Saturday, December 1, 2012

Wreckless Eric

A big, fat raspberry to all my so-called friends who refused to accompany me to the Wreckless Eric concert at the Kennett Flash on Friday night: it was a great show. Maybe next time you'll listen to me!
Wreckless Eric was a star of the British New Wave movement of the late 1970s, when I was in college. Yes, at age 58 he's put on some weight and his hair has turned gray, but his voice is exactly the same as I remembered. Now, instead of performing with Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and Nick Lowe, he shares the stage with his American wife, Amy Rigby. The two sang for 90 minutes without a break, doing songs from their new CD, a Ramones tribute, and oldies from way back when.
Wreckless told the audience when he and Amy were driving their "clapped-out van full of clapped-out equipment" to the show, he was taken aback when the GPS informed them that Kennett Square was about 40 minutes away from Philadelphia.
"I was like, now hang about, I thought it was Kennett Square, Philadelphia. Like Berkeley Square, London, you know?" he said.
And he wondered aloud what Kennett residents call themselves -- perhaps Kennettians? Or Squares? No one had an answer.
Amy said while driving down the Garden State Parkway they saw a truck labeled "Medical Waste."
Commented Eric: "Oh, I didn't know they were back on tour!"
No matter who the artist is, the Flash is a great place to see a show. It's small, the sound is good and the manager even came around afterward to thank us for coming.

No comments:

Post a Comment