Friday, March 19, 1999
Year later, Tigerlilies face down crash memories in Dallas
BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DALLAS — “We're still the Tigerlilies,” Pat Hennessey tells the Wednesday night crowd at the Club Clearview.
It's an old joke, told by bands after they've already announced themselves earlier in the evening.
But the line has an eerie resonance here, on the first anniversary of the Dallas crash that killed the group's road manager, destroyed its van, Craig Falbe, and injured the four Tigerlilies.
What he says is true. Even after the tragedy, the physical and emotional injuries, the thousands of dollars in still-unpaid medical bills and the struggle to return to the stage, Pat and his brother Steve Hennessey, Brian Driscoll and Denny Brown are still the Tigerlilies.
A Texas showdown
Last year, the Dallas show had been an afterthought, a warm-up for the South X Southwest music showcase in Austin, a way to break up the 1,211-mile drive from Cincinnati.
But Wednesday's show has become more important than the showcase. They're not playing for the $50 guarantee or the chance to win a few new fans. This is a real Texas showdown, as the band faces down the horror of the fatal accident and the year after, finishing its long fight back.
The shadow of the return to Dallas hung over the two-day drive, growing more ominous as the band drew nearer the city.
During Wednesday's 450-mile drive from Memphis, the group was unusually quiet. Band members take turns driving. But not Pat Hennessey, who was at the wheel a year ago when Edwin W. Killian Jr. of Dallas drove through a stoplight and smashed into the van. Since then, he has rarely driven on band trips, says the group's friend and new road manager, Andy Georgin, “and especially not in Texas.”
Once the band arrives in Dallas' Deep Ellum entertainment district, their nervousness mixes with pre-show anticipation. “I'm not nervous,” Pat insists. “I'm used to it by now. I've been living with this every day for a year.”
The Tigerlilies aren't a bunch of kids ready to quit at the first sign of trouble. After a decade as a band, they're able to release tension where it belongs, onstage, as they unleash a ferocious 40 minutes at the Clearview.
Mr. Driscoll leans into his electric bass, his head bobbing like a dashboard dog. Pat Hennessey's lips draw tight against his teeth, as he pushes toward the microphone, singing with wide-eyed passion. Mr. Brown thrashes at his Fender Telecaster, beating knife-edged lead lines and chordal riffs out of it. Steve Hennessey, who suffered a broken wrist in the crash, whips at his drums and sings harmony to his brother.
The band is so intent that when a heckler breaks the spell, instead of spouting a witty put-down, they look ready to stomp him.
A silent ride
By set's end, the exorcism is over. The band members smile at one another with relief, happy to be back doing what they came to do. There's no pressure here, nothing to gain and nothing to lose.
Earlier, they had talked about skipping town, not playing at all. Now, they go over to the nearby Sand Bar to play a 1 a.m. set just for fun. It's a favor to that club's band, Reverbarocket, whose guitarist Keenan Nichols helped the Tigerlilies after the crash.
Afterward, anxiety returns. Last year, the drunken driver smashed into their car as they left the club. The drive away from Deep Ellum early Thursday is in dead silence. The band refuses to stay in Dallas, and only after the skyline disappears does the tension break.
The talk is of the future, what they'll do in Austin today and for the rest of the South X Southwest weekend, now that they're finally going to make it.
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