Dave Burland joins me in episode 13 of Hooked on Creek to discuss our recent experiences attending acoustic Trey Anastasio shows and watching Max Creek’s October 25, 2019, performance at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.
In this episode, we also briefly discuss Jamemurrell Stanley’s album My little Music Box.
A live recording of Max Creek’s entire performance on October 25, 2019, is available to stream or download here. You can also watch it here:
Episode 13 transcription
You’re listening to Hooked on Creek, a podcast celebrating the music, history and fans of the legendary jam band Max Creek. I am your host, Korre Johnson, and you are listening to episode 13.
Thank you for tuning in to episode 13 of Hooked on Creek. In this episode, Dave Burland joins me on the podcast and together we discuss our recent experiences seeing acoustic Trey Anastasio shows and we also provide a full review of Max Creek’s performance on October 25, 2019, at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.
But wait, there’s more. Because this episode also includes full performances of the songs I Will Always See Your Face and Cruel World from that incredible Max Creek show on October 25, 2019. And if my guest in this episode, Dave Burland, sounds familiar to you, it’s because I interviewed Dave in episode 5 of the podcast. So after you’re done listening to this episode, go back and check out episode 5 of Hooked on Creek to hear Dave talk about the music he creates under the name Cactus Area and learn about his deep appreciation for Max Creek and Phish.
But here we are in episode 13, so don’t go anywhere because this is is a good one. Before we get started, I just want to remind you that you can find a direct link to stream or download the entire Max Creek show reviewed in this episode in the show notes, or simply visit hookedoncreek.com. And while you are there, click the contact link and let me know what you think. I am always looking for recommendations on topics to cover or Max Creek shows to feature in this podcast. Alright, now let’s get started.
Korre: Dave Burland, thanks so much for joining me on Hooked on Creek.
Dave: Hey Korre. Thanks again. This is my second time on the show. It’s great. I love it.
Korre: I’m so glad that you’re back on the podcast. We both recently had the opportunity to attend An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio. And I’m really curious to get your thoughts on what your experience was like. I saw Trey when he was here in Milwaukee at the Riverside Theater back on Friday, October 18. When and where did you see Trey?
Dave: So I saw Trey on October 15 in Geneva, New York, and it was the first show of the acoustic tour. And man, I absolutely loved it. Now, you know, I’m a big Phish fan, but I just really enjoyed the show. My wife and I went. One thing I wanted to mention to you is that there was a bar there called the Twisted Rail. There’s a couple of locations here in western New York. And somebody on Facebook contacted the owner of the Twisted Rail because they were closed on Tuesday night and they opened up the restaurant and the bar basically before the Trey show and had kind of a Phish night. And we were really excited. It was great. And so we went there first and then we went to the show. We had really good seats. I mean, probably the best seats I’ve had at a show, and they were probably eight rows back. The crowd was really great. It was a kind of an intimate show, you know, like a theater show like he’s been doing. And we really enjoyed it. I really loved the stories.
So what happened, I think three songs in was that someone yelled from the audience, “Hey Trey, tell us a story.” And of course he told a story related to the festival that was canceled because Geneva, New York, is very close to Watkins Glen and they were going to have Curve Ball there as you might know. I don’t know how much of Phish you’re aware of, but they were going to a have Curve Ball there. So he started telling some stories about Curve Ball and I’ll just tell one of the quick stories. Now, the thing I should mention, too, is that all the stories I believe are compiled on YouTube somewhere. So someone took all the clips from each of the Trey stories and they put them together in a YouTube video, which is kind of cool.
One of the stories he told was that there’s a campground in Watkins Glen where they performed. They always have an elaborate planning for these festivals. And one of the ideas was that there were two paths to the stage. One was kind of a long path where you could walk and it was really nice to walk to the stage — between the stage and the campground. And the other one was a shorter path and what they were calling it was — if you decided to take the shorter path, let’s say you forgot something, you would go through what they called a mimefield. Mime, as in they hired 50 mimes for the show. So you’d have to go through all these mimes to get there. Now what happened was he said was at the time Curve Ball was canceled, all the mimes were there, there were 50 mimes there. So they had all the mimes there, but they didn’t have anything for them to do because the show was canceled. So he basically said that the drummer, John Fishman, stayed back with all the mimes and started to kind of party with them and was sending pictures to Trey on his phone of sad mime faces. So it was kind of funny. So those are just like the many stories that he tells. And I just liked the insight into Phish and the band, I mean, he tells so many great stories. I’m sure he may have told some stories at your show as well. Right?
Korre: Yeah. I mean, for me it was so cool to be among such diehard fans of Phish and for the most part they were respectful. But you have those handful of drunk people who just can’t help themselves and want to scream out things in some pretty intimate moments of the show. But yeah, it was so cool to hear him tell the stories that the crowd just loved so much. One of them was the infamous OJ show from Phish in 94 when they played at the Eagles Ballroom here. And so he told some more background behind what the band was seeing and watching just off stage when nobody in the crowd had any idea what was going on. So it was really interesting to hear him reminisce on that experience here in Milwaukee. He talked a little bit about his experiences over the years coming to Milwaukee and getting to know the city. It was just a lot of fun.
For me, I probably was a bigger Phish fan back when I was in college and I’ve sort of stayed in touch with the band. I’ve watched them over the years. But to see and hear some of the old favorites of mine was cool. And then to hear some songs from the Ghosts of the Forest and there’s an Oysterhead song that was played and some of the ones off the Halloween show, the Kasvot Växt. There’s some really, really cool tunes. You know, there’s not probably a ton of jamming going on, which is I think to be expected in an acoustic show. But I think the storytelling and, you know, honestly, it was just a big sing along. When you have 2,500 people sitting in a theater just singing along, it was a lot of fun.
Dave: Yeah. I thought too, for a show like that. For me the audience was, you know, they got a little rowdy sometimes, but for the most part, for a show, an acoustic show, people were very, very quiet listening to the words, which I thought was great cause Phish fans obviously are very diehard and very, you know, fanatical in some cases. And so the setlist for my show was very similar, right? You had some Kasvot tunes which were really good. I particularly like Snowflakes in the Sand. I don’t know if he played that. He has played that at a few shows and it’s really interesting.
But the guy who was part of a phish.net suggested that he play that song and he started to play it again at some shows. And it’s a beautiful song. I mean, it’s a really nice song. And of course he always has a few different guitars with him that are tuned differently for The Inlaw Josie Wales. And for Back on the Train in particular on this one, it seemed like he had a special guitar to play that song and it seemed like he played that song on quite a few shows. So did he have three guitars when you saw him?
Korre: Yeah, he had three guitars set up and he rotated through them throughout the night. I think there were some different tunings on a couple of guitars. Played Snowflakes in the Sand here in Milwaukee as well. You know, one of the songs I was just so happy to see was a Turtle in the Clouds. I just love that song, it is just so mesmerizing to me, and to see it was so cool.
Dave: And it was kind of interesting too and we’re just past a year when they did that kind of gag on Halloween, right. Where people were kind of really puzzled. It’s funny, I ordered one of the original programs cause I wasn’t there at the show, but I ordered one of the programs I think from Phish in Vermont. They were sending out, they had some extras. And so I ordered one and it’s kind of cool to read kind of the backstory of what happened and how they did that. Have you seen the documentary, the Trey documentary at all, Between Me and My Mind?
Korre: Not yet.
Dave: My wife and I went to see it and we purchased it on Amazon, I think it’s on Amazon right now, so you can get it on Amazon. That’s a great documentary, if there’s any of your listeners are Phish fans or anything like that, It just gives a lot of the backstory and kind of, you know, Trey as a songwriter, which I think is pretty amazing. He’s gone through quite a few things and just to see him come out the other end and be writing so many songs,The Ghosts of the Forest project, that whole thing. I mean, just amazing stuff. I think the show that we went to see in Geneva was the first time he played About to Run, as an example and Ghosts of the Forest. That was the first time he tried those.
And sometimes when he’s in these shows too, he’ll say, “Let me just give this a try.” And the audience is obviously right with him, everybody’s very supportive. So anyway, it was a very cool show. We really enjoyed it. I don’t really see that many shows. I’m not really that much of a concert goer anymore. I pretty much couch tour things. But that was one of the shows. If there’s a show in a theater where I can have a seat, then that’s the show I’ll go to.
Korre: Yeah, certainly. I mean, when I saw this tour announced — having Trey come into Milwaukee, which for me is like a 15 minute drive for me, I’m in a suburb of Milwaukee — is almost a no brainer, just because Alpine Valley, you’ve probably heard of that location here, it’s about an hour or so from me. And that is a great place to see a band, but it’s a bit of a hike to get down there and it’s not easy to get out of there. And you know with family.
Dave: Yeah, it’s very challenging. And the same for me. I mean I, like I said, I’m a huge fan, but I don’t really get to that many shows. I mean I went to Baker’s Dozen. I went to two shows in Baker’s Dozen. I think we talked about that a little bit, but I just don’t get out to that many shows. Although we are going to go see the Mike Gordon Band in Ithaca in January. That’s one of the things we’re doing. And you know, that might lead us right into some Max Creek discussion because of course Scott’s going to be there playing guitar.
Korre: I was really disappointed when they didn’t come back to Milwaukee. They are going to be in I think Chicago and Madison. Not impossible for me to get there. But again, it’s even further away.
Dave: And then did you see them last time?
Korre: Yeah, So that’s the whole introduction to this podcast is when I saw Mike Gordon come to Milwaukee a couple of years ago. That’s when I saw Scott play and I had no idea who Max Creek was at that point in time, and I was so just mesmerized by Scott. I looked him up and then all this happened and now I’m sitting on a podcast talking to you.
Dave: Great. Hey, that’s the way to do it, right? Absolutely.
Korre: A couple of weeks ago, we both I think had an opportunity to watch or maybe listen to the Max Creek show that was streamed live at Garcia’s on October 25th right? Did you get a chance to watch the whole show?
Dave: Oh yeah. I mean, I’ve seen it and I want you to couple different times. I love watching the interplay between the guys, but so that’s on the Relix YouTube channel, right? That’s the one that has it. And I’m glad they’re keeping that up there too, by the way.
Korre: Yeah, I mean I wish there were more Max Creek shows streamed live like that. I had no idea it was coming. I don’t know if they knew it was going to be streamed live cause they didn’t seem to announce it ahead of time. So that night I caught maybe, I don’t know, 20 minutes or half hour. Then I watched the rest of it over the next couple of days and since then I’ve listened to it, just the audio of it because it’s a different experience, right? When you just sit back and listen to the music. But it is a lot of fun to watch them as many people on this podcast might know, I’ve never actually seen the band before live. So seeing that interaction for me is really important to better understand how the band plays with each other and how they improvise.
Dave: Yeah. And for me, I love watching them. I prefer to watch things on YouTube like that. I mean, of course I’ve listened on archive and all that, but I prefer to watch the video and especially that particular video, that angle from Garcia’s where you can see the whole band. I was looking into Garcia’s, too because it’s Garcia’s at the Cap, which is basically a 250-seat venue that shares a lobby I think with the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York. That’s the venue. And so that’s one of the things I loved about this show as I was thinking about the show again today is that it’s such an intimate venue for them. And I love the fact that as an audience member you can get that close up to the band. I think that’s just great to do.
And you see that in the first set, right? Especially in the video. You can see people kind of walking up the side of the stage and everything. I think that’s awesome. I would love that kind of experience. I really think that’s one of the great things about Max Creek in particular these days is that yes, they’re a great band of course, but you can get so close to them, you can really see what they’re doing. And so I don’t know about you, but that’s one of the things I loved about the show, the video, everything.
Korre: I think what we can do maybe is let’s walk through the setlist. I have a couple of notes on what I thought were some standout performances, but I don’t want to lose this thought cause you brought it up. Watching the video, there’s a guy who’s dancing on what would be our right side of the screen, especially during I Will Always See Your Face and that guy is my hero because that’s how I dance. He was dancing like nobody was watching and he is just amazing and I love everything about him.
Dave: It’s interesting to know that you dance like that, too, because as I think I mentioned the first time when I saw them in Lincoln Hill Farms my wife and I were dancing. I’ve never danced at a show for two hours like that ever in my life. And I had so much fun, so I can definitely relate to that guy. I’m not sure that I dance like that guy, but it was funny to watch
Korre: Maybe in the moment, right? All right, so the show starts out with Jones going into Feeling Alright and then I Want You to Know. So Jones is one of their big heavy-hitter jam songs, right?
Dave: Let me just say any show that starts out with Jones — I think for the show that I saw earlier this year, the second set started out with Jones. And I have to say I’m pretty much a second set kinda guy. But the first set, I was really impressed with, I think even more. Maybe it was because of the timing of the show or things like that. The show is a little bit later maybe than usual. But any show that starts out with Jones, you know you’re going to get a good show, right?
Korre: Yeah. I think what’s interesting about Max Creek, for me anyway, and I compare it a lot to listening to the Grateful Dead is Max Creek tends to have their first song be a big one. I’ll go back through and listen to shows and that first song. It’s like they’re pretty intentional about making it a big song. They jam it out. It’s not like a short three-minute or four-minute song. They delivered on this one for sure. It was, it was really cool.
Dave: And then Feeling Alright. Oh man, I love that. I love that song. And just to hear Mark go into it. Now when you’re watching the video, too — this was something I was watching — I watched the transition. Because with these jam bands, you want to see sort of how they’re looking at each other. The setlist probably is not predetermined. I wouldn’t imagine. I mean I’m sure they have some things that they do. They’ve been playing together for so long. I mean I think it’s going to be 50 years next year. Was that what we were saying before?
Korre: I think this might be their 48th year. So they’re coming up on 50.
Dave: So they’re coming up on it. What I’m looking for is how they’re signaling to each other. Is there a clue in there that you can see? And that’s one of the other reasons I like to watch jam bands is because I like to watch for those kinds of signals and clues. And with the full shot on the whole band, you can kind of see what John is doing, see what Bill is doing. And so I feel like Mark kind of led into Feeling Alright. Obviously that’s a song he probably likes to play a lot and I just love his version of that.
Korre: You’re right because when I listened to it, sometimes you can hear the notes of the next song just sort of teased at the interludes between two songs. You can hear it and then to see on the video, maybe just an eye contact between two people. Like they know when they’re going to go. It’s so cool.
Dave: They’ve had so many years of experience that it must be like a language, right? Music is a language. And so I’m watching for those kinds of subtle hints and maybe it’s not always as obvious maybe as we might think it is. I don’t necessarily hear a Feeling Alright tease or anything in Jones, but I feel like once Mark takes over on the keyboard, that’s his option to go into it. Right?
Korre: Yeah. So I mean, that’s obviously a cover song. So for those in the audience who might not be familiar with Max Creek, they’ve got something to latch on. They can really sing and dance along to that so that was good.
Dave: Isn’t that a jam band technique also? Maybe it’s a band technique too, where bands when they’re starting out, they will play a cover song or something so that if you get into some original material, you at least know a couple of songs in the show. That’s a technique really for bands. I mean I think that’s what Phish does all the time, too.
Korre: And so Feling All Right, of course I recognize it via Joe Cocker, but of course that was originally recorded by Traffic in 1968. Third song was I Want You To Know. John is like my favorite singer in the world. I don’t know why, but I could listen to him sing almost anything.
Dave: You know, he really gets the crowd going, right? That’s his job I think to get the crowd kind of up. It’s so fun to watch him during the show, too, kind of raise his hands and come down to talk to the crowd. You know, that’s what he does on the boat cruises it seems like. And for Lincoln Hill Farms, he’s doing the same thing. Right? It gets people singing along together and really gets the energy up. So that’s what I like about John. I think John is great.
Korre: The next couple of songs here we’ve got Thoughts and then it goes into Calling Elvis, which is a cover, and then I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight. So for Thoughts, that’s such a cool song for me. When I first heard that song, I really wasn’t even sure if that was an original Creek song because it has a more of a prog rock sort of feel to it. Of course, once I got more into Max Creek, I recognized that it was an original and I looked up its history. It’s been around for a while. And the one thing about that song is, I just wish they would jam it out because I think the song structure is there. There’s a really cool chord progression in there and I can see a direction it could go. But I look back and they’ve never really extended that song. And that song is usually always between like six and nine minutes. It’s a great song. I’ve just, you know.
Dave: Yeah. They never jam it out.
Korre: I just want them to jam it out more.
Dave: Well maybe they’ll be listening so they can hear what you saying.
Korre: And then Calling Elvis, which I had never ever heard of this song until I heard Max Creek cover it. Cool song.
Dave: It’s a great song.
Korre: Dire Straight song. And Mark does a great job on that tune. But then we get into I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, which is just an amazing cover that Bill does of this song from Bob Dylan.
Dave: It’s a Dylan tune. Yeah.
Korre: I’m pretty familiar with the John Wesley Harding album from Bob Dylan. It’s one I’ve listened to a number of times from back in my college days. Then I sort of like didn’t listen to it for like 10 or 15 years. And then rehearing this song via Max Creek and through Bill was just such a fresh way of interpreting the song.
Dave: Yeah, it’s so different. It’s funny when I was looking over the setlist, too, I listened to the original version because I haven’t listened to a lot of Dylan recently and it’s so different. You really get a different take on the song. So I really liked the version of for sure.
Korre: Yeah. And they seem to use that ending of the song, that playful interplay between Bill and Scott on the guitar. They have this like sort of dramatic ending to this to the song, which is really cool.
Dave: Absolutely. It’s funny how Scott is looking back to Bill. Sometimes there’s private jokes happening of course. All the time, because they do these songs so many times. Bill, I feel like is an amazing drummer, right? I don’t know how to pronounce his name is Jamemurrell Stanley?
Korre: I think so. I’m pretty sure we’re allowed to just say Jay?
Dave: Okay. Jay okay. Jay is great too. I mean those guys are having so much fun back there. And even at the Lincoln Hill Farms show that I saw earlier in the year, the drum solos and the interplay there, it’s just great. So I feel like those two guys in particular are just such a great addition to the band.
Korre: I recently looked up Jay online to understand what his background is. And I came across his Bandcamp page and I downloaded an album that he released in 2014 that had a number of tracks on it that were for the most part, drums-centered songs with some other instruments on there. But it’s primarily drum songs. And on it was Down in the Jungle, which is basically the song that he performed with Max Creek, which is Into the Ocean. So that version on his CD or album in 2014, didn’t have any lyrics on it, but you could hear it. It’s all there. Maybe I’ll put a link in the show notes for those listening if they want to check it out. It’s really cool.
Dave: Yeah, absolutely. And of course that’s in the second set. Right?
Korre: That comes up later. But I also learned in looking at his Bandcamp that I think he and Bill had been working together and playing together on some bands and doing some music together. So I think they came to Max Creek sort of as a pair.
Dave: Yeah. Have you heard, too, that Bill is in another band called Z3 where they’re doing Zappa covers? Have you seen that?
Korre: Yes. I’m aware of it. I’ll say that my Frank Zappa knowledge is pretty minimal. It’s a place I think I want to explore for sure.
Dave: Yeah, I can tell you that I have most of Zappa’s catalog surprisingly enough. Years ago I had a really good friend when I lived in California and we went through all of Zappa’s catalog because when I was in high school and college I really thought Frank Zappa was mostly known for things like Valley Girl and that was it. That was my only exposure to Frank Zappa. When I went through his entire catalog and it’s a tough catalog to get through, I realized what an amazing genius he is, and a composer.
A lot of his stuff is controversial, of course, and there’s lots of different things in there. But when you listen to his whole body of work, and we probably went through I want to say hundreds of CDs and I have a lot of these in the back. They’re actually in the back. I know I’m pointing in this is a podcast, but you could see it, right? I have a lot of his CDs and I have a lot of respect for him as a musician. Of course he was an inspiration for obviously Bill, but also Phish, too.
Korre: And so Frank Zappa to me it’s like almost intimidating. I don’t know where to start. He is such a big figure and like you said, he is considered a genius in the space.
Dave: What I would do is, and for any of your listeners, I would start at the beginning. Because a lot of his beginning is with 50s music. It comes out of 50s music. So you hear these things in the beginning of his career that have a lot to do with that. So anyway, Z3 is another project. I suppose Bill will be happy that we mentioned that.
Korre: Yes. All right. So the seventh song coming up here is, I Will Always See Your Face and this is one of my favorite Max Creek songs. I say that a lot, but it really is. I think the song is almost addictive in a way. It’s one of these songs that once I get in my head, it’s in my head forever, like the entire day. And they really bust this one out. They really lay it all out there. They jam on it. It’s just an incredible version of the song.
Dave: Yeah. Is that the last song on the set?
Korre: No, there is one more. They end the set with Something is Forming.
Dave: Oh that’s right. Something if Forming. Which is also great. That’s also a great jam song to end with.
Korre: And they jam that one out over 15 minutes long, as well. So they really put a lot out there in that first set. I’m really impressed with what’s here. You know for me, I think the highlight of the first set is I Will Always See Your Face just because it’s a favorite of mine, but there is just a number of songs here that they really extend out with some jams. It’s so cool to see it on video, to see how intimate that crowd is, how close they are and how much fun they were having really.
Dave: And for me, my favorite is really Jones into Feeling Alright. That’s really my favorite I think of the set. And as I was looking over the set today, too, as I mentioned, I think I liked the first set better than the second set. But then as I looked at the songs and the second set, this happens a lot with shows, as you might imagine, because you go, “Oh, this is a really good” and then when you listen to it again, you say, “Oh no, I really liked this better”, you know? But this is exactly why you listen to these types of bands because they give you different perspectives, different days, different moods you’re in, things like that. So that was very cool first set.
Korre: So the first couple of songs and set two, we got Emerald Eyes, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) I believe it’s how you’re supposed to pronounce that and Six Days on the Road. So Emerald Eyes, what do you think of that song?
Dave: Well, I have to say Emerald Eyes is one of my favorite Max Creek songs. And it was in that one in Lincoln Hill Farms as well. I just liked that. Now in this particular one, I mean in the one Lincoln Hill Farms, Scott did a lot of talking over the chord progression in the beginning. This one though I think is great, also. It’s a beautiful song. I love the chord progression in it. This is one of the ones that get stuck in my head a lot. So I loved it that they started the second set with it. And because they started the first set with Jones and the second set with Emerald Eyes, this is the reason I was thinking of this show because it’s one of my favorites.
Korre: And this song here, it’s over 20 minutes long. What’s interesting, there’s a part in this song about 17 minutes and 45 seconds in where I feel like everything gets almost a slowed down and there’s like this playful interplay between John, Mark and Scott and you could tell they were just in the moment and they weren’t really sure what direction they were going, and like almost came to a stop. They looked at each other, they kind of played off of some notes a little while. Then they all came back together and they close off the song for a few more minutes. It was just really cool to watch and to listen to.
Dave: Yeah. You know, I got to say to that that’s the moments, at least from listening to Phish and listening to Max Creek and other bands, too. That’s the moment that these jam bands are looking for, right? They’re looking for that moment where they don’t know what’s going to happen next. That’s the moment of risk. Right? So I feel like that’s what these guys are looking for and when they find it, it’s a great thing. And Mike Gordon talks about this, too.
The fact that they’re looking for this idea, when they go on stage, they just want to forget. All these, all these years of practicing and things like that, they want to be as quiet as they can and just see what happens. And so, I like seeing that too. I mean, I like seeing the things, too, where there was one point I think where Scott kind of leans on John for a minute. You know, you can really tell these guys are really good friends and they really have a great time together. So, you know, that’s the stuff I love to see.
Korre: Yeah. And so that song just blends right into the next one. Thank you. Sly and the Family Stone. I don’t have much history with Sly and the Family Stone. I’m aware of them. I have some idea of the type of music they play and a handful of songs. So it’s, it’s cool for me to get to know some of their music a little more through Max Creek.
Dave: Yeah. I know their catalog a little bit. This isn’t one of my favorite songs of theirs, but I do like the band and I can see the funk roots are there, which is one of the reasons I like Max Creek, too.
Korre: It’s just one more example of the scope of music and genres of music that you can pick up in a Max Creek show, right?
Dave: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
Korre: Speaking of that, that transitions right into Six Days on the Road. So that is a cover song that was originally written by Earl Green and Carl Montgomery. It was famous back in 1963 in the country music charts. So there you go.
Dave: You wonder sometimes how they pick up some of these songs, too, right?
Korre: So coming up next is Into the Ocean. We talked a little bit about that song earlier. So, Jay delivers a great version of the song.
Dave: Now, he was playing an instrument. I was trying to figure out what the instrument was. It was almost like a mini autoharp or something. But it’s probably not that. It’s a rhythm instrument of some kind. But I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Korre: Yeah, he walked up to the front of the stage and he was holding a box in his hand. I tried to figure that out, too.
Dave: I couldn’t figure out what it was. So, Jay, if you’re listening, let us know what that is, because we want to know.
Korre: Right. So then, we come up to their next song, which is Cruel World. This is one of those songs that they really, really deliver on. It seems like every time I hear this song, it takes a lot of different paths and it just opens up some really cool space for this band to jam on.
Dave: Yeah, I love Cruel World. I think it’s a great song. I think they really do a great job with that. So that’s one of my favorites of the second set. Absolutely.
Korre: Yeah. I don’t know if you heard this, I don’t have a deep history in jazz music, but I think Mark had been repeating this like little Gershwin line throughout the show. And it comes up in this song, as well. I think it might be from Summertime. I’m not really sure, but it’s really cool to hear some little like underlying themes that the different band members put in throughout the show. And it appears here as well.
Dave: Yeah, well a Phish does that as well, too. I mean at the beginning of Bathtub Gin. Phish will do that also.
Korre: Yeah, this Cruel World is a huge, huge song in this set and then it goes into a Turn On Your Love Light, which I think was a great transition off of there. Sometimes I like to look at these songs and overthink what they mean. Because we have this Cruel World, like just the name of the song I think to me says something. But then we go on to Turn On Your Love Light. It’s almost like this, yin and yang or this push pull, this like tension and release between these two songs next to each other, which is really cool. So I enjoy Turn On Your Love Light, as well. All right. And then after that we go into Let Me Down Again. So Scott sings a great version of that and that closes the second set.
Dave: Yeah. And they really jammed that one out as well. Right? I mean that one, I felt like I really enjoyed the jam on that song. I feel like Scott on that particular one, took it to the peak a couple of times in the song. Right? I mean he’s just an amazing guitar player. So anyway, I love that version also.
Korre: Yeah. And then they come back from the encore and they play Henry, which is a cover of a song by the New Riders of the Purple Sage. I think that band had played it or recorded it back in 1971 and that was paired up with Max Creek’s Back Porch Boogie. It was actually on their first album, their self titled album from 1977 I think they pair those songs up quite a bit.
Dave: Yeah, pretty close. And that was the encore in the earlier show that I saw, too. So, which was interesting for me.
Korre: For me, the second set highlight definitely is Cruel World and maybe that was your’s, too?
Dave: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I really enjoyed it. You know, the one thing I was going to mention, too, as I was making some notes for the show is that, one of the things I look at is Scott’s guitar rig. I’m a guitar player, too, so I like to look at his guitar rig. I noticed that, and maybe this was recent or maybe you know the answer to this, but he used to play an Ibanez. So if you look at some of the Gathering the Vibes videos on YouTube, for example, he’s playing the Ibanez and then he’s switched to this Gibson SG. It sounds great. It sounds great live and everything like that. I don’t know why, maybe it’s lighter or something? It seems like the Ibanez is a lot heavier. Maybe you know the reason for the switch.
Korre: I don’t. What I’m going to ask is my podcast listeners, right now, to send me an email and go to hookedoncreek.com click the contact link and let me know if you know the rationale behind that.
Dave: I mean, I’m assuming he has the Ibanez still because that’s the guitar that he’s played for so many years. But then I was even surprised earlier this year to see the Gibson on stage. I mean it sounds great. It sounds like he’s got all the things he needs to do, but I’m particularly looking at the pedals that he has on the floor and things like that. The other thing I wanted to say about this show, if I were to pick an MVP for the show, I would say that it would be Mark. I’m used to picking Scott probably as an MVP for a show, but I feel like Mark was just amazing. And maybe it was just because of the video and the angle that I can see his keyboards. I wasn’t able to see the keyboards as much when I was at the Lincoln Hill Farms show obviously because I was below the stage.
Korre: Yeah, there’s that vertical, sort of looking down, and you can really get a sense of just the mastery of that keyboard he has. And just speaking of Mark when I was watching the video it is interesting to watch him play. So his hands are just doing some crazy stuff on the keyboard. But he’s like staring either right at John or right at Scott to get a sense of where their hands are going to get a really good feeling of how this jam is going to evolve and that is just so cool to watch.
Dave: Yeah. And you get the sense that it’s kind of a game. It’s kind of a game between the three of them. They played it for so many years. They need to find new things so that they don’t get bored. Because they don’t want to get bored because then the audience maybe will be bored. They need to bring some spark to it all the time. So I feel like that type of risk is the way they do it or it’s one of the ways they do it. They just don’t know what’s going to happen next. And that’s the fun, right? That’s the fun of it. So anyway, I thought he was great. I feel like Mark, it seems like he’s the most approachable when you go to a show, like at Lincoln Hill Farms, he was the one that people were coming up to him saying things to him. You can see at this particular show, two people come to the side of the stage and they’re saying hello to him. They’re almost reaching into the stage, which I thought, “I hope those guys are okay with that,” as I was watching it.
Korre: I thought the crowd was almost uncomfortably close. But I think that made for a good show for them.
Dave: But I guess they’re used to it. Are you going to get to a Camp Creek at some point? I’ve been thinking about that.
Korre: I am in the process of lobbying with my wife and family for that opportunity. There will be a time when I get out to the east coast to see a show and I don’t know when it’s going to be, but it’s in my future. It has to be.
Dave: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I keep talking to my wife about it, too. We’re not really sure. We don’t get into camping that much and so I’m not sure how that would go. And like I said, I think a camp kind of show it might be interesting to go to, so we’ll see what happens.
Korre: Dave, thank you so much. I really appreciate your insight. You’re always welcome to come on the show anytime you want. I really appreciate your time.
Dave: Well, thanks Korre. I absolutely love talking about Max Creek with you and anytime you want to have me back, I’m happy to be here. I’m so happy there’s a podcast like this because I think you have a very unique show here and I don’t think there’s any other shows about Max Creek, so I love it because I’m a big fan of the band.
Korre: That’s right. I’ve cornered the market on Max Creek podcasts.
Dave: Absolutely.
Korre: All right, Dave. Well, thank you for your time today. I really appreciate all your insight on Max Creek and I look forward to talking to you again real soon.
Dave: Yeah, Korre. Thanks so much.
That was a lot of fun, but now let’s listen to a couple tunes from that amazing show. During the introduction to this episode, you got a taste of Jones. Now, I am going to play I Will Always See Your Face and that will be followed by Cruel World.
This is Max Creek live on October 25, 2019, at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.
And this is Max Creek performing Cruel World.
And that concludes episode 13 of Hooked on Creek. Don’t forget, if you look in the show notes you will find a link to stream or download Max Creek’s entire performance on October 25, 2019. And I would love to know if you also attended one of Trey’s acoustic shows or if you were at the Max Creek show back on October 25. If so, visit hookedoncreek.com and click the contact link to send me a message. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for tuning in.