Fraggle Rocker
Staff member
They're back, after something like a nine-year hiatus. I saw them at the 9:30 Club in DC a few months ago.
I love Seether. Have seen them twice at the Ram's Head Live in Baltimore. The first time they had hired a second guitarist and the music had more punch, but they really tear the house down. I do "Fake It" and their harder-rockin' version of George Michael's "Careless Whispers" at karaoke
My cellphone doesn't even do texting. ("Nothing worth reading was ever written by a man who was attempting to type with his thumbs.") So I'll leave the title as is.
I saw her at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium 30 years ago, with a full band and a backup singer who did her double-track harmonies perfectly. Then a couple of years ago I saw her billed at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA, so I went down. She came out on the stage all alone with an acoustic guitar, but she was still spellbinding.
She had just published her autobiography so she was weaving vignettes from it between the songs. The most touching:
She's a big sci-fi fan and often speaks at conventions. She was signed up for one in Toronto, and said to her partner, "Why don't you come with me? We can get married legally in Canada." When they walked up to the desk at the hotel the clerk asked, "So I suppose you're here for the sci-fi convention?"
She was about to say, "Yes," when her partner blurted out, "No, we came here to get married."
The clerk congratulated them, moved them to the bridal suite at no extra charge, and made sure it was stocked with champagne. For the rest of the week, everywhere they went, Canadians stopped to take their pictures, buy them drinks, or simply sit with them to wish them well and make their feelings about the issue of gay marriage crystal clear.
As she put it, "It was such a wonderful feeling, to realize that we were loved, and the might of an entire nation was behind us.
"Then we came home."
She tore a rotator cuff last year and had to cancel some shows. I did the same thing in 2009 so I sent her a lot of advice on how to deal with that as a musician. For starters, pretend it's still 1966 and recreate the old girl-on-a-stool image; it's easier to play that way than standing up. She's very gracious and we've continued to chat by e-mail. Saw her again several months ago at the Ram's Head On Stage in Annapolis. She was in good shape. She apologized for not having time to practice my favorite song, "What About The Love," but promised to do it next time.
