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GRAHAM PARKER: GET STARTED, START A FAMILY
Sat 4/28/01: Daffodil Festival, Hubbard Park, Meriden, CT, USA
At 5:15, as the sun was starting to disappear behind the hills, Graham Parker walked on stage, wearing a blue shirt, black jeans, black leather jacket and those ever-present shades. Accompanied only by his Gibson J-200 acoustic (and on a few later songs by his amplified Telecaster), Graham was in fine form. He has absolutely gotten better with age, the bitter bile of his early work now balanced by years of living in the imperfect world. He was downright chipper, in fact, and I snapped several photos of him smiling, fer crying out loud! Graham mixed early classics with songs from his forthcoming album, due in August (as yet untitled, although he jokingly said, "Since I'm still dicking around with titles, I think I'll just call it 'Still Dicking Around'.") A standout song from this release is "Tough On Clothes." In it, Graham fondly notes how kids rip through their garments in record time, humorously pondering the possibility he may have to "get a real job" in order to pay for them all.
As if on cue, while GP performed this song, two toddler girls, straight out of a Gap Kids ad, wobbled up on the concrete slab and started dancing. Graham was visibly charmed and smiled broadly through the number. After ending the song, he said "Well, I was going to do a song full of hatred and violence now, but I just can't," gazing at the little girls, words momentarily abandoning him. So instead of ripping out something on the order of "Mercury Poisoning," he put down his guitar and sang a transcendent a cappella version of Sam Cooke's "Cupid," addressed directly to those little girls. Talk about changes! By the end of the song, a small flock of kids had come down out of the audience and joined the little girls at Graham's feet. His smile was now so big it reminded me of the scene when the (cartoon) Grinch's heart grows four times its size. Maybe the next album should be titled "Graham Parker Sings For Kids!" The under-ten crowd stayed front and center for the rest of the set, causing Graham to have to watch his language: "This next song is called 'The First Day of Spring' - since we're at the Daffodil Festival, I'd better sing something about flowers and shit. WHOOPS! I mean, flowers and STUFF." Bitten by the festival atmosphere, he also performed Jerry Garcia's "Sugaree," dedicating it to its author and the wonderful vibe he brought to live performance. After a few more songs and several broken strings (blamed on the chilly weather), Graham brought the proceedings to a close with "Discovering Japan," but not before he gave a heartfelt thanks to the audience and told them to "get ready for the best band in America, NRBQ! How lucky are you, then?"Tim Hibbs
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