Check your cynicism at the door

My second girlfriend out of college introduced me to the world of alternative music. I wasn't completely in the tank commercially at the time. My favorites were Pretenders, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Blondie. And I did like some of the new stuff by that gal Madonna. So not completely mainstream, but not exactly avante garde either.

But this girl introduced me to bands like the Replacements, Hoodoo Gurus, the Smiths, the Cure, the Squeeze (before most people had ever heard of them). The relationship only lasted about a year, but she set me on a path of discovering and keeping up with new music, leading me to bands like the Smoking Popes, Too Much Joy, Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls, Cracker, Green Day (again, before most had heard of them), and dozens of acts I forget now.

One of the first bands I found on my own was 10,000 Maniacs. (That's the actual album there, from my collection.) I loved Natalie Merchant's voice. And it seemed she sang about things that nobody else was talking about -- or at least not in the way she did. I saw them twice in DC in the late '80s or early '90s.

Later on Natalie left and was replaced by Mary Ramsey. I bought that first CD of theirs (which had the great remake of More Than This), but didn't follow them through their many permutations since and never saw them live again. Until last night.

They were playing a local streetfest. And at first I was thinking this was a little sad. And as a sparse crowd stood a respectful distance from the stage, it seemed none of us knew quite what to expect. But when they came out and launched into old hits like "Hey, Jack Kerouac" and "What's the Matter Here," all skepticism and cynicism melted away. The crowd grew, and grew closer, as the night went on.

I had never heard Mary sing Natalie's songs. And while Natalie's one of the most beautiful singers there is, Mary did a very, very nice job. And the band was very tight, playing all their old hits faithfully and with energy and fun. It was a great night to be outside enjoying the weather and the music.

They finished their set, played a couple of encores and thanked us. Afterwards they were milling around, talking to fans and I went up to one of the guys, one of the originals, and thanked HIM. I mean, they didn't have to come to our little streetfest. Or maybe they did. But they sure didn't act and play like it. Some friends and I were talking afterwards, saying what an amazing job it would be to make and perform music like that. If I had the talent, I'd do it for any amount of money.

So thank you again, Maniacs. And thank you, too, Kara.