Eddie Spaghetti Shows Off Solo Skills at Schubas

By Casey Moffitt in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 10, 2013 5:15PM

photo credit Kevin Baldes

Eddie Spaghetti, frontman for The Supersuckers, put on an unusual performance at Schubas Friday night in which he stood in front of an audience with just a guitar backing him up. The set-up made for a very fan-friendly evening.

Spaghetti is making the solo tour to support his latest solo album, The Value of Nothing, released on local label Bloodshot Records in June. Spaghetti showed off his chops as an engaging performer at Friday's show.

album art courtesy of Bloodshot Records

During a usual Supersuckers set, Spaghetti will fire off a good one-liner, tell a dirty joke and encourage audience participation. While he did a lot of that Friday night as well, the show had a bit more of a personal feel. He asked for, and even responded in kind to, requests, then answered a question or two from people in the audience. It didn't hurt that the crowd consisted of about 40 people—allowing just about anyone who had anything to say to Spaghetti a chance to do so.

One blurted out, "Who signed your guitar?" Spaghetti was pretty pleased to let everybody in the crowd know that it was none other than Jerry Lee Lewis. He said Lewis gave him a hard time, saying that he only signed pianos.

"I should play a Jerry Lee Lewis song right now," Spaghetti said, to a great cheer. "But I don't know any. Something to do tomorrow."

Spaghetti leaned heavily on material from Nothingt, but also dipped into the Supersuckers catalogue as well. He played nearly every request shouted at him and usually had a response to them.

"'Barricade,'" one person shouted.

"That's kind of a somber one," Spaghetti retorted.

"'People Are Shit!'"

"I don't think I've played that one live, yet."

"'I Don't Wanna Lose You Yet!'"

"Mmmmm. That's a good one."

That's kind of how the hour-long show went Friday night. Spaghetti isn't a great guitar player, and he flubbed a few chords here and there through the set. He missed a couple of lyrics, but it didn't seem to bother anyone in the crowd. That's because Spaghetti is a great entertainer and he can keep an audience entranced with his schtick. He's also a pretty good singer who knows his limitations and his range.

The show was a chance for Spaghetti to engage his fans in a different way and those who attended took full advantage. Even walking into the room before the show, Spaghetti was standing behind the merchandise table, selling his own wares, willing to talk to anyone who would come up and say something. He did the same thing after his set.
"Go see the merch guy after the show," he said from the stage. "I hear he's a pretty cool guy."

Spaghetti explained that he is also the roadie, tour manager and driver on this tour—which is to say, he really is out on his own on this trek.

At the end of his set, Spaghetti explicitly let every one know that there was going to be no encore, and when he left the stage, the show was over.

"The encore is bullshit!" Spaghetti said. "You know they're coming back out. They know they're coming back out. It's just a break in the action."

So those who wanted more from Spaghetti Friday night just had to walk over the merch table instead—which perfectly fit the spirit of the evening.