By: Karla Ludzack
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Grant Hart performs at the Turf Club - Photo by Karla Ludzack
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I've been a longtime fan of Hart’s songwriting, but I really came to appreciate his live show in October of 1999 when he opened for Wilco in the Main Room at First Avenue. He was up there on that huge stage with just his Gibson guitar and opened with All That Remains To Be Seen from his solo album of that year. The set continued to be mesmerizing for the next hour. He didn’t say much, but the music did the talking for him. That guitar sound really struck me---the feedback, the richness of it, the bass that only comes from a Gibson---it filled my head for that hour. It was magical and keeps me coming back. I know he'll do it again.
I've also seen Hart play with Buffalo Tom and Patti Smith. I've seen him at shows watching Arthur Lee with LOVE, The Zombies, and Bob Mould. He's a fan of music I respect as well as being a great musician himself, and that's why I'll never give up on him.
The Turf Club was practically empty when we got there. We missed the first band, Genius Jr. But quite a few people must have come to see just them because several people left shortly after we arrived.
The second band of the night was Shit-Fi, a punkish band with two vocalists who traded off every couple songs. One played some type of keyboard and the other was one of the guitarists. Some of their songs were quite good, and the set had a lot of energy. I kept thinking my friend Scott Tuma would have liked them. Shit-Fi also had a few fans in the crowd. I thought the vocalist on guitar was the better singer of the two, but the other one made up for that with interesting dance moves. There were some dancers up front by the end of their set, and the second-to-last song had some crowd energy going their way. Unfortunately, the last song they played was a bit of a downer and ended the set on a low note.
Shit-Fi ended at 11:55 p.m. and Hart came on stage at about 12:30 a.m. Someone decorated the stage with Kerry/Edwards posters and buttons between the sets. I'm not sure if that was planned, but Hart sure didn't seem to mind. He opened with Evergreen Memorial Drive and proceeded to play for about an hour, mostly taking audience requests.
About six songs into his set, after joking with audience members who were yelling requests, he informed us that he was back in "audience abuse mode and that's never good for you." He teased a woman who hadn’t requested a song correctly and also made up a song about a woman who was walking past the stage on her way to the bathroom. He was still pretty well-behaved, though, and played some of his best songs.
Hart’s lost a lot of weight over the past year and looks good. His voice and his guitar sound better than ever. He spoke of having a recent opportunity to play some of his songs at House of Mercy, a church of sorts that was formed in 1996 by some of St. Paul's local musicians and friends of the Turf Club.
Although Hart had many friends in the audience, the friends of the band Shit-Fi seemed pretty intent on drawing attention to themselves and off of Grant. This was a problem throughout the entire set, but became intolerable about 15 songs into Grant's set. These "friends of Shit-Fi" stood up front for the latter part of the show and talked amongst themselves rather loudly. One guy was trying to play another band's drum set which happened to be sitting near the stage. He also sang along in a falsetto voice for Grant's last song.
As far as I could tell, these people started out the night as friends and acquaintances of Hart, but by the end of the evening, I think it's pretty safe to say that they were his enemies. Hart had to ask them if he was bothering them at one point when their conversation grew loud enough to drown him out. He admonished them with the reminder that they were recipients of his hospitality and therefore they should be showing him a little more respect.
I don't know if Hart sets himself up for this kind of thing or not, but I do know that these people went a little too far and I don't think he deserved that. I predict that Shit-Fi won't be doing another show with Hart again soon. If I ever see them again, I hope they leave their "friends" at home. As for Hart, I will definitely see him again.
Grant Hart Set List
1. Evergreen Memorial Drive
2. Flexible Flyer
3. Green Eyes (for the ladies)
4. Teeny's Hair
5. 2541 (possibly the best song ever written)
6. Little Miss Information
7. Don't Wanna Know If You Are Lonely
8. You Don't Have To Tell Me Now
9. Admiral of the Sea
10. Charity, Chastity, Prudence & Hope
11. new song? maybe a cover?
12. She Floated Away
13. made-up song about girl who talks dirty (woman going toward bathroom)
14. Never Talkin' To You Again
15. It's Not Funny Anymore
16. Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill
17. made-up song "You're name ain't Kyle" directed at audience members
18. Intolerance
19. The Main
Encore:
20. Sorry Somehow
21. All That Remains To Be Seen
Location Info:
The Turf Club
Artist Info: Grant Hart
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