There are many great songs written about the Cape and the Islands, evoking the Spirit of this place. Great tunes like “Never Been Gone” or “Vineyard” or “Cape Cod Girls.”
But for every song that was inspired by a location and is written about that place, there are 100 songs that were inspired by a location that, well, really don’t exact evoke the location whatsoever.
A year ago, my wife was dragged, practically kicking and screaming, to The Wellfleet Beachcomber by her sister-in-law to see an artist she’d never heard of.
“If you don’t want to go with her, I will,” I told my wife. “I love Rhett Miller.”
By the time the show was over, so did my wife.
Something about the songs, and the setting really won her over.
Something about the setting must’ve won Rhett Miller over, too. Because on that night a year ago, he vowed to return with his band, The Old 97s. And the day after that show, a year ago, he wrote a song.
True to Rhett’s word, The Old 97s played the Beachcomber this past weekend. And my wife, and her brother and my wife’s sister-in-law and my sister and I all made the trek to see them.
Miller introduced new song by the band, saying that he’d written this particular tune one year before, on the sands of Wellfleet Beach.
I’m guessing the local Chamber Of Commerce will not be using this song to promote tourism on Cape Cod. Especially not with Miller’s introduction that says his day on the beach inspired him to write a song about being a “total fucking disaster.”
Hear the song on Youtube.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
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If your wife is anything like me, it's something about the songs, the setting and....those blue eyes. I think I fell in love a little with Rhett Miller Friday night! I've seen him/them before, but never from so close.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm with you. It's very cool to know that he wrote that song in Wellfleet, but it's hard to imagine sitting in that beautiful setting and being inspired to create "I'm a Trainwreck"! Great show, though...hope you all enjoyed it, too.