[Leo backstage at The Bottom Line.  Leo speaks over cheesy 1970s department-store musak while subtitles provide Japanese translation]

LEO:

[Hi, I'm Leo Kottke and I'm] live from The Bottom Line in New York.  I'm here to play and I'm here to plug a record called That's What on Private Music.  It's my record, please go out and buy it.  And listen to it.  Thanks.

[Leo on stage.  He plays while standing for the entire set]

[Leo plays "William Powell" -- subtitle reads "William Powell"]

[Applause]

[Leo plays "The Great One" -- subtitle reads "The Great One"]

[Applause]

[Leo plays "Mona Ray"  -- subtitle reads "Mona Ray"]

[Applause]

LEO:

Thanks a lot.  This is a song I did last set.  I'm trying not to repeat too much of that stuff.  It's a song that was written by Eddie Reeves and Alex Harvey and it was written for a wedding which explains this unbridled optimism in the thing.  It's horribly gleeful.  I'm surprised that -- what's the guy's name now?  -- Ted?  Oh what's his name?  Well, I know Boxcar Willie is attracted to tunes like this, but it ain't -- I suppose I'm trying to apologize for what I'm about to inflict upon you but that would be wrong of course.  I really like this song.  I'm just embarrassed about that.  I just can't get enough of it.

[Leo plays "Rings" -- subtitle reads "Rings."  During solo section, Leo is not pleased with something he plays and says "Well...almost"]

[Applause]

LEO:

Thanks.  Thank you.  I'll ....excuse me [gets his 12-string].  A new sound [plays the 12 string]  

Several people have told me it's time for me to get a haircut [many audience members express disagreement].  I don't think so either.  Because last time I did that on the road -- I've been out on the road for a couple of months now -- I was in the airport in Dallas.  It was an unforgettable day.  When you look like you've been squeezed out of a muskrat.  I know exactly what that looks like by the way, because I'm from Minnesota.   Along with -- who?  [pauses]  There's other people there.

[Leo plays "Regards From Chuck Pink"]

[At this point, the Japanese-added subtitles to identify the songs go awry.  This subtitle says "Airproofing"].

[Applause]

LEO:

Thank you.

[Leo plays "Airproofing " -- subtitle reads "I Yell At Traffic"]

[Applause]

[Leo plays riff from "Jack Gets Up" -- subtitle reads "Ice Field"]

LEO [while playing riff]:

Phil Spector says that if you want to have a hit in America you gotta use these three chords.  And he's right, about 80 percent of everything you've ever heard has got these chords in there -- I just [Leo looks behind him, adjusting his guitar strap]  -- what is that?   I'm twisted.  [Audience member says something].   No, it's this strap.  You know they have these on the SAT's.  [starts playing riff again]

You know, this is "Hang On Sloopy," "La Bamba," it's everything.  And like everybody else, I'm a real sap for it.  I'm just an absolute sucker for this progression.  Everybody thinks they should know better but they don't.  Everybody loves it.  So I thought, 'Well, I'll make some money too' and I recorded this song.   I like the song, but that's about it I think.   It wasn't exactly what I'd call a hit.

Although for me, it was.  Which means what?  I don't know.  Well, it means -- As I said last set that I was driving through somewhere in New Mexico and I heard this on the radio.  It was my record, it was me, I was singing it.  I was hypnotized by the experience.  And when the tune was finished, the disc jockey came on and he said "A lot of people don't like that song."  Oh man.  So I'd like to do it for you now.

[Leo plays "Jack Gets Up"]

[Applause]

LEO:

So with that in mind, which probably bears not one whit on this next tune, let me play this next tune.

[Leo plays "I Yell at Traffic" -- subtitle reads "8 Miles Hi"]

[Applause]

[Leo plays "Ojo" -- subtitle reads "Jack Gets Up"]

[Applause]

LEO:

Thank you.

AUDIENCE:

Little Martha!   Louise!   Everybody Lies!

LEO:

Yeah, I like all of those.  Boy, what a line that was.  The fact is I do get to play what I like to play.  It's not like I'm Loudon Wainwright who's written all these genius pieces and the one that hits is "A [Dead] Skunk in the Middle of the Road" and he has to do it every night for the rest of his life.  Say what?  [Audience member says something]  Yeah, that's kind of why I haven't done it this show.  I try to -- some people go to two of these so you try to do a few other things.

I get a little bored if I repeat the whole set for example, so what I'd like to do is something I didn't do last set but I have been doing for 20 years, but I can't get enough of it.  I like it.  And it involves a couple of things that I need to plug here.  One is this guitar, which will be for sale, as a signature model -- I'll keep this particular unit -- and this slide ^[1] which will also be, I don't know, about $189 a piece, from the Brixon Manufacturing Co. in St. Paul,  who make one of the only two federally approved explosion-proof latches in the United States.  So you need never fear with this thing on your hand.  

I'd like to leave you with just a couple thoughts.  One is what Miles Davis said, which is that all synthesizers are programmed white.   And the other is to thank you for coming.   This is the first time I've been at The Bottom Line and I have enjoyed it.

[Leo plays medley of "Available Space," "Train and Gate" and  "Machine" -- subtitle reads "Slide Medley"]

[Applause]

[The End]