Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Spin Pavement 'Reunion' at The 5 Spot 2/21/09
Posted by The Spin on Sun, Feb 22, 2009 at 5:03 PM
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It was obvious by the number of text messages, calls and emails received by The Spin throughout the day Saturday that the secret of a potential Pavement reunion show going down at The 5 Spot was out. The long-defunct band's percussionist and mascot Bob Nastanovich was married in Nashville and a wedding party--open to the public and billed on The 5 Spot's MySpace page as "Secret Show"--was scheduled at the East Nashville haunt. With four of five Pavement band members (all but Scott Kannberg) expected to be attending, speculation inevitably turned to the possibility of an unrehearsed impromptu reunion.
As early as 8:30, Nashville's scenesters began pouring into the club, giving Stop Gap what must have been one of their largest crowds in recent memory. As a feeling of collective suspense grew more and more palpable, it became increasingly apparent that the expectation of an honest-to-God Pavement reunion was quickly blowin' way out of proportion, as the room was abuzz with talk of a "great show with historic importance." We weren't so sure. The show did turn out to be great, just not quite in the way we had hoped.
For two hours, we waited in anticipation as the size of the crowd metastasized well beyond capacity, much to the chagrin of the arriving wedding guests. As the unwieldy crowd smashed us against someone in a tuxedo, we explained that word had reached the street about a possible Pavement reunion. "Well, they're in the building," the bemused reveler said. Silver Jew David Berman was among those who took a bewildered look at the seething masses and thought better of it, cutting out early.
A little after 11 p.m., the party finally got started with the house band of the evening Tim, Chad and Sherry. The band--featuring Silver Jews alumni William Tyler and Brian Kotzur--entertained all 250 or so of us with badass renditions of wedding staples like "Proud Mary," "Bennie and the Jets" and a rendition of "What a Fool Believes" that we couldn't help think was directed at all of us gawkers who were clogging up the place. As we watched Bob Nastanovich dance with his new bride to a second consecutive performance of "Soft Country" a sense of guilt--telling us that this wasn't our party--began to wash over us. We were committing a flagrant act of social voyeurism. Our bad.
Of course, we weren't alone. Just the presence of former Pavement frontguy Stephen Malkmus, who sat just to the left of the stage for much of the evening, inspired enough conspiratorial glances from fellow interlopers to last us a good long while. It was just as we spotted his bandmates Mark Ibold and Steve West that Malkmus took to the stage, at last providing some sort of payoff for those hoping to brag to their friends the next day. The payoff came in the form of Malkmus, effortlessly charming as ever, leading the crowd through ramshackle sing-alongs of Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" and The O' Jays "Love Train." Seeing the Teflon Don of indie cred briefly moonlighting as a wedding singer (in a monogrammed dress shirt, no less) was hilariously surreal, and by the time the band started into Marble Valley's "FCC Party," Malkmus, Ibold, West and Nastanovich were all onstage, along with a dozen or so other party guests.
And that would be the closest thing to a Pavement reunion we would get on this night. Those who were disappointed by what they saw--or didn't see--probably shouldn't have even been there in the first place, and neither should we. So that's what we get for blowing up the (5) Spot. (Sorry, Bob & Co.) That said, we got wasted with 200 of our closest friends and a bunch of people who had no idea what the fuck we were doing at their reception, inadvertently making for one of the best parties of this young year.
Comments (71)
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really not a bad time, all considered, but a little sketch overall. HOPEFULLY that door money went to the bride and groom (or the band) cos that's a lot of bread... would hate to think saying that pavement is gonna play at your venue just to get a huge turnout wouldn't happen there.
overall, it was fun seeing what we did and in that sort of atmosphere but extremely annoying for the people who would recognize malkmus and just point at him forever, a few feet away, like that's how humans should be treated or the morons talking to westie and saying "i don't remember your name, dude, but that scarf is awesome!" and "do you knooooww booobbb?", "uh, yeah, i played drums in a band with him". i guess maybe those dudes get that shit all the time but it's kinda embarrassing.
though i will say almost getting in a fight with three dudes at once over me standing too close to their "spots" when you have that many people in a place was kinda fun.
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Well, it would have been NICE if the reception was actually just that---good friends and fun. However, I had to cut out early from a reception of a wedding that I ATTENDED because of a crowd that should not have even been there. Big thumbs down to the guys at the 5 Spot for trying to cash in, if in fact they did start the rumor.
Next time you old-money fucks with the racehorses and monogrammed shirts want a private reception, rent someplace instead of trying to get something for free because you are "famous". You can't have it both ways assholes.
I was standing outside waiting to get in and a guy who looked frightfully like Scott Kanberg walked in. Though not what I was expecting, it was fun all the same and I get to say I saw Pavement.
i gotta side with heyreceptionguy on this one.
with all due respect to the bride, groom, and all their respective friends and family, it actually would have been just good friends and fun if it (like most parties of its kind) was booked as a private event without access from the general public.
no, the bride was dying laughing, as was the majority of people.
however, there was a large contingent of non-smiling indie hipsters still staring blindly at the stage waiting for them to break out into Pavement songs.
Okay, you guys can't be mad at the "non-smiling indie hipsters". Nearly all of that crowd would not have crashed some random newlyweds' wedding reception had they not been told that Pavement was going to play.
By the time I was on my way there, I had been informed that Pavement had soundchecked earlier and that the Silver Jews were opening. I, for one, didn't even know that it was a wedding reception until after I got there. Who the fuck started these rumors?
For the record, it was a fun time, but with expectations of a Pavement reunion, it was hard not to be a little disappointed.
Old money fucks? Racehorses? All I'm saying is that it would have been nice if the people at the 5 Spot hadn't started shooting off bogus rumors in order to cash in. I mean, it was a WEDDING RECEPTION. What a mess.
Berman did not look happy when he left there. I was standing outside as he got in his car. 5Spot has to be at fault for this though, who else would have spread the rumor.
it would have been great to hear the battletapes got knocke out by 3 dudes.
the bride most certainly was not laughing when i saw her. She was rather irate standing at the door making sure the wedding party got in and no other outsiders were. which, no doubt is understandable. this is her day and all. just seems all that could have been done on the front end with a guest list and closed door policy.
on the other hand, yeah, there may have been some grimaced hipsters, but most were getting loaded in the presence of most of everyone they knew. everyone i know had a pretty decent time regardless
granted, she may have found it hilarious later, i'm sure. the blame can be spread around quite a bit, i'm sure. certainly the 5 spot advertising it as a "secret show" didn't help curb curiosity.
It was listed in the papers as
"Bob and Whitneys Wedding Dance: featuring TimChad and Friends"
The people that booked it wanted it to be a public show. I offered to make it a private event. They were the ones that told me that members of Pavement and The Silver Jews would be playing some songs with them. I told a few good friends exactly that.
Other people in town that knew of the wedding began spreading the rumors before I even booked the show.
I'm sorry that it got so crowded, but the Bride was happy to get the door money.
Watching members of pavement play dance music was definitely a good way to spend a Saturday night. Plus, it's the kind of thing any sensible fan would've at least checked out.
Like others, I was surprised the event wasn't closed off to the public. In all likelihood, the wedding attendees would've been happier.
That said, even when it became clearer there would be no reunion, I was surprised more people didn't follow the old "when in rome" thing... I hadn't seen so many self-conscious, non-dancers at a dance party in a long time.
I'm sorry, but there wasn't even an actual love train for "love train"!? It's a wedding reception — peoples need to get over themselves.
No one's that cool, really.
They played "Love Train"? Man, it would have been cool to hear those guys with good material for once.
OMG! I got to shake both Stephen Malkmus's and Mark Ibold's hands last night (thanks to my girlfriend) and when we went out front for some fresh air I actually got to chat it up with them. They're really nice guys and said that no one was upset about the amount of non-wedding folks at the venue. Stephen even gave me some advice on marriage right before he left to go pick up his kids. Even though they didn’t reunite, it was still one of the greatest nights of my life. (btw I'm never washing my right hand ever again.)
I'd like to second what Derek said. It was a fun reception, even if I was an uninvited, though permitted guest. And I danced it up! I had heard the show would feature some/all members of Pavement, and I didn't care what they played, just seeing the guys up there having fun, Malkmus playing "Love Train," was great. A night to be remembered.
For the most part, I found that people were polite to the wedding guests, letting them through the packed crowd easily, so they could party with friends and family on stage. And I'm glad to hear that the bride got the door money. Lucky girl!
It seemed to me that Bob and Whitney (and especially Whitney's drunk uncles) were pretty happy--Bob was handing out hugs and kisses to random strangers (me included)!
I believe the reason that the show was open to the public was that the venue for the wedding ceremony was small and could only fit so many people and Whitney wanted a bigger place where her friends that could not fit into the ceremony could celebrate with her.
Everyone i talked to that night said that they heard about it from the owner of the 5 spot or a friend of the owner.
Prior to the wedding party arriving, the band displayed a bad attitude- specifically (the god awful) Patty Lemay who's smug remarks (about...pitchfork media?) were a mystery to just about everyone there.
"it would have been great to hear the battletapes got knocke out by 3 dudes."
maybe funny but i'd hope not "great". but, then again, if you wanna find two other dudes and give it a shot, jimmy, feel free. just stay away from my beautiful face.
Or as we in the industry call it, the Moneymaker. Never underestimate the power of a handsome knob twiddler.
Damn, sounds like a fun night. Reading this made me wish I still lived in Nashville (at least for a minute).
And I'm still holding out hope for a Pavement reunion ...
There was no trickery. the performance was exactly as planned. no one ever said pavement was going to play. it cost money to rent a club for a private show so it was open. if you spent five bucks on the three hours of music that was played you got your moneys worth. over all everyone seemed to be have fun. thanks.
Response to "wh"
As I was standing next to my girlfriend, Stephen awkwardly asked us if we were married. I say awkward because he kinda stumbled up and I think he knew we weren’t married. I really felt like it took me 10 minutes to respond but I said "no, not yet." To which S.M. cocked his head back laughing and said "not yet, don't worry about it. Take your time. Hell Bob's like 40 and he just got married." Then I asked if he thought there was to many people at the venue. He responded by saying something like: if you want to have a small wedding invite 100 people or less, but if you want to have a large wedding it's got to be 100 people or more. Then he said that Bob wanted to have a large wedding.
It was pretty good advice I’d say. I also heard him singing a tune as he and Mark walked outside. He was singing “I’m to old to be hanging around high school kids.” I’ve never heard it before. I hope it’s on the next Jicks album.
dude- the story's on pitchfork with a link to the cream. nice:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/149336-pavement-almost-reunite-at-nashville-club
i am friends with whitney, but decided not to go to the 5 spot that night. i knew it'd be crazy packed & just didn't feel like dealing with the crowd that night.plus i've seen pavement quite a few times before in their prime anyway so i thought i'd be alright sitting this one out. CONGRATS TO WHIT & BOB THO!!!!!!!
just wanted the stupid arse above that we had a reception before this.... it was small and then this took place... got it and i am the sister of the bride... yes she was crying with tears of joy.. sometimes being happy also brings tears of joy.
the woman at the door told me "there's a cover band plaing first, and then Pavement's playing last." so yeah, i'd say the misinformation was spread [whether intentionally or not] by the 5 Spot folks. she also told me that they were at "three-times capacity." so why did she let us all in, in the first place? not that i minded. it was an exciting night for everyone.
It's kind of a shame that so many hipster types and rock fans crashed that party, because there was an absolutely KICK ASS rock show being played by Marah at the Basement simultaneously. Actually, I should be happy, because what we thought would be a jam-packed Basement ended up being full but not crushingly packed, and almost totally devoid of sour-pussed hipsters. And those dudes rocked the house. At first I was a bit disappointed in missing out on the "secret show," but in retrospect it worked out beautifully. Always nice to "accidentally" dodge what sounds like a real cluster f*ck in the name of an awesome rock show.
In summation: MARAH!!! maybe you all can catch 'em next time...
Last I checked being a Pavement fan was not a character flaw. It's not like people were there to see some over-hyped new band that just came across the pond for the first time. People came out because they thought there might be a chance of seeing a legendary band. Indie or not, reunite. Pavement were fantastic. It's becoming annoying how any time someone mentions a band like Pavement or Animal Collective a bunch of people get pious and self-righteous about not being "hipsters". This is an arguement that is, for the most part, only acknowledged on one side.
Substitute Dave Matthews and jam-band fans for Pavement and hipsters and that's exactly what you did in your post a few weeks ago, Gold.
Being a hypocrite is an annoying character flaw.
I'm one of the many that headed to the 5 Spot after seeing another band across town Saturday nite...my main thought was that it had to suck to play anywhere else in town that nite [besides maybe Motley Crue] because the bulk of folks who quickly made their way to East Nash. Case in point: there was 15 people or so at Springwater by the time the 3rd band played.
Not quite double-edge. First I attacked DMB's music THEN I attacked their fans for liking it. As if being a fan of something so markedly lame is a character flaw. (even DMB fans by in large acknowledge that they haven't made a good record in years) I'm not daft enough to think that taste isn't subjective or that taste in music really makes a person "cool" or "lame", I just think it's a funny thing to say. All I'm saying here is that I've noticed a lot of people dole out the hipster tag as a knee-jerk reaction to any mention of a band that gets good press from Pitchfork, without calling into question the merits, or lack thereof, of their music. I just think it's ironic and funny when someone condescends to people for being snobs (in their view). I'm not trying to inflame the anti-hipster hippy crowd again, just making an observation.
Here's the difference: 250 people packed the 5 spot because they heard Pavement was in town and thought it would be a cool place to be, only to end up at a wedding reception and be somewhat disappointed by the whole vibe (i.e. no "official" Pavement reunion). 60 or so people, on the other hand, headed to the Basement to see a good rock show by an awesome touring band and got exactly what they paid for.
No one heading to the 5 spot really knew what to expect from the evening. Everyone at the Basement knew it would be a great live show. And, what's more, no one left the Basement disappointed by the vibe or performance. All were thoroughly rocked, and none I noticed really cared about anything else.
I think you guys mistook the marble valley song " Food Coffee cocktails party for rock this party , It is a honeymoon song I wrote in the nineties after I got married and went to las vegas with my new bride .
Thanks for the clarification on the "Food Coffee Cocktails Party" song. I didn't think Rock this Party seemed right, but then again, I was a little caught up in the moment and easily distracted.
Everyone who went to the 5 Spot got their money's worth, trust me! I do feel bad for Marah though. The 5 Spot thing definately hurt their draw, but they're good friends with Bruce Springsteen so no matter what happens to them I'll always be jealous.
Steve, "Food Coffee Cocktails Party" rocked my world and it was the highlight of the wedding crew as far as I'm concerned. It was a treat seeing you guys having fun and turning out in force for Bob and Whitney's wedding.
Congrats, newlyweds!
s-k,
That would make sense if this is true:
When asked if he was in contact with his former band members, he (Bob Nastanovich) said, "West - yes, Malkmus - yes, Ibold - rarely, Kannberg - never" source: the sometimes accurate wikipedia.
Is there some kind of rift between spiral and the band? Will they reunite for their 20 year anniversary? Are the coachella rumors true? guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Thanks for all of the kind words about Whitney and my wedding parties. To clarify a few things, the wedding and reception were held nearby Five Spot in East Nashville. Some great friends of ours (Carol Tully and Brian Kotzur) had the foresight to plan an event for those who would not stand to quit the evening at 10:30pm. We left it in their talented hands. I was never asked to play a song and had no idea entirely what to expect at 11:30pm when I showed up. I do know that there was a practice at Kotzur's home (I think on Friday). I did expect a Tim Chad & Sherry show. I love this band. They're one of my favorites and I put out a small batch of their songs a few years ago (a CD on Brokers Tip (my very small label)). I knew Charles Ezell (my best man and leader of the overlooked group Hail The Size) and Kevin Guthrie (wedding bartender and dear longtime friend) had practiced numbers. They currently work together as the performance art group Hawkfish. That's all I knew. When I arrived, I was surprised by the large crowd. I'm not surprised that David Berman departed. He'd already given a wonderful speech at the reception and generally avoids bars. I was in and out of the Five Spot for the next three hours. My bride spent alot of time dancing on stage and had a glorious time. She is small in stature and enjoyed the space and excitement that the stage provided. There were many highlights for her. She especially loved her friend Cassie Berman's original song and performance. I was happy to shower affection on both friends and members of the public. I'd like to thank those who offered their congrats. As far as Pavement goes, I'd have gladly played Pavement song(s). My parts were mostly easy as many of you know and require little practice. I'd love it if Pavement reunited. Gary Young and Scott Kannberg were not invited to the wedding as I have not kept up with either as well as I should have over the last 10-15 years. Our wedding was limited to 100 guests (with plenty of family involved (both sides)). In my opinion, there should not be a Pavement reunion without all six members involved. Anyways, for the record, I'm game. Finally, I have so many to thank for my wedding night. As far the Five Spot show goes, I'd like to thank Carol and the band Tim Chad & Sherry for generously giving us the $620 that were taken in at the door for our honeymoon. Thanks also to all of the 124 people who reached for the fivers to make it that sum. We'll drink to you all this week (I think we'll get around to everybody). Best, Bob N
p.s. The first toast goes to Tony Crow. BN
Thanks Bob and congratulations! I'm glad to know you had a great night and that us gawkers didn't spoil it for you!
Bob gave me a hug,and me and Steve Malkimus pissed at the same time(sort of) , I was totally satisfied. Join the love train or go home.
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