The Cowslingers’ very excellent truckin’ song “Two Ton Load” kicks us off tonight, and we’re all over the proverbial road after that. Bob plays some art-related tunes (whatever that means), and Bill pulls out some of his favorite cover tunes.
Although neither Bob nor Bill were going to see Bruce Springsteen this week, they took time to argue about his best album and talk about the favorite show they had seen him play. Of course, if the Boss had stopped by the studio before the gig, then each of them would have popped for a ticket.
John McCarthy, co-host of WAIF’s “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” joined Bill for an early program less than two months after BS&B debuted. The night featured music from the Jayhawks and solo projects from its two main songwriters, Mark Olson and Gary Louris. This is one of the rare three-hour shows before the boys settled into the 6-8 p.m. time slot on Wednesdays.
There can never be too much of a good thing as tonight’s show proves. Bob and Bill were on for three, count ’em, three glorious hours of musical bliss, and every minute was put to good use. Inspired by “20 Feet from Stardom,” the Academy Award winner for best documentary, they paid tribute to female backup singers, whose work has long gone unacknowledged. And, in anticipation of their upcoming July performance, Bob conducted a mini-Blasters symposium. Not a bad way to spend three hours.
Bill was excited about a night that included Alejandro Escovedo with Peter Buck of R.E.M. opening at the Taft Ballroom, while Marshall Crenshaw and the Bottle Rockets were on stage at the Southgate House Revival.
Two days before the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” Bob and Bill feature the Fab Four and some of their British invasion brethren, then discuss the influence that Black American blues players had on white English teenagers.
Bob and Bill sound much more comfortable on Week 2 than they did on the inaugural show the week before. They paid tribute to Pete Seeger, who passed away at 94, and celebrated Bill’s birthday with the Beatles, James McMurtry and Brent Dennen.
Here is the BS&B origin story, which is an object lesson in how NOT to do a radio show. Bob and Bill trip over each other, mash the wrong buttons, admit to having no idea what’s going on or how to fix it. Yet, they overcame the worst start in broadcast history to create a program that is still going strong years later. If you are a fan – and you must be if you’re reading this – take the time to appreciate the events of this evening.
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