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On Saturday July 25, I got to see Willy Porter & Toad the Wet Sprocket at Cabooze in Minneapolis.  I went because Toad is one of my all-time favorite bands — I listened and listened to their last 3 albums, Fear, Dulcinea and Coil.  They broke up in 1998, but since then they seem to regroup every year to play a few dates.

I debated with myself whether I wanted to go to this or not, as I am interpreting their action as “cashing in” on their past glory.  A band that called it quits 11 years ago is, I hate to say it, is a “has been” act.  The only reason for them to reunite and play shows is because the incentive is there — either money or re-living of their old glory thanks to their VERY loyal fan base.  I realize I’m being harsh here, I am not saying I won’t do what they are doing if I were in their shoes — but let’s just say it’s safe to assume that their shows are not driven by artistic motiviations.

Anyway, Willy Porter was up first — and boy, was I ever glad that i went early enough to catch him.  He walked on stage by himself, with a pristine looking Guild acoustic in his hand — and proceeded to start tapping on the strings like a madman.  At this point, I thought “oh, he’s one of those instrumental acoustic virtuoso” like Michael Hedges.  But then, he started to sing.  While tapping on his guitar like a madman. And not just afterthought vocal lines, either.  The songs really were all top notch compositions.

Wow.

The man completely re-defined my notion of what was possible to play and sing at the same time.  His percussive acoustic riffing were literally like he produced a whole band with just a single guitar — it really sounded like the music didn’t need anything else.  His songs were humorous, his vocal range impressive, and his pacing superb.  This is a man clearly seasoned by many years on the road.

I’m sure he has absolutely no need for a producer in studio — he just strikes me as a man who’s very, very smart — but if I were to make a suggestion, I thought that his tapping and banging wizardry was so impressive that when he went into more traditional fingerpicking, it just seemed so mundane in comparison.  He did that very well, too, mind you.  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention his completely improvised song — he had an audience call out some lyrical themes — that sounded totally like a well-thought out song.  Perhaps he has some formats or melody lines he reuse for these, but still, it was impressive.

I’d have to count Willy among one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever seen.  He just had everything, all in his self.

After that, I thought there was no chance that Toad could follow up and top Willy, and I was right.  It was very generous of Toad to let a man who was singularly more talented than all four of them combined open for him.

Toad opened the show with “Something’s Always Wrong” which was slow and uninspired.  I noticed that while Glen (vocalist and the chief songwriter, who’s been pursuing solo since the breakup) was in fine shape both physically and vocally, but Todd (guitarist) and Dean (bass/bgv) were very overweight, making them totally look like middle-aged men reliving the good ol’ days.  And Randy (drums) — what happened to him?  His hair seemed totally gray and he appeared so frail, I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to hit his drums hard.

However, as they got into their set, Toad seemed to ascertain its footings — and things began to gel.  The set included many songs from Dulcinea (though “Fly from Heaven” was conspicuously missing), and most of them translated very well.  It helped, I’m sure, that the place was packed, mostly by 30-something yuppies, who were all too happy to see their college favorite return.  The band was very gracious and played most of their hits.

I never realized what a good bass player Dean was.  I already knew his soaring backing vocals were a force to reckon with, but he seamlessly alternated between  finger-picking to flat-picking and was always locked in with Randy.  And Randy did just fine, too — I needn’t have worried.  There were a few false starts and such, but they came from Glen mainly.

Which brings me to my next point.  Glen sang well and were appreciative of his audience throughout, but I couldn’t help notice his grave facial expression that crept up here and there, particularly when Todd was taking a solo.  No, I don’t think Glen was jealous of Todd or anything — but it really looked to me like he wasn’t having fun.  He wasn’t without smiles, he wasn’t inattentive to his crowd, and the band played well all in all — but it was more a professional affair than a joyful one.

Speaking from experience, there usually is much appreciation on the part of artists when people gather to see them play.  It was there, too, that night, but for Toad it seemed to have come from a bit shallower place.

This is pure speculation, but I can’t help but imagine that for Glen — a man who’s been struggling with a meandering solo career since the breakup — this is a bittersweet experience, to see people gather to hear him play with his old band, who’s long been “done” creatively.  And this is further speculation — but judging by the fact that the rest of the band continues to collaborate with each other on and off among themselves, I suspect it was Glen who found the band setting confining to his artistic growth.  (I recall reading Todd saying something to the effect that it was Glen who vetoed the band getting back together full time)

All of this, of course, is none of my business, but as a fan of the band, I felt a bit unfulfilled by their professional, dutiful performance.  Perhaps I’m reading a bit too far because my pre-conceived notion of where they are with their careers.

They did have one extra member, John Hawthorn, who played lap steel and mandolin mainly.  Unfortunately, his contributions were much buried in the mix and I really couldn’t hear what he was adding, except for sporadic solos here and there.

Anyway, I was still glad I went, as it was a great reminder of what great their songs were.   They don’t sound dated at all.  And it was cool that they were experimenting a bit by having one additional player with them.  They played well and were attentive to their crowd.

But I came away feeling that their performance was missing one key ingredient — heart.  Will I go again if they come my way?

I’m really not sure.