Dance like everybody's watching
August 2, 2023 8:09 PM Subscribe
For decades, the St. Louis music scene had a solo-dancing, enigmatic, and polarizing weirdo haunting live music shows, big and small. The mop-topped Robert Matonis, a.k.a. Beatle Bob, has passed away, after a cruel decline from ALS, on July 27.
I heard about Beatle Bob through Guided By Voices fandom. I’m sorry he’s gone.
posted by ducky l'orange at 10:02 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by ducky l'orange at 10:02 PM on August 2, 2023 [2 favorites]
You knew you were at a great show if Beatle Bob was there doing his thing. Low-key legend.
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posted by riverlife at 12:42 AM on August 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
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posted by riverlife at 12:42 AM on August 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
As a native St. Louisan (technically Kirkwoodian) and early 90s Loop denizen, I would say the RFT accurately sums up the Beatle Bob experience.
Beyond that, did I enjoy his actual presence? His contribution to the evening? I probably battled it to about a draw. On one hand, yes, Bob added a certain colorful element to the evening, a palpable uptick to the enthusiasm in the room, a curious sideshow lagniappe that provided a feast for the senses, a bit of comic relief, a baffling ingredient of wonder, a childlike curio in the corner filled with an indefatigable spirit of love for rock and roll.
On the other hand, he called an awful lot of attention to himself. He cleared room on every side of his body with his maladroit dervishes. He often pushed his way to the front of the stage, past people who got there before him. And for many, Bob's dance moves (the elbow chugs, the fingerpoints, the lunges, the bowling back-kicks, the x-armed clinch, the dice throws, the — look out! — spins) were a distracting nuisance. To say that Bob couldn’t dance is, of course, somewhat subjective, but what is objectively true is that Bob had no internal concept of rhythm and that wherever his arms and feet landed amid his clodhopping was a matter of ungainly accident.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 3:32 AM on August 3, 2023 [14 favorites]
Beyond that, did I enjoy his actual presence? His contribution to the evening? I probably battled it to about a draw. On one hand, yes, Bob added a certain colorful element to the evening, a palpable uptick to the enthusiasm in the room, a curious sideshow lagniappe that provided a feast for the senses, a bit of comic relief, a baffling ingredient of wonder, a childlike curio in the corner filled with an indefatigable spirit of love for rock and roll.
On the other hand, he called an awful lot of attention to himself. He cleared room on every side of his body with his maladroit dervishes. He often pushed his way to the front of the stage, past people who got there before him. And for many, Bob's dance moves (the elbow chugs, the fingerpoints, the lunges, the bowling back-kicks, the x-armed clinch, the dice throws, the — look out! — spins) were a distracting nuisance. To say that Bob couldn’t dance is, of course, somewhat subjective, but what is objectively true is that Bob had no internal concept of rhythm and that wherever his arms and feet landed amid his clodhopping was a matter of ungainly accident.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 3:32 AM on August 3, 2023 [14 favorites]
Absolute legend...you knew if you saw him at a show that you were at the best show in town that night.
posted by schyler523 at 5:18 AM on August 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by schyler523 at 5:18 AM on August 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
My introduction to Beatle Bob was an early 90s They Might Be Giants show at (where else?) Mississippi Nights. During the opening act everyone made way and let him fully groove.
I played in a high school band back in those days and our claim to fame for local peers was that he appeared at one of our shows and danced through a set.
For all of the ancillary stuff about him personally, his dancing was a thrill to watch. Thanks for being you, Beatle Bob.
posted by AgentRocket at 5:28 AM on August 3, 2023 [7 favorites]
I played in a high school band back in those days and our claim to fame for local peers was that he appeared at one of our shows and danced through a set.
For all of the ancillary stuff about him personally, his dancing was a thrill to watch. Thanks for being you, Beatle Bob.
posted by AgentRocket at 5:28 AM on August 3, 2023 [7 favorites]
It makes me wonder if Madison's Marco Pogo is still going to shows.
posted by hydrophonic at 6:46 AM on August 3, 2023
posted by hydrophonic at 6:46 AM on August 3, 2023
I'm not from St. Louis, but I used to go to Twangfest and like a lot of people who have ever been at the same show as him, I have kind of mixed feelings about Beatle Bob, but for him to end up with ALS was deeply cruel irony.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:48 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by jacquilynne at 6:48 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
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I had the distinction of being a musician at a number of shows that Bob attended in the late 90's. I still remember the first time I saw him, I'm pretty sure it was at Blueberry Hill, and just sort of watching him bemusedly throughout the show as he did his distinctive thing, not knowing that I was in the presence of local celebrity. He came up to talk to our singer, who had lived in StL for a while, after the show and it was her reaction that told me that he was something more than just an enthusiastic fan.
There is something so powerful and magical about live music, and Bob gave himself to it completely.
posted by bgribble at 6:59 AM on August 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
I had the distinction of being a musician at a number of shows that Bob attended in the late 90's. I still remember the first time I saw him, I'm pretty sure it was at Blueberry Hill, and just sort of watching him bemusedly throughout the show as he did his distinctive thing, not knowing that I was in the presence of local celebrity. He came up to talk to our singer, who had lived in StL for a while, after the show and it was her reaction that told me that he was something more than just an enthusiastic fan.
There is something so powerful and magical about live music, and Bob gave himself to it completely.
posted by bgribble at 6:59 AM on August 3, 2023 [4 favorites]
On a related note, awhile back I saw a bunch of news stories about this Guinness World Record for the most live concerts attended in a year at 86, and I thought 'christ, 86 concerts would only be a slightly busy month for Beatle Bob'.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:50 AM on August 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by jacquilynne at 7:50 AM on August 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
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I saw him at City Stages in Birmingham, AL, in the mid-late 90s. I had no idea he got around so much!
posted by It's_pecano at 8:24 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
I saw him at City Stages in Birmingham, AL, in the mid-late 90s. I had no idea he got around so much!
posted by It's_pecano at 8:24 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
Mississippi Nights and Blueberry Hill....you are really punching me in the STL nostalgia button today, folks. I'm going to go listen to Wilco's Heavy Metal Drummer and cry a little bit.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:25 AM on August 3, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:25 AM on August 3, 2023 [8 favorites]
"Playin' KISS covers with Beatle Bob dancin' stoned"
posted by riverlife at 8:36 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by riverlife at 8:36 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
I never considered myself one of the cool kids, but I always wanted to be adjacent to stuff that the young cool crowd was up to. Partially it was hope that some of it might rub off on me, but also trying to figure out what was so alluring about drinking at these places or going to these shows. That was when I first noticed Beetle Bob.
Someone I was with told me what everybody else seemed to instinctively know: this is his name, he’s not developmentally disabled or high, he just shows up at shows and parties, and if he’s there, it’s proof that you made the right choice in deciding what you were doing tonight.
Both Beetle Bob (and Baton Bob) were formative parts of realizing that something was different about me as well. I was nowhere near ready to start questioning my own gender identity at the time, but they were visible symbols of what standing out could look like. It was a little strange, sure, but they were getting by (though not completely without hardship).
I don’t think I ever talked to Beetle Bob; I was just one of the many who observed him from across the room at the Way-Out or HiPoint. But once or twice, I did get to be the person to explain who he was to a friend who didn’t get out as much as I did. And that did make me feel a little like one of the cool kids myself.
Thanks Bob. ❤️
posted by neuracnu at 8:45 AM on August 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
Someone I was with told me what everybody else seemed to instinctively know: this is his name, he’s not developmentally disabled or high, he just shows up at shows and parties, and if he’s there, it’s proof that you made the right choice in deciding what you were doing tonight.
Both Beetle Bob (and Baton Bob) were formative parts of realizing that something was different about me as well. I was nowhere near ready to start questioning my own gender identity at the time, but they were visible symbols of what standing out could look like. It was a little strange, sure, but they were getting by (though not completely without hardship).
I don’t think I ever talked to Beetle Bob; I was just one of the many who observed him from across the room at the Way-Out or HiPoint. But once or twice, I did get to be the person to explain who he was to a friend who didn’t get out as much as I did. And that did make me feel a little like one of the cool kids myself.
Thanks Bob. ❤️
posted by neuracnu at 8:45 AM on August 3, 2023 [5 favorites]
I've never talked to Beatle Bob and haven't really thought about him since I moved from St. Louis a number of years ago... but this feels like a punch in the gut, somehow. Doubly so because he really deserved to go out dancing, not sidelined by ALS.
Wherever he is, I hope he can dance all he wants now.
posted by jzb at 10:00 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wherever he is, I hope he can dance all he wants now.
posted by jzb at 10:00 AM on August 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
It makes me wonder if Madison's Marco Pogo is still going to shows.
HOLY CRAP that takes me back! I hadn't thought about Marco Pogo in a looooong time. I was never a fan (to put it mildly), but he was surely one of the more colorful elements of Madison's music scene.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:31 AM on August 3, 2023
HOLY CRAP that takes me back! I hadn't thought about Marco Pogo in a looooong time. I was never a fan (to put it mildly), but he was surely one of the more colorful elements of Madison's music scene.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:31 AM on August 3, 2023
Seems appropriate to play 'Come Dancing' in tribute.
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posted by kaibutsu at 11:52 AM on August 3, 2023
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posted by kaibutsu at 11:52 AM on August 3, 2023
Instant return to my late 90s stint in StL, and what to me will always be an amazing live music scene. I had totally forgotten about the Beatle Bob phenomenon, until I saw his name again, and it all came rushing back. Man. I miss those days of live music. I still have Drift and Robynn Ragland in the occasional rotation.
Rest in peace, Beatle Bob. We’ve shared many a room together, I will fondly remember.
posted by Brak at 9:58 PM on August 3, 2023
Rest in peace, Beatle Bob. We’ve shared many a room together, I will fondly remember.
posted by Brak at 9:58 PM on August 3, 2023
Oh, and 86 live shows in a year as the Guinness record shows me that that particular record is not really being accurately pursued. I’ve personally beaten it. :P Those too were good days!
posted by Brak at 10:04 PM on August 3, 2023
posted by Brak at 10:04 PM on August 3, 2023
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