In 1996, Jeff Buckley did an anonymous coffeehouse tour performing solo under a different pseudonym each night. I only heard about it years later. Pittsburgh was on the list, the infamous Beehive Coffeehouse in Oakland, but it was the only show that was cancelled. I vaguely remember an interview with his tour manager, whom he did the tour with, saying it was cancelled due to weather. I was trying to remember the name he was gonna use, but couldn’t: the Halfspeeds! Luckily I found a scrape of an old website mirrored somewhere, the only mention I could still find on the web of that cancelled show.
*December 1996 / Solo Phantom Tour - “2 guys in a car with a guitar”
Day: Date: City: Venue: Assumed Names:
Fri 6-Dec “Westborough, MA” Old Vienna The Crackrobats
Sat 7-Dec “Boston, MA” Kendall Square Possessed by Elves
Wed 11-Dec “Pittsburgh, PA” Beehive [CANCELED] The Halfspeeds
Thu 12-Dec “Philadelphia, PA” La Tazza Crit-Club
Fri 13-Dec “Baltimore, MD” Ze Bean Topless America
Sat 14-Dec “Washington, DC” Misha’s Martha & the Nicotines
Sun 15-Dec “Washington, DC” Soho A Puppet Show Named Julio
Most of these venues are gone, such is the fate of indie venues. Spot Coffee is still in Buffalo, this would have been the original location on Chippewa & Delaware, which opened in ‘96. There’s a bootleg of that set called ‘Father Demo’. Kendall Square isn’t a venue, but a neighborhood, but the former Kendall Cafe at 233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave, Cambridge, claimed Buckley. Misha’s is still around in Alexandria, VA, but has moved locations. I actually used to drive down & hang at Soho Tea & Coffee in DuPont Circle, DC in the 4-5 months I was in DC for a design contract.
Jeff Buckley talks with Paul and Linda McCartney after his show at Roselandon June 2, 1995, 20 years ago today, in New York City. Photos by Merri Cyr
“She was gushing all over him, as was Paul. Now his career was really off and running.” Danny Fields
“Paul and Linda McCartney had come to see Jeff play that night and after the performance they came into the dressing room to meet him. I remember Linda McCartney saying that she had known his father Tim and had taken some photos of him - they seemed to be honoring Jeff, coming to see him backstage. When I look at that picture of Jeff I really get that he was trying to keep his cool, but his eyes are saying, “Can you believe it?!” He was very excited.” Merri Cyr
