If your summer doesn’t include at least one cageside seat for the visiting musical animals at the Minnesota Zoo, then it is your loss and the eventual seat holder’s gain. With acts ranging from Keri Noble , a fast rising local star, to the Grammy grabbing Buddy Guy, this summer’s Music in the Zoo series, presented by Sue McLean & Associates, Inc., has been the must-see event of the season. The final performances , with Steve Earle opening for John Hiatt, were definitely no exception to this rule.
Earle started his act with a new song titled “F the CC” from his upcoming August release, “The Revolution Starts… Now”, © Artemis Records, 2004; For a crowd still stumbling to their outdoor amphitheatre seats, it was an epiphanic realization that they were in for more than a tame performance amongst the wild animals. With a chorus line that goes,
F- the FCC
F- the FBI
F- the CIA
I was born in the Mother-F-ing USA
Earle brought many in the crowd to their feet as others sat on their hands. Then again, who didn’t expect a partisan crowd in $39 wooden bleacher seats in a time when even local watering hole jukeboxes are partisan.
Earle launched into many of his classic folk/country mixes from Copperhead Road to the epic rock protest song “Ashes to Ashes”. Between songs Steve shared his feelings on flip-flopping politicians to preaching about how we choose to spend our dollars on corporate entities. At one point after singing his ballad, “The Mountain” Earle stated, “If you have a boss, start a union.” His political statements divided the crowd, keeping many in the audience seated during the encore induced “Jerusalem” ballad.
Intermission brought forward one of the corporate sponsors of the evening. Jake Lenienkugel tried to bring balance to the evening with his crowd rousing statement concerning our brave troops currently serving in the war-torn nations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Critical reviews at the Lenienkugel beer stands ranged from “fantastic” to comments about artists just doing their jobs by sticking to singing. Earle offered his opinion on that subject during his act, saying that he was hearing a lot of talk about how some Americans think the Artist community needs to shut up about when it comes to societal issues. His summary? “Commenting on society is my f-ing job.”
When the second act started shortly after sunset, a solo Hiatt was granted the pleasure of a more focused crowd less distracted by the shuffling of people finding their seats in a darkened bleacher arrangement. After the stage right beer vendor closed at 10:00, shutting off their 500 watt lighting arrangement, the focus was on a man who has been writing tremendous music for decades. Hiatt captivated the crowd with the magic of his musical years and talent, the raw raspy sound of his vocals and guitar offset by an occasional blow into his harp.
Though there was only one song Friday night accompanied by an eclectic guitar, there was never a moment where either of these one-man acts didn’t fill the zoo with sound. Hiatt often used tempo-changing strumming, driving home the point that the artist determines the medium as well as the message.
John didn’t let Earle hog the political agenda for the evening, scoring with his statement on the current administration, a jab at John Ashcroft. The stories of his early teen childhood suggest his widowed mother knew John would be on stage one day. She raised John with the well thought advice that John should never try to wear piety because it wouldn’t fit him well. When the issue of the separation of church and state was brought up, Hiatt offered his own advice. With religion you only need to remember two things he stated, “There is a god, and you’re not her.”
The evening progressed with more songs, and more stories of Hiatt’s youth, each serving to set the scene for the next song, weaving a depth of meaning into an already plush song. He recollected sitting in his living room with his three sisters and dad, staring into the black and white Philco TV as Ed Sullivan introduced The Beatles to America, then launching into the song, “Your Dad Did” Hiatt’s uncanny way of weaving stories that many of us lived in our own way has never been better than it was that night.
A double encore, starting with a song Bonnie Raitt made popular, “Thing Called Love.” , caused John to lament that he needed to get back to Bonnie about leaving out one of his verses on her recording. The third encore song saw Steve Earle come out for a duo rendition of “This Land is Your Land”. Despite the obvious cheat notes taped to the stage floor, the crowd carried Earle through without a hitch.
So, today, as I sit back and remember, there’s no question where my “feed an artist” budget dollars will go next year. Where McLean and Associates will lead this historic Zoo tradition next year leaves little doubt that you’ll see a great return on your entertainment investment. Hell, as Hiatt himself said after his first song. “It’s so good to be back where I belong. The Zoo.”
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