|
by Ted Holteen
R
e-reading the above tease, I am struck by how presumptuous
it is to assume that you've never heard of the Supersuckers. I'm sure
many of you are as excited as I am that we are finally being graced by
an A-list band that, if given the chance, just might blow the roof off
the little ol' Abbey Theatre tonight. That's the good news. The bad news
is, there is a great deal of truth to that line as well, as I have been
stunned by the number of people in this burg who don't know who the Suckers
are. Understand – I am the last to pass judgment on people for their musical
taste or knowledge. Or at least I should be. For me, music has yet to
even near the golden age it achieved when the great Stephen Foster penned
his simplistic yet heart-wrenching opus “Suwannee River” in 1851, back
when Victoria thankfully still kept her secrets to herself. But back
to the Supersuckers .
Geography has almost nothing to do with the style
or ability of a given band, but if you must know, they're
from Tucson and now based in Seattle. Happy? When I
first heard them, I assumed they were rednecks from
Mississippi or Looziana or some such swamp. Like Foster,
however, a Pennsylvanian who wrote songs of the South,
the Suckers are tricky. They're kind of in the alt-country-punk
gang, but with better straight-on rock 'n' roll mixed
with some pure country sounds that end up sounding
pretty damn alright. And while their CDs are all worthwhile
(how often can you honestly say that about an artist?),
really, I'm just thrilled to have the chance to finally
see them live. You should be, too. That's tonight,
(Thursday, Sept. 30), following the big debate.
 Ah, yes, the debate. I don't want to spend too much
time on Thursday events that will be over by the time
many of you read this, but it is the President of the
United States that we're arguing about, and with the
sad state of heavyweight boxing nowadays, it'll probably
be the best fight we've seen in years. I wonder if
it's on TV?
A few weeks ago, I was asked to help out with an Oktoberfest
celebration taking place on Saturday, Oct. 2, downtown
on Main Avenue. (It will be October by then.) Possessed
of a tremendous ego and constant desire to be the center
of attention, I said, “OK”. Not a big fan of the Germans,
however. I haven't gotten over them invading my ancestral
home of Sweden shortly after the Swedes declared themselves
neutral so they could keep smoking hash and having
sex with the forerunners to today's supermodels. If
that hadn't happened, my grandfather probably would
have never left and now I'd be smoking hash and having
sex with actual supermodels. So I don't like the Germans.
But I do like the nearly German-free San Juan Citizens'
Alliance, the group that is putting on the shindig.
Mayor Joe  Colgan will open the festivities with the
ceremonial keg-tapping at noon, kick-starting an orgy
of polka and beer and German foods like bratwurst,
sauerkraut, pretzels and chili. Also, there will be
four bands (two of which are polka bands!), a tug of
war, arts and crafts, Klackers, and lots of schnitzel.
As to the aforementioned beer – all four local breweries
will be pouring on Saturday, so choices abound. It's
a full-on street party, and it doesn't stop when the
sun goes down. On Saturday night, four decidedly un-German
bands will keep it going – pay attention: Singer-songwriter
Melissa Crabtree is at Carvers, Liquid Cheese will
play at Steamworks, the Summit features Motion For
Alliance , and the Abbey welcomes back Nosotros for
an evening of fiery Latin rhythms. And not a stitch
of lederhosen to be found. Surely even the most discerning
music fan can find something he or she likes. In fact,
make a point of it.
With the influx of hate mail I've been receiving,
I should at this point print my pre-emptive apology
to all of the fine people of German descent who are
no doubt oiling up their Lugers in the hopes of meeting
me in a dark alley. I am well aware that none of us
are responsible for the sins of our forefathers, and
it should be known that I really don't hate German-Americans,
just Nazis and people with an invasion complex. To
their credit, Germans have given us Mercedes-Benz automobiles,
the aforementioned bratwurst, and that delectable Heidi
Klum. So please, lighten up. Besides, for Germans to
take offense at an ethnic slur is kind of like the
pot calling the kettle fuehrer. Ich bin ein satirist,
remember.
Seriously, keep it coming. ted@ksut.org . You heard
it here first – Kerry by a TKO in the 7th. |
