Living Legend
Yesterday night, I saw Chuck Berry live at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis. I had a lot of work to do this week, and I was already pretty tired, so making the 2.75 hour each way journey was a little bit daunting. At 4 PM, I got home from class and asked the Peach 3 times whether or not I should go. It said "No" three times. I was pretty annoyed already, at my trip-mates and myself (mostly myself) for getting me into the situation where I had to drive. Looking back, I was foolish and rather less than assertive, which is not something that I've had problems with in a long, long time. I really only have problems being assertive with my friends, actually. Because I'm too darn nice. So when the question of who was driving came up of course everyone just kind of acted like wet noodles and finally, seeing that no one was going to take the ball and run, I just said, "well, I'll drive, but then someone is going to be pretty uncomfortable in the back." I drive a Ford Mustang GT, so there is no back seat, but rather a shelf that they call a "seat" so my insurance rates aren't worse than they already are. This was my way of saying, "I don't want to drive because I'll already be tired and I'll still have a lot of work this week after we get back; why don't one of you drive?" But of course if I'd wanted to say that, I should have just said it instead of what I said. So that was the lesson of the day.
Regardless, my mood did improve slightly during the drive as Mike and I got into a discussion about track and field. It helped take my mind off of my annoyance, at the very least, and helped me start getting over my internal sulking so I could enjoy myself. By the time we got to Gene's I was actually feeling alright and ready to get some grub and catch some good music. Thankfully, Gene drove the rest of the way to Blueberry Hill.
Now, first of all, let me just say that Blueberry Hill has the best burgers I've tasted in a long while. Yes, indeed. Juicy, plump, and yummy. And topped with a ball of your choice of cheese. Yes, a ball of the stuff, which, if you want, you can then smear over the burger. Mmmmmmm. The "Buffalo Fries" left something to be desired though, as anything "Buffalo" should be slathered in radioactive fires-of-the-ninth-hell sauce whereas these fries were just sprinkled with some spices which presumably might be considered "hot" by some very sheltered Amish people, maybe.
On to the show. We headed downstairs at 9, to catch an a capella group singing their versions of some classic rock hits. It was alright... I thought it was a good enough way to pass the hour before the real reason we were there came on stage... The venue, by the way, was a pretty cozy area, with about 100 seats and then standing room for maybe 200-250 more. We got there just in time to snag the best standing room area, but not seats. No big deal in the end, because I would rather have been standing and moving to the music than sitting.
The first impression I had when I saw Chuck Berry on stage was that he is completely full of energy, and this impression returned to me throughout the night. Here's a guy who is a month short of his 76th birthday, and his stage presence is as big as any rock star of any era. I imagine Mike will post something about the set and maybe the guitar, being that he took notes on the set and knows more about things like guitars than myself. He never took a break during the entire show... it was one song right after the other with some great humor thrown in there for spice. And that's the thing... he was funny, he knew how to entertain, and boy did he know his guitar. I mean, truly, this guy was one with the music. I pretty much forgot that he was 75 years old about ten minutes into the concert, until he'd bring it up in a joke.
The show was probably one of the best, if not the best, music concert I've attended. It was all substance and all style, nothing more. It was about the music, and about sharing the music and just plain entertaining people. None of this hype, none of this glitz and gimmicks and electronic light shows and nonsense that you see so much of today. He didn't have to have that because he could connect with the audience and entertain them just with his words and music. All this for a cover of $25.
I left the concert not only happy, but with a bit of restored faith. But then, that's why Chuck Berry is a living legend.
Comments
Was the burger good enough that you could tell the difference between fries that were right next to it and fries on the other side of the plate?
Posted by: vince | September 19, 2002 8:55 PM
Not to be mean - but the sentence regarding wet noodles immediately brought two candidates into mind. To go with a certain someone, that would be M and R. I would hope things have changed during the years that I am not totally on the mark there.
Posted by: haglund | September 19, 2002 9:16 PM
Hey, I wasn't a wet noodle - as I recall, I flat out said "I'd rather not drive" and nothing more. But yeah, I thought you really meant it when you said you were fine with driving.
As for the show, good description. He was a reelin' and a rockin'.
Posted by: mlee | September 20, 2002 12:38 AM
Well, I don't actually remember being a "noodle" about this. When I was asked, I remember pretty quickly requesting that you drive because I thought it would be kind of cool to get a little trip in with the Mustang. I wasn't really considering that you would be tired and I was oblivious of the fact that you were tired until you stated so during the drive, so I apologize for my lack of consideration. I would've driven if I'd been more aware of things. Anyway, I appreciate and thank you for driving, but I don't know that I like the vibe I'm getting here.
And yes, CB Sr. has still got it at age 75. That was probably the most fun show that I've been to.
Posted by: oy | September 20, 2002 3:07 AM