Live: Gin Blossoms @ White Trash Fest 7/4/08

Before we took off to check out Candlebox and the Gin Blossoms at the Ozzie Smith Sports Complex out in O'Fallon, MO, I was telling my boy Fitz about how awful and gestapo-like UMB Bank Pavillion aka Riverport has gotten these days.

Maryland Heights' bullshit anti-tailgating ordinance, especially given how long you have to sit around in the parking lot there waiting to go anywhere, has gotten me almost pissed off enough to swear off drinking Budweiser, i.e. the Great American Lager, on GP.

Almost.

For a minute there, we were sweating whether or not we'd be able to bring any beer to this thing out in O'Fallon. But then Fitz checked out the website for O'Fallon parks or whatever and was like, "Nah, we're cool. It says right here you can bring in a cooler."

And wouldn't you know, this shit turned out to be like a white trash paradise. Mofos were standing around the area near the stage drinking all types of shit. I took a look at the ground afterwards, and I noticed more cans for various "ice" beers than I'd seen since I was in college. There was beer there you could buy (AB products, natch), but it seemed like it was there more so in case you ran out of the shit you brought with you.

Which was a nice, thoughtful touch, when you think about it. Never let it be said that O'Fallon, MO doesn't know how to treat its citizens. In that sense, it's no wonder it's been named one of America's Best Places to Live.

When we first got there, I thought I detected the faint whiff of marijuana, but then I realized it was just b.o. It was that special white trash blend of b.o. that actually kinda smells like pine trees. It occurred to me that there probably wasn't any weed in a 20-mile radius of this place. Or if there was, it was probably being grown to be shipped down to the city.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters were the first band that went on, but I guess we missed them while we were back at Fitz's place, pregaming.

I notice Candlebox had quite a few particularly rabid fans in the audience for their performance - much more so even than the Gin Blossoms, when they went on. The Candlebox stans may have even left once the group went off. They were all clutching copies of that one CD Candlebox had back in the day, with "Far Behind: on it, and shouting, "Candlebox!" ad nauseum while their roadies were setting up.

Who knew Candlebox had such committed fans? Honestly, I'm at a loss for why. Nothing against Candlebox. I'm just saying. Their whole set was like: umpteen songs that are far inferior to "Far Behind" (including several numbers from a new album they're putting out this month) and then... wait for it, "Far Behind," which they of course dedicated to our boys over in Iraq. Bring 'em home safe! Or don't!

One thing I will say is that their lead singer is fucking cool as shit, in the Miles Davis sense of the term. He kept referring to shit as "my man" and "baby," and he kept having to stop himself from swearing, lest the O'Fallon-ites got all upset. There were probably a lot of kids out there who never heard so much as a curse word before yesterday.

Then there was what must have been an hour-long lull between Candlebox and the Gin Blossoms, probably so the Gin Blossoms' set could be timed to go off right as the fireworks were going on. I debated going to take a piss, but I chose not to, because I didn't want to trip over any of the cracker-ass crackas between the stage and the row of porta-potties and run the risk of being the 2008 version of the black guy who got stabbed at Altamont.

Which ended up being a mistake. The Gin Blossoms took the stage to "Learning the Hard Way," the single from their big comeback album from a couple of years ago, and I knew there was no way I was gonna make it until after the fireworks went off before breaking the seal. So I took off for the pisser and ended up missing the next few songs. A couple of them were new joints I could care less about, but I also ended up missing "Found Out About You" and "Till I Hear It From You" (I know!).

Fortunately, I made it back in time to catch "Lost Horizons" and "Hey Jealousy," the staggering one-two punch that kicks off 1992's New Miserable Experience, still one of the best albums evar. They sounded about as tight as they did all of the other times I've seen them live, which is to say not very. But it's still kind of a kick to be able to see a band that was absolutely huge as recently as... erm, 15 years ago play a free concert in a public park out in the middle of nowhere.

It's a good thing their career fizzled out the way that it did. Otherwise, I might have had to see them at Riverport.