(and a few days) ago that I first saw the Dogs D'Amour down at regular stamping ground the Bristol Bierkeller.Memory suggests that this gig was on the same day that the mini-acoustic album A Graveyard of Empty Bottles
was released. In real terms this was when the band were at their peak, just before they took to releasing hastily-assembled albums every other week (or so it seemed) and with the classic line-up firmly in place, before Ginger or Andy McCoy whisked anyone away.It was around this time that I took to frequently calling the Dogs D'Amour's management - after all, they'd put their contact number on their record sleeves - usually testing the water to see if they used local bands for supports. And very polite and friendly they were too as they rejected my overtures. In recent years I've found that another friend - that I hadn't met back in '89 - used to do the same thing.
Move forward to 1998 and quite by chance I finally got the gig - supporting Tyla at an acoustic show at the Water Rats in Kings Cross. Thing is, I wasn't looking forward to it having seen him two years earlier Upstairs At The Garage - a dreadful gig, where he was simply going through the motions while flagged by two bouncers (their presence may have been for more sinister reasons), barely acknowledging the audience and ignoring any requests for the 'hits'. The intervening years had obviously been kind to him though - he gladly played whatever anyone wanted to hear, cracked jokes inbetween songs and ensured we all went home happy.
A few weeks later we supported Spike at the same venue - where were these gigs when I needed them ten years earlier?!!
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My only time seeing Tyla live was a couple of years ago when he came to do a couple of dreadfully underpromoted solo shows here in Austin. He played to about, oh, 8 people the first gig and about a dozen the second gig a few nights later. He was great both nights, charming, funny and usually gracious (except for the first night, when the soundman didn't seem to know what to do with him).
There weren't many of us there, but everyone there was a fan. He seemed appreciative that we knew the words to his songs. I e-mailed him through his MySpace page a few weeks later and said I was sorry more people hadn't shown up. He actually replied, telling me that he didn't care how many people were there as long as they enjoyed themselves. A class act, that Tyla.
Favorite moment: during the first gig, he gave up on the sound guy, sat down at the edge of the stage and sang a beautiful "First Girl I Ever Loved" unmiked. It's one of those concert moments I'll treasure forever.
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