One of the latest trends in the rock club scene here in hot ol' NYC has been bands covering other folks' albums. It's been the rage at Arlene's Grocery in the East Village for a couple of years now. Friday night the folks at Magnetic Field decided to give it a try for the special occasion of William's birthday. He's one of the owners, he's a man who loves his Pavement and loves dousing himself in beer while on stage for Live Band Karaoke. Yet he surprised me by asking local faves Tide to tackle Oasis's Definitely Maybe. It didn't seem like an album he would like--unlike myself.
Long-time RT20 readers will know of my love for the battling Gallagher brothers, so I need not rehash what I wrote in the 2004 list. I still love this album and was anticipating this gig for a couple of weeks by giving it a few spins in the Ipod. I also listened to Tide's music on their MySpace page during the week and thought that these guys could do a good job because they share some of that same Brit-pop sensibility. And when they kicked into "Rock n' Roll Star" I was not disappointed. It wasn't an Oasis tribute per se--it was a good band (with tons more stage presence than Oasis has ever had) playing a good set of songs. And to get that for free on a Friday night is no small matter nowadays.
"Slide Away" has always been the hidden gem on this album. I liked it when I first became a fan of the band, but my understanding of it has deepened over the years as I've attempted (and always failed) at one relationship after another. And after another successful failure recently (this time by my own withdrawal just before giving it one last shot because it likely would have hurt us both for a long time...sigh), I couldn't wait to sing along with these lines:
"Slide away - and give it all you've got
My today - fell in from the top
I dream of you - and all the things you say
I wonder where you are now?
Hold me down - all the world's asleep
I need you now - you've knocked me off my feet
I dream of you - we talk of growing old
But you said please don't !
Slide in baby - together we'll fly
I've tried praying - and I know just what you're saying to me
Now that you're mine
I'll find a way
Of chasing the sun
Let me be the one that shines with you
In the morning when you don't know what to do
Two of a kind
We'll find a way
To do what we've done
Let me be the one that shines with you
And we can slide away."
Oh yes, I was singing along loudly. Then something rather funny happened. Tide's guitarist Michael Boyd looked up from his ax, stared directly at me, and started nodding and mouthing the words as if he knew exactly why I was screaming along. I discovered afterwards that thankfully he didn't, because then I would have had an X-Files pyschic-type moment, and I certainly didn't want that. Afterwards Boyd and I chatted about the song, and we basically determined that it was fucking awesome. And when I left Magentic Field that night, I listened to it twice more, leaving people on the street wondering just exactly what words I was mouthing along to.
1 comment:
Hey wait....what makes you think I didn't know?!?
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