by: Dale Anderson; Gusto section
The last time we saw Jamestown folk-rockers 10,000 Maniacs, they were opening for the Grateful Dead in Rich Stadium on July Fourth. "It was very exciting," keyboardist Dennis Drew reported by phone earlier this week before a concert in Richmond, Va. "The guys from the Dead were nice to us. They hung out backstage and listened to the whole show. The big crowd didn't bother me, but I'm sure Natalie (Merchant, the band's singer and lyricist) has a different opinion on it. She doesn't like these big commercial events."
Their next Western New York appearance, Tuesday evening at Shea's Buffalo Theater, should be more agreeable. The Maniacs are most comfortable with a show this size, and it comes at the end of their current tour. Since their date with the Dead, they worked their way through the Midwest, descended the Pacific Coast with a series of outdoor concerts and returned via the Southeast, where they played when they first ventured out in the early '80s.
For a performance at the Warner-Elektra-Atlantic record company convention (where they picked up platinum sales awards for their 1987 In My Tribe and gold for their current Blind Man's Zoo), they added a violinist and did a few acoustic songs. The violinist continued on the road with them, but she'll have departed by the time they reach here. So will Camper Van Beethoven, which has been opening their recent shows. On Tuesday they'll be preceded by the Horseflies.
After Shea's, the Maniacs are off until Oct. 6, when they start a six-week return trip to Europe, where this round of touring began last May. That's followed by another swing through the United States between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then, Drew said, "I don't think we'll do anything again until 1991. We'll be re-releasing Secrets of I Ching and Human Conflict (their first two records) early next year, and we're releasing a long-form home video, and that's it. We need to expand ourselves musically."