall, and decided to stay towards the back. Probably a safe decision, just in case I needed an escape route (for anxiety reasons), also easier to get to the bathroom (beer is recyclable, by the way).
Well, in the 15 - 20 minutes before the show started, I did TONS of people watching… and tons of laughing. Actually, I’m not sure that most of the people there realized that the 90s are over. OR, I’m not sure how they transplanted the entire population of Madison Heights into the Recher Theatre (tons of rednecks… I know, I have family in Madison Heights, too). OR, I’m not sure that they realized that metal is gone (not that Tesla was really metal, mind you).
I’m not shitting you, there was one guy there who was wearing a Metallica baseball cap, which did not even try to hide his mullet. The same guy was also wearing jean cut-offs, some Chuck Taylor sneakers, and (here’s the best part… or is it the worst part?) he was wearing a “Camaro USA” t-shirt. I nearly lost it, as this guy was the living embodiment of EVERY 90s redneck stereotype that exists.
Now, let’s not think that this guy was an anomoly. There were PLENTY of mullets, and plenty of black t-shirts that were purchased at various concerts.
So, what kind of women were there? OMG, there was enough hairspray there to destroy the place with just a stray spark from a cigarette lighter. Most of these women’s hair wasn’t teased… it was made fun of! Hair was very tall!! There was this circle of 5 girls right beside of us, who weren’t quite the ladies from Sex in the City. This was a month ago, so I don’t remember all the details, but 2 of them were hot, 2 of them were fat, and 1 was older, but she didn’t know it (OK 3 of them in SITC, maybe).
Well, the “older” girl was actually pretty nice, and I think she might have been interested in my friend. But none of the other 4 were all that personable. At one point in the night, while Tesla was playing, of course, they were dancing and taking pictures, and just enjoying themselves. So, I do the typical drunk-guy, “pay attention to me, too” thing, by putting rabbit ears behind one of the hot girls heads while they were taking pictures. And then I say to my friend “I’ve got an idea of something they can take a picture of”, to which the hot chick says “What did you say?” HOW IN THE HELL DID SHE HEAR ME WHILE TESLA WAS PLAYING? Oh, maybe it was that since I was drunk, I didn’t realize how loud I was? I don’t know… just a guess. So, I said something to smooth it over (I don’t remember what I said, but it had something to do with the rabbit ears), and she said “That’s what I thought”… doh! She wasn’t angry sounding, mind you, but I still can’t believe I got busted!
Anyways, and going back a little bit chronologically, just before the show started, I notice this little hand waving back and forth. The hand was just over the crowd’s average height (but not by much), and about 30 feet in front of me. It was Shannon, waving at me. Yeah, I knew she was going to be there… in fact, I even asked her to go with me. I can see where it’d be easy to find me in a crowd (I am literally head and shoulders taller than most people), but how did I spot her waving at me? And how does it just happen that she’s 30 feet away? Despite the proximity, I didn’t talk to her that night.
Well, all of these words, and nothing about Tesla? Until now…
Tesla sounded great! Jeff Keith didn’t miss a note, and Frankie Hannon and Tommy Skeoch were wonderful on the guitar. I always loved how they could go from playing something really heavy to having an underlying acoustic rhythm, all in the same song. Well, in concert, they were great! They still work very well together.
So, they played a pretty good mix of their old stuff, and stuff from their new album. They played the plugged-in (or is the “replugged”?) version of “Signs”, and they also played the 2-guitar intro to “Love Song”. I saw them back in their heyday, and have seen them on TV, (and even have a VHS Tesla tape… hey it was a gift), and I’ve only seen them play the Frankie-only intro to Love Song. But, the doubled version (the way it was originally recorded, btw) sounded great!
They also played a fair amount from Into the Now . “Caught in a dream” was perfect, as were the other songs they peformed. I do have a slight gripe, though. They played a song called “Mighty Mouse”, which is also on their new CD. Ummm… not what I’d call a well-written song. In fact, I thought that it was just a song that they put on the CD to fill it out. But, they played it in concert? Ugh…
Anyways, the show itself was a great show. Back in college (and for some time afterwards), Tesla was my favorite group. When they broke up, I just figured that it was over… but it wasn’t! So, in a time where I’m not sure if I even have a favorite band, Tesla still ranks up there! If they come around again, I’ll surely go and see them again. But I guess I should start looking for black t-shirts with bands’ names on them, just to fit in!
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