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(2008-06-29) - Mark Zanandrea, Melanie De Giovanni, Alan Korn and Sam Babbitt lit up the Fillmore stage last night as the opening act for Camper Van Beethoven's 25th anniversary reunion gig. Here's a review of the show, for those who couldn't make it.
Trim and foppish in his lime green suit and devilish grin, Mark looked like a kid rolling up in an old Dodge Dart to pick your daughter up for the school dance. No harm will come of her, sir! He was a bemused and fearless frontman, handling all the between-song patter. One of the night's best moments came when Mark broke a string on his silver sparkle strat and, with no replacement available, air-guitared his way to the end of the song. Dude rocks. Dude is a national treasure. 
Melanie is still the angelic blonde with bangs. She never seems to break a sweat and smiles as she herds the 'Heads through each song. (No cat herding references please.) Athletic, confident, steady, tasteful, and singing like Emmylou Harris, she's the MVP of the band.
Alan Korn was on the opposite side of the stage from me. I didn't get good photos of him as proper cameras are forbidden. Lawyer Alan pounded out a sturdy groove on his vintage Fender. He archly sidled up to the mic to deliver harmonies and sing lead on his classics Victim and Saved By The Bottle. Alan really seemed to be enjoying the moment. He's a great songwriter and I dub him the smart Beatle.
Sam Babbitt is, of course, God incarnate. In this day and age of Insanely Amazing Guitar Solos, I'll take him in my band any day. He's got such soul. His guitar crunched, howled and growled as he worked through the ambitious 14-song set. Occasionally he'd look up to grin or make a wisecrack, but mostly he was serious and shy onstage. And sweating. And he gets the best dressed award for his white kaftan. 
Of course everyone wants to know which old friends made it to the show. There weren't that many. It might have been venue: The Fillmore is prestigious--and the 'Heads deserve no less--but it cost more than $25 to get in and the Cat Heads weren't mentioned in the Chronicle's preview or on the poster. Those friends who were spotted in the audience were:
Therese Lawler - Together Dot and Therese provided a MST3K running commentary on the evening, danced and hollered between songs. Linda Champagne - An extremely young-looking Linda--just as sweet as ever--recently moved back from Atlanta and works as an event promoter. 
Jenny Joseph - Even though she had flown to LA and back that day, Jen rallied. We caught up on the last 10 years or so of life, and I was shocked that she has a daughter in middle school. She, her husband and said daughter live in Bernal Heights, and she's still Manic D'Pressing.
John Stewart - Long tall John, who played with Sam and Alan in the Ex-Cat Heads, I believe (Google that one for me), was there with his new wife. They are the proud owners of an Oakland home, too. John and I talked GarageBand and barbecues just as Dot and I were exiting.
RANDOM NOTES:
- Melanie said Golden Gate Park was to be the encore, but they never retook the stage. The audience, whistling and hollering, definitely wanted more, but the Fillmore goons came out and started striking the set after about 15 seconds. They deserved an encore.
- The set closer was a surprise cover of the Bay City Rollers' Saturday Night. - The floor was about half-filled when the Cat Heads took the stage and filled out by the end of the set.
- I wanted to hear Final Letter and Lullaby, but no such luck. Next time, guys! - Someone, I won't say who, handed me a one-hitter during "Got Some," the Androgynauts anthem. 
Dot and I are so glad we went. Time travel for $25 bucks. Let's do it again sometime!
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