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19 September 2000
The Slim Cessna's Auto Club were a shimmering, atmospheric delight!! I suppose the term "psychobilly" fits pretty well. They just soar from one song to the next. Very high-energy, charismatic but a different sort of charisma from 16HP's. Slim has this magnanimous, dramatic, and yes, humorous flair that he brings to his performance. You almost get the feeling of watching a 1920's circus ringmaster presiding over the clowns, trapeze artists, and lion-tamers. They really lit a fire underneath that place! They had people up out of their seats, dancing, crowding up around the front ... this one couple did a polka across the dance floor and back ... They even did an encore, unusual for an opener at these club shows but the crowd was just yelling so loud! This is the dangerously closest I've ever seen 16HP come to being upstaged by their opener. 16HP put on a superb show well worth the wait. Everyone crowded around the front and the spell was cast. One thing I'm noticing is that DEE has these subtle ways now of playing around with the crowd. Be it hand gestures or facial expressions or a look that speaks volumes, he's doing these little things now that actually get smiles or laughter out of the crowd. While the intensity of their performance is becoming something of a comfortably familiar feeling now (like the rush you get over and over from your favorite roller coaster ;-), tunes like Cinder Alley or Nobody 'Cept You are still enough to make my hair stand on end.
Setlist: Ballsiest moment of the evening: Came not from either 16HP or SC'sAC, but from the 1st opener, a local band called Blanche; who treated us to a tango-style cover of Wayfaring Stranger. I have to assume this was already a part of their set. They did a really nice job with it. Pascal does have a memory like a steel trap: Not only does he keep recalling who I am ;-); but he recognized Blanche's singer-guitarist and female bassist as being from 2 Star Tabernacle, the opener at the Gold Dollar about 2 1/2 years ago. Only disappointment of the evening: DEE didn't come out afterwards to talk to people. This was unusual and I'm sure there was some kind of valid reason for it. Pascal was pretty much the evening's goodwill ambassador: His usual gregarious self, bouncing around the place, working the merch table, talking to anyone and everyone, smiling constantly, just being super-friendly. Steve also came out after the show and talked to people. I haven't seen him do this at the last few shows I've been to; but he's also a friendly person. While Jean-Yves didn't come out afterwards, he was at the merch table earlier in the evening as well. The cd's were just flying off the merch table [staffed by Munly most of the evening]. About damn time I'm no longer the only one east of the Mississippi who knows about SC'sAC! By Shari. On the left hand side you can see the handwritten setlist which was actually played at the Magic Stick. The one on the right hand side is the back of that same setlist, the old setlist from the 2nd leg of the European tour.
   
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Always recycle your setlists! ;->