"Basher" saved my life, at least metaphorically. That's a bold statement to make but the first time that I encountered Nick Loweor "Basher," as he is affectionately calledhe had a memorable impact on me that I've never forgotten and probably never will. Back in 1977 I was trapped in a boarding school in Camden, S.C., for the duration of my high school years and it was the worst taste of hell that a gay Chicago kid like me could have. Camden, a town whose biggest claim to fame was that Bob Hope was chauffeured through it en route to some other destination, was also home to some of the blandest pop on the radio. This was after Elton John's heyday and although Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles' resurgence were imminent, John Denver, Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka and a whispery pre-Grease Olivia Newton-John filled the airwaves.
My only link to the outside world was the very hot Saturday Night Live, not only for its comedy but for the musical guests who were highly unlikely to pop up on small town radio. One such act, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, I had read about in Rolling Stone Magazine, and though he didn't look anything like the pilot for a new era as R.S. enthused I was looking forward to experiencing this British new wave called "punk." Costello was actually a last-minute fill-in for the scandalous Sex Pistols, but he hardly disappointed. Being that SNL was live and he only had a three-minute window, Costello started with "Less Than Zero;" stopped his band, which was in full tilt after a quick 30 seconds; and then tore into a vicious "Radio Radio," a brutal, breathless rave-up about media censorship. Reportedly, SNL creator/producer Lorne Michaels raged at Costello during the ensuing commercial break that he was finished in the United States, and that he would never be on the show again. I can only imagine producer and co-hort Lowe laughing himself silly as a result.
Lowe, of course, produced Costello's first five albums ( unquestionably his best ) , which made him the aviator of punk/new wave but also the "Jesus of Cool." Costello was hardly Lowe's only accomplishment, though. He also produced that other Brit-wave punker, Graham Parker, and his equally furious band, the Rumour ( Squeezing Out Sparks on Arista Records ) , amongst others ( the Damned, Dr. Feelgood, Carlene Carter ) . He also served as house producer for Stiff Records ( the company motto was "If it ain't Stiff then it ain't worth a fuck..." ) ; recorded his own smash singles ( "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass," "Cruel to be Kind," Switchboard Susan," "Stick It Where the Sun Don't Shine," "Heart/So It Goes" ) ; wrote much more for other performers ( including "Milk and Alcohol" for Dr. Feelgood, "What's So Funny ( 'bout Peace, Love, and Understanding ) " and "Two Little Hitlers" for Costello ) ; was one quarter of one of the best bands on the planet at the time ( Rockpile with co-lead Dave Edmunds ) ; and managed to marry Carlene Carter ( who famously asserted "I put the c*nt into country." ) , daughter of June Carter Cash; thus bonding with the heady Johnny Cash clan. And he did all of this in a mere five years.
Lowe's nickname, "Basher," derived from his production motto, "Bash it out now, tart it up later," made perfect sense until the late 1980s. He survived a stinging divorce from Carter ( they're friends now ) , an acrimonious bust-up with Edmunds ( they're not friends, even now ) and the abandonment of John Hiatt in 1986. ( Lowe, Hiatt, Jim Keltner, and Ry Cooder formed the band Little Village and backed Hiatt on his breakthrough Bring the Family ( A & M Records ) . When Hiatt hit it big from that album he promptly left the band in his wake. Money changes everything indeed... ) However, disinterest from the music industry and the public, in particular, Lowe sank into a crippling funk. Old pal Costello yanked him out of it with an opening slot on his world solo tour, but that didn't prepare anyone for a twist in fate from an avenue that no one could have foreseen. Curtis Stigers' cover of "What's So Funny ( 'bout Peace, Love, and Understanding ) " wound up on The Bodyguard soundtrack, which, thanks to Whitney Houston's power ballads, sold a whopping 15 million copies, far more than Lowe had moved in his 30-year career. To Lowe's astonishment, the royalty checks just kept coming in the mail in unheard of amounts and it's doubtful that he or even Costello could have missed the bad joke irony that Houston, the very antithesis of what he stood for could directly save his ass.
That was more than a decade ago, and now that Lowe has been elevated to the throne of elder statesman he descended on the Old Town School of Folk Music for a rare full-band sold-out two-night stand that was cheeky ( well, he is British ) , amusing ( as expected ) and, well, awesome. Touring on a new career-spanning Greatest Hits package ( Quiet Please ... the New Best of Nick Lowe on Proper Records ) as well as a repackaged re-release of The Impossible Bird, Dig My Mood and The Convincer ( on Yep Roc Records ) , this show didn't offer much in the way of new materialjust a chance to see Lowe in an intimate setting that had the relaxed vibe of hanging with a pal on the back porch on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It was still a big deal, though, and this audience was enchanted from the moment Lowe walked on the stage.
Hearing Lowe's songbook in this setting was a bit of a revelation because now that he's 61 he has mellowed into a crooner with the tone of a Nat King Cole with an ironic lilt in his voice. Of course, Cole would never sing a song like "I Trained Her to Love Me," an unapologetic valentine from a serial lothario who gleefully accounts his intentions of deliberately breaking hearts from the beginning of every single relationship. Of course it's cruel and funny in a particularly evil way, and it was even better hearing it here. "You Inspire Me" and "When I Write the Book" were compelling and sincere but the show got heady once Lowe tackled his three best-known songs. "What's So Funny" was midtempo and without Costello's bark or the Attractions' breathless fury, which made it less humorous and far more plaintive. A laid-back "Cruel to be Kind" was relaxed and far from retro-pop making it almost a standard. For me, "I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll, a valentine to a former party girl on her wedding day was as close as Lowe was going to get to the apex of his past. Equal parts rock and roll and country twang Lowe bounced the lyrics off his lips like a beach ball and gave his joy away by smiling right through the song ( "I used to see her hanging at the bar with the boys/Breaking there hearts like they were toys..." ) and playfully hiccupping the drawn out chorus ( "I knew the bride when she used to do the Pony...Pony...Pony" ) like a smirking Elvis on laughing gas. To say that it doesn't get better than this show is an understatement.
The City of Chicago's Country Music Festival, the last outdoor blowout of the year, quietly celebrated its 20th anniversary Oct. 8-9 with a line-up that was anything but quiet. Multi-platinum-selling chanteuse Jewel headlined with a solo acoustic set Oct. 9 while reliable Clint Black topped the Oct. 8 bill. Illinois native Gretchen Wilson stole the show, though, by celebrating coming from the wrong side of the tracks with her Grammy-winning "Redneck Woman," followed by hard boppers like "All Jacked Up" and "Homewrecker." She also celebrated the formation of her own record label, capping off a short career that's spawned eight Grammy nominations and seven million albums sold so farall this from a woman who was raised in poverty in trailer parks. Relatively fresh off its debut, World Wide Open ( Lyric Sheet Records ) , Love and Theft fronted three equally fresh-faced guitarists/vocalists and sailed through hits "Dancing In Circles" and "Runaway." Hunk d'jour Jake Owenin clingy baggy jeans, sopping wet mused hair and the biggest cowboy boots that I've ever seen in my lifekicked through a set that included "Don't Think I Can't Love You," "Startin' With Me," a seductive, twangy take on the Pointer Sisters' "Slowhand," and, appropriately enough, his hit "Yee Haw." Yee haw, indeed.
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