The Tubes at the Medina Ballroom
Friday, May 8, 1998

We heard about the Tubes being in town the Tuesday before their performance and thought it would be sold out‹you know, it's the Tubes...of course they would sell out. Mark (my husband) called some friends and then charged the tickets over the phone. Whew! Tickets were had.

We showed up at the Medina Ballroom around 7:00, and Mark was in a tizzy too excited to even articulate it. He has all the original Tubes albums (very well worn) and has been to every concert they put on in the Twin Cities. Anyway, we drove all around the building, looking for a tour bus, anything . . . but the lot was devoid of any Tube-like entity, so we went in and took a look around the facility. Our first indication that the venue was less than desirable was when we approached the ticket counter, and the tired old broad couldn't locate our tickets. She then asked if we paid for ours. Well, yeah, of course. Oh, light dawns. She pulled out a small packet of envelopes couldn't have been more than 10 of them and found our tickets.

Got our hands stamped, went into the ballroom and grabbed a prime table directly across from the stage and at the edge of the dance floor. Warm-up band was "Show Me Yours." We had no idea what they would be like, but all agreed it was a stupid name. As we passed the time, waiting for "Show Me Yours," we talked to others at adjoining tables and examined pictures they had brought of the Tubes in concert, circa mid-70s, early 80s. We were having a good time, drinking beer, eating popcorn, telling jokes and recounting our favorite Tubes stories. Mark (he's an artist) drew a "Quay Lewd Lives" poster for the band to sign later. At 8:30, the hideous warm-up band came on.

Warming Up
In retrospect, "Show Me Yours" was quite possibly the best band to warm up for the Tubes, because they took themselves so seriously. It was quite surreal. At one point, in an appauling rendition of "Dust in the Wind," another table of Tubes fans found it so funny, they held up their butane lighters, concert style, and waved them as if they were in the presence of gods. It was too good. They also covered such gems as "Never Been Any Reason" from Head East's "Flat As a Pancake" (they butchered the lyrics) and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" sung so dramatically, the singer lifted his eyes to the ceiling and clenched his fists to emphasize how emotionally swept away he was. Ugh.

We howled, we laughed...the band was just the right mix of down-right awfulness and seriousness to be the perfect foil for the remainder of the evening. After almost two hours of excruciating covers, they asked if we wanted more, to which everyone yelled, "No we want The Tubes!" They exited quickly.

At that point, I looked around the room and couldn't believe how few people were in attendance. Maybe 200 tops. Didn't make a bit of sense to me and at one point, I worried that maybe we were going to witness a once-great band deliver a tired, old performance. I shuddered at the thought and put it out of my mind.

The Most Excellent Performance
Someone came out to test the drums, and with that, our table and the one next to us decided we had better move quickly if we wanted to be front and center. We rushed the stage and got the spots of our dreams. I was front and center, just slightly to the right of Fee's microphone, perfectly positioned. Mark was behind me, our new friends all around. Suddenly, they took the stage Roger, Prairie, Rick, and two keyboardists we weren't familiar with and began playing "Up From the Deep." It was wonderful but when Fee hit the stage and began "Sushi Girl," the crowd went nuts. I didn't stop dancing, screaming and clapping until they finished, two hours later.

There were sound problems one of Fee's monitors was out, which had him going nuts . . . but in terms of stage presence, professional musicianship and a very tight set, I can only say that this was one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Here's a song list: (I have a penned original, nabbed from in front of the drum set during their break before the encore.)

• Up From the Deep: Good song, but not high energy enough for the excitement level in the crowd. We screamed anyway.
• Sushi Girl: Really kicked on this one fabulous! The crowd was dancing in a frenzy. One of my favorites, so I was happy.
• What Do You Want From Life?: Excellent. But where's my personally autographed picture of Randy Mantooth? Didn't notice any lines missing, lyrics were still right on all the way to "And a baby's arm holding an apple!"
• Genius of America: Why didn't this get airplay in '96?! Fee introduced it almost apologetically as if we wouldn't recognize it, but it was very well done and well-received.
• Piece by Piece: No disappointments here at all. We were dancing like crazy and singing along.
• Too Late: Okay, could have been a bit better. A little ragged, but the monitor was out and Fee was thrown by it.
• She's a Beauty: Bad monitor problems again, Fee wasn't in his best voice for this number but really, this isn't one of my preferred tunes. What was so wierd was I had an odd flashback from when I was unemployed, just out of college, watching MTV day and night and they had just launched the video for She's a Beauty. Fee played a carnival barker in it and I must have seen that video a hundred times. All of a sudden he¹s singing the song RIGHT THERE; I felt as if I was in a time warp.
• Slipped My Disco: He knew the monitor was dead and adjusted himself to sing without it...the band was right on target...an excellent number.
• Tip of my Tongue: What can I say? The band at their finest.
• A Matter of Pride: Band was cooking; audience was in heaven.
• Mr. Hate: Fee did an extensive rap during Mr. Hate, and I thought to myself, "Why isn't this guy acting?" I mean, you see Lyle Lovett, Jon Bon Jovi, k.d. lang, Dwight Yochum‹all successful singers who have crossed over to the big screen. That's where Fee belongs with his incredible mop of curly, black hair and charisma. Of course, we want him to keep singing, but wouldn't it be a kick to see him in the next Quentin Tarrantino flick?
• Amnesia: A good number to do after Mr. Hate. Everybody started dancing like crazy again and singing along.
• Say What You Want: Great harmonies!
• Out of the Business: Another meticulously performed number, for which they received the wild adulation of the entire audience.
• WPOD: Excellent! The highlight of the show for me was Fee shoving the microphone in my face so I could sing a chorus of White Punks on Dope...then, Mark got the next chorus. Could have died and gone to heaven at that point. The audience was frenzied!! It was a highlight of the night.

Encore: During the break, I managed to rip off a United Airlines tag from Fee's mic stand. It says "Waybill" on it, followed by a phone number. Dare I call it?

• Mondo Bondage: And the crowd goes wild! Fee rips his shirt and tosses pieces to the screaming fans; I touch his shirt as it flies by and it's soaked.
• Talk to You Later: A good, upbeat signature piece to end the show, performed with great spirit. During the riffs, Fee signed Mark's Quay Lewd Lives poster and other shirts, jackets and skin offered by the audience. He and the band made a great effort acknowledging the audience‹we couldn't have been happier. Finally, Fee left the stage, but Roger and Rick, still playing the riff, signed Mark's poster and other autographs, too.

After the show the crowd cleared out quickly;but we stuck around with a few others because the band did. In fact, they all hung out signing autographs (Mark got Prairie's autograph to finish off the original foursome) and talk with the fans. I didn't talk to him, but Mark mentioned Prairie is very nice and accomodating (kindred spirits, I guess Mark's a drummer, too). Roger was out in the lobby with a bunch of people who looked like family. He had his picture taken with the whole group and was hugging some. Definitely looked like relatives. Fee was hanging out by the ticket counter, bitching about the lousy PR the band received, bad sound system, cruddy venue and rightly so. The Medina had even advertised the wrong band for that night's performance. Fee talked about the Genius album and hopes for something down the road. It was wild to be able to hang out with the band. Wish I had brought my camera.

All in all, it was a great night and I hope they come back to the Twin Cities soon. Despite the small turnout, it was an ideal situation for hard core fans like Mark and I who got to experience the band in peak form from two feet away. Should they come again, I expect we'd never be as fortunate as we were on May 8 to see this fabulous band so intimately.

I'd like to extend kudos to the Tubes for their May 8 performance at the Medina Ballroom. To them, it may possibly be a toss off performance, but to me; it will be with me for the rest of my life, as a highlight.

Kathy Stoehr
Mpls., MN

Last Updated: May 26, 1998
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