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TourBusLive.com Road Diary, Volume 12a

The Cavern Club Celebrity Theater
August 15, 2009
Los Angeles, CA

BOQUETS, WREATHS, AND LAURELS: A night with David J
Re-published with the permission of the OC Gazette

My life was unexpectedly changed in a movie theater just outside of Phoenix in 1983. Although the entire movie had a lasting impact on me...it was the first few minutes of Tony Scott's The Hunger, starring sultry French actress Catherine Deneuve, the beautiful Susan Sarandon, and the incomparable David Bowie, that changed the scope of my musical tastes forever. You see, it was those first three minutes of that erotically-charged vampire flick about lust and immortality which introduced me to the music of the band Bauhaus and the lyrics of that band’s bassist, David J.

Now don't get me wrong...I never fully immersed myself into the dark and dreamy world of the 80s gothic lifestyle (Google that if you are unsure of the reference), but I was definitely smitten by the sounds that were coming out of that underground culture and, as hard as I tried not to succumb, I suppose my hairdos were a bit influenced for the next several years (I think I should have invested in black hair dye - I'd be rich!).

Sadly, however, by the time I had first heard the band on that fateful movie night in 1983, Bauhaus (who had formed in England in 1978) had already parted ways, allowing front man and vocalist Peter Murphy to pursue his solo career, and thrusting guitarist Daniel Ash and drummer Kevin Haskins further into their side project, the band Tones on Tail (whose song "Go!" recently and surprisingly showed up in a car commercial - either I'm getting old or the advertising execs in charge are now my age). Ash and Haskins were later joined by Bauhaus alum (and Kevin’s older brother) David J Haskins (known simply as David J) to form the more widely-known and beloved band Love and Rockets (seriously, their song "Haunted" is pretty much my favorite song from the 80s - I feel it's the quintessential song of that era).

Luckily for me, I've been able to catch live performances by many of the incarnations of the band Bauhaus (my first time being when Love and Rockets played at a venue on the campus of UC Irvine in 1987 with then less-than-well-known opening act Jane's Addiction), and I keep going back...whenever I can.

So when I read that David J was performing an intimate show recently in Los Angeles, there was no hesitation...tickets were reserved immediately and schedules were cleared. With no expectations other than knowing we'd be faced with an experimental world of art and music, Gary and I (along with my former art history student, and one-generation-younger Bauhaus fan, Jasmin) headed up to Los Angeles for what would be a night to remember for sure.

When we arrived at the address that was listed on the show’s flyer, we found only an unadorned pink building - the Casita Del Campo restaurant. Not sure we'd found the right place, we hesitantly walked inside, requiring a few moments to let our eyes adjust from the bright sunshine outside to the appropriately darkened interior of the restaurant. We were indeed in the right place, and we were pleasantly surprised by what we found: The venue for this night, The Cavern Club Celebrity Theater, was in the basement of the restaurant…which seemed so fitting for what was shaping up to be a very “underground” event.

Since we had gotten there a bit early (early enough to witness David J himself come upstairs into the restaurant and select just the right bar stool to use later in the night’s performance…the kind of stuff I can’t help but be happy to observe…although I did make some lame attempt at telling David about the last time I saw him, performing at the Joe Strummer tribute: A moving performance by David J; blathering dribble from me in my attempt to make conversation with the man), we took that time to enjoy cold drinks, hot food, and a warm parade of interesting Casita regulars, whom we watched catch up with each other’s lives while they enjoyed their idle Saturday at the bar.

And we had time to get familiar with the restaurant…we met waiters who'd been there for more than twenty years and even had a chance to get some history from the nice gentleman who arrived later to run the doors for the show. Apparently the restaurant was started in 1962 by West Side Story dancer (and "Shark") Rudy del Campo. He ran the restaurant, alongside his wife, until his death in 2003. It seems that he was quite a supporter of the arts, so when a patron and performer asked if he could transform the unused basement of the restaurant into a performance space, del Campo completely supported the effort. The result: A 65-seat intimate space that attracts performances ranging from heralded musical and art events to comedic parodies done completely in drag.

But it was David J that brought us to this unique location on this occasion. His show, titled “Bouquets, Wreaths, and Laurels”, promised a night of David J and band “performing songs of love, songs of death, and one song of glory" (although we were fortunate enough to be presented with two songs of glory after all).

In addition to David J on vocals, the band consisted of Susan Costantini Green on piano, Tony Green playing stand-up bass, Tom Vos on Violin, and guest backing vocals by Bernadette Colomine, who has worked with performer and composer Rufus Wainwright.

I wondered about the origins of the show and what its possible future was, so I later asked David J directly. He answered, “This was the first time that we had played together as a group, although I have worked with the musicians on various other projects. They are some of the best in the business. The whole thing came about when the filmmaker David Jude Thomas, who has been filming my performances for the past eight years, asked if I could throw a gig together as he was planning to come to L.A. for a week and wanted to shoot a show [David is based in San Francisco]. This was four weeks before the show dates. I had previously played a couple of songs as part of the 'June Gloom' show at the Cavern and liked the atmosphere of the place. I called them up and the venue happened to be available. So it was a rather 'last minute' affair. I wanted to do a show that had some kind of a theme and came up with the 'Bouquets, Wreaths & Laurels' idea. Since playing the show, I have been approached by a promoter who wants to stage the show in San Francisco and there is also interest from another guy in New York.” Good news for David J fans everywhere.

The show, captivatingly staged by Ann Greenaway, was mesmerizing from start to finish. Amid song, storytelling, and slight wardrobe changes as J’s jacket, hat, and scarf were removed, the night’s theme unfolded. In fact, as the title song for the night says, "With bouquets, wreaths, and laurels...it's either swim or drown." Well, I believe we were all drowned, as the audience was quickly immersed in the beautiful world that David J created for us. The performance was moving, riveting, and thought-provoking.

The set list (re-printed below), which was broken into three parts to represent the night's theme of bouquets (love), wreaths (death), and laurels (glory) consisted of songs ranging from David J originals, his co-compilations with other artists, covers, and a wonderfully re-orchestrated Bauhaus song, "Who Killed Mister Moonlight" (sadly, it was not my luck to catch night number two of this performance, where apparently they also performed the Bauhaus song that started this whole ride for me: "Bela Lugosi's Dead").

Two additional guest stars also appeared in this show: A pair of very different vintage microphones – one, a 1950s “Elvis” style; the other, a loudspeaker system mic from WWII. Although David J used a typical modern microphone for much of his set, he let these two steadfast participants take their place on stage the entire night, each lending their own special effect when used - the 50s mic giving his voice a more subtle, soft quality, while the WWII throwback transformed his vocals into a very stark, gritty, and startling sound…yet another facet to this sensory adventure.

As this magical night came to a close, I watched as a girl – just a bit younger than I was when I sat in that movie theater in 1983 - approached David and requested that he autograph her arm. David obliged and then asked, "Is this going to be a tattoo?" The girl, whose patient mother stood nearby, shyly nodded her head. Well, I suppose that may seem an odd request to anyone who has not experienced music that touches their soul - enough to want a piece of that music forever on their body - but, believe me, that girl will cherish that moment for the rest of her life. I guess it's not much different than the movie night when I first heard David J and the music of his band. I can assure you, I will cherish that moment for the rest of my life as well.

Complete Set List from the show (with composers) from August 15 and 16 shows:

Bouquets, Wreaths and Laurels (David J)

(Introduction)
BOUQUETS

Love Letter (Cave)

Falling In Love Again (Hollander & Lerner)
WREATHS

Flowers and Football Tops (Allan) / You Are My Sunshine

Premonitions (Youth)

Gloomy Sunday (Seress)

Dress Sexy At My Funeral (Callahan)

St. James Infirmary (Trad)

Sleaze (David J / Van Kruysdijk / Van Hoorn)

King’s Crossing (Smith)

Farewell My Friend (Wilson)

Spalding Gray Can’t Swim (David J & Sarah)

Who Killed Mister Moonlight (Bauhaus)

Bela Lugosi's Dead (Bauhaus) (sadly for me, Aug. 16 performance only)

LAURELS

Yves Saint Laurent (David J)

Trophy Wife (David J)
ENCORE

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (Dubin & Warren)

Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard (Adams & Causon)

Post publication note: David is currently editing the material from those last eight years of show footage he mentioned in order to make a full-length feature DVD…something for all his fans to definitely look forward to!