The Central Standards "Stepback"

Our funny friends Michael Danziger and Jeff White coined this phrase some time ago when they were roasting us at a combination rock/comedy show at the Full Moon Club. The phrase describes that critical moment in the delivery of a folk-rock song where both performers take a seemingly choreographed step back from the microphone and momentarily "rock out" with the acoustic instrument or nod their heads, etc. We thought it was silly at the time they did it (though they did play our songs note for note and their performance style was spot on), but unfortunately, we had to play right after them, and we soon realized that the stepback was an integral part of our set. It was humbling, and quite humorous...for the audience.

This photo doesn't capture the stepback per se (sorry for the confusion), but we certainly did step back on Saturday to a time when our "band" consisted of two dorky 20-something high school teachers who just wanted to keep playing music as much as possible, despite the cruel encroachment of the real world into their lives. The show happened in the wonderfully intimate confines of Otherlands in Midtown Memphis, and we had a great time. And speaking of wonderful, (75% of) The Archives, led by our pal David Twombly, opened the show with a great set of country-tinged, harmony-laden songs that just blew us away. They're fantastic. These guys grew up playing R.E.M. songs together. Just another reason we're fans! In celebration of their "reunion" (the guys hadn't been together for quite awhile), they played one song from each of our favorite R.E.M. records--Reckoning, Fables of the Reconstruction and Life's Rich Pageant. Wow!

Our two sets consisted of a mix of Central Standards past, present and future. We enjoyed the chance to break out some super-old songs that haven't been played live in at least four years.

PERPETUAL AFTERNOON
DRIFT AWHILE (new)
HOLLOW MOON (new)
SIMON SAYS
CHANGED
TEENAGE HEART
HEAVYWEIGHT (new)
THANK YOU, HERMAN MANKIEWICZ (new)
GREAT BIG COSMIC (new)
WHAT THEY MEAN
BOB NELSON
(written in 1998--it was a Standard standard in the early shows)
CONCERT IN THE PARK
(written in Ted's Japan period--this oldie is a gem)
AND YOUR BIRD CAN SING
(this is a little song by a band called The Beatles--we hope they make it really big)

ENDLESS GREEN AND BLUE (new)
OTIS REDDING SONG
IN THE BOOKS
BACK FROM LITTLE ROCK (new)
COMPANION PIECE (new)
STRIKE (new)
MY FRIENDS, TOO (new)
MY NAMIE
(another brilliant Japanese Ted song)
DEARLY BLUE
(a sweet old country tune that used to show up in a lot of Standard sets)
DON'T YOU STARE
JAY-C'S BROKEN RADIO
(featuring the vocal stylings of D-Twom, as pictured below)

Thanks for staying close, friends. Look forward to seeing you soon!!