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Wednesday, Nov 4, 2009
Am I fed up with lackluster concerts? No I'm fed up with the lackluster music 'culture' we live in today. Let's face it kids...IT'S OVER. It really is. If you are, like me, 40 years of age or thereabouts you saw the last wave in pop/rock music/youth culture when things were really ours. That's right, we were part of a cycle that stretched about 30 years. Roughly from the time of The Beatles arrival to round about 1995-96. Yeah, I'm older now but I wouldn't trade anything with a kid who is in their 20s now. Those people are REALLY getting the short end of the stick. I don't feel sorry for them though, everything they do seems to be under some corporate logo and they seem to go along with it at every turn. Oh well, good luck robots!
Anyway back to the discussion at hand: concerts used to be the gateway to one's underworld of choice. Definitely a gathering of whatever tribe you subscribed to. Parents had only a vague idea of what they were letting you out of the house to do, IF they even knew. I remember many shows where the arena was literally filled with pot smoke. It was just a huge monsterous cloud hanging in the middle of the place and every kid looked like they were a junior version of the guys in Bad Company. Bling? Are you fucking kidding me? Not back then. So where can I begin...1981 and again in 1984 V-A-N H-A-L-E-N. I never saw Led Zeppelin, but seeing VH with Dave was abolutely amazing and loud az fuck and made up for missing the LZ boat. Cheap Trick 1980 Dream Police tour (have seen them 9 more times since then). U2 War tour and again on Unforgettable Fire...MESIANIC! The Tubes!! The Cars summer of '84. Alot of shows to list..but to fast forward Sonic Youth, many early 90s shows. Grateful Dead at Madison Square Garden right before Jerry died. The Who (never got the chance to see them until around 2000. Got free tickets from a friend and I went expecting nothing and got EVERYTHING. it doesn't matter how old Townshend is, he's cooler than all of us!) Also saw Townshend acoustic in the tiny Joe's Pub in NYC. Wait a minute...did I hear somebody say Tom Petty sucked in concert? What? He is amazing live. Maybe you were at the wrong show. Check your tickets, I think they said you supposed to be at the Justin Timberlake show.
More great shows of the last 5-10 years: Mooney Suzuki, Zen Guerilla, Nebula, Melvins, Fu Manchu, The Donnas, The Hives, White Stripes, The Datsuns, etc, etc.
Hopefully will be reunited with The Police this summer after our last meeting in October of 1983. The only difference between now and then? We're all older and the tickets prices are like 600% more!
Just curious, have you seen the Killers live to think they only have 4 great songs to perform, or do you just not like them? I ask this because they were actually great when I saw them (and they had plenty of songs-- the audience lapped it all up), and the majority of the reviews for their recent live shows in the US have been really good. Their recent Glasontbury performance is still garnishing rave reviews....anyway...just curious....as for Amy Winehouse. She's worth it. You will not regreat buying tickets to see her...but don't take my word for it, I saw the Killers and thought them fab, so you might end up disagreeing about Amy Winehouse as well.
A concert 'do' is the Kaiser Chiefs....they give such a great, energetic performance. Everyone has fun. You can't help yourself.
Another is Kings of Leon, these are probably some of the best live musicians that you'll ever get to see.
I have anoter concert 'do' but I don't see them until later in the summer-- MUSE. I hear they are fabulous, and from what I've heard on my own, I'm prone to agree.
As for the Killers, the are another concert 'do' for me...and I would suggest to anyone who likes them, see them live for yourself and then make a judgement.
At least until Phish decides to get back together.
There are very few people I pay to see these days--mostly talented musicians who are really trying to do something clever with words.
Elvis Costello--Excellent musicianship and a wry ego that makes the between song stories entertaining. He's an artist that has truly developed over the decades from a talented punk to significant performer and songwriter.
Indigo Girls--It's hard to find pop performers who have a stronger spiritual sound to their music. The concerts are an experience--the fans know every word to every song and the songs mean something to everyone in the place. Often you catch Amy and Emily singing harmony with the audience during the songs instead of trying to sing over them.
Ani Difranco--She's apt to tell an audience to stop singing along with a song because it means something personal to her and she doesn't want it devolved into a soccer chant, but in terms of raw energy, raw emotion, and performance chops, she has no equal. She mixes bits of folk, rock, jazz, poetry and hip hop in a way that is just astounding. She also surrounds herself with kickass musicians. Her live album "Living in Clip" is one of the best live albums ever recorded.
RIchard Thompson is spectacular. You can go to one of his shows not ever having heard a single one of his songs and still enjoy the performance immensely. He holds the stage with great presence, and he's funny.
Peter Mulvey--a smaller name who tours around the country playing small clubs, but he has a great presence, great songs, and great musicianship.
I try to avoid large venues and big-name acts, as mentioned by prior writers. So to keep it brief and obvious:
See:
- Springsteen: any time, any place, any band. Preferably E-Street, but I caught the Seeger Sessions tour and my mind was still blown.
- Elvis Costello. Period. I shelled out more and drove further for his recent Philly gig with The Imposters than I have for any other show, so I was well prepared to encounted a bloated, disaffected throwback. I couldn't have been more wrong, nor more pleased. He recycled a lot of old material (promoting another Greatest Hits record will do that to you, I suppose), but nothing sounded stale nor needlessly rearranged. He shook the windows of The Electric Factory, and still managed to play soft and intimate as necessary.
AVOID:
- Sting. Good god. I've seen him twice, he was bearable in Paris on the Mercury Rising Tour, but his Brand New Day claptrap in the states brought a tear of regret and loss to my little eye. Band too slick, renditions too rote, smirk too smug. No wonder the Police reunion's a wash.
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