Michael and I enjoyed dinner at Zuzu tonight, complete with self-affirming tidbits about what it’s like to be a groom-to-be, and how tough it is to plan a wedding. Or at least to consider what it takes to plan a wedding.
After dinner, we headed next door to The Middle East to see the heard-of but previously unheard John Vanderslice, followed by Pedro the Lion.
Vanderslice, who is not to be confused with former Yankees utility outfielder John Vander Wal, made an impressive start, and finished almost as well. I was taken by his songs, and I’ll investigate more when I get a chance. The real fun of his set, though, was the opportunity it provided to play “Cast the Band in the Made-for-TV Movie of Their Lives.” As John himself, I choose Dana Carvey, or a blond Ben Kweller, as their voices are fairly similar, as well. As his bassist, a Solaris-era Jeremy Davies, with full beard. On drums, it’s a younger, fitter Chris Penn, also with a full beard and mustache. On Wurlitzer and guitar, I’m going to go with Abraham Lincoln. I realize he’s not an actor, but the Amish mustache-less beard on JV’s organist really gave me the Honest Abe vibe.
Every time I think of Pedro the Lion, I’m reminded of Pedro from The Jolt, and Watertown Square. I finally realized that I think of Watertown Square because of the restaurant there called La Casa de Pedro , which I’ve probably drive by twice, and have definitely never been in.
As for the band itself, I really liked them. I was surprised, in that pleasant, horizon-expanding kind of way. Great guitar lines, unobtrusive vocals, and a lot of good energy. They started off unlike any other band I’ve ever heard, with a cover, and a Radiohead cover, at that. It wasn’t played amazingly, but as they said later, Radiohead is hard. I loved the lead singer’s earnest questions to the audience: “OK, so does anyone have any questions at this point?” He took a lot of good questions, about song titles, guitar sounds, being called “Christian Rock” (to which he answered, “It’s bullshit. I’ve been called worse, but not much”), and more. And because you were wondering, the following cast is in line for the PTL movie: the guy who played Johannes in Dreyer’s Ordet (and it’s really spitting image, for those of you who haven’t seen the film), the sidekick from “Home Improvement” on bass, and, in a tough call, Mallory’s boyfriend Nick from “Family Ties,” after joining the Marines. I got it all from a split-second facial expression. That’s why this game is so hard.
