Last week, The Flying Pie gave readers a feeling of what it was like to be in the audience at the Subterranean Circus Grand Reunion. This week, we throw the microphone to the people on stage who stood tall, played their hearts out and propelled the day to Gloryland.
Mike Boulware
Folks, as it happens, you CAN go home again. It just takes a lotta help from your friends. Upon being asked to share, I have a few thoughts regarding the recent happening to be known forever as the First Last Tango in Gainesville.
The production people at Heartwood nailed it and the executive branch was stellar---thanks Bill, Jeff, Dave and Hoch. The musicians were dear friends and bandmates, some going back to the years when the words Subterranean and Circus had just met. And the crowd? Well, that brings me to the heart, the core, the soul of why you CAN return to the times when things mattered, differences were a cause to celebrate and we trusted each other. Yeah, yeah, I know---pass out the sheet music for Kumbaya. But here’s the deal: sometimes, when dedicated people work really hard for a goal, they have a shot at reaching it. THAT spirit to me is what I felt at the Tango---very similar to the feel of the Mudcrutch Farm shows, Deserah, the Halloween Balls, any of the great shows at the Florida Theater, the Florida Gym or the Suburbia.
You all remember the venues. There was something in the air at all those places. It was Hope. Hope that our frail little species can continue to skate over the thin ice of this resilient planet. Hope that we can feed our kids and put them to bed in a safe place. It’s the same Hope all other humans want, the feeling of community, of belonging, of being part of something beyond our own lives. And that’s what I felt, saw and heard at the Tango. I’m grateful to be part of a place where feeling is valued…my home, Gainesville, Florida!
The moments that stand out besides the joy of playing all those Fab songs with a live string section; when I stomped on the beginning of Nancy’s solo in The Big Jam, she was so cool. She came over to me and made it appear as if I’d done her a favor; seeing Gold and Mold onstage together as played by Charlie Hargrett and Brad Burns---the Master and the Grasshopper, but equals now---teaching us all about music, interplay and acceptance. Gmac is always great, Tom Holtz burns, I love Anna, and Chelsea slaughtered me. Paco is a chameleon, nimbly changing as needed, the Relics are relished and HUGE props to Pat Jarnagin and Joe Loper, who filled in for folks recently ill. My bandmates in Impostors and DDBand know how loved they are. They, like me, are grateful to still be here to imbibe with everyone. It was sweet to see so many instruments on stage that I was a conduit for---that is my true calling.
Final thoughts? No matter who picks up the torch, someone must and will continue to shine what light we can, where we can. But for this First Last Tango, I can’t imagine a better cast of characters than the people who brought the Revolution to Gainesville back in the 60s. (P.S.---a huge shoutout to my brother Danny Roberts, who did and always does his part.)
Love you all!
Ron Thomas
The Impostors got the privilege of kicking off the Subterranean Circus Grand Reunion a little after noon. People were still coming in, but due to the sunny day and growing heat, many of them were sensibly off to the side in the shade. We had just finished a sound check, which included our spiffy four-person string section, during which we found something interesting. It seems there was a huge subwoofer speaker under the stage right where the string section was sitting and every time I hit a bass note it resonated through them like the Trump of Doom (not to be confused with that other one). While I was not convinced this was a bad thing, the refined ears of the strings won out and we were able to get things corrected before we started.
We ran through our repertoire of Beatles songs, even adding a couple we hadn’t played before (Day Tripper and Yellow Submarine). But we ended our first set with a non-Beatle tune that was very appropriate for the occasion---My Back Pages (I Was So Much Older Then…). The band was excited to be there and as more and more people arrived the whole scene took on a festive air that never ended. Everybody in the band hit their peak during the second set when we finally got to incorporate the strings on Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday and Strawberry Fields.
We have been fortunate enough to play with live strings several times, and let me tell you---as good as Brad is at recreating horn and string parts, there is no better feeling than playing live with the real thing. My personal favorite was Strawberry Fields with Rob’s stellar Ringo drumming, Brad’s ethereal keyboards, Don’s sublime lead vocal with Mike and Michael’s great harmonies along with the strings. I even listened to Paul’s bass part again as we were rehearsing and found some subtle gems of his to add to my version.
Oh, and one last note. Thank you to everyone who said they liked my Sgt. Pepper outfit. There aren’t many occasions when I can wear it but this was certainly one of them. We’re all still feeling a rush from playing at The Last Tango. From our beginnings, the rest of the bands just kept taking it higher and higher.
Cathy DeWitt
Walking onto the field at Heartwood on a bright, breezy day to the first notes of the Impostors’ opening song, I Want to Hold Your Hand, I knew it was going to be a great day. That band consists of some of my nearest and dearest, including my husband, Rob Rothschild and my ex, Mike Boulware. They looked so great on the beautifully decorated stage, as did Ron Thomas in his colorful Sgt. Pepper’s outfit.
As I started scanning the field, a petite woman came walking toward me with arms outstretched, a wide grin, and tears on her face. “Ginnie!” I exclaimed, holding out my own arms to receive the longest, closest hug I’ve had in many years. I hadn’t seen Ginnie since she moved to Tampa shortly after delivering my son, Jackson, via C-section at Shands Hospital over 40 years ago. Ginnie later married the doctor she met while they were both involved in my childbirth.
Ginnie and I did some reminiscing, along with many other surprise friends who showed up. Then it was my turn to hit the stage with The Relics. Playing with this group is always a joy, as it’s another chance to make music with some of my oldest and dearest friends, which included Rob and his best pal David Ottenberg, and my girlfriend who introduced us, Janet Rucker. Also Bob McPeek, who I first met when he came to town to open Hyde & Zeke record store with his partner Ric. Along with the Subterranean Circus, Hyde & Zeke was my neighbor across University Avenue, where I worked at Strictly Folk music store. I got to see Bob create Mirror Image recording studio, which begat Heartwood Soundstage.
So, making music onstage with this group was a treasured gift. Looking out and seeing so many friends---especially after being basically unable to get together with anyone for two long years---made for a truly magical moment in my life. People really came to life as we performed Bill’s request, Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In, dancing and singing along. And I loved closing with David’s magnificent rendition of the Joe Cocker version of I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends. Looking around at these folks I’ve been playing music with for 30 years while bringing joy to our friends watching and grooving was the ultimate treat and I am eternally grateful for the day. (It was also an honor having Nancy Luca play an original song of mine written with a songwriting class and being invited onstage to sing it with her.) Some days really are diamonds.
Nancy Luca
On Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Gainesville, Florida, I took to The Last Tango stage with my bandmates. We hadn’t seen one another or played together since January 28, 2020 when we played a mushroom festival in Palatka produced by Pat High. I was nervous because of Covid Saturday and excited because I started seeing faces from my past growing up in Gainesville.
I started playing with Gregg McMillan in 1974, when my Dad dropped me off at Tim Henry’s house to jam. We were taking guitar lessons from Mike Campbell of Mudcrutch. He was teaching to raise money for Mudcrutch to move to Los Angeles later in 1974. Now, Gregg is beside me on stage wailing on the Johnny Winter version of Jumpin’ Jack Flash we played when we were in high school. We were cranking it out for our Gainesville Green tribe!!!!
I started playing with my drummer, Larry Thompson, when I was 19 years old. My bass player, Joe Loper, was in my third grade class. Joe made the guitar I was playing. I met Anna Marie in 1984 and we have been best friends ever since. She moved with me to Los Angeles in 1990 to seek fame and fortune. I didn’t even know she could sing until 20 years ago. She has been singing with me in Florida ever since.
This band is a well-oiled machine from my many trips back “home” to play with them. We all share the memories of such gatherings as the Halloween Balls we attended from 1973 to the end. These are Gainesville memories that have added so much love and our sense of belonging to the UF campus.
So now, to be on stage with them again and playing outdoors like at the Halloween Balls was great fun. Peace, Love and Music. Our roots! We added Tom Holtz on guitar for this show. The other bands here all featured long-time friends of mine. It was such a gift to be in the presence of my guitar heroes from Gainesville.
I started shopping at the Subterranean Circus when I was twelve years old, but don’t tell anybody. I felt like it was more of a clubhouse for hippies, which I considered myself to be. It made our town cool! I am grateful to have been included in The Last Tango and I am excited to keep this energy moving by coming back to Heartwood in the Fall and inviting all my friends to share the love again. Of all the places around the world I have performed, it is always the best for me to play in Gainesville with my friends. I play better there than anywhere thanks to the energy of my hometown peeps. Thank you so much, Bill, for having my band play.
It was great to Get Back!
I stood on the stage singing Strawberry Fields Forever with a string section beside me and the perfect Spring sky above. A woman twirled in circles in front of a flowered wall. Friends sat in chairs or strolled about the lawn. Old friends with young hearts and knowing eyes. Another band took the stage and treasured songs spilled forth and brought the dancers to their feet. Joy was rekindled. Youth felt a little closer than it had just a minute ago. A beer was procured to toast the occasion. The occasion was The Last Tango In Gainesville, a celebration marking the 55th anniversary of the opening of the Subterranean Circus, a shop for the discerning delinquents of the time.
Time keeps on slipping, slipping slipping into the future. And here we all were again, in the future. With the music and the vibration of the past centering us.. Giving us, as it always had a playful backdrop for the serious business of having a good time, and a good time was had by all.
Girls, now women, still smarter than the boys. Boys, now men, glad they met smart women. Together again for one purpose---to revel in our commonality and shared good fortune. Night fell and as we walked back to our car, for a moment she was 21 again. In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
Paco Paco
Kaleidoscope Ayes
I realize in retrospect why The Last Tango was designated as a “grand” Reunion. Much like the psychedelic headspace the store celebrated, there are so many doors and so many layers to unpack. A kaleidoscope of reunions within the greater view.
Beside all the social and professional connections rekindled among people directly connected to the store, there were reunions of all sorts going on among the musicians present. Seeing players with that spark in their performances that only comes with the joy of reuniting with fellow artists gave me a glow that no money can buy. Being immersed in that same nostalgic energy with my bandmates during our set was something to savor. The lineup on stage represented multiple generations of another Gainesville phenomenon known as the Monday Night Jam.
When I first came to town, Charlie Hargrett was with the host band and all of us were regulars. Pat hosted the jam for many years. Brad, Joe and I spent periods of years hosting with him. Chelsea was also a regular during those years. Folks who were a part of that scene will understand when I say that it was one of the most special scenes I’ve ever been around. Both the musicianship and the camaraderie were otherworldly. I will always attribute the best of my growth as a player and a person to that environment, and to have a moment onstage to revisit that was priceless to me.
Then there was the audience. The energy of an audience makes or breaks the show. An audience that projects love and enthusiasm can carry an artist through any adversity. In 40 years of playing every type of gig imaginable I have seen some amazing audiences. Nothing compares to what I experienced at The Last Tango. The love, positivity and joy in that space at that time was palpable. Truth be told, I was dealing with adversity in the form of a migraine that had me gobsmacked. The love and joy in that scene lifted me up and carried me where nothing else could have. It’s really that simple. This to me is the definition and personification of a good time. Good friends celebrating each other’s company and giving themselves over to that vortex of reciprocal energy we call live music.
One of the wisest humans who ever lived once said in a historically respected book that there is nothing better for man than to gaze in retrospect at the good results of one’s hard work. Let us, every one of us, raise a glass to one another in a toast. We did some damn fine work that day. CHEERS!
Will Thacker
I was delighted when Bill Killeen invited me to contribute to his Flying Pie blog this week. It was finally my chance to speak my piece….of the Pie, that is.
It’s Saturday, May 7, 2022. The scattered tribes of Hogtown are reassembled on the green of Heartwood Soundstage to revel in one another’s company, and---with the help of five live bands---to rock yet again.
Over the past 18 months, I had watched the dream of my friend Bill Killeen coalesce from an ephemeral idea into a reality. And now the time for the Subterranean Circus Grand Reunion was at hand. Bill and producer Jeff Goldstein had lined up the finest talent available to bring off this stellar event. Heartwood Soundstage owners Dave Melosh and Hoch Shitama and their production staff were in place. The outlying tents stood ready and even the promised ice cream truck was there. The waiting was over.
I heard a voice, then realized it was my own. I had written more than one ad lib but used none. I talked with my brothers and sisters as though once again on the flight deck of WGVL-FM, the Quadship, as we flew somewhere above the clouds over Gainesville. Or on the stage of the Great Southern Music Hall. Or at any one of the many venues of Jeff Goldstein’s Rose Community Center productions on campus.
From across the Prairie rife with mushrooms, from the fields of green, the minstrels had come to reprise the music that had nourished us in the tradition of Stephen Stills, Ron Blair, Benmont Tench, Don Felder and Bernie Leadon. They had come to grace this gathering with home-grown vibes. It was pure love with a sound track.
Some members of the family, alas, had been called to leave before us. I believe I saw the shadows of their wings above us. We were born to a generation that changed the world. I celebrated life again with you as we danced and let our freak flags fly. So thanks for everything, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for listening during my radio days. Thanks for returning for this one Last Tango. And thanks for deigning to wear some flowers in your hair. Montana signing off from the Quadship with peace and love. Over and out. Well, not quite….
Tom Shed
The Subterranean Circus gathering created a magical day. Bill guided all involved to make it a day to remember as we recalled days gone by. Jeff was brilliant and Heartwood was perfect. The magic conjured up memories of Gainesville when kids were given freedom to explore the world of another reality. Gatherings in the early ‘70s brought together young people looking for an alternate universe where their ideals triumphed over the bad news of the day. We were all supporting one another and hoping for the best while trying to avoid getting killed or caught.
A familiar song would start up and a memory would trigger. Almost every time, it included someone now gone from my life forever, leaving me to wonder how life had gone for them. A memory so distant it felt imagined. Looking from the stage during the finale, I recalled the hundreds of events I had seen from a stage in Gainesville. Working SGP, Reitz Union, the Ocala Fronton, Halloween Ball and the Great Southern Music Hall in the early ‘70s, playing guitar at all the acoustic events in town, DJing at WGVL, I was a part of what happened. Gainesville gave me the chance to become something I wanted to be.
My job Saturday was to handle the finale. Bill wanted Auld Lang Syne to sum up the day. Once I started, I realized it was more powerful than I had considered. The faces looking back and singing with me knew we had all been changed by Gainesville in our youth. We were the fortunate ones who experienced something at the right time, right place. The Last Tango gave us a chance to look back and realize what a great ride it has been. Thanks, Bill. All the best.
Bill Killeen
The Last Tango was a smash. The Impostors set the mood, settled everybody down and rang the gong. The addition of the strings was a coup. The band was our choice to open from day one of the concept and they were never better. Cathy DeWitt and The Relics jumped into the breach when we had to make a couple of changes. Without them, I’d have had no Age of Aquarius, an obvious calamity. They were in high gear by set’s end and had the audience on its feet. Nancy Luca, never the local, always the express, killed it with a little help from her friends. Anna Marie Kirkpatrick is a big talent and a trouper. The Don David Band, aka The Murder Hornets, showed everyone why they played weekly for 18 years at Sandy’s eating and drinking emporium. Paco and his new do lit up the stage for the finale and brought out the formidable Chelsea Nicole to wake up the neighborhood. Wonders all.
Finally, we have Tom Shed. Tom is a bright and talented man but when we asked him to sing Auld Land Syne he looked at us quizzically. He didn’t understand. Probably he thought others were better suited to the task. For once, he was wrong. George M. Cohan once advised performers to “always leave ‘em laughing,”…the audience, that is. But at the end of a poignant, perhaps final reunion, my advice would have been to always leave them crying.
The moment called for a lone cowboy to mosey out with his guitar and slowly wail the paean to old friends and memories. Tom Shed did that perfectly in precisely the voice and manner that it needed to be done. By song’s end, the people around me were mostly standing, teary eyed and emotional, some rooted to the ground, reflective and sated by the experience. And so was I. Because at the end of the day, brothers and sisters, all of us are that lone cowboy.
That’s all, folks….
