Pittsburgh Pirates fans, who’ve been hanging in through a pretty dismal season, got treated to post-game fireworks shows this week. And there was a live band! Problem is the band, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, is a collection of punk rockers who play cover songs (blues, country, even classic rock). The satiric crew includes punk rock legend Fat Mike (lead singer of NOFX and proprietor of Fat Wreck Chords) and lead singer Spike Slawson, who grew up in Pittsburgh. They began their set playing songs the baseball team liked, including "Stairway to Heaven."
"There’s a fine line between irreverence and lampooning," said Mr.
Slawson, "and [the Gimmes] kind of ride that line. It’s not supposed to
be a homage — that’s not what we do. ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is, like
sacred, though, and everyone started booing. I felt it in the pit of my
stomach. That’s the most people that ever booed me in my life."
Although the band was booked to play 3 nights under the fireworks, they won’t be back. I love their response to the debacle. Spike Slawson tells the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette: "We’re a punk band. Getting booed by a sports crowd makes us viable."
I love Me First and The Gimme Gimmes.
And I love that attitude that Spike Slawson says. Go them.