Dane D. Lion's Music Den ##############

“Waltz #2” - Elliott Smith

So, I was making dinner tonight (turkey soup), and I threw on VH1 for some background noise - only to find out that the classic Lucy Lawless/Elliott Smith episode from ‘98 was on.  At any given point during my sophomore year in college, it’d be a safe bet to guess that I was whistling some song from Smith’s inimitable XO, which was released in August of ‘98.  I remember catching his performance and being blown away.  Needless to say, I watched the re-run tonight - only to find out that SNL refuses to show Smith’s performance in syndication, due to the fact that he played “Waltz #2” instead of “Miss Misery” on the episode.  What?

Yeah.  Anyway, fellow Smith fan, Jeff Beam sent me this link to the performance.  It takes a while to load, but it’s worth it - especially the bridge.  Enjoy!  Thanks again, Jeff!

Smith’s band for the evening:

• Bass - Sam Coomes (usual tour bassist, member of Quasi, with Janet Weiss)
• Drums - John Moen (now the drummer for the Decemberists, instead of usual tour drummer, Janet Weiss - of Quasi and Sleater-Kinney)
• Guitar - Rob Schnapf (awesome producer)
• Keys - Jon Brion (genius producer) 

geminitactic:

Elliott Smith performing on SNL.  In October of 1998.  (That seems so long ago.)