Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Live – Living vicariously

My New Year’s resolution for 2024 was to see more live music.

That’s a perpetual goal for me as someone who has literally made decisions about how far from the nearest venue to live, and that’s only partially exaggerated. But the entrenched discomfort of the 2020-2021 Covid pandemic has reminded me that even if it’s easier to just permanently commit to the furniture, it doesn’t make me happier. In my record year of shows (2014), I attended about 85-90 different events in a calendar year. That was a decade ago and my body is a little beat up from the wear and tear. But the closer I get to this goal, the better. (I’ve been keeping an eye on Treble’s Patreon, albeit sloppily.)

But when you’re a little older, sometimes you have to be a little more selective about the shows you go to. For example, personal and professional commitments make it pretty unlikely that I’ll see a band that I’m only moderately interested in on a Tuesday night. Which in turn creates a kind of unwritten hierarchy of talent that determines whether I put it on the calendar, buy tickets in advance, or just show up when I feel like it.

This hierarchy is loosely divided into different levels. Below are the bands you see when you mostly just want to get out of the house and have a beer, followed by the bands you see when it suits you, and then the bands you see when they hit the town come, but you would I don’t necessarily have to rearrange the plans for her. Of course, at the top are the must-sees. Some of them are the artists you really want to see, like when I went to Washington, DC during the week to see PJ Harvey perform I die in the old year Tour (totally worth it). And some of them are just the bands you should never miss, like when Thou played here in Richmond that same week (also great).

But there’s one level higher, and these are the bands you’d travel to the ends of the earth to see – if they were on tour. And that’s a big problem – sometimes it never happens. For a few decades I had a running list of bands that I hoped would get back together but never expected it to, but many of them have: Jawbox and Unwound for example, and every one of them has finally made it and celebrated my year when I saw her. But there is always an artist you hope to see, no matter how unlikely it may seem, no matter how infrequently they take the stage. And for me that’s Tom Waits.

The last time Tom Waits was on tour was over 15 years ago. It’s probably not that hard to believe that a troubadour with an outsized personality and a mythical persona like Waits doesn’t really make many public appearances. That wasn’t true when he started his career in the ’70s, when he was performing regularly in Southern California and hadn’t yet developed into the Howlin’ Wolf-meets-Beefheart sound we know today. And into the late ’00s he undertook several tours behind records like Really gone and his outtake triple album orphansalthough not always in large cities or in the expected locations. For example, on his 2008 US tour, he avoided both New York City and Los Angeles (as well as Chicago and Seattle, etc.). Back then, I would have had no problem traveling to Phoenix to see him perform if I could afford it (and if I had gotten the tickets on time, which was a bit difficult even in a time before the price hike). ). Needless to say, it didn’t work out.

No tour since then. Tom Waits has occasionally emerged from his reclusive life in Sonoma County, California (which seems significantly less stressful than constant touring – so good for him!) to perform at a Hal Willner tribute, a Chuck E. Weiss Tribute, appearing on late night shows, etc. the bridge school performance. And considering the years have passed in between, it seems unlikely that he plans to change course any time soon, and at 74, it probably won’t get any easier. But at least we have it Glitter & Doom Live.

The most recent (so far) of just a handful of live albums in Tom Waits’ catalogue, 2009 Glitter & Doom Live captures a number of standout moments from his 2008 tour, recorded in cities as diverse as Edinburgh, Jacksonville, Tulsa and Milan. It is based heavily on its current version at the time Really gonewith outstanding back catalog moments from masterpieces like Rain dogs And Mule variations. And it’s a phenomenal document that shows exactly what I was missing.

Opening with a back-and-forth medley of “Lucinda” and “Ain’t Goin’ Down to the Well,” Waits opens the ceremonies with top-notch showmanship, the kind of unpredictability and reinvention that makes a great live show – Above all one that you’ve probably traveled many miles to see – it’s worth it. Waits’ voice is an even deeper and rougher growl than on the record, his instrument has been refined over the years and has evolved into the Tom Waits character we hear here. If the crowd breaks into applause between each transition, it’s deserved.

The song selection leans away from the hits and relies on (mostly) deep cuts, allowing Waits and his troupe to get the most impact and groove out of each tune. “Get Behind the Mule” is full of gospel fervor and whipping percussion, while “Make It Rain” has a harder blues-rock approach with lots of organ and horns. And “Goin’ Out West” shows Waits and his band at their bluesy, dirty best, not to mention a fitting showcase for his hammy stage presence that follows every “Goin’ Out West.”I look good without a shirt…“with a wink”…he looks good without a shirt.“As Anti-Records has increased Waits’ online presence while reissuing much of his back catalog, the label has also provided an accompanying live visual on YouTube to enhance the experience and give listeners the opportunity to hear the legend to see for yourself – his character is also big, which any production can keep up with (although the junkyard sculpture behind him is a suitable stage prop).

There is another element of Glitter & Doom This is what makes it essential: Tom Tales, a 35-minute accompanying CD with commentary, often accompanied by some piano accents. Waits is known for being a charmingly unreliable narrator, often sprinkling “facts” into interviews and obscuring his personal backstory, and he also filters this into his own songwriting, such as on eerie spoken word pieces like “What’s He Building.” ?” Tom Tales is just Waits doing nonsense on stage, much like the novelty Have fun with Elvis on stage Record, but much more entertaining. Meanwhile, he spins strange and probably false stories about rats and vultures, or that he felt something moving in his stomach after swallowing pond water, and discovered three toads in his stomach, or that the closest thing to the structure of moon rocks Comes, it’s actually provolone cheese. There’s even an implicit acknowledgment of his stupidity, ending a story about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin with a “…because I know them.” “So there,” amid peals of laughter.

After half an hour, Waits’ appearance on stage ends with an unperformed, raucous but still beautiful “Picture in a Frame,” conspicuously placed as if it were an encore. You hear something like that and think, “Damn, I wish I had been there.”

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