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Mountain/Wesley Willis
The Beachland
Ballroom/The Beachland Tavern
03-18-03
My friends (yes, I do have some) showed up a little
late, so I unfortunately missed Boulder’s opening set. Who the heck decided
to start a rock show promptly at 8:30, anyway? This is Cleveland, dammit.
Usually whatever starting time is given for a show you can add a half hour
onto that and be safe. Oh well, at least I know Boulder will be playing
again in June.
As for Mountain, founding members Leslie West and Corky
Laing were joined by a guy who looked like Keith Richards gone glam rock on
bass and the three of them jammed together in fine fashion. Of course they
did their big hits; “Theme from an Imaginary Western”, “Nantucket Sleigh
Ride”, and “Mississippi Queen”. They also did a rockin’ version of
“Crossroads” and a healthy amount of newer material from their ‘Mystic Fire’
album. The new stuff was pretty good, too, and no one in the crowd seemed
to mind hearing it. The band closed with an instrumental medley featuring
bits of various songs including “Beat It” before coming back for their
encore.
Next door at the Tavern Wesley Willis had just started
his set as the last notes of “Mississippi Queen” were echoing in the
Ballroom. This show was a sellout. Although I admit Wesley is entertaining
it’s kind of sad that a mentally ill guy with a Casio keyboard singing songs
like “Lick a Puma’s Dick” can draw more people than a lot of artists with
more talent. Wesley played several of his “hits”, including “Rock ‘n’ Roll
McDonalds” and “Fuck You”, all of which pretty much sound the same. Willis’
act is not without some humor value, but it got old for me by the time the
show was over. Most others in attendance were far more impressed than I
was, so maybe I’m missing something. (Bob Ignizio)
For pictures, click
here.
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