Long time fans of Mike Watt know him as an uber road dog. Often performing more shows in a tour than there are days. On this latest tour he took it easy and only did 32 shows in 37 days. 3 of those days off were spend recording his upcoming album to be released later this year.
With all that stage time you’d figure Watt and his Missingmen would have displayed serious signs of wear and tear by the time they reached Portland (show #29 for those keeping count), but you’d be wrong. This night the band was on fire. Blazing through their 45 minute set. Songs began before the last note of the previous song had a chance to fade.
Fans of Watt’s solo releases might have been taken aback, by the absence of any of his spacey / jammy tunes. In fact, other than “Big Bang Theory” (an outtake from “Ball Hog or Tug Boat”) and a handful of Minutemen gems, the set was all covers. It makes one wonder what this upcoming album has in store for us fans.
Recently, Watt was quoted as saying that the Missingmen are the closest he has come to playing with his original band the Minutemen. Drummer Raul Morales & guitarist Tom Watson, do a great job following the trail started by Boon & Hurley, but they add layers to the sound that is unique and all their own. When they rip through Roky Erickson’s “Sweet Honey Pie” or ride the groove of “Funhouse”, you realize that they aren’t just playing supporting roles in the Mike Watt show. They are lead actors. Rather than just play the notes as heard from the original artists, they deconstruct the songs to their core and rebuild them into new images. However, always mindful that the song is the priority and stretching out to jam only to fill in the pockets where needed. no noodling in this tasty dish.
The three also appear to have bonded in a playfulness that I don’t recall having seen on any of Watt’s past solo outings. Like Watson and Watt doing synchronized pirouettes while playing “Black Sheep”. It’s easy to assume that at 51 Watt is having the time of his life on stage.
Setlist (w/ Youtube clips from this show)
1. Surfin’ with the Shah (The Urinals)
2. She Don’t Know Why I’m Here (The Last)
3. Sweet Honey Pie (Roky Erickson) video
4. Big Bang Theory video
5. Forever… One Reporter’s Opinion (Minutemen)
6. Conspirator’s Oath (The Red Crayola)
7. Amnesty Report (The Pop Group)
8. Toadies (Minutemen) video
9. Black Sheep (Minutemen) video
10. The Glory of Man (Minutemen)
11. Anxious Mo-Fo (Minutemen)
12. Three Girl Rhumba (Wire)
13. Ex Lion Tamer (Wire)
14. Funhouse (Stooges) video
15. The Red & The Black (Blue Oyster Cult)
16. We Are Time (The Pop Group)
Encore: Little Johnny Jewel (Television)
Mike Watt’s webpage
Diaries from this tour
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