Raymond James Stadium wasn’t the only place where a bunch of devoted fans sang loudly along with their favorite songwriter last night. Less than five miles east of the Taylor Swift concert, Avail frontman Tim Barry was at Crowbar to preside over a ritual that’s played out over and again during his many tour stops in the area.
Rancho La Chua opened the show, but Creative Loafing Tampa Bay photographer Dave Decker also ended up onstage, singing right beside Barry during a cover of “Swann Street” by Washington D.C. punk band Three. “It’s a favorite for a lot of us that grew up in that era,” Decker said of the tune.
Decker said he met Avail around 1994 when the punk band was touring behind the Dixie album, a record oozing with the nostalgia of ’80s Dischord bands; he loved those bands, including Three, and Avail’s catalog hit on all the emotions running through his mind.
Barry kept writing songs and singing when the band took a break in the early-2000s, and fans kept flocking to solo shows that feel more like fellowship than a concert. Decker’s been friends with Barry for 30 years and even opened for him and Cory Branan in 2019. At that show, Decker showed Barry how to play “Swann Street” while they waited in the green room.
Barry ended up recording a cover of the song on his newest album, Spring Hill. Last night, the song came up in the same green room where Decker first taught him the song, and someone made a decision to get Decker on stage to sing.
“Last night was one of my most memorable nights ever playing music and I didn’t even show up to play tunes,” Decker told CL. “I showed up to take pics and visits with friends. I treasure what Tim brings to Tampa and to people. He brings a blanket of warmth and friendship. He is his own genre. Amazing human.”
