January 21, 2005
Bearfoot Hookers party down
Here's a postcard from Mark Durfield, guitarist and vocalist with The Bearfoot Hookers, who are playing at the Wild Wing Cafe tonight:
Friday, January 7, 2005 - Waycross, GA
It seems fitting that the first show in The Bearfoot Hookers 2005 Life at the Bar tour should take place in Waycross, GA. This town is in many ways the spiritual home of our band, in spite of its location four hours south of Athens. Jon Tonge, and the rest of the Tonge clan, are originally from Waycross, and Ty Manning is from neighboring Brantley County, home of the Okeefenokee Swamp. The swamp culture seeps unconsciously into both Jon's and Ty's sounds and songs.
When displaced from their hometown, Waycross folks stick together in packs. The foundation of our fan base in Athens is held together by one of those packs. I can think of only one or two shows out of the more than sixty we have played in the past year and a half, all over Georgia, when no one from Waycross was in attendance. No matter where we are, this town and its soul are always a big part of what we are doing. ...
Waycross is a railroad town, a "cross way" for rail lines stretching in every direction. Trains constantly roll through town and it's important to know where the trestles are to get where you're going. Waycross is also the childhood home of Gram Parsons and the town is very proud of their native son. It is full of musicians and most can sing or play any one of Gram's songs on demand. Being so well versed in music and live performance, the folks in Waycross are not impressed by gimmicks or cliché; they want real, gutsy, soulful country, rock and blues. It's good that we're so relaxed when playing here because it's more important than ever to put on a solid show for such a critical audience. And when the music's good, they love it, and they dance and sing and drink and holler.
The gig this night is in a tiny bar called Cypress Creek, our home in Waycross since the much larger Maverick's closed down due to problems with property taxes and liquor license acquisition. Cypress Creek, formerly Woody's BBQ and apparently Golden Coral before that, is a damn fine family restaurant during the day and early evening. At night, however, the bar fills up with locals, and tonight, locals who've come out to hear The Bearfoot Hookers play songs from our new CD, Life at the Bar.
Upon arrival at about 8pm, we found that Lita had made a huge banner that was hanging outside the bar announcing the show and the "Life at the Bar Party". Many old friends were there waiting on us, including one couple who's marital adventures have been fodder for songs on both of our albums ("Lonely Highway" from Sweet Pickle Grits and "Tequila Love Song" from Life at the Bar). We were also very pleased to see that our favorite bartender in the world, Kay, was back in the saddle after a brief hiatus. We had hardly finished setting up our gear when Kay proudly displayed two cases of PBR she had discreetly set aside for herself and the band. And so the night began.
At Cypress Creek, the stage is not much more than a drum riser and Ty and I have to setup at floor level because there's only enough room for the drum kit and guitar amps. The bar actually runs along side of the stage making it particularly convenient for refills from the ever watchful Kay. There's not much room to move and guitar necks often bang cymbals and chairs. It's a tight squeeze but the closeness creates a pressurized atmosphere.
After a four week break during the holidays, I was afraid that we would be rusty. But by the middle of the first song, one from Gram Parsons to get the night started right, it was obvious that the energy was high and the groove was tight. The new songs were well received and the older ones roused whoops and hollers. Folks sang along and raised beer bottles high. The fast songs pulled the ladies out of their seats for dancing, which as usual, pulled the guys out of theirs as well. The audience ranged in age from 50+ to 18 (even younger I think but I'm not tellin'). One of the Tonge boys held court in the corner surrounded by his harem. Another guy at the bar quickly learned the words to "Poor Lonely Bastards" and by the third chorus was singing along, swaying carefully to keep from falling off his stool. I think he realized that the song was written about guys just like him. The guitars sounded good and our voices were strong and colorful.
At 2:00am, after four solid hours of playing, we finished with a slow song. By then, the well liquored audience, hanging in till the bitter end, started pairing off for a final dance. We always get a big kick out of watching the not so discreet groping that goes on in front of us at 2:00am. It's the sign of a job well done - in the end; after all, that's what it's all about. It was a great debut for Life at the Bar.
The after party took place just down the road at the house (complete with a blue plastic pool) of Gram Parsons scholar, guitarist, singer, songwriter extraordinaire, and good friend Dave Griffin. The details of after parties are best left to the imagination and this one is no exception.
At Cypress Creek, we get to leave our gear in the bar until the next day when, around noon, we reconvene to pack up and nurse headaches with Lita's famous Bloody Marys. Then it's a traditional lunch at Wong's Palace, the best Chinese restaurant I've ever eaten at, where we visit with Mr. Tang, the father of one of our most loyal fans, Vincent (aka Tangstache). No visit to Waycross is complete until you've eaten at Wong's. Well fed and finally awake, we head west, moving on to Valdosta for Saturday night's show, where the whole cycle starts again… but with new twists and stories.