Privates frontman Dave Paulson mentioned from The Stone Fox stage Friday night that the band’s very first show had been at 12th & Porter 10 years ago this month. We weren’t at that particular show, but we were at many, many others throughout the years, and The Privates' mini-reunion performance at the Fox led to a mini-reunion for us as well: We saw several faces in the crowd that we hadn’t seen in years. Catching up, we talked about marriages, divorces, home-buying, and brand-new human babies that have entered the world in the past decade. We’re all getting older, man. Now we know how the Boomers felt.
In this state of mind, it’s hard not to mention that opening band What Up English is pretty young, or at least comparatively so. We’d heard that one of the members had told Paulson they’d been fans “forever,” which from their perspective is a true sentiment. We saw and enjoyed WUE previously at the Cream anniversary party in July, and we enjoyed them once again. We’re suckers for danceable and upbeat, and the bouncy little indie-pop purveyors hit both of those sweet spots. Our third sweet spot, a horn section, was hit by Echo Group, a slightly more established act who had also reached out to The Privates and mentioned their fan-dom.
Once it was time for The Privates, though, we noticed that this was one of the few shows we’ve been to in a while wherein there seemed to be fewer people left for the headliner than the opener. We couldn’t quite tell if that was because everyone in the room had shuffled up to the stage rather than fanning out throughout the room, or if some people had left. Regardless, The Privates kicked it off hard with “We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We?” a, well, rocker from their self-titled 2004 debut release. (It’s worth mentioning that both that record and their EP from ’05 are available for free on Bandcamp, if one is so inclined; we'd be pretty surprised if there are any copies still at record stores in town.)
It seemed like Paulson was also in a nostalgic mood throughout the evening; his stage banter was largely comprised of memories, like how the song “I’m a Koala and I’m Cold” was written “for my girlfriend, now my wife, because time goes on,” and “Chariots of Fire” was about “hanging out at Lucy’s Record Shop.” The song titles, if you haven’t yet noticed, are definitely some of the most Titled songs ever to hit this town. Our personal favorite? “The Mighty Ducks Are Back.” Again, nostalgia.
We don’t know how much the band rehearsed before the show, but their playing was seamless. Then again, this was never a sloppy band — they always gave the impression that it was a rag-tag group of consummate professionals having fun together. Precision-prone bassist Keith Lowen has played in tons of bands around town, as has absurdly dynamic multi-instrumentalist Ryan Norris, and well, drummer Rollum Haas is a goddamn dynamo, going off like a series of controlled explosions without ever rushing or dragging — always a pleasure to watch.
The crowd was a little older — and perhaps a little more comfortable than they were a decade ago, dancing around with little concern about looking cool. It was the kind of vibe where ladies could throw their purses on an amp and not have to worry about it. The coolest thing we noticed, however, was that it looked like the gang from What Up English was enjoying themselves right up front. That’s the way it should be, really. You can like the kind of music you like until you die, but rock 'n roll and young people belong together, they’re the chocolate and peanut butter of the musical world. We’re not saying once you hit a certain age you’ve got to hang it up and kick back and listen to talk radio, but come on, think of the children.
The night closed maybe a little quicker than we’d hoped for, but then again, The Privates never had an extensive back catalog of songs to pull from. However, they did segue into a short (impromptu?) blues jam that was fairly amusing and definitely unexpected. Anyway, you definitely know you’re getting older when you think “blues jam” seems like fun way for a band to close it up.
