The Henry Clay People @ The Prospector 01-24-09

The Prospector in Long Beach on 01-24-09

It was not my intention to go see The Henry Clay People down in Long Beach last Saturday but I got done with my other show at 11pm. Feeling that the night had still its youth, I made the mad dash from Hollywood to LBC in less than forty five minutes.

My first visit to The Prospector was everything it should have been. A crowd of decent folks outside, a packed bar inside, and drunken revelers actually dancing to the band on stage. I understand why the locals and Los Ambulators love it so. I promise you, most bars in the Midwest are exactly like this.

The occasion was another unpromoted "practice show" for The HCP as the new band members learn all the songs and they prepare to hit the road. Joey Siara told me a few weeks ago that rather than have the new guys learn the entire HCP catalogue, they're keeping about five or so of the old songs and then focusing on new material. The set list from this show offers clues as to which of the old songs the rest of the country will still be hearing this spring:

Digital Kid
End Of An Empire
You Can Be Timeless
Andy Sings!
The Good Ones
This Is A Desert
Andy Sings Again! (AKA Taste of the Tasteless)
Working Part Time


It's fun to see the band work through the For Cheap or For Free material that has since been adapted for a four-piece band. Elder Siara barked out which song to play next like a high school football coach and the set felt like a public practice, though the rough edges have their charm. (This iteration of The Henry Clay People deserves stronger Pavement comparisons than the original band.)

"Working Part Time" still has its kinks and on this night they absolutely mangled "Andy Sings!" It was as The Henry Clay People were tortured serial killers and the song their victim; they not only hung the thing and slaughtered it, but then made a sculpture from it's torn flesh and organs. That's one song that can take a licking and keep on kicking.

I've heard several times that The Prospector is The Henry Clay People's favorite venue. It sure seemed like it. It's also clear how much they like playing the new songs. They looked practically post-coital after playing "End of An Empire," a song about how "America is gonna end sooner or later, so we may as well party and have a good time." That sounds about right. It also sums-up vibe of The Prospector in Long Beach perfectly. How fitting.