Beatle Bob

Was checking out Jim DeRogatis' review of the recent Lollopolooza on his website and saw that he got in a little dig at Beatle Bob, who apparently bummed a ride with someone from St. Louis to Chicago for the event. I know he's pretty widely travelled (Beatle Bob, not DeRogatis) and turns up at concerts and festivals nationwide - I've seen him on concert footage on VH1, I know. So I was wondering exactly how well known he might be nationwide?

For anyone who might not know who he is, Beatle Bob is pretty much a fixture at any concert of interest in St. Louis - he's in his late 40s at the youngest, more likely in his 50s, has a modified beatles moptop, is as thin as the plot of a Michael Bay movie, and is always right at the edge of the stage, dressed loudly and continuously doing the same strange dance of his own invention with little relation to whatever song might be playing, although he does slow it down a bit for ballads.

He sees probably 2 or 3 bands every night of the year - some people think he's annoying (DeRogatis seems to be one), others think he's fairly harmless or funny. Personally, I've got no problem with him - he's a nice enough guy who somehow or another is getting to live out the ultimate geek dream of being able to see whatever band he wants wherever and whenever he wants to. And if he draws a lot of attention to himself, well, that's probably what's allowed him to get added to the guest list of nearly every venue.

Kudos to whoever hauled him up to Chicago, a 5/6 hour drive from St. Louis. I once gave him a ride for about 2 miles (from a Phillip Glass solo piano concert to I believe a Kill Creek gig) and he exhausted me - very nice guy, but to use the Groucho Marx phrase, he seems to have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.



Post Edited (08-09-05 00:35)

[www.beatlebobsitdown.com]

Yeah, some people get pretty irritated by him, and I can definitely understand that, especially if he's at every concert you go to doing his thing. Like I said, I like him just fine, but he can be distracting - one of those things that once you notice you can't ignore.

However, others adore him. Here's a love letter to him from Guided by Voices:

[www.gbv.com]

well THAT'S IT

pollard REALLY has to quit drinking now!

Wow, heaven forbid that someone should actually enjoy going to concerts and dancing to music. Doesn't he know that he's supposed to stand in the back with his arms crossed if he wants to be cool?


"There's a guy in my block, he lives for rock
He plays records day and night
And when he feels down he puts some rock 'n' roll on
And it makes him feel alright
And when he feels the world is closing in
He turns his stereo way up high "



Post Edited (08-08-05 09:36)

the shame of it all!

I find this all fascinating in an Sociological sense. I'm considering catching a flight to San Luis followed by a return to the grist mill of submissions. I was picturing an older, heavier, bald guy with a mild learning disability. This guy looks pretty standard, all in all. More on his personality?



Post Edited (08-08-05 16:58)

He's a really nice guy. Sincere, unselfconscious, determined, original -- if he was a band, we'd all love his records!

Um, no we wouldn't.

Bob Matonis is a 50-year-old wannabe with absolutely *NO* rhythm! If you were at a show in which the band had no rhythm, how long would you sit there and take it? Not long, I'd wager, if you had any sense. I've seen him at several shows and he's an embarrassment to Caucasian Americans everywhere.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe you should be allowed to dance to your own drum, and make a total fool of yourself if you want to, as long as you're not infringing on the rights of the others around you. The sad fact is that Bob is annoying at best; and everywhere he goes, it's all about Beatle Bob. He acts like a spoiled child who doesn't care that he's being rude and inconsiderate by blocking the show for others when he picks out his spot, which is invariably right down front. And if you've paid good money for your tickets, and you know Bob usually manages to get in for free, wouldn't it bug you that this guy gets carte blanche to get up and do whatever he wants, including ruining it for others down front who came by their tickets fair and square [ i.e., they paid for them] ?

I want to know what gives an annoying, 50-year-old, ego-centric, spoiled man-child the right to think he's such a big deal? Unfortunately we have. By allowing him to continue to get away with his silly antics, we are just feeding the beast. So I say, Beatle Bob, please sit down and have some respect everyone else. It's not all about you. It should be about the music, so if you want to dance, that's fine, but do it out of the way of those of us who actually paid for our seats and would rather watch the real performers than a middle-aged old fart wiggling around and making a spectacle of himself.

Cheers!

beatle bob reminds me of red, a man who only wore red and hung around max fish in nyc around 1990. he was always attending free food parties and would get upset sometimes, esp. if some one commented on his outfit. he physically ressembles beatle bob, too.

"I want to know what gives an annoying, 50-year-old, ego-centric, spoiled man-child the right to think he's such a big deal?"

Wait a minute, are you talking about Beatle Bob or DeRogatis???

(I kid! I kid!)

Derogatis is only 40ish anyway, isn't he? I think I remember that he got to interview Lester Bangs for his high school newspaper slightly before Bangs died, which would put Derogatis in high school in the early 80s.

God only knows why I felt the need to clarify that.

Guess what? Some people dance at concerts. Deal with it. Just how uptight do you have to be for someone else's enjoyment to "ruin" your concert experience?

I must say, Beatle Bob looks pretty smooth in that Guided By Voices video ("My Kind of Soldier"). For the two people on this board who own the "Watch me Jumpstart" DVD you can access that video by putting the cursor next to the last video on the menu (Glad Girls, I think), clicking the left arrow and waiting for a red dog to appear (like the Martha's Vineyard dog silhouette, but red). I'm not trying to be strange here: Due to some formatting nightmare, it never ended up on the DVD menu.

Hear hear, scratchie!

I can't think of a single concert I've attended that's ever been *ruined* for me by someone else's enjoyment. A few times, the over-zealous moshers have tried my patience, but before I let them ruin the show for me, I'll put some distance between myself and the pit.

As for Beatle Bob, well, I've never seen the guy, so I shouldn't presume. But usually, if I see a concert attendee with a laughable look or laughable dance steps, that's just how I respond: I laugh. I try to keep my laughter circumspect, though, especially if the person in question is considerably bigger than me.

FWIW, we have a similar character in my town, whom the local rockoisie know as "Doctor Ska." I've heard plenty of people comment on him, but I don't recall ever hearing anyone say he's annoying ... let alone that he "ruined" someone else's concert experience. (Plus, Dr. Ska isn't very tall.)

i was havin so much fun @ a concert one time that, um. that the two people next to me left. Sorry.

'i was a beatle bob' confessions

Here's an article about him from NO DEPRESSION:

[www.nodepression.net]

He thought the article was good, but he was much more thrilled that the next issue had a nice letter from Peter Holsapple about him.

Keep an eye out for Paganizer at future St. Louis shows, folks. Undoubtedly, he'll be easy to spot: the only person in the venue who's more attention-getting than Beatle Bob.

[www.mentalsewage.com]
The Appearance Log



Post Edited (08-09-05 17:28)

for president!

Here in LA it's "The Eagle," who arhythmically dances to anything - acompanied by live birds! He used to carry this large bird cage with him, which he would set down to dance and if anyone approached it he'd get hostile. Think he's a little crazy.

Now he usually just has a couple birds on his shoulder. Recently a band member asked what one bird's name was. He said, "Pterodactyl."

For a brief time Beatle Bob had some competition in St. Louis from Dancing Jesus, who was some guy who looked exactly like what his name implied. Unlike Bob, he did seem to move with the actual music playing, though his hippie-ish, Grateful Dead white man dance style was nowhere near as entertaining. Haven't seen him for years, although he may still be around and going to every gig in town, but if he shaved and got a haircut no one would ever take notice of him.

Didn't John Lennon make a comment about the Beatles' popularity, at their peak?

Maybe this Dancing Jesus fellow realized the futility of his efforts.

Tekwriter was just flaming us. He has a personal vendetta seen elsewhere on the net. Sounds like some Louis-ans don't realize that every city has one or two. Could it be that the annoyance exists inside the person whose personal expectations are a little on the conservative-utilitarian side?

Did Dancing Jesus look like the historical Jesus (a dark-skinned Middle-Eastern jew) the European Rennaissance Jesus, or the immaculately innacurate Mel Gibson model?

>
> Did Dancing Jesus look like the historical Jesus (a
> dark-skinned Middle-Eastern jew) the European Rennaissance
> Jesus, or the immaculately innacurate Mel Gibson model?
>



there used to be an extremely attractive dancing anglo-jesus in the midwest, but i eventually grew tired of the long hair...

He was the spitting image of Jesus from the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Dancing hay-seus

I knew a Dancing King Herod (like that played by Josh Mostel, son of...Zero). Didn't we all used to know a guy that looked like that?

I never did understand the 'symbolism' of getting on the bus at the end. Except in a taoist way.
Holy crap* what an ideal piece of early/mid-70s nostalgia.

*literally...?



Post Edited (09-26-05 18:45)

When I lived in Milwaukee in the late 70's there was this 7' guy with enourmous sideburns who always wore a plaid JC Penny short sleeve shirt. He was at every gig. He mainly stood by the side of the stage and drank beer with his left hand in his pocket. He rarely moved, but stood there like a guard, his head visible above the crowd. We called him "happening" after the song It's-A-Happening - by the Magic Mushrooms. Since we were all an embarrsassment to Caucasion Americans everywhere he didn't bother us. We always asked each other if the show we attended was a "happening". In fact every time I hear the Violent Femmes. Oil Tasters, Die Kruetzen, Bodeans or any other Milwaukee band I think of "happening" and wonder what ever happened to him. Did he raise his own brood of giant beer drinking concert statues? Good times................

Well, yeah, tall people at a club/dance happening. There was this venue called ' Respectable Street Cafe' in W Palm Bch that would spontaneously create legendary happenings. But only when this real tall downcast humble rockin daddy dude presided over the event. A beatle Bob card carrying member no doubt.



Post Edited (09-10-05 21:13)

I am making a documentary about Beatle Bob and I have been trying to get a fair and balanced view of the guy, but I have been having a bit of trouble getting detractors to speak to me. I would love to sit and talk with anyone who has first hand knowledge of his antics...I will be returning to St. Louis soon...so please contact me if you have any good stories and if you are willing to share them with me on-camera. If you're not from St. Louis that's fine too, I travel allot and could possibly still come to you.

Here's your chance to rant! So please take advantage of it now, and not when the movie comes out…I can't present all sides if none of you will talk to me...and well...you’ll have no right to complain about how 'one-sided' it is...

beatlebobgoeshollywood@yahoo.com

Free Beatle Bob!

I think I heard on the radio last night that there's going to be some local St. Lou production of CABARET with Bob playing the Joel Grey part. Of course, this was at one in the morning and I may have been hallucinating.

I'm surprised that Beatle Bob hasn't yet turned up in a David Lynch movie..........maybe Bob won't go out to Hollywood, and Lynch can't get Crispin Glover to commit. So to speak..........



"A Wop Bop A Lula A Wop Bam Boom"