BOWERY BALLROOM, NYC, NY 8/10/02


August 10, 2002 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City is a night many of us will never forget as it marked the triumphal return of Arthur Lee to the Big Apple. Arthur came out in a snazzy black country western shirt with a cowboy type of hat and American flag scarf over his head. He was in great spirits, smiling and looking very happy. Arthur said that he had a case of laryngitis, but that it wasn’t going to stop them, and it certainly didn’t. His voice still packed a wallop, powerful yet poignant. He started the show off by ripping into "My Little Red Book," and then sang a mellowing "Orange Skies." Arthur introduced "Your Mind and We Belong Together" by saying "this is the last song by the original Love group." This song demonstrated the full range of Arthur’s voice, at times Beatlesque, part Johnny Mathis, and operatic as well. There was plenty of excellent guitar work which continued in the next song, "Live and Let Live." When Arthur sang "Served my time, served it well", the audience erupted into applause for that meaningful phrase.

Next came two of the most beautiful songs ever written, "Alone Again Or" and "Andmoregain." I can’t even describe what it was like to hear "Alone Again Or" performed live, it’s just such an amazing song. Bathed in a blue light for most of the song, Arthur reached new heights of emotional intensity during "Andmoregain," his voice soared and carried the audience into pure ecstasy.

Arthur provided a haunting harmonica sound for "Signed D.C.," then totally switched gears for the high octane "7 & 7 Is." The band pumped out a ferocious tempo, and then changed the mood again for "Between Clark and Hilldale" which Arthur introduced by saying something about how he went from the cage to the stage until this last cage.

Arthur introduced the "Red Telephone" by saying that it’s some sort of oracle. When Arthur got to the line "Look in my eyes," he removed his hat and bent his head down towards the audience and proceeded to bulge and roll his eyes as if in a hypnotic daze, and then broke into a sly smile. The color of the day was "paint me charcoal."

After the incredible "Daily Planet" came the masterpiece, the magnum opus "You Set the Scene" with the haunting bass lines done to perfection by Dave Chapple. Arthur got so into the emotions of this song that after the line "I see your picture, it’s in the same old frame, we meet again," he chuckled and said "Bitch!" I guess that he was referring to an old girlfriend maybe!

After the magnificently done "Stephanie Knows Who" and "My Flash on You," Arthur experimented a little with his guitar on a Delta blues type of number that I think was called "I’ll Get Lucky Some Sweet Day," which had such lines as "Goin’ down in the South though raised up in the West" and "I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee, excuse me people my name is Arthur Lee." He then did a couple of lines of "Always See Your Face" and I think that he said something about forgetting the song. He then said that he was going to try something out that he had never done with the group before, he had heard some requests for it. The group then proceeded to rip into "August" which hasn’t been done before on this tour. This version was fresh, energetic, and perfectly done, I was so honored that they picked NY to be the first place to play it.

"Que Vida!" was done very well, complete with popping noises . The band was able to replicate Snoopy’s organ sound almost to a tee with their guitars, they really captured the sound and mood of the original recording. Before "A House is Not a Motel," Arthur said "Mr. Robert Plant has been keeping this song alive while I have been away, or locked up tighter than a sack of gorilla nuts!"

At the end, Arthur said that it was a pleasure playing in NY, and asked "Do I need an encore, thank you very much for the encore." At this point, a woman with a video camera was really bothering Arthur and he had enough. Directing his fury towards the woman, he says "For the last song of the evening, I just said that the name of it was ‘Singing Cowboy’ and Bitch don’t touch my shit, dumb Bitch. Do you have any film left in the camera? Don’t start that now." He then told the woman with the video, "Get out of here, both of you, get out of here!" He then proceeded into an especially spirited "Singing Cowboy," almost a little ferocious sounding as Arthur’s anger came out in his singing, especially as he accented the "say goodbye, BYE," as if he was directing the "bye" towards the couple who irked him with the video camera. It was very insensitive for that person to have been videoing Arthur like that, it was very blatant, she was right up in front in his plain sight. He’s a very private person so it’s very rude for people to be shoving camcorders in his face without having his permission. So come on Love fans, be true fans and let Arthur do his thing without having his show interrupted by insensitive people trying to videotape his every move. It disturbs not only Arthur, but the flow of the show as well.

I do want to point out though that other than this incident, the crowd was very good, everyone seemed to be really into the music and cheered on Arthur and the band throughout the show. I have been to other NY concerts where I literally feared for my life due to people fighting with each other and pushing so much that I thought that I was going to be crushed to death. I didn’t see any of this at the Love show, everyone was so mesmerized by the terrific music that all was peaceful.

Arthur really seemed to enjoy himself during the concert, he appeared very at home on stage. He was smiling and dancing, and got along very along with the rest of the band. At one point, Arthur, Dave and Rusty all hugged each other simultaneously, it was so nice to see the group really gelling like that.

I want to thank Arthur and the rest of the band for one of the best concerts that I have ever been to, and I’m not exaggerating. I have seen many concerts and this definitely ranks as one of the best. Arthur was so enthusiastic and energetic, he can run rings around the other groups that are around today, he puts them to shame. And the rest of the band, Mike Randle, Rusty Squeezebox, David Green, and Dave Chapple are all outstanding musicians, they really have it together, great work guys! Arthur and the rest of the band are in such top form right now that they might actually save the pathetic music industry, they are the best group around today. The music world badly needs an injection of enthusiasm, intelligence, intensity, musicianship, and creativity, all of which Arthur Lee and Love have plenty of. I’m looking forward to the new album and the group’s next visit to NY. Thank you Arthur, Mike, Rusty, David, and Dave!

Christina Crocker