Dialing it in

Enjoyed the Gliobastoma show at the Cradle last night, for the most part. It was great to get out and see people and to watch some of my contemporaries revisit their respective youthful selves onstage. What Peggy Wants were great as usual, Ensslin remains the master performer, though he was a little more understated than recent incarnations and could, honestly, have used a little makeup. No matter, we cannot ask him to live out all of our dreams of disinhibition and full flight for us all the time.

The Popes were solid, the Bad Checks rocked hard and super tight. Snatches of Pink unfortunately fell victim to the temptation to live out years away from maximum amplification by turning their amps up to 14. Too much.

Then came Dexter. He has lost a lot, admittedly, in recent years. Not just Sara, but also quite close in time to her passing his brother Joe (of the band UV Prom, I think) died. Then sometime this year his mom did. His sister Monica fought her own battle with cancer, seemly doing OK now. She delivers my paper every day and it's nice to know it's her passing by, though I never see her.

But Dexter just came out on stage last night and pretty much winged it. It didn't seem like he'd been practicing much at all, or had a set list worked out or anything. Indeed, it might have been hard for him to practice, because not long ago Benson had been looking around on Facebook for a guitar for Dexter. Let's be clear here. Dexter is a genius, a genuine talent who has done amazing things in his life and has been consistent throughout all of it. I'll never forget the time he showed up in European History class and did a oral report on Denmark, and specifically a cultural trend that was huge in Denmark at the time: Rockabilly.

But just being a genius doesn't absolve you of doing the work. If you wants my time and attention, show up. Dexter last night was a few inches from Jack Whitebread (may he rest in peace) with a case of beer onstage at BeLoud! a few years back. You have to respect your audience and its time.