When I asked ex-Dream Syndicate singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Wynn why he has recently been writing songs about baseball, he responded, “Once you realize that the subject of baseball is a breeding ground for nostalgia, regret, the potential for one man to rise up against the odds and the system ... you begin to see that there are a million songs to be written about baseball. So far we have about 40.”
Wynn and the rest of The Baseball Project — Peter Buck from R.E.M. on bass and sometimes his trademark 12-string electric guitar; joke-cracking other songwriter Scott McCaughey from the Young Fresh Fellows on vocals, guitar and sometimes bass; and Linda Pitmon on drums — brought their tales of baseball’s woes and triumphs to the Mercury Lounge on Friday night, the day after the new baseball season’s opening day.
On lead-off was “Ted F***ing Williams,” arguably the most memorable track from the band’s first album from 2008, and other early “hits” came from Charlie Hustle in “Pete Rose Way,” “new kid in town” Reggie Jackson in “The Straw That Stirs the Drink” and The Say Hey Kid in “Sometimes I Dream of Willie Mays.”
Songs about pitchers also made appearances, including the Spanish-sung “Fernando” as in Valenzuela, “Harvey Haddix” named for the unfortunate pitcher who once pitched 12 perfect innings but ultimately lost — this song names pitchers who pitched a complete perfect game and asks, “Why don’t we add old Harvey to that list?” — Mark “The Bird” Fidrych in “1976” and Roger Clemens in “Twilight of My Career.”
One of baseball’s most famous errors also got a song: “Buckner’s Bolero” based on Bill Buckner’s error at first base in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series that led to the Boston Red Sox’s loss of the game — and ultimately the series — to the New York Mets. The viewpoint of the song is nicely described in the liner notes from the band’s second album, which point out that Buckner’s error was only a “culmination of a series of mishaps, mistakes and coincidences.” The song also notes that “some kind of fame lies in being a scapegoat ... Maybe Bill Buckner was lucky his luck was so rotten.”
The band was joined by guest keyboard player Robert Lloyd, jokingly introduced by McCaughey as “Robert (rather than actual member Richard) Lloyd from Television,” after which the band launched into a spontaneous but quickly aborted cover of “Marquee Moon.”
Speaking of covers, the band played Neil Young’s “Revolution Blues,” the baseball-referencing part of Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” (“Bases are loaded / And Casey’s at bat / Playing it play by play / Time to change the batter”), the blistering concert-closing “Strychnine” by The Sonics, and Young Fresh Fellows obscurity “Do the Fonzie” as requested by an avid Seattle music fan in the audience. There was even a rather odd impromptu combination of Danny O’Keefe’s “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues” and Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors.”
Dream Syndicate fans — and really we all should be — were treated to the early alt-rock classics “That’s What You Always Say,” “Tell Me When It’s Over” and “Medicine Show,” and Wynn’s later songs were nicely represented by the fast-paced “Amphetamine” with harmonized guitars, and “Resolution” from Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3’s great new album Northern Aggression.
It was amazing to hear musicians of this caliber playing in the intimate confines of the Mercury Lounge, and it was cool to be reminded of baseball’s rich history. Another thing that the band reminded us of was that at the start of the baseball season, it’s “All Future and No Past.” Hmm, could it finally be the Chicago Cubs’ year?
— Noozhawk contributor Jeff Moehlis is an associate professor of mechanical engineering at UCSB. Upcoming show recommendations, advice from musicians, interviews and more are available on his Web site, music-illuminati.com.
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