8/12 Habitat for Humanity, The Lebowsky Center

[chk]

Owosso, MI --- HFH Benefit

posted by: miteacher

OMG...where do I begin? I lost my hammerviginity last night in Owosso, and it was the one of the best nights of my life! They are so great live! I was blown away!

From the beginning...about 40 of us met for lunch at a local watering hole, and it was a lot of fun. I met so many wonderful hammerheads. I've always known hammerheads are great, and this jusst proved it!

To the concert...our tickets said things started at 7:00, we weren't even let in the door until 7:35-ish. The hall is an old vaudvillian theater, and in some ways looked like it...it was pretty old, but once it gets fixed up, it'll be beautiful. The backdrop for the stage was this HUGE American Flag! SHR, alphachi, and I were making jokes about Marty coming out dressed like George C. Scott from the movie "Patton", then we got talking about Marty wearing nothing but a helmet, riding crop, and a smile, and things went into the gutter from there !! After another 10 minutes, the opening band came out. They were pretty good considering they had only been playing together for about a month, if that. My only problem was the bass player...he looked like he had the DT's or something...he shook their entire set. It wasn't a scared shake either! It was a part of his act, but it was annoying!

Then the main attraction came on...First Billy, Bobby, and Dino came out and began playing the intro to Ultrasound. Then Marty came out doing the conductor thing, and looking hot! He was wearing his pinstriped pants w/the suspenders, a black jacket w/a black longsleeve tshirt underneath, and then a black wife beater. (Unofrtunately, neither him nor Bobby stripped to bare chests...damn the luck!)

Some of the songs they did were: Tunnel, Clinic, SAAA, Clouds, Eyes Can't See, Velvet, Riddle, Throw My Head, Ring of Fire, Paint It Black, Rockin'In the Free World, WYWH, Hold On, and some others, I can't remember them all. It's almost 7 pm the following evening and my head is still spinning from last night (not an alcohol hangover, but a Lovehammer hangover) Marty did everything that I've heard he does on stage...climbed the balconies, and such. Billy made the comment that he really thought the crowd there last night was rowdy and great. He said at Buffalo, they were pretty quiet. We were anything but quiet!

About an hour into the show, Marty was chatting to us (he was very chatty last night), and told us to come right to the stage. So we all rushed the stage! OMG, I was only 10 ft from him at times. He is beautiful! He was having a great time with us up there. He led us in a shouting contest - right stage, left stage, and balcony. It was a lot of fun. During this time, he mentioned that all of the other venues told him, "You only have an hour and fifteen minutes, then you've got to leave". Well, HFH told them to play as long as they wanted, so they did. The whole Lh set lasted 2 hrs. I'm so hoarse today!! He was asking for requests, etc. He was really playing the crowd and we ate it up! It was great. During the encore, Billy came out in a furry tiger skin rug draped around his shoulders like a cape. Very funny! If I can figure out how to post pics, I'll post it for you!

The meet and greet was really cool. I got my tshirt signed by all of them, got hugs from all of them, and got a pic of Marty. They were just so friendly and warm. They had smiles and laughs for everyone! It was really cool.

After the concert, we all went back to the bar where we had lunch. We were there for about an hour when Dino and Bobby showed up! They partied w/us for awhile. I left before they did b/c my chauffer (husband) was tired and we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. (We finally made it home about 3 am) I must say, I thought Bobby was handsome before, but when you see him in person, he takes your breath away! He is beautiful! Just sooooo gorgeous! I got my pic w/him. He is beautiful! And Dino is a little scamp!!! I got a pic w/him too...peeking down my shirt! I'll post that too when I figure out how to. If I remember hearing right, he is a boob man, isn't he?

Well, that's my report. I know I'm missing so much, and you got the better of my 2 reports (I posted when I got up this morning at LH.com and I was still babbling like an idiot!) Like I said, when I figure out how to post pics, I will do that.

[chk]

posted by SHR

Try and regain focus- mind is blown…”

I think this best sums up the concert at the Lebowsky Center in Owosso, Michigan this past August 12. I’ve been to several LH shows now- I think I’ll stop counting- but there was something in the air that night that just made this one magical. Maybe it was the giant American flag in the backdrop. Marty seemed to enjoy that.

I had first heard that this was going to take place back in February when I met the coordinator after the Detroit LH/INXS show. I knew this was going to be something special then. I know Lori put in countless hours to make her dream of helping a great cause a reality- not to mention having her favorite band in her hometown. I think we’d all agree this was well worth it!

From the second the guys walked on stage and Bobby began the intro to Ultrasound, you could feel the energy in the room. Then, as Billy and Dino added their parts, it increased- and as Marty came out and did what he does (we need to come up with a term for it, but I think you all know what I’m talking about)- the room exploded.

They went into Straight as an Arrow, The Riddle, Call of Distress, Throw My Head, and Hold On in rapid succession. After Hold On, we heard from Marty for the first time, who talked about the energy in the room. He said that they can tell when it’s going to be a great show after the first few minutes. He also mentioned this was the first time they’d played in front of a giant American flag and that they’d never played anywhere with as many O’s as Owosso. He was in comedic form for sure.

Then they played Eyes Can’t See, and prior to Ring of Fire, Marty said that if you didn’t know that song, you weren’t American. Then, they played Sleeper. Awesome! Marty prefaced it by saying that we deserved it cause we were so into the show. Yay us.

Marty then strapped on the guitar to play with the boys on Clouds (which was really amazing- I think they may have tweaked the ending a little bit or something- it sounded fantastic) and Wish You Were Here. It always amazes me when they play that song. Billy is seriously one of the best guitarists ever.

They then played Tunnel, and prior to playing Clinic, Marty sat on the edge of the stage and talked for a minute or two about how he writes songs. This was really cool. I’m paraphrasing here- but this is the general idea. He mentioned that people always think it takes something crazy to write a song, like getting abducted by aliens and getting probed- lol- but that isn’t the case. He mentioned that any of us could sit down and have a song written in a few hours. I wish I had this on tape.

Anyway, they played Clinic then, and then Summertime in the City (more amazing Billy guitar work- I bow to him and his slide- wow.) Then they played Trees. Prior to This Town, Marty asked all of us to move up- cause there was a huge gap between the stage and the front row. Most everyone was happy to oblige and quickly moved right up to the front. The energy got even more insane after that.

The guys went off stage for a few minutes and then the emcee got us to scream till they came back out. We had no idea we’d be getting practically another additional show.

They came back out and Billy was wearing a makeshift tiger print cape- to which he replied “I lost a bet.” They played Paint it Black, and after that, Marty explained why Billy was wearing the “cape.” Apparently, Dino had said, hey Billy, why don’t you wear that rug, and Billy said “ok.” So hilarious. They were asking for requests from the audience, and someone said “Springsteen!” Marty wittingly replied, we’re good, but we’re no Springsteen.

They played Let’s Get Wasted which is always so much fun. During that song, Marty was doing the microphone thing where he gets the crowd to scream. The balcony was having a hard time figuring it out. It was funny.

After that, more requests were shouted out. We got Billy to put the cape back on. Then, Marty made us guess what they were going to play next and referred to the flag behind them once again. He said that they hadn’t played the song in about 4 years, and that they rehearsed as often as we do our taxes- about once a year and reluctantly. It was Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World. He said he hoped he didn’t forget the words. (And as a side note- people are saying he did, but I went and looked at the lyrics and he did sing them all.) At this point, I think I temporarily lost consciousness. I hope they play that again sometime.

They played Velvet after that, and then they were having some difficulty with Dino’s bass, so they then played Better Off (Walk Away) and that was all she wrote.

There were so many other funny moments during that show that I can’t remember right now, but I think this gives you the basic idea. That’s the amazing thing about the shows- each one is such a uniquely amazing experience that will never be replicated. The band pulls each person in for that time and makes everyone feel like a big family. You go in there as strangers but walk out feeling so connected to everyone around you. That’s the magic of this band and what makes everyone want to come back for more. When’s the next show?

[chk]

Posted by wendyc122

Wow, Nancy, the pictures are great! And they really capture what it is like to be there. I still can't believe they can do this night after night after night ...

During the m&g after the Toronto show, I told Marty that he was the best live performer I've ever seen. He looked at me like I was nuts.

But I'll say the same thing I posted after the Mohegan Sun show back in February: he can work a room like nobody else (even a room that holds 10,000 people!). I've seen Bruce, U2, Prince, Bowie, The Stones, The Who all multiple times .. in other words, the artists who have survived the decades because they are great. Not one of them has a lead singer who connects with an audience and pulls them in the way Marty does.

There's usually a feeling with performers that they are on the stage and you are in the audience. Even when Bono comes out on the catwalk, you are aware that he is "up there" and you are "down here." And the shades he wears make direct eye contact impossible. And while Bruce loves to entertain and is a brilliant songwriter and showman, it's still very clear that it's his show, not yours.But Marty looks right into your eyes, no matter where you are in the room. He literally works the whole room, one person at a time. I don't know if he did this at the Owosso show, but in both the Toronto and Buffalo shows he began to chant, "I want you to feel what I feel, standing here in front of you." And you know that he means it. That's his goal. I can't think of anybody else who does that.

So no, Marty, I am not nuts. You are the best live performer I've ever seen. Period.