EVAN DANDO – Southpaw – Brooklyn, NY – 12/19/08
How ‘bout this for a concert moment: halfway through the second song of his set, technical problems hampered Evan Dando’s ability to continue. So, what does he do? Unplug his guitar and sans amplification serenades the now-hushed audience, who then proceed to sing along to his barely audible performance and create an instance of shared and joyous spontaneity. It was that kind of night.
Spanning his career as both chief Lemonhead and a solo artist, Dando touched upon favorites both his own (“It’s A Shame About Ray”, “My Drug Buddy” “The Outdoor Type”, “In The Grass All Wine Colored”) and not (his well-known version of Victoria Williams’ “Frying Pan”, Mike Nesmith’s “Different Drum”, Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty", and The Frogs’ “Homos”, to name a few) during a lively hour-plus set that hovered around the two-dozen song mark, and featured a brief guest appearance by Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes.
Overhearing the complaints of a few faithful fans outside this particular venue on a snowy, sleepy Friday night—flubbed lyrics, abbreviated songs, signs of recurring drug use, etc—we found ourselves scratching our heads and wondering if they had come to the right show. For what we witnessed on stage was a loose, rambling acoustic set by a man not known to perform to the letter, but one that was undeniably entertaining and heartfelt, if not absolutely professional. But that’s what live music should be: fun and unpredictable, energetic and yes, not necessarily flawless. And in that regard, as far as the almost-capacity crowd was concerned, Dando delivered in spades.
