And I was there…
I saw it happen…
Eric Idle’s diary entry for his performance in Seattle.
He’s right about the Moore theater, though I’ve never seen the backstage. I’ve seen Steve Martin’s play, Penn & Teller, Rent, Joe Jackson and now Eric Idle there and it’s never been a very comfortable place to see a show. The night I saw JJ his MIDI crashed or something and the whole show seemed out of step. Good once he got going, though.
The Gilli Idle mentions is his very pretty stage manager who also sang backup and did a comedy bit or two. Jennifer was the main female stooge, the male was a bald, bearded man whose name I have shamefully forgotten. But he had what must be the very definition of a daunting task: To perform sketches written and created by Monty Python and do them in front of an audience who likely knew every word. Do you know what it’s like to hear an entire audience chant, “and your mother smelt of elderberries!”? He did very, very well.
For the second time in my life I was present at the premiere American performance of a song. The first was back in ‘88 or so and “Dreaming” by OMD. I ended up being very glad I saw that tour, because they broke up as soon as it was over. I knew Idle’s “Fuck Christmas” was coming because I read his diary but it was still a lot of fun, if a coarser version of Stan Freberg’s “Green Chri$tma$” The songs from The Rutland Isles were even better, especially the Anthem For All Nations–“Our girls have the biggest tits…” I thought about buying a copy and having it signed, but the line was already through the lobby and up the ramp to the balcony. I love Python–like all sensible people–and Eric may be my favorite at the moment. As I’ve said–as a prose writer I think he may be the best of them but I’m not enough of an autograph hound to put myself through that line. I was content to be one of the yelpers and laughers of whom Idle speaks that applauded and stood up, but I don’t think I fell about or shouted. I may order the CD though.
This makes three out of the five living Pythons that I’ve now seen in person but only the first in performance–Terry Jones and Michael Palin were each promoting their books. I remember Jones was talking about the film of Wind in the Willows he wanted to make (he eventually did) using some or all of Python in it. I suggested he cast Gilliam as the old washerwoman (he eventually didn’t). I also remember that he passed around another book for his audience to autograph, which I thought was a neat idea–I can’t rememember what I wrote but I’m sure it was meant to be funny and came out snide.
Eric Idle looked much better onstage than he does in recent photographs and television appearances. Either he’s taking better care of himself or stage makeup does wonders. I’d like to see him be more succesful; of all the Pythons he seems to have had the hardest time getting out of it’s shadow, which he seems alternately resigned and irritated about. He announced from the stage that literally no day goes by without somebody saying the words “Monty Python” to him…and then telling him how much they like his travel documentaries and enjoyed his performance in “A Fish Called Wanda.” On the other hand, he quoted an email from Palin saying that people were stopping him in Nepal and saying “Nudge nudge…”
