Squeeze is back

[Brian]

By the time that Squeeze released "Some Fantastic Place" in 1993, I thought that Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook had already done their best work a dozen years earlier.  That song was a memorial to the woman who was responsible for the lyricist and melodist getting together in the mid-1970's. They have often said that "Some Fantastic Place" is their favorite of all their compositions.

Also in 1993, I went shopping with my friend Janette, telling her about Anni, who I had recently met thanks to Janette's husband Dan.  When I finished, Janette simply said, "You are going to marry her."  Many, many months later, I did -- but the concept originated with Janette.  Two years ago, Dan played "Some Fantastic Place" at Janette's funeral.  Now I cannot hear the song without feeling that it was really written for her.

The first Squeeze album since 1998 with new material, "Cradle to the Grave," will be released here on November 13, the same day that Difford and Tilbrook begin an acoustic U.S. tour in Anaheim as a duo.  They're also billed as the At Odds Couple.  They'll appear at the Canyon in Agoura Hills on November 17. Tickets are still available:

www.ticketmaster.com/squeeze-agoura-hills-california-11-17-2015/event/09004F05D72336E0?brand=canyon

Dan, Anni and I will be there physically.

[Brian]

That's the video -- what used to be called a promo in the days before MTV -- for "Up the Junction," the song from their second album that made me fall in love with Squeeze in 1979.  Revisiting my old records and cassettes, I was surprised that the 1980 album "Argybargy" wasn't as wonderful as I remembered.  Squeeze's next LP, "East Side Story," remains a genuine masterpiece, one of the greatest albums ever.

While waiting for the first Squeeze CD in 17 years to be delivered on Friday, I've caved into You Tube, searching for the new songs and putting up with the compressed mp3 audio.  Most of what I've found are audience videos shot in the U.K. this year and last.  But I love what I've heard so far.  Meanwhile, here is an interview that Difford and Tilbrook gave on "BBC Breakfast" last month.  The segment includes brief clips of Squeeze performing their new single -- and "Up the Junction."

[Brian]

For weeks I've been playing Squeeze songs old and new while wondering how Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook could perform them just as a duo -- without bass and percussion or any other instruments except for their acoustic guitars, Glenn's electric, keyboards for a few songs and one with a ukulele.  Tuesday night, the strength of their songs and their voices turned the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills into a living room filled with old friends.

The stage was set up as a studio apartment in London.  Chris and Glenn appeared from under the covers of a bed in their pajamas, stopped for a bit of tea at the dining table, donned their guitars, then stepped in front of their to their mics to play Squeeze's first hit in 1978, "Take Me I'm Yours."  Throughout the two hours, a giant TV screen over the bed showed custom made clips during each of the 24 songs that artfully underscored the power of Chris' lyrics and Glenn's melodies.

Let's see if I can find a good audience video to post.

[Brian]

Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook perform "Cradle to the Grave" at the Grove in Anaheim on November 13.

A guy who calls himself 2112rushfanatic on You Tube posted what looks like every song from that concert -- the opening night of their At Odds Couple tour.  I chose this rendition of the title song of the exquisite new Squeeze album.  (I only found only one You Tube clip from the show I saw at the Canyon four days later.)  At the beginning, Glenn counts down so that the duo will synchronize with the box delivering the recorded chorus vocals.

Someone else posted a somewhat better sounding mp3 bootleg of the album track:

[anni]

KCRW posted this on You Tube last week. Chris and Glenn performed in KCRW's studio on November 17 without the recorded background chorus we heard at the Canyon that night:

[Brian]

"Jimmy Kimmel Live" regularly features "Mash Up Mondays," when he combines two unlikely bands onstage.  On February 8, members of Neon Trees, a relatively new group from Provo, Utah, performed with Squeeze as Neon Squeeze.  They played "Tempted" from 1981, Difford and Tilbrook's best known song.  I wanted to embed it here, but the only video on You Tube was shot by some guy with his iPhone.  This page on the official Squeeze website gives you access to ABC's video -- watch Chris and Glenn delight in Tyler Glenn's vocals:

www.squeezeofficial.com/jimmy-kimmel-live-with-neon-squeeze-neon-trees-squeeze/

[Brian]

Squeeze performs "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" and "Up the Junction" at the final show of their U.K. tour last October.

Sometimes it seems that Anni and I are getting too old for the hassles of concertgoing these days, but we always love seeing our favorite artists.  The closest venues are 45 minutes from where we live, except for occasional shows downtown, which is a 30 minute drive in good traffic.  So I have to leave work two hours early to meet Anni and eat dinner, then I take the next day off because we don't get home until after midnight, when I'm usually too pumped up from the music to go to sleep.  I wouldn't call them sacrifices, but we make a lot of accommodations.  The high cost doesn't bother me like it does Anni.  But neither one of us will buy tickets anymore for standing-only gigs, unless we're talking about someone like Ian Hunter or Neil Finn.

Last week, Squeeze announced their "Cradle to the Grave" U.S. Tour 2016 -- 18 dates in September and October, starting in Arizona and concentrating on the Left Coast before ending in Boston.  The band has no bookings at any of the usual spots in L.A. or Orange counties.  The closest gig to us I wouldn't call a concert -- it's the Music Tastes Good Festival in far away Long Beach, with Squeeze among two dozen acts billed below the Specials and Iron and Wine, which means they'll play an hour, tops, to an indifferent audience.  There are three more dates, each 100 miles from us:  the famous Belly Up Tavern in northern San Diego County, a casino in Coachella and the beautiful Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.  But now we're talking about four-hour roundtrip drives.

I can't complain that Squeeze is shorting Los Angeles when they're skipping the South and Midwest regions of this great nation entirely.  I can only hope that they'll subsequently book a gig at a venue like the Canyon in Agoura Hills again or try the Ace Hotel downtown Sunday or Monday between the Long Beach and Santa Barbara gigs.