An Unexpected Wintertime Treat
Jason K. Nowlin
"Jason Nowlin" <doraemon68@hotmail.com>
An Unexpected Wintertime
Treat
Jason K. Nowlin
"Jason
Nowlin" <doraemon68@hotmail.com>
The
BOOTLEG CHARLIES
Chanderner Bahnhoff
, Kandern, Germany
13th/14th Feb 99
As an American ex-pat
working in Germany for the past year or so, I
arrived with high hopes of
finding lots of kind European heads, enjoying an
approximation of the wonderful
flowering of the so-called "jam-band" scene
that is happening at this
very moment in many parts of the States. I knew
that the Dead toured here
for many, many years, and that Phish had
established a fanbase here
in recent years as well. So it was with great
happiness that I stumbled
upon a website where I subscribed to Bill
Pannifer's "Eyes of the World"
email newsletter. Happily enough, it covers
the scene that I had so desperately
been looking for. Oh, thank you
Bill!!!! I did manage
to catch the Phish dates in Copenhagen last Summer,
but I hadn't managed to catch
The (Magnificent!) Cosmic Charlies, Deadicace,
and some of the other Dead
cover bands and Dead/Phish influenced bands that
I've just begun to hear so
much about. It's pretty tough -- not being a
native, and not being a fluent
speaker of German -- to get the information I
need to really feel "at home"
here in continental Europe. The "Eyes of the
World" newsletter has really
helped out.
I was very happy
to see a "last minute German gig" advertised on the 13th
and 14th of February by the
Bootleg Charlies, which is, as I correctly
understood at the time, an
iteration of the Cosmic Charlies which I'd heard
so much about. The gig
was taking place in Kandern, a small town in the
southwestern corner of Germany
near the borders of France and Switzerland --
a relatively short drive (by
American standards) from my apartment in
Kaiserslautern. I thought
to myself "hell, yeah!". I called the club, the
"Chanderner Bahnhof", to confirm
that the gig was still on, and the next day
I hopped in my trusty Autobahn-eating
BMW (I do love driving in Germany,
except for the traffic...)
and made it there in just over 3 hours. I had no
problem whatsoever finding
the venue and a reasonable room in a local
Gasthaus in which to crash.
I arrived at the Chanderner Bahnhof, a nice
little bar attached to the
local train station--an odd place for a club, I
thought, but then again, I
saw the Bevis Frond at the Schwimmbad club in
Heidelburg.... yeah, an indoor
public pool! If you don't know the mighty
Frond check 'em out, Nick
Saloman has made a lot of really groovy music! I
arrived at the club at about
6 o'clock, ready to fortify myself with a few
of the local brews and grab
a good table before the show. I checked out the
equiptment on the tiny stage,
and being a sometime drummer myself, I paid
particular attention to the
kit. Hmm, a really crappy 70's Japanese no-name
kit. I thought at that point
that the band may be using rented equiptment,
which didn't bode well for
them...as cheapo rented equiptment is usually
pretty trashed when you get
it, as has been my experience. A couple of
German guys were trying in
vain to get the very elementary PA system up and
running. I awaited the
arrival of the band with some trepidation.
The band arrived,
and after no small amount of wrestling with the cheesy
PA and drum kit, they finally
soundchecked. Evidently, their usual bassist
was absent, and Brian took
on the bass chores -- most ably, I thought. I
had no clue that he was normally
a guitarist until I spoke with him during
the first set break.
Andy handled the guitar parts by himself, and he
absolutely killed me.
Excellent, solid chops. Greg handled the drumkit,
such as it was, excellently.
I watched him closely for most of the first
night. Harry and Pat
were playing keyboards, Harry mostly played the piano,
and Pat, for the most part,
did the Hammond organ. They did an excellent
job, under difficult circumstances--
as they had no monitors from which to
hear themselves play.
The same can be said of Brian's, Pat's, Andy's, and
Greg's vocals. I was, overall,
very impressed with the Charlies' ability to
overcome the deficiencies
of the equiptment they were using, and play some
ass-kicking interpretations
of the Grateful Dead's music. My impression of
their take on the Dead's music
was very favorable. Unfortunately, I've
never made it to a Dead show,
but I've listened to their music for many
years -- studio releases,
live CD's, and a few shows that I have tapes of.
The Charlies' take on the
Dead seemed to be not so much a perfectly faithful
note-by-note reproduction
than it was a truly ass-kicking blues-rock
interpretation containing
what I always thought was best about the Dead's
music -- improvisational freedom
within the song structures; sick, sick
jams, and a laid-back attitude
that fit hand-in-hand with the spirit of the
music and the general strangeness
of the gig (as they described it).
I didn't jot down
any setlists, as I came to party down. The two nights
the Bootleg Charlies played
included many familiar Dead standards. Some
highlights for me: an
awesome, far-out Shakedown Street, a great Samson and
Delilah, a killer the Other
One, a far-out China Cat Sunflower, a lovely
Catfish John, a brilliant
Scarlet Begonias/Eyes of the World, and a really
groovy Mr. Charlie.
It was all so great, the tunes just blended together
after awhile...the Charlies
had my toes a-tappin' and my head a-noddin' long
after the shows. Some
more memorable moments included an awe-inspiring
"After Midnight" (begun at
1 minute after midnite--I remember looking at my
watch), and killer takes of
All Along the Watchtower, and Gimme some Lovin',
with a beautiful Bid You Goodnight
capping things off at the end of the
second night. I do remember
the Allman Brothers' In Memory of Elizabeth
Reed slipping in at the end
of a wicked, sick jam, and I recall that Harry
and Pat were sneaking in some
Phishy snippets on the keyboards here and
there. A Charlies' world debut
of "Loving Cup" was attempted. I thought it
was a great unrehearsed first
attempt... "interesting", is how I recall Greg
describing it... I was
very happy to have sat in on a smokin' (I thought)
Smokestack Lightning, and
a well, less than perfect (on my part) Big
Railroad Blues. Thanks
for being gracious enough to give me a little time
behind the kit, guys!!
I almost wish that Brian's joking request that they
be allowed to smash everything,
a la the Who, had been accepted. I can't
wait to see the Charlies in
their full glory, with the sort of gear that
musicans of their skill deserve.
What a great bunch of guys, what a bunch
of killer crowd-pleasing musicians!
The Chanderner Bahnhof was by the end
of each evening, full of happy,
dancing local Heads. I must say I'll also
remember one of the guys that
was dancing -- what a freak!! Biting chairs,
and all!
Thanks to the wonderful
members of the Magnificent Charlies, Walter (who
evidently organized the gig),
the Chanderner Bahnhof club for having the
Charlies, and Bill's newsletter
which turned me on to this awesome
band. I can't wait to
see them again. Hopefully, I'll get to see them in
the States sometime.
I know that my fellow American Heads will love 'em.
See everyone this Summer!!