You're Watching the Squirrel Nut Zippers.....
(Okay, I'm putting this where it belonged in the first place...)
The first time I saw the Squirrel Nut Zippers in concert was in Chapel Hill, their hometown, shortly after Hot broke through. It was their first NC concert since breaking and the club-sized place was packed to the brim with friends, family and local college students. It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen in my life--filled with love and enthusiasm and the heady scent of unexpected stardom.
The second time I saw them was a few years later, towards the end of the Cocktail Culture/ swing dance era--I think it was '99. There were free swing dance lessons before the show, the venue was much larger, and they gave out boxes of free Squirrel Nut Zippers candy on every table. A whole different feel than the first show--more of a dinner and dance vibe, but still great.
This is the first time I've seen them in a more traditional concert auditorium venue, and the first time since they broke up (they've only recently gotten back together.) Near the beginning of the show, a guy in front yelled out, "No one sounds like you!" In response to which, the lead man remarked back, "Yeah. To hear the Squirrel Nut Zippers, you pretty much have to hear the Squirrel Nut Zippers." Which sounds obvious, I know, but also very accurate: their music is unique to them, and there's not much else that's even close.
This time around, the energy was much different (I blame the crowd, which was filled with people who had never heard them before and didn't know quite what to expect,) but it was gratifying to know that whatever it was that had taken them apart, they had realized that sometimes it's not about them--that it's about this incredible thing they create when they come together. And they shouldn't rob the world of hearing that.
The first time I saw the Squirrel Nut Zippers in concert was in Chapel Hill, their hometown, shortly after Hot broke through. It was their first NC concert since breaking and the club-sized place was packed to the brim with friends, family and local college students. It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen in my life--filled with love and enthusiasm and the heady scent of unexpected stardom.
The second time I saw them was a few years later, towards the end of the Cocktail Culture/ swing dance era--I think it was '99. There were free swing dance lessons before the show, the venue was much larger, and they gave out boxes of free Squirrel Nut Zippers candy on every table. A whole different feel than the first show--more of a dinner and dance vibe, but still great.
This is the first time I've seen them in a more traditional concert auditorium venue, and the first time since they broke up (they've only recently gotten back together.) Near the beginning of the show, a guy in front yelled out, "No one sounds like you!" In response to which, the lead man remarked back, "Yeah. To hear the Squirrel Nut Zippers, you pretty much have to hear the Squirrel Nut Zippers." Which sounds obvious, I know, but also very accurate: their music is unique to them, and there's not much else that's even close.
This time around, the energy was much different (I blame the crowd, which was filled with people who had never heard them before and didn't know quite what to expect,) but it was gratifying to know that whatever it was that had taken them apart, they had realized that sometimes it's not about them--that it's about this incredible thing they create when they come together. And they shouldn't rob the world of hearing that.