PEHDTSCKJMBA, Or, Waiting for Waits

With my relocation from the Midwest to the Southland rapidly approaching, events for celebrating the academic interval in the summer months have continued to manifest in stride. Plans to visit the lovely Low Country and the majestic city of St. Augustine, Florida are in the offing, as well as some highly anticipated  visits from the recently graduated in my new (old) hometown digs. All of this activity notwithstanding, nothing could prepare me for the announcement that Mr. Tom Waits would be touring this summer, and that the valedictory stop on this leg of the so-called "Glitter and Doom Tour" would be in nearby Atlanta, Georgia.

Although I had heard of Waits primarily through other artists, like Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, and The Eagles, I hadn't listened to an entire album until, in 1992, I picked up a copy of the Grammy award winning Bone Machine because the cover image reminded me so much of Edvard Munch's The Scream (which, by the way, did more to enlighten me as what I was about to hear than the famous covers of Waits' earnest, singer-songwriterly work could ever manage). After one, maybe two full listens to the record, I found myself a Waits junkie, scouring record stores for whatever I could find of his earlier work, as well as uncatalogued live concerts, demos, and compilation appearances, often traded by fans on cassette tapes of dubious origin and sound quality. Starting from the beginning, as it were, gave me an appreciation for Waits as a tunesmith, and I still hold a candle for Waits circa 1976's Small Change, showcasing Waits at the pinnacle of his Chandler-esque storytelling abilities, along with a solid jazz-inflected noir style blues backdrop. As a percussionist, Waits' later work, from 1983's Swordfishtrombones to the present, did a lot to broaden my own approach, introducing me to the "kitchen sink" school of percussion (literally, I actually played one on stage once) and the musical innovations of Harry Partch and Evelyn Glennie. I was also lucky enough, over the next few years, to meet people who shared my love of all things Waits. Our mutual association with, and admiration for, Mr. Waits' music has long been something of a bond between myself and my friends, and, without exception, we were bound together by a common goal: to one day see the great man perform live. 

Luckily for us, Waits, who had performed live only sporadicly since Swordfishtrombones, underwent another major resurgence with the release of Mule Variations and its accompanying world tour in 1999. I got to see him at the wonderful Chicago Theatre on that tour, which was highlighted by a car-drive up from the Southland, my writing down the setlist on both arms with permanent marker as the show progressed, and one of my companions trying to clear a 30 inch bow saw through the Security Gate at O'Hare on our trip back (we were never to see that saw again). Waits toured again in the run-up to the release of 2004's Real Gone and, due to logistical difficulties, I was unable to catch him on that tour. All the more reason to get excited about this one, which, if you watch Tom's press conference, seems to be inspired by the stars above and promises to be a night to remember. On-sale dates for the Atlanta show have yet to appear, but I'm crossing my fingers, knocking on wood, and double-checking my wireless router to (hopefully) guarantee my attendance. Wish me luck!