Quote
Hairball
Very sad, I was able to see him at the ARMS Benefit (Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis) in L.A. '83 when he was brought out on stage for Goodnight rene at the end of the show - he was feeble, but all smiles and in good spirits joking around with everyone on stage.
I was at that show and was in the minority that night, because I was an actual
Ronnie Lan fan...not just a follower of Faces but someone who owned and loved his solo albums, Anymore For Anymore, Slim Chance, One For The Road, and his half of Rough Mix.
I used to tell people that I wanted "Just For A Moment" from Mahoney's Last Stand played at my funeral! So as much as I loved the entire show with Clapton, Beck, Page, Watts, Wyman, Jones, Cocker, etc., the main thing for me that night was Ronnie.
For a big chunk of the crowd, Lane was the object of the charity but not someone they were into musically. When they brought him out at the end like one of Jerry's Kids, there were people who weren't in a mood to listen.
He sang two songs at the LA show I went to. The first was "April Fool" from Rough Mix. (Lane was one--his birthday is April 1st!) As they quietly began it, I thought my head was going to explode! One of my favorite Lane songs!
That was quickly spoiled by sounds of these bros sitting behind me loudly talking to each other...for them the show was over and they were already recapping it.
We've all been to shows where there has been a bigmouth...but this was the worst for me. The rare chance to see Ronnie Lane...the unexpected performance of a favorite song...the entire perfect moment...spoiled.
I quickly turned around and made a motion to shush these guys, and immediately I could see they were startled by my actions, and as I made my argument for silence, they were making their case for being loud.
At the
exact same time--I swear this is true--
we both said the exact same thing: "Hey man, this is a CONCERT!"