Spirits Tavern in Auburn NY gives me the overall feel of many a small tavern. Its by no means fancy, and by no means a dive, just your neighborhood place where folks might gather in small clusters after a hard days work to maybe tip a glass or three, possibly to chow down a burger, or shoot a game of darts. Just another bar in just another town. I half expected George Wendt to come lumbering through the door.
My friends and I arrived at the bar early enough to catch the Brain Surgeons as they went through the tedious task of setting up instruments and checking sound levels, and I could not help but notice that they seemed to truly be enjoying what they were doing. Here is Albert Bouchard, who once had crews of underlings to do these necessities for him in sold out arenas and massive venues that held more people than the small city I live in, rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done. We watched them set up and then crank out a nice test run of the equipment on and Roll that we were all eager ourselves to have fired at us from point blank range.
We met with Albert and Deb before they took the stage as they hung with Helen Wheels, who has written and co-written many a Blue Oyster Cult and Brain Surgeons tune. The thing that kept going through my head was how much better this was than seeing "Rock Gods" in a huge stadium, where they are so far away and impersonal that it could be anyone up on that stage gyrating to the music and you would not know the difference. Albert is a very (understatement) nice guy who seemed as genuinely excited about meeting fans as we were of meeting him. The same can be said about all the Brain Surgeons, a better bunch of folks you WILL NOT find. Albert told us they were going to try to nail down 33 songs in 3 sets that night, and we got just what he promised. But we got more, we got alot more.....
The band took the stage at 10pm and proceeded to kick off the ballistic marathon evening with a set of 11 songs, featuring several from who probably didn't know who the band was seemed to be getting into the tunes, while a pile of us BOC/Surgeons fans who knew what to expect from the band hooted and thumped from our tables. Set one consisted of:
Gun
Medusa
St. Vitus dance
Date with a guitar
Astronomy
Laura's plastic swords
Gimme nothin'
My civilization
Tender was the night
Dominance and Submission
The Red and The Black
The first thing that hit me was how clear and honest the band was. The sound was perfect. It was loud, but not so that you lost your eardrums on the first tune and then heard nothing but rumbling through the rest of the set. Everything seemed to be perfect, from clarity right down to vantage point. I settled into my seat, tapped my foot, and let the band have their way with me. "Gun" opened up the set nicely, a driving rocker that loosened up the bands muscle, and might have shaken a cobweb or two from the rafters. Another highlight of the first set was Billy Hilfiger's champion performance on "Tender was the Night", showing that he is indeed a top notch axe wielder. Deb Frost's vocals, something that either makes or breaks people I turn on to Brain Surgeons music, sounded fantastic, a vocalist that really must be heard live to be appreciated. A gentle screech here, a loving shriek there, this woman shows the crowd no mercy, and when it comes to Deb, we expect none.
But easily the highlight of the set was when the band clawed its way through the BOC classic "Dominance and Submission". Deb lender another guitar to the sound and Albert proved once again what a drumming presence he is, as sticks shattered and hi-hats teetered and wobbled under the onslaught that is Al Bouchard seated in his favorite gunner's seat.
The second set kicked off after a short break where the band mixed, mingled, and got very friendly with the crowd. The second set songs were:
I'm on fire
Soul jive
Baby ice dog
Hansel & Gretel
Locked up
A kiss is a promise
666 (Devil got your mother)
Donkey show
I play the drums
Time will care of you
Ramblin' Rose
This set seemed much more laid back than the first. Perhaps the band used it as a breather from the first assault and saved up reserves for the mountain of tunes that were still to follow in the next set. Peter Bohovesky showed off his sense of humor when he took the vocals on his song "Donkey Show", and Deb & the Boys got funky with a much different and hornless arrangement of "Soul Jive". Tunes like "Hansel & Gretel" and "I'm on Fire" saw the band having fun with the crowd and settling things into a groove for a while. Once rested up, the band used this set to tear into some of their heavier stuff, with the transition from the sometimes soft-spoken "Kiss is a Promise" going nicely into the fire and brimstone of "666 (Devil got your Mother)". Albert once again flexed his drumming muscle on the drum-laden "I Play the Drums", and once again I shook my head in wonder at how the man does it so well.
Another quick break of mixing and chatting with the fans and the band stood, cracked their knuckles and went back to doing what they do best. In a set that leaned heavily towards songs from the first Brain Surgeons album "Eponymous" and some classic well worn BOC material that Albert had stashed away in his bottomless bag of tricks, the band used the last ounces of sweat still in them to finish of the "marathon". This featured:
Stones in my passway
The most romantic place in the world
Kiss tomorrow goodbye
Language of love
Sally
Death valley nights
The Brain from Terra Incognita
Overture
I am the one you warned me of
Career of evil
Name your monster
Cities on flame
The band didn't seem to lack energy as they ripped through set 3. At this point even the locals seemed to pick up on the vibe of the band (or perhaps their drinks had kicked in enough) and they started to really get into the music. One of the highlights was Deb and Al trading places on stage, with Deb taking over skins duty while Al stood center stage with a guitar as they did a fantastic version of the classic Al-era BOC tune "Death Valley Nights". The show closed up with Deb's voice finding new screaming reserves on the kicking "Name your Monster", and Al took over once again on vocals with a song that all die-hard BOC fans will forever associate with the man, "Cities on Flame". This pounding and thumping version was a perfect closer to a night of both old and new classics meshed together in symmetry.
Well, Albert & crew had accomplished what they had originally set out to do. They promised us 33 songs and unless the official Brain Surgeons abacus is incorrect (they should get that thing calibrated now and and said their goodnights, but the audience was far from ready to let them get away. As the crowd clapped and cheered for one more song, the Surgeons didn't fight it. Sliding back into his cockpit and strapping himself in, Albert led his band through a rocking and rowdy version of "Operation luv" from the latest album. This got the crowd on their feet and jumping like frogs on a battery charger. As the song ended and the band made their way away from the twisted and smoking remains, Billy Hilfiger offered up an impromptu performance of BOC's "Last days of May", with the audience singing along with him.
And so after 35 songs in 4 hours, the band said their respects to a still hungry crowd. They closed up the set, wiped off the grease paint, mopped up the blood and entrails and packed up the "Big Hair Rock show" (as Deb called it), and slipped away into the night. Far away and so many years from the sold-out arenas and their impersonal division between band and fans, I felt like I had participated in a rare moment in time that nobody in that room was soon to forget, from either side of the mic stands. I certainly wasn't disappointed. Christ, how could I be?
Robert "Torgo" Sedler
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