The Ventures
WILD  (IN SEATTLE)  AGAIN

text and photos by Doug Smith

Seattle

I was at the concert in Seattle Friday, October 7th.  My wife and I drove down
from Vancouver (120 miles). We phoned before we left and were told there
would be no problem getting tickets. So we checked into a hotel and then
walked over to the Crocodile Cafe. They were sold out!

We were told to go have a drink in the bar and maybe (but most likely
not) there might be tickets available at 11 pm. In the bar we met Don Wilson's
niece and her husband. The guest list was messed up so she couldn't get
in although he had a ticket (they did eventually).

After a while I found the boss and told him my story. He let us in. The
Crocodile Cafe is known (or so I was told by fellow patrons) as the
"in" place in Seattle. A lot of grunge groups got their start there. The
customers were a mix of older (60+) and younger (21+) humans and a lot
of 2 legged creatures with a lot of body piercing. The body piercing
crowd was probably there to see the 2 earlier acts. There was one young
blond that was very cute except for all the tattoos. The place was not
what anyone would call classy.

Bob Bogle and Don were walking around before the show but I didn't see them
(my wife told me). I talked to Fiona Taylor and Leon Taylor's wife when I
bought my Ventures t-shirt, picks and hat.

The Ventures came on about 11:45 for a 90 minute show. A few of the body
piercing crowd started dancing (one got thrown out by a bouncer - even
the bouncer had body piercing).  Other than the dancers, everyone was
pressed in around the stage. The stage was in a corner and elevated
about 2 feet.  At the start it was hard to see anything, but slowly my
wife (5'2") and I (6') worked our way forward and got a good view.
The crowd yelled out their appreciation after each song.

The play list
was:

(Bob on lead, Gerry McGee on Bass)
Walk Don't Run Medley (WDR, Penetration etc.)
Bombora
Hurricane
Peter Gunn
Bulldog Medley

(Gerry on lead, Bob on bass)
Cruel Sea
Surf Rider
Telstar
Apache
I Got a Woman (Gerry vocal - he can sing - the crowd loved it)
Do You Want to Dance (Don vocal)
What I Say (Gerry vocal)
Runaway (Don vocal)
Yozona No Hoshi
Tequila
La Bamba
Wham
House of the Rising Sun
Secret Agent Man
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Out of Limits
WDR '64
Penetration
Hawaii 5-O
Diamond Head
Pipeline
Wipe Out (Leon is good)
Caravan (did I say Leon was good?)
Surf on Guitar (which is out as a single CD as well as on Wild Again)

After the show the guys signed autographs. They stayed around a lot
longer then I would have. It was 2 AM by the time they left and they
needed to drive to Vancouver to catch a ferry to Victoria on Vancouver
Island for a show on Saturday.  Fiona later told me that she only got 3
hours sleep!

I met Richard Wilson (Legendary Ventures web site) and his wife Sheila.
Also Don's granddaughter was there. My wife took pictures of me
with Don, Gerry and Bob.

Some random thoughts:

Bob and Gerry were bothered by all the smoke in the place. Don is very
outgoing. The show was great!!!!!! Don really hits his Jazzmaster hard
- a lot of power. Gerry doesn't seem to work hard on stage - he makes it
seem so easy). Bob and Don use a regular pick, Gerry uses a thumb pick
and his fingers (mostly the middle 2). Leon is very good.

STILL WILD IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Vancouver

The Vancouver show was in a much classier place. The play list was the
same except they didn't play Yozona No Hoshi or Tequila. (They were
booked for a 75 minute show). I met General Grant, Stephen Coker and his
wife Helen (they flew in from north of Toronto), and Richard and his
wife.

Don, Doug, Stephen

Stephen had the back of the Wild Again II CD printed on the front of a
white t-shirt. Don Wilson later commented on it and ventured the thought
that the front of the CD was more interesting.

Jan, Don, General, Doug, Richard

The intro group was a local Vancouver band called the Surfdusters. Not
bad.

It turns out that I probably could have videotaped the show but I
didn't borrow my friend's hi-8 as I really though that it would have
been out of the question. All I had was a cheap 35mm rangefinder. I
didn't bring my good stuff because I couldn't hide it and didn't want it
taken away. I hope the photos turn out. If so I'll have them scanned and
post them (webmaster's note: here they are!). I took shots of the guys on stage (I was 2 feet from the
stage) and afterwards individuals with each of them and myself.

Gerry's tattoo

The show was excellent and the guys stayed around a lot longer than in
Seattle. They were a lot more talkative. Bob even remembered me from
Seattle. I got all of them to sign my show poster.

Some random thoughts.

Both Bob and Don said that a show with Nokie (as well as Gerry of
course) was possible and that they had done that before and that Nokie
had expressed interest. Gerry isn't very interested in doing clubs
anymore as the smoke gets to him.  By year 2000 Vancouver will be smoke
free - maybe they'll be back. They have signed a 5-year tour deal for
Japan.  Fiona wasn't too happy about some of the clubs they were booked
into - it was all done through an agent and they didn't know what some
of the clubs were like until they got there.

When you consider how big the Ventures have been in the West (still are
in my opinion) and are in Japan, they come across as nice, friendly guys.
I'll bet most bands aren't as friendly even before they become famous.

I wish I had come back from Seattle early enough to catch the ferry
to Victoria. I would have been on the 3 o'clock, the same as the
Ventures.

Hope this wasn't too long. If anyone wants more details, please ask.

Page uploaded 12/20/97