Hot Diggity

Glory days in 12 minutes

Having been a fan of the 1970s Steelers, they were naturally my pick in the Superbowl, so I’m feeling pretty smug. I even watched Bruce Springsteen during halftime and came away from it thinking, “Not bad, Bruce – ya stuffed your career into a 12-minute medley. That’s a good trick.” How big a Bruce fan am I? I saw his early shows here at the Armadillo but only own The River and a few downloads of his.

A 15-year-old friend of mine does not share my comparatively generous take on the Boss’ performance. The kid hates Springsteen and everything Springsteen stands for. I remember being about the kid’s age and watching Perry Como on TV, thinking he was the most useless performer that ever lived. “Why fireworks for this? This is old man stuff,” the kid sneered as Springsteen sprang around the stage.

“He’s instinctively right,” commented the kid’s father, and it was true.

This teen was right in that instinctive way, though he is wrong in others. I now know that Perry Como has an outstanding voice but his MOR music said nothing to me. What was this “Hot diggity dog ziggity” stuff? I was listening to Frank Zappa sing, “Only 13 and she knows how to nasty.” Watching Springsteen sing “Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run” meant nothing to the kid who knows "From the window, to the walls, to the sweat drip off my balls." Maybe it will never mean anything to him or maybe, 40 years down the way, he’ll find that Springsteen was a great showman but the songs are formulaic American rock, the working man’s truth sold in Wal-Mart.

One thing did have the kid’s attention. “Who’s the freaky old dude in the bandanna?” Told it was Little Steven, better known as Silvio from The Sopranos, the kid nodded in approval.

“Oh yeah. Cool.”

I am a big fan of moms, so the With Love For Moms benefit at Antone’s this Sunday is getting special attention from me. Its purpose is to raise funds to help Elizabeth Parr pay for a much-needed prosthetic device that will allow her to eat properly, post-cancer surgery. Parr’s daughter is Austin PR queen Pam Blanton, and she’s roped a stellar lineup for the 6pm show, including Dale Watson & the Lonestars, Van Wilks, Alpha Rev frontman Casey McPherson, Lucky Tubb & the Modern Day Troubadours, and a very special appearance by an unnamed troubadour.

Ah, but silent auctions are the siren’s call to me! Items up for bid include packages for salons, spas, hotels, ACL Fest passes, Continental Airlines tickets, and – be still my heart! – a six-week training class for dogs! Additional donations to Elizabeth Parr may be made on-site the night of the show.