Fear is a Man's Best Friend

The comp ticket fairy visited again this weekend, allowing me to catch John Cale at the Bluebird free of charge last night. Once again, this was something I was already planning on attending, so the freebie was just a bonus. We stopped beforehand at the Atomic Cowboy for a few cold brews (and to laugh at the Guns & Roses pinball machine - how lame!), and thanks to the slowness of the staff made it into the Bluebird right before Cale hit the stage (good thing we didn't order another round!). He and his band opened with the Velvet Underground tune Venus in Furs. This was the only tune of the evening in which Cale played viola, the rest of the time he switched between guitar and keyboards. I'm only marginally familiar with Cale's solo material, but I did recognize a few of the tunes: Guts, Dirty Ass Rock n' Roll, Helen of Troy, Momamma Scuba. He played a cover of Warren Zeavon's Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, and he closed with a terrific rendition of Jonathan Richman's Pablo Picasso. The tunes were great (for a guy with such an avant-garde reputation, he has some surprisingly melodic and beautiful songs), his band was rocking, and Cale was a very gracious performer. A great concert, and I wouldn't hesitate to catch him again - freebie ticket or not.

Last night got me thinking about all of the concerts I've attended for free since my move back to Denver nearly three years ago (I rarely got into a show for free in Seattle – on occasion, we might get put on a guest list). For the most part, every show I've used a comp ticket for has been something I was already planning on going to. I can count three shows (Dwarves, Caesars, Bobby Bare Jr.) that I probably wouldn't have gone to without the freebie. And even those were all people I was at least marginally interested in - there have been tons of freebies that I've passed on. Even free admission isn't enough for me to subject myself to something I'm not going to enjoy! Well, except for that Jackyl show. But at least that one was funny…kind of…