Sometime the best nights at the Coach House are the ones when the house isn’t full. Friday night with the Tubes was one of those nights. I guess most of the OC was either still stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner or exhausted from Black Friday shopping and didn’t make it down to the show. I’m glad I got my butt off the couch and decided to go. The Tubes were quite the show back in the late 70’s through the 80’s. Back then there were about 7 or 8 members in the band. The shows were full of theatrics and choreography that were outstanding and they were one of the most entertaining acts during this time period. They definitely were ahead of their time as music videos and MTV were just starting to make their mark in the early 80’s. Fee Waybill portrayed several characters during the live shows but the one that stood out was Quay Lewd a drunk, drugged out, barely coherent lead singer, wearing flashing glasses and stilt-like tall platform shoes. Check out some old concert footage at these links
Now the band consists of five members and not as much theatrics although Fee still does several costume changes that are relevant to the particular songs or mood they are trying to get across. The last time I saw this band was back in the mid 80’s and I was blown away. It’s amazing that 30 some years later they had the same effect. Although there are less of them on stage and they are that much older they still are great players and put on a fantastic show. The old guys played for over 2 hours and even managed to hang around for a “Meet & Greet” with their fans. At one point in the show they commented to the audience that it sounded like there were more of us out there than there actually were. It was another amazing night at the Coach House.
Also on the bill that night were two other bands. The first was Third Rail Blue http://www.facebook.com/pages/Third-Rail-Blue/164472700303345 a local OC Band. They play mostly Rhythm & Blues cover songs. The band was plagued with some sound issues for the few few songs but seemed to have them worked out as their set progressed. These boys are pretty talented players and they seemed to connect quite well the audience. Band number two was The Brett Cohen Band. I ran into a friend of Brett’s earlier in the evening who told me that Brett was a fantastic player that someday would be famous. After sitting through his 30 minute set I will have to agree with the gentleman. He peeled what little paint is left off the Coach House walls. What this guy is doing playing at J. Carters Tavern & Grill in Murrieta is beyond me. Someone needs to take him out of the tavern and get him on tour. Apparently he does have a following as I saw several folks wearing T shirts that say “I Know Brett Cohen” roaming around the Coach House. I hope that Gary invites him back sometime soon. He is supposed to have a CD coming out in late January. Check out his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/BrettCohenBand and “Like” him. You’ll be glad you did!
Here’s a link to the photos from the evening with the Tubes. Enjoy!
