Tom Waits - Rockpalast 1977 01 Step Right Up

[swayzoro]

sdk step right up look for it it wont disapoint

[pinkhobo666]

such a good version

[sadakokimono]

I first heard this song when I was in 6th grade, listening to the 4:30 AM early morning radio programming. I knew I'd never forget that voice.

Fast forward to junior year of college, one of my classmates pokes her head in the Study Abroad office and asks if anyone there had ever heard of Tom Waits. I'm the only one who had. She says there is some old guy in the building she's living in who says he's famous in America. If I have a friend who knows Tom Waits, I will shit myself.

[ilovearmadillos]

@sadakokimono Is she??

TELL ME

[qwertyuiopdan1]

@sadakokimono Tom Waits lives out in the country. Bad luck.

[tim0mansell]

@qwertyuiopdan1 Out in the country? He lives in Occidental, California. We're only an hour and a half away from San Francisco!

[qwertyuiopdan1]

@tim0mansell an hour and a half is a long time you know..

[ndmclash]

@qwertyuiopdan1 Perhaps he was touring Germany??

[tibridge]

Is it possible to like the shit out of something? If so, then i've just done it!

[SLRosado90]

Fact: Tom Waits was, is, and will always be, one of the most brilliant artists in the world.

[DocEleven]

Wonderful vintage Tom! Thanks, Chelseacf! We used to go see/hear Tom in dive bars around Horton Square in San Diego a bit before this time. Tom Waits and drunk Sailors/Marines...What could be better?

[FastANDBulbous117]

I love the unenthusiastic applause at the beginning.

They had no idea what they were in for.

[XL2man]

I like the lyrics - brilliant writing, but I can't stand that man's growling.

[DocEleven]

@XL2man Go listen to The Archies then.

[Sigint90]

I've just found the place where i would like spend my evenings, listening great deep music: a profound voice telling me smoking and take the peace of sense..

[spicyMcHAGGIS9green]

Ladies and Gentlemen...Mark Lanegan's long lost father.

[a1anjamac]

Can you imagine sitting through 2 hours of that sh*t. I think I'd rather hang myself.

Great instrumental, if only he's shut up, in all honesty this isn't music!

[DocEleven]

@a1anjamac See comment above. Tom's a freakin' genius. You don't like him? Fine. I'm sure he ain't losin' any sleep over it.

[renegademaster92]

I wish i sounded like a bear. I've never heard "bargains galore" said so beautifuly.

[Missericamc]

WTF is wrong w/ you guys? deffective

[wilsondylanmccartney]

I see all ego and no substance with this guy. Don't say I didn't give him a chance. Because I did. Several songs. Several videos. Read about him for hours. No more. Been experimenting with him. Giving him a try. I'm done. I think he sucks.

[ask1tobeone]

@wilsondylanmccartney His writing is unparalleled. Ego? Who the fuck dresses like a homeless person because they're egotistical?

[qinella]

@ask1tobeone Um, every hipster in Portland or Asheville..

[ask1tobeone]

@qinella I didn't realize I was invoking such elite company as that! lol

[chrishirschfeld]

Sounds kinda like he gargled battery acid, but I love his music.

[carb10]

Who is this Louis Armstrong wannabee ?

[puketuipigluva]

@carb10 Ask the Rolling Stones ( read: ask the Rolling Stones, you fuckin" ignorant prick). Please, tell me you you've heard of the RL, because I guarantee, they have heard of TW. The only reason I even bother to answer these posts is that it makes me feel superior

[ctdraper2]

No. He was born old....

[qdwright76]

Sellin' ice to eskimos.

[whitenelly667]

Tom Waits was young!!?? WTF

[Warrenleem]

GENIUS

[Trigun225]

That was terribad ill...

[vokalfreak]

Cleans like a white tornado.

[TheCaptainjose]

i was the 666th like. oh goodness.

[minoritymex72]

This is not a song. This is not a monologue. This is not a performance piece. This is all three in one beautiful ball, ready to sell to the consumer of the world.

[nathanoman1]

roger that..tom waits is the realnesssss...............can you feeeeeellllllllll this?

[fejag58]

coooool dadio !!!!

[BlueOrpheus1988]

This is wayyyyyyyy better than the studio cut IMO, anyway this song is pure awesomness...

[RadicalHighscore]

marijuana cigarettes

[smpl187]

Oh... before the days of digital tuning. :P

[sclogse1]

This is astounding.

[bminus238]

yup pup

[bminus238]

yup

[bigachman210]

do you think he could sound like that if he didnt smoke so much?

[katkal3]

@bigachman210 no way, that voice has gone through some abuse , and the whiskey has helped too.

[NoelDantes]

*snap*snap*snap*

[GonzoPheen1984]

the large print giveth the small print taketh away

[DJpopel]

A real fuckin man for a change.

FUCK ADVERTISING, FUCK PR COCKSUCKERS, AS BILL HICKS SAID YOU ARE THE SCUM OF THE EARTH JUST GO FUCKING OFF YOURSELF AND DO EVERYONE A FAVOR.

anyhoo...

good song.

As the younguns would say, it "goes hard"

[Sonoftoenails93]

@DJpopel calm down, but yes really good song :)

[jonmostowy]

@DJpopel The youngins would also ask (WHERES THE BASS?) lol XD

[Musixux]

it almost looks like he's doing a characacher of himself

[sfchand2]

don't know about the audio of the concert but the studio version of Step Right Up is great and it is on the Small Change album/CD. I saw Tom years ago when his voice was still intact enough that you could understand the lyrics pretty well - and it was a riveting evening. As I looked around the audience that night I was taken by the fact that everyone looked as engrossed as I felt. Pop musicians often get called "artists." Hmmmm, maybe, maybe not, some of them. But Tom Waits is an artist.

[ProfQ]

Is there anywhere to get just the audio of this concert?

[WKaliberr]

maddest fucking bass hook ever

[Queensiswhereitsat]

Check out the funky Rockpalast sign!

[unionguy36]

Given the fact that this song is based on American advertising slogans of the 1970s, combined with Tom's raspy voice, I can't believe this audience of Germans would have understood the song. And it is a brilliant lyric about what Karl Marx called "the fetishism of commodities."

[peterpta]

@unionguy36 American advertising is everywhere.

[unionguy36]

Given the fact that this song is based on American advertising slogans of the 1970s, combined with Tom's raspy voice, I can't believe this audience of Germans would have understood the song.

[ottoZ24]

Great song, terrible video

[jivetalkin03]

We all had our rock God's growing up, he was mine. King of cool.........

[scrappylor]

love this......:)  :0

[tokaijazz]

step right up for great groove.

[bowserhunter1]

how the fuck can anyone dislike this

[charfman84]

is this a joke?

[xPhuZioNx]

@charfman84 Are YOU a joke?

[charfman84]

@xPhuZioNx

answer my question and Ill answer yours

[ExcessiveSpareTime]

@charfman84

Waits is joking, yes.

[ChemicalEight]

@charfman84

yes, and you don't get it.

[ipwnallthenoobs]

lol amazing

[bhetzlein]

@crueltymixb

I made no criticisms & I rarely share opinion on YouTube as it invites the very idiocy I prefer to avoid. My reply was to defend what I've said after apparently inviting provocation by defending another. That, me to, isn't pointless. I provided a link to a video of Penn Jillette making a point similar to my own. If you've friends who can rattle off the names without hesitation then good for you but don't lie to yourself by claiming it to be common knowledge. Fame is temporary.

[bhetzlein]

That, to me*, isn't pointless. I'll add that there are those who can't tell Manet from Monet, Beethoven from Mozart, etcetera. Fifty years ago the Beatles sold out shows with crowds so loud they could barely hear themselves play. You're lucky if you hear any of the music on the radio today. It isn't a matter critique or opinion, just the simple fact that time eventually erases all.

[SteevAtomic]

great stuff....thanks for sharing

[s1ryo]

damn...

thx waits

[PlatinumJestar]

He looks like Tyler Durden abit

[GabrielBacon]

Lyrics?

[DROW42]

I'm like 23 or some Schmidt an i gotta say that I wish our snake oil salesmen would be more up front like tom waits was making fun of them.

also i wish i could talk fast like an auctioneer 'cus apparently it's better than rapping lol,

[zsxd55]

love this guy! wot a talent. get him up on the X factor!!! haha.

[FacelessFault]

I'm 3 and every one my age is listening to the goddamn wiggles. Am I the only one who listens to REAL music?

In all seriousness though Waits is magic.

[morse3388]

@FacelessFault Wuahaahahaa, you've just received a virtual high five via youtube.

[bowserhunter1]

@FacelessFault who the fuck are the wigglers?

[FacelessFault]

@bowserhunter1 only the coolest most funtastic band to ever rock a concert full of six year olds. And it's the wiggles man get it right!

[ExcessiveSpareTime]

@FacelessFault

Anybody who can make "Heigh Ho" give us night terrors is good in my book.

[cacyclade]

@FacelessFault lol your 3 years old with perfect grammar,

[Sonoftoenails93]

@FacelessFault 3 my arse.

[MikeSkiera]

@FacelessFault I'm 6 months old and listen to Tom Waits

[PriesterZION]

@MikeSkiera ure 6 month old and you can write O_O nice done :D

[wilsondylanmccartney]

@FacelessFault You're not 3, and if you are, don't say that word.

[UrbanGuerilla88]

Its like he's rapping.

[17blue]

@UrbanGuerilla88 only better. :P

[bhetzlein]

@eriknyquist123

Maybe the ones with an internet connection and access to Wikipedia. Also watch?v=JWzZeCShdmM

@MegaSammich

"Im 15..."

"i dont give a shit how old you are"

"people only say that so people will reply to them how cool they are"

So your reply, in its entirety, was pointless?

[crueltymixb]

@bhetzlein Your reply is also pointless. All you do is bring needless criticism. I'll catch you before and say that yes, mine is also pointless, but I want to point out your hypocrisy.

[ekimoll]

i'm blaming myself of not knowing about this video before! this performance gives chills

[VacantLoft]

Plug this song ANYWHERE in the 20th & 21st centuries and it fits....this cat was on another level.

[HotForCooking]

He is the original "Buster Poindexter" or "Maynard G. Krebs".

"...what the large print giveth, the small print taketh away"

[smokytehbear]

Purrrrrrrre Genius



[IRideThePaleHorse]

"Veeverfoynduh, hoytetsoo gatsum Rockpalast; Tom Waits!"

Ahaha

[RicottaPanacotta]

@IRideThePaleHorse "Liebe Freunde, heute zu Gast im Rockpalast: Tom Waits!"

 = "Dear friends, our guest today here in Rock Palast: Tom Waits!" :)

[IRideThePaleHorse]

@RicottaPanacotta Ahh I was close.

[nofighting95]

This here is my idea of sexy.

[taMeggeHp]

Tom Waits was a huge inspiration in my choreographic explorations... beautiful, poetic music.

[FlukeFactory]

i am buying whatever he is selling

[yakduzi]

he's got American culture down to a tee. Genius

[fefferofhossen]

@MissMoxie78

he is the real thing pure artist

[gentrelane]

oh come on tom, leave some awesome for the rest of the class. no manners.

[jjmcduff]

excellent

[bivmvideo]

just heard the studio version on "mix bag' wfuv

[ThePsychoReturns]

The large print giveth and the small print taketh away.

[ThePyjamaPirate]

He's wearing a beret and smoking a cigarette... Anyone else and I'd want to punch them for trying too hard. But Waits doing it just makes me want to marry him.

[extensiblelibrarian]

@ThePyjamaPirate Actually that looks more like a driver than a beret.

[ThePyjamaPirate]

@extensiblelibrarian I'll forgive him.

[xXTheSockRockerXx]

@ThePyjamaPirate that ain't a beret, its a baker boy cap - just look what Kerouac used to wear - its a Beat thing.

[jarshale]

@ThePyjamaPirate thats not a beret

[ThePyjamaPirate]

@jarshale Yes this has been brought to my attention, thank you :P

[KDol0]

@ThePyjamaPirate That's not a beret

[TubeofDestiny]

@ThePyjamaPirate just a small mistake : it's not a beret, it's a newsboy cap

(also called "newsie", or Apple Cap, Eight Panel, Lundberg Stetson or sometime Jay Gatsby)

(see the english wikipedia article on "Newsboy_cap" for more details)

but I understand one could mistake it for a beret : he's wearing it on the side, something uncommon with that kind of cap but kinda frequent with berets :)

[ThePyjamaPirate]

@TubeofDestiny This has been brought to my attention a few times before, I am paying for my ignorance. Ta anyway :P

[Flamestrke]

wow man i listened to a recorded version of this song - sounds EXACTLY the same, id like to hear anyone do that today

[detweilcny]

@Flamestrke I heard him do this at the Bardavon OPera House in Poughkeepsie NY around 30 years ago and it was the same then. The man put on some show. Like someone else said 'make me want to chain smoke and drink too much'

[ThePsychoReturns]

Reminds me of George Carlin's "Advertising Lullabye"

[nientara]

dig the bass

[triptoheaveandho]

long WAIT inthe beginning...

[Steerpike07]

This is too good for me to comment on - I just don't know what to say!

[wheatonna]

Been a fan since I heard this song in 1983 on the stereo, in France, at the friend of a friend's house. Knocked me over. You'd be surprised how unknown he was in the USA back then. I talked about him all the time: some people knew "The Piano Has Been Drinking"; others had never heard of him. (I'm told he was pretty famous already on the West Coast though.)

[babug3unit]

super high dude

[CodeOuch]

man.... Tom Waits makes smoking look cool again....

[Franzy138]

lmfao cheers

[LandoftheShanks]

@CodeOuch Only one problem with that, he quit in 1981/82 when he married Kathleen Brennan LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeffroach25]

@CodeOuch i know all i want to do is chain smoke and jive

[stanleysoldman]

dig this tune

[stardestroyr]

Wow, he was adorable when he was younger! But where on earth did he get such an old voice?

[ELVISJULES]

hot as fuck!

[flyer6851]

I still remember his appearance on a late night talk show (I think it was Dick Cavett). He shared the couch with Joey Bishop. Joey must've thought Waits dropped in from Saturn.

[missmelodious7]

Frickin hot!!!

[BlueMariano]

look how young! wow, good!

[PutItAway101]

It's always a bit surprising to see he was ever young, when he's always had that voice like Keith Richard's grandfather gargling drain cleaner.

[hygraed]

@PutItAway101 He was developing his sandpaper voice as early as his second album, when he was in his mid-twenties.

[lenny121]

Why not take a step by Denmark sometime Tom.. id love to watch a koncert with ya :(

[RenoRaider]

This was, obviously, after Glenn had passed. Now his beautiful stuff is all over YouTube. I should have gone to the Waits gigs :(.

[RenoRaider]

Man I was in New York for a few days back in the day and had the choice of seeing a Glenn Gould retrospective of videos which were completely unavailable back then or Tom Waits doing a week in town somewhere. I fucked up and went to the GG thing instead.

[sclogse1]

This is so damn good...Any with such a stiff of an audience, and Tom's up there doing it like they're yelling and screaming...digging way inside the groove, pulling everything out. As Mickey Rourke would say, he's "bringing it". One of the best things on youtube. Well, Jonathan Winters telling his christmas story on Carson is a close second.....

[woodash1]

I don't think it's available online. I remember that performance from TV. I think Dinah was really bewildered; but she was a good sport. I imagine Tom can be pretty bizarre face to face.

[woodash1]

He did this song on the Dinah Shore show around 1976. It sounded great then, and it sounds great today. He is so creative.

[ItsCabs]

Where is that GREAT Dinah Shore video? I've looked and looked. She couldn't interview him she was laughing so hard.

[scrappylor]

smiles

[Zubirrex]

Amazing.

[headychick]

Waits is brilliant. One of the best productions ever was Frank's Wild Years.

[InBy9OutBy5]

This is MUCH better than the slap chop guy !

[cantevenswim]

This is incredible, since hearing step right up i wondered how it would be done well live, but this is better than the studio version, hands down.

[eurolease24]

we love u tom!

[SgtBastard101]

Jowls flapping in the cool,clear jazz-mosphere....

[seedofvision]

I think this was Waits' best band. They were so tight, so fluid with each other and these guys played so well off Waits' be-boppin' street poetry. Not to mention Frank Vicari on sax was incredible.

[oldshovelhead]

Tom rules. The only mistake in my 45 years was not seeing him when he was stateside. If this song was a day long, it would be the best day in the history of life as we know it. Did I say Tom rules? Read the small print sucker!

[pawnhead10]

I like your style oldshovelhead.

Totally agree with you're spiel there as well, but Tom's the one who could sell ice to the Eskimos here.

BTW, your handle's pretty smoooooth too. ;)

[RenoRaider]

the small print taketh away sucker.

[Bugscuttle]

10 for a dollar, one tenth of a dolllar

act now come in all colors

one size fits all

[RepLSP]

the part at 4:02 kills me

[svfighter]

Amazing performance. Waits is an absolute legend and his sound is timeless.

[vintagezigg]

SOLD !

[basvossen]

great lyrics!!! laughed my ass off.

[MicrophoneFarmer]

Oh my god. This is amazing. I hadn't heard Tom Waits before today, and I'm ashamed.

I wonder if I'll ever listen to anything else for the rest of my life.

[zeliemike]

I was the same way... I thought a knew so much until someone introduced Tom Wait's music to me... So don't feel bad, just spread the word!

[MicrophoneFarmer]

I plan on it!

[schoontube]

Wow. Amazing. Thanks for posting.

[hahacars]

im 13, try to tell all your kids, and your grand kids this needs to be the next era of music.

[LandoftheShanks]

@hahacars I'm 21!!! You have great taste [= and are very wise!

[RenoRaider]

@hahacars im 5 bite me

[revbricenichols]

@hahacars Yessir! my daughter is only two...and she sings along with Tom Waits.

[MegaSammich]

@hahacars

why does it matter how old you are

[bhetzlein]

@MegaSammich

Most thirteen year olds don't know diddly about the music that was around thirty years before they were even a twinkle in their pap's eye. I believe that is the significance of mentioning their age. How many people in their mid twenties (let alone teenagers) do you know that can tell you the first and last names of all the Beatles?

[cinephilefromhell]

@bhetzlein 18. George harrisson, pual mccartney, john lennon, and ringo star. lol

[MegaSammich]

@bhetzlein

im 15 and i started listening at 13

but honestly

i dont give a shit how old you are

people only say that so people will reply to them how cool they are

[eriknyquist123]

@bhetzlein what are you talking about. Most 12 years olds could recite those names. the beatles are eternal icons

[chojinosebest]

@bhetzlein A whole lot.