I Walk Along Darkened Corridors
The transformation of this bit of Fingertips from a slow, sedate song sung in a rather Kermit the Frog-esque voice on Apollo 18, into a soaring rock anthem live is one of my favorite live re-workings I have yet to see.
Let me tell you a story (which you might have already read on Tumblr long ago.)
Scene:
The band is playing a show at The Egg. The room is only half sold so the upper rows of the theater remain empty. When Flansburgh calls everyone to the stage for Clap Your Hands all the seated fans flow up to the front of the room leaving the entire back of the theater deserted.
The band rocks through a full set of classics old and new. They close the first encore with Fingertips. As Linnell starts to sing I Walk Along Darkened Corridors, Dan Miller quietly steps off the stage and out into the room with his guitar. As Linnell belts out "I walk along darkened corridors", Dan slowly begins to ascend the darkened stairs into the empty upper echelons of the theater. With the last syllables of "corridors" still hanging in the air, Dan rips into a blazing solo. Alone at the top of the room, twenty feet above the crowd in a lone spotlight, he appears to the crowd like a rock and roll god descended from the heavens. His guitar sings through a solo of such epic proportions that it has never been matched before or since and some in that crowd are still recovering from their completely blown minds. As the last note fades, the lights go dark.
End Scene
The band is playing a show at The Egg. The room is only half sold so the upper rows of the theater remain empty. When Flansburgh calls everyone to the stage for Clap Your Hands all the seated fans flow up to the front of the room leaving the entire back of the theater deserted.
The band rocks through a full set of classics old and new. They close the first encore with Fingertips. As Linnell starts to sing I Walk Along Darkened Corridors, Dan Miller quietly steps off the stage and out into the room with his guitar. As Linnell belts out "I walk along darkened corridors", Dan slowly begins to ascend the darkened stairs into the empty upper echelons of the theater. With the last syllables of "corridors" still hanging in the air, Dan rips into a blazing solo. Alone at the top of the room, twenty feet above the crowd in a lone spotlight, he appears to the crowd like a rock and roll god descended from the heavens. His guitar sings through a solo of such epic proportions that it has never been matched before or since and some in that crowd are still recovering from their completely blown minds. As the last note fades, the lights go dark.
End Scene
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That sounds epic. Epic.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I love this vignette live much more than the album version. The live one has a sort of punch to it.
Also, Dan Miller, you badass.