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Tom Waits
Atlanta on Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Anyone who knows me well, knows my love for Tom Waits. So it was
understandable that I was beyond happy when Tom suddenly scheduled some dates
for the United States. His upcoming three-disc compilation, Orphans: Brawlers,
Bawlers and Bastards, wasn't due for release until November, but Tom wanted to
tour. So he schedules about ten dates in towns that haven't seen the likes of
Tom ever or it's been 30+ plus years since his last visit (such as the case was
for Atlanta).
I got online the morning the tickets went on sale, and didn't worry about
seating, because the bottom floor was general admission. I just wanted a ticket,
and that did not prove to be difficult. Thankfully, I was able to be online when
the tickets went on sale though, because they sold out in less than half an
hour. I was in.
Susan didn't want to go to the Atlanta show since I was going to be standing on
the floor (she opted for the Nashville show instead). So I got there EXTRA early
to get in line with the rest of the crazy faithful. An internet group of us had
shirts made up for the Raindog group we're associated with (Raindogs are fans of
Tom Waits...kinda like the Parrotheads for Jimmy Buffet fans...but smellier). So it
gave us a starting point for conversations, since we got in line about 2:30pm.
Keep in mind, the show wasn't to start until 8pm, but I'll be damned if I'm
going to miss a rare sighting of Tom up close if I can get the chance. I ended
up standing next to a guy named Peter who is a regular on one of the Tom Waits
email groups, and he and I hit it off quite well. So we shot the shit about
everything under the very hot sun while waiting for the show.
Tom
Waits had his management insure that scalping was not going to happen for his
shows. You were limited to purchasing only two tickets, and you had to have a
picture ID and the credit card you used to purchase the tickets to get in. After
you got the tickets, you were directly escorted inside. Therefore, there were no
scalpers for this date. The main problem for this show was that this was the
first show of the tour, and the ticket process ended up taking much longer than
anticipated. And since Tom didn't want to start until everyone who bought a
ticket got inside, the show didn't start till almost 9:30pm.
I finally get up to the box office, get my ticket, and get in another line. I
moved up quite a bit in the line, because my name ended with a B and no one was
in that line so I got through faster than others in front of me. This is the
line to go in the main hall. At least we're inside an in air conditioning. The
line is shifting around some now, because the line is about ten people wide, and
people are jockeying for position to make the run to the front of the stage.
Finally the doors are opened, and much as they told us to slow down, we bolt
inside. We have to quickly get our ticket confirmed again by an agent and we're
inside. Much to my disbelief, I'm now standing against the standing about ten
feet from the center stage microphone. So we're inside by 6:30 or 7:00, and then
the waiting begins again. Stage hands come out occasionally, get our hopes up,
and then disappear again. They made the announcement finally about the long
line, and that we'll start as soon as everyone gets inside. About 9:30 or so,
the band comes on and we're underway.
The bass and drummer start the familiar bump-bump-pop-bump-bump-pop of "Make It
Rain," 
and in comes Tom.
The place blows up for the man, but he's in no mood for
congratulations...he's got a job to do. He jumps right into my favorite song on
Real Gone, "Hoist That Rag," and only stops the rest of the evening for the
occasion joke or sip of tea. Particular favorites were: "Blue Valentine," "House
Where Nobody Lives," "November," "9th and Hennepin" and "Day After Tomorrow."
The two older songs hadn't been performed by Tom in many years, so they were
welcome surprises. He did mainly take from highlights of his more recent albums,
but there were plenty of older songs to keep most fans extremely happy. When he
got on the piano, he sat right in front of me...could have reached out and touched
him. That's about as close to a religious experience as I'll ever have.
He come out for two encores, and finished up the night with "Heartattack & Vine"
that morphed into a Howlin' Wolf tune. I left the Tabernacle in Atlanta,
exhausted from the long day, yet absolutely alive. I hopped in the truck and
started the drive home. I told Susan I'd drive until I started coming down, and
then I'd get a hotel, and finish the drive the next day. I'll be damned if I
didn't make the 5 hour drive home to Panama City without feeling the slightest
bit sleepy.
Easily one the best live concerts experiences I've had in my life, and I still
had tickets to go see Tom again with my wife in Nashville that coming weekend.
Wow!!
Photo Credits: Banner Picture by Anti Records, Insert Picture by Anton Corbijn and Poster from Tom Waits Library.