Monthly Archives: July 2009

A Tale of Two Peters

I only remember seeing one show at the old 9:30 Club on F Street. Was Peter Case and must’ve been 89 or 90 or so. We got there really early, Gordon and Babs and I, and planted ourselves right up at center stage. I’m sorry to say I can’t remember any song that he sang, though. He only had two solo albums out at that point, so I suppose I can guess a bunch of songs he mostly likely would’ve sung. But I can’t specifically remember any one.

I do recall this one story he told, about a friend of his, who remarked about the fall of Communism that was happening at the time. His friend was now waiting for the fall of Capitalism. He said that somebody else hearing this asked, “What are you, an anarchist?” “No,” said the friend, “I’m a Christian.”

I remember also that Peter Buck jumped onstage at one point. After the show I dashed downstairs to the dressing rooms to get Peter Case to sign a poster and some 45s and a CD that I had with me. While he was talking to somebody else, Peter Buck wanted to see what I had brought. He fancied himself a collector of Peter Case 45s, but he didn’t have any of the ones I brought. I was awfully proud as he flipped through them. “I don’t have this one! I don’t have this one either!” Then he noticed that they weren’t US pressings. “Oh, they’re European,” he said. “I don’t collect European.” I was of course heartbroken.

I don’t know what happened to the poster or the 45s, but I still have the signed CD. In the jewel case is a guitar pick that I must have grabbed at some point.

A year or two ago I saw Peter Case at Jumpin’ Java in Vienna VA. I talked to him after the show and mentioned the old 9:30 Club show. Peter Case remembered that Peter Buck joined for the encore and they played a Plimsouls song, “A Million Miles Away.”