Grant Lee Phillips Live At The CSPS Hall

Photo by Charles Raianerastha Black

Grant Lee Phillips
Live at the CSPS Hall, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Wednesday, May 16, 2013

A famous man once said, “You can tell a lot about a man by the shoes he wears.” The man who made that quote, the late Buster Brown, could probably tell by Grant Lee Phillips’ footwear that the man had traveled some miles in them.

He had a pair of well-worn boots, the kind that you’d expect from a journeymen-even ones like Mr. Phillips, an artist so good that you’d like him to be popular enough to make him just a bit more than a journeyman. This man deserves a new pair of boots, goddamn it, so make a point to show up as his gig the next time he’s in town.

It’s a pleasure.

Trust me. Grant Lee Phillips possesses the kind of talent that he’ll captivate you with only a song and an acoustic guitar. The dude’s aged wonderfully, and it isn’t until you’re right up on Grant Lee before you notice the day-old stubble’s a bit gray. It adds character, you see, but that childish twinkle in the corner of his eye is still there as is an infectious smile and an amiable personality.

I’m speaking from the perspective of the obligatory “meet and greet” after Wednesday night’s solo performance by Mr. Phillips’ at the C.S.P.S.Hall in the Bohemian District of Cedar Rapids. Grant Lee exchanged small talk with a few lingering fans after his performance, signing autographs and mentioning Iowa’s natural beauty as a means to dodge questions like “Why has it been nearly 20 years since Grant Lee Phillips’ last visit to the Hawkeye state.”

It worked, and the 80 minute long set certainly captured the hearts of the three dozen attendees who braved a beautiful spring evening to spend it with Mr. Phillips.

For the last visit, it was under the Grant Lee Buffalo moniker, and the gig was an opening slot for early supporters R.E.M.

The show on Wednesday night was an open night stop to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in support of a fan-funded release, Walking In The Green Corn. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the title track for that release made its way into Grant Lee’s solo set that evening.

But even though most in attendance would only recognize the songs made during Grant Lee Buffalo brief flirtation with commercial notoriety, Mr. Phillips has the kind of creativity to ensure that you will always find a memorable song or two from his newer repertoire.

For one fan, it would be an infamous cover that he shouted at Grant Lee when he asked the audience during the encore. Hell, there were only 36 people-so it was understandably more of a living room vibe, which made the evening all the better.

The cover was “Age Of Consent,” and when Grant Lee protested that he didn’t even remember how to play the tune, the audience member shouted out instructions.

“Capo on 4!” yelled the man.

“What?” Grant Lee replied, explaining earlier that his hearing was shot after spending his entire life in front of a drummer.

Some people near the front translated the chord progressions, and Grant Lee obediently reached into his coat pocket for a capo. “Fourth fret?” he re-affirmed with the fan, and then he began considering the notes of the song’s chorus, tentatively singing “And you’re not the kind that needs to tell me/about the birds and bees.”

After one quick verse, Grant Lee acknowledged that it sounded an awful like one of his songs, and as if to prove the point, he suddenly reprised a quick verse of his “Walking In The Green Corn.”

He joked that all of his songs are just New Order knock-offs, and we all laughed because we knew it wasn’t true. Grant Lee Phillips was responsible for some of the most challenging music moments of the 90’s, and his talents continue unabated to this day.

A quick refresher is in order, and the intimacy of these solo offerings only amplify the emotional heaviness that seems to linger after the obligatory Mighty Joe Moon material and the lone Copperopolis track for the evening.

You won’t notice and won’t mind the unfamiliar songs. At all. They flow seamlessly in and out of the set and resonate just as deep as the more familiar tunes.

As I purchased Walking In The Green Corn after the show, I wanted my financial contribution to affirm the quality of Grant Lee’s newest works. But then I noticed his boots.

It was then that I hoped that the money I forked over for a cd would help contribute in some way, to some new footwear. A pair that is less about making sure Grant Lee Phillips arrives at his next destination in style, but rather to make sure that he stays committed to remain on this road for the long haul. 

Grant Lee Buffalo - Mighty Joe Moon

Smack dab in the middle of the grunge revolution came a trio from Los Angeles playing banjos and fiddling with stand up pianos, creating a very early entry in the emerging Americana market. Their sound possessed about as much dust and history as the band’s frontman would hint at in his name alone, Grant Lee Phillips.

The words that Phillips conjured also suggested an old-west motif, but the opening track to the band’s second release, Mighty Joe Moon, also demonstrated that he also studied the (then) news of the day, incorporating their narrative in the band’s pretend historical documentary.

“Lone Star Song” may resemble the big state’s penchant for self-gratification, but that’s in name alone. The real tale is a hot-off-the-presses account of the Waco Siege, in which we witnessed the worst of government fuckery, where the outcome played out like a national embarrassment each night on television. It's safe to say that neither side could claim much in terms of a victory, or as Phillips suggested,“Pray the holy wars are ending/Like the films of Hollywood."

Whether recounting ancient or recent history, Grant Lee Buffalo-the band-sounded unlike anything else during the 90’s, and unfortunately they remain lost in that decade’s pile of forgotten classics. With that in mind, Mighty Joe Moon remains that forgotten piece of archeology that begs for both rediscovery and the respect of those who now find bigger wallets from simply acclimating the same sounds and styles that GLB did before them to more “exclusive” crowds.

Not that Mighty Joe Moon didn’t have a chance to turn a few heads twenty years ago; “Mockingbirds” found some lunar rotation on MTV at one point, never mind that the strategically placed strings and Phillips’ haunting falsetto definitely should have seen the light of day for a bigger audience.

In fact, Mighty Joe Moon finds a home perfectly suited for both the most discriminating pop elitist and the campfires of Spahn Ranch. At one point mysterious and strange, Mighty Joe Moon drifts languidly into memorable hooks that even twenty years after the fact sound surreal, novel, and vital.

Grant Lee Buffalo did manage to find increasing rewards for every subsequent record they released after Mighty Joe Moon, but the sales failed to be the large return on investment that Warner Brothers were looking for, and at the end of their contract with the label, the band decided to dissolve along with the legal document.

Ultimately, the only problem with Grant Lee Buffalo was their reluctance to compromise their integrity for the benefit of their major label owners. But that makes it only a “problem” for the record company who has hard time understanding that some bands don’t work well within a creative microwave.

Mighty Joe Moon possesses tons of hooks within its gramophone jive and sepia-hued jackets. They take their own sweet time in rising, but their lingering melodies are undeniable. It’s a timeless record that goes by surprisingly fast for thirteen tracks, but their impact is something not easily forgotten.

And if you can’t find a way to market something with this kind of lasting impression, then maybe the problem is with you.