Jason Webley Fall 2005 Show

So last night was Jason Webley‘s fall concert for the year. This makes the fourth consecutive fall concert that Prairie and I have been able to attend together, and all in all, it was a good show — not the best that Prairie and I have been to, but overall still quite enjoyable.

We showed up downtown about quarter after seven, after a bit of confused driving around. While I’ve been to the Catwalk a few times before, this was the first time that I’d driven there, and the subsequent loss of direction was compounded by I-5 being insanely backed up when we left the apartment, so we’d taken Aurora in and ended up cruising through the World’s Scariest Tunnel™ and then finding ourselves on the Alaskan Way Viaduct before we finally found an exit and got into downtown Seattle. In any case, we did eventually find both downtown Seattle and the club (though I felt quite the idiot in the end) and grabbed a place in line.

We stood outside in the rain for about half an hour until the doors to the club opened up, at which point Jason came out and apologized for the wet wait and assured us that we’d be inside soon. Just one of the many things I like about Jason’s shows — there’s not that many artists I can think of who’d personally apologize for a wait in the rain.

Eventually we did make it in, shook ourselves off, and started exploring the venue. Immediately inside the entrance were four carnival game booths manned by Jason’s Goddesses. From right to left, we had:

• Bobbing 4 TOMATOES
  • It’s fun!
  • It’s disgusting!
  • Get the biggest!
  • Get Hepatitis!
• Avoid the X!
  • WARNING: taxes, anthrax, axe murderer, smallpox and excrement.
• ELEVEN of DOOM
  • Swing the hammer!
  • Win a prize!
  • But don’t go to eleven…
• ELECTRO-SHOCK
  • Cures psychosis!
  • It hurts!
  • As seen on TV!
  • Free hugs!

While I took some time to wander around and take some pictures (whereupon I discovered my first minor grumble of the night, in that the Catwalk is dark — hence, far fewer useable pictures this year…it was just too difficult to get anything good with lighting that low), Prairie found a good spot towards the back of the room, just in front of the bar area. Yes — this was the first major Webley show (over the past three and a half years, at least) that had a bar available. More on this development later….

As Prairie was waiting for me to come back and watching people mill around, she was approached by a mysterious stranger in a black fedora, black trenchcoat, and sunglasses. “What’s your name?” “Prairie.” “Do you spell that…with an X?” “Not usually.” “Ah. Hm. When’s your birthday?” “November 3rd.” “Perfect! Come with me.” I walked up just as they started to walk off, and when the girl saw that we were together, she assured us that I could come along too.

We were ushered into the side room of the club, where we were greeted by a man who identified himself only as Alex. He told us that as Jason has “died” at the end of each of his fall concerts, he was here to put an end to that tradition and save Jason’s life — and he needed our help to do it. He gave each of us purple bandanas with a large, black “X” to wear, and Prairie got a sign with the number 11. We were also given instructions:

Please follow these directions Exactly:

1. During the Tomato Scout Oath, get your ‘X’ signs ready. Right after the Tomato Scout Song (not the Oath) hold up your signs and chant loudly ‘X! X! X!’ until they have to stop the concert.

2. If that doesn’t work, after they play ‘Thriller’ get your ’11’ signs ready. And after the next song, ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatos,’ chant ‘Eleven, Eleven’ even louder than before until they have no choice but to stop the concert.

3. If neither of these tactix work, I Alex Xavier the Eleventh, will have to take things into my own hands. Please lend me your support and cheer for me.

For our plan to work, we must be extremely loud and united. Please band together with your fellow ‘X-11’ team members in the audience. You will know each other by your purple headbands. Be as close to the stage as you can and keep your signs with you.

And with that, we headed back to our station in front of the bar section. Prairie held our spot while I wandered around taking a few more pictures (or at least attempting to), and before long, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band took the stage. Prairie and I both enjoyed them a lot — a classic backwater Mississippi delta blues three-piece, with steel guitar, minimal drums, and washboard. Really, really good stuff.

After a short break once the Big Damn Band was done, Jason and his band took the stage. He used a much smaller backing band than he has for some of his prior “big” shows, with just violin, guitar, upright bass, and drums accompanying him as he switched between guitar and accordion. He proceeded to launch into a set that covered songs from all four of his albums to date, plus a few extras — the usual Halloween favorites of “Thriller” and “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”, a cover of Outkast’s “Hey Yah” (which I didn’t even recognize until the chorus…but then, that’s not a song I’ve listened to terribly much), three new songs, and a few other assorted oddments here and there.

As has happened in the past, the show was divided into sections, with each section being set apart by a short story read by Jason. There were three stories this time (the titles of which I’m guessing at right now, hopefully they’ll be posted on his site eventually): “The Boy with Xes in his Stomach”, “The Eleventh Night”, and “The Boy Who Died”. Jason’s storywriting skills are as good as ever; the first two stories were bittersweet tales similar to the story quartet from last year’s Deathday show, and the third was a simple tale of Jason deciding that it was time to stop chasing the seasons — dying every fall, and being re-born every spring — and simply becoming a “normal boy”.

Or at least as normal as Jason’s ever likely to get. ;)

And what of the mysterious Alex Xavier the Eleventh?

Following our instructions, just after we’d all taken the Tomato Scout Oath and sung the Tomato Scout Song, we all started chanting “X! X! X!” and those people with ‘X’ signs started waving them in the air. The Goddesses took the stage and assisted Jason in leading a counter-chant of “Balloon…balloon…” while imploring people to confiscate and destroy the ‘X’ signs. First attempt done.

Later on, once ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatos’ ended, our chants of ‘Eleven! Eleven!’ filled the room. Once again, the Goddesses took matters into their hands, overseeing the destruction of the ’11’ signs and leading the counter-chant, this time using “Feather feather feather, feather feather feather….” Second attempt done.

A third attempt to disrupt things occurred when two false Goddesses came onstage and tried to trick Jason into drinking from a large bottle labeled ‘XXX’ — but they were foiled in their plans when the real Goddesses appeared on stage. “Stop, Jason! That’s not wine…that’s poison!” Up went the chant of “Boat! B-b-b-b-b-b-boat!” and the false Goddesses disappeared as the poison was poured into a boat and taken offstage.

Lastly, approaching the end of the show, a large tomato appeared on stage…only it had an ‘X’ for one eye, and an ’11’ for the other. “Jason, wait!” the Goddesses warned him. “That’s not a real tomato!” And out of the false tomato stepped the evil mastermind himself: Alex Xavier the Eleventh.

Alex had lied to us in coercing us to assist him! He wasn’t here to prevent Jason’s death…but to kill him once and for all! He held up a bottle filled with a potion that would kill Jason — and make all of his loyal Tomato Scouts itch forever! What could we do?

The Goddesses gathered around Jason and handed him his only defense…a single, juicy, ripe tomato. As Alex uncorked the bottle, Jason cocked back his arm, took aim — and let fly. “No!”, shouted Alex as tomato pulp splattered across his cloak. But it was too late for him. Egged on by Jason and the Goddesses, Alex was led out to a small platform in the center of the room, and (after a friendly admonition by Jason to throw only at Alex, and not at any of the stage or lighting equipment in the Catwalk) all those who had heeded the instructions to bring tomatoes to the show pelted Alex with them until he lay defeated, cowering and covered with tomato pulp.

In celebration, Jason led everyone in a rousing version of the Drinking Song, spun everyone around until they were wasted, went through the chorus of the Drinking Song one last time, and then finally wrapped up the show with the Last Song. And that really was the end of the show, too — where in prior years the show had led into a procession somewhere for Jason’s death, now that Jason has stopped chasing the seasons, he has also stopped the post-show processions (or, at least, that’s how it seemed — I must admit that Prairie and I took off fairly quickly once Jason came out and announced that this really was the end of the show).

So, overall, a good show, and very much enjoyed by both Prairie and I. However, there were a few small things that, when put together, ended up leaving us slightly less enthusiastic about the entire experience — most of which are simply related to the venue.

Our favorite shows so far have been those at the Town Hall. While much of Jason’s music is energetic, rowdy, and quite punk-ish in nature, he also has a lot that’s much quieter and very suitable for the more “formal” atmosphere of the Town Hall space — more concert, less club, so to speak. While we can certainly understand that a more concert-focused space probably wouldn’t be nearly as open to things like tomato pulp, dry leaves, and feathers being thrown around the place, we also liked being able to let the more energetic participants take over the aisles and stage area, while we stayed in the back and enjoyed the show in a somewhat more passive manner.

I know, I’m apparently getting somewhat stodgy in my old age (such a shame!), but over the course of last night, one or both of us was elbowed in the gut by some girl not paying any attention as she shoved her way through the crowd, splattered by tomato pulp when an overenthusiastic crowdperson overshot and missed Alex entirely, stomped on rather severely and painfully by someone who was getting a bit too much into the Drinking Song’s side-to-side sway, nearly burnt by another girl who had no concept of where she was swinging her cigarette, and had allergies aggravated by the down from the feather pillows. Any one of these alone would have been a minor, momentary annoyance, but taken as a whole, they made the show more aggravating than we’d been looking forward to.

It also felt like having the bar section available to the over-21 set distracted from the experience. Much of what I’ve enjoyed in the past at Jason’s shows is his amazing ability to go from a huge, rowdy, bouncing-up-and-down song immediately into a slow, quiet piece, and have a hush fall over the entire audience as everyone shifts gears. Last night, however, throughout the show, many (if not most) of the people in the bar area felt that it was perfectly acceptable to talk, laugh, and joke the entire time, apparently far more interested in their drinks and flapping their mouths than in paying any attention to the show they’d just paid to get into. This may not have been as apparent up closer to the stage, but for those of us standing back close to the bar area, it proved a source of near-constant distraction, and made it much harder to hear some of the quieter sections of the show.

Still, all that aside, I’d hardly like to give the impression that we didn’t enjoy the show — we most certainly did, we’re still fans, and we still plan to continue catching Jason’s shows whenever we’re able. This just didn’t end up rating as one of our favorites of the shows we’ve been to so far.

I’ve uploaded the most-bearable shots from the show to my Flickr page, and other people’s shots are starting to show up under the jasonwebley tag. Looking forward to next spring…

Sing, tomato, sing, tomato, sing, tomato, sing!