Friday Forster

I went out to see Robert Forster (erstwhile lesser half of the Go-Betweens) the other night at the GAMH. It was one of only four U.S. dates he's playing in support of his latest album The Evangelist, including shows tonight in Pittsburgh and tomorrow in Columbus billed as "Songs of the Velvet Underground", so it was one of only two regular dates on Forster's U.S. tour.

He played a few solo songs, and then a bunch of songs with a backing quartet that included former Go-Betweens Adele Pickvance (bass) and Glenn Thompson (guitar) and a drummer (Matthew Harrison) who looked to be about 16 years old.

They played most of the songs from The Evangelist (but they didn't play my favorite one, "Let Your Light In, Babe") and a few RF solo songs that I didn't recognize, and a whole bunch of Go-Betweens songs. I counted six songs from 16 Lovers Lane (the six that Robert wrote and sang), a few earlier ones ("Draining The Pool", "Spring Rain"), and a handful the last three albums ("Surfing Magazines", "Caroline and I", "Darlinghurst Nights", "Born to a Family"), a good sampling of the Robert Forster half of the Go-Betweens.

They didn't play any VU songs, but ended the night with a cover of "Don't Talk To Strangers" by San Francisco's own Beau Brummelstones. Readers in the vicinity or Pittsburgh PA and Columbus OH should try to catch Robert Forster's "Songs Of The Velvet Underground" tribute tonight at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and tomorrow at the Wexler Center on the campus of the Ohio State University (the same time as the OSU-USC game, but that's going to be a one-sided blowout anyway!).

And readers near NYC should catch Robert at Joe's Pub on Monday (9/15), where he'll hopefully be able to kick Robert Christgau in the butt for calling him the "lesser half" of the Go-Betweens.