Was seriously underwhelmed by last night's Counting Crows gig.
The highlight of the evening was Blind Pilot, the first opening band with easily the best sound quality I've heard for a band so low on the bill. They sounded more like a place and time than other bands or genres; I could have told you they were from Oregon before they announced it. I'd probably describe them as folky alt rock with strong bluegrass undertones. They were great, anyway, and they agreed to do an interview for a future issue of the Magazine. Fab!
I was expecting great things from the Hold Steady, but I really didn't get them. I don't think that anybody else did, either. Of course I'm always suspicious of "rock" bands that make a habit of using piano. I know that's not necessarily fair, but it's just one of those things. Still, they're not really rock. I'd call them Avant-garde Hipster Pop. Anyway, the keyboardist kept doing jumping jacks too fast for the songs and the lead singer swayed unbalanced about the stage as if he was on acid and trying to start a fight. First there was the piano, and then there was the talking. He didn't sing so much as talk, and although there's a place and a time for that, it just didn't fit the between the other bands. They probably get that a lot. By the time they played 5 -- count 'em, 5 -- more songs than I thought they should, I'd lost my patience completely. I'm not sure WHAT that was but I'm certainly not in any hurry to listen to it again.
As for the Counting Crows, Jesus. Like I said, I loved the Counting Crows when I was 10, but the novelty's wearing off. I think it must be wearing off for them, too. Granted, it can't be easy playing Mr. Jones night after night for fifteen years. They got that one out of the way straight off, and filled the rest of the set with randomish choices off of the follow-up albums. It wasn't always obvious which ones they were playing when because Adam Duritz spliced lyrics from some songs into others (like Long December/Rain King) and filled the rest of the space with improvisational jazz warbling. He stopped short of launching himself into scat at one point, but that was probably lack of know-how more than self-restraint.
Even though the crowd went mental for everything off of August and Everything After, it became clear that the newly independent Counting Crows were having none of that. People expecting a hits parade of their favourite songs done faithfully would have been very disappointed. The style would have better suited a cafe than the CIA at £33 a pop + booking fee.
The lighting, on the other hand, was fantastic, and the venue was most pleasant.
You know you've got problems when they lighting is the best part.
In other news, the Super Secret Underground Headquarters has a laser printer! Hurrah! We're one step closer to the return of printed copies. This excites me more than anybody else. Still, the more people I share my plot with the more support I get. I've had more offers of monthly columns and stapling/distribution help. Fantastic!
Now if only I could find that copy of InDesign...
Showing posts with label Counting Crows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Counting Crows. Show all posts
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Quests Aided by Pleasant Weather
I think all healthy people like to be interviewed. Look at those chain emails and the lists of random questions going around facebook. "Favourite day of the year?" "Biggest pet peeve?" It doesn't matter; people like talking about themselves. It begins in elementary school with the very same lists of questions and continues into adulthood with forwarded emails. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Peoples' willingness to talk about themselves certainly makes my job easier.
It also helps when people are used to be interviewed. Talking to Rat Scabies yesterday was brilliant. He told me all about the Holy Grail and what makes a good quest ("the weather"), what it was like producing the latest Flipron album (Gravity Calling) and what drives his current recordings. Very interesting stuff! He had no end of nice things to say about Flipron as musicians and as people, and although my interview with Jesse Budd leads me to agree with him, it's still nice to hear good things about a band you're a fan of -- it reaffirms your allegiance. It's rubbish when you find out someone you admire is a tosser.
Take the Killers, for example:
In my first year at Uni, me and all of my friends listened to Hot Fuzz on a loop until I headed back to the States for the summer. I got to see them in Minneapolis with Linnea and Jess H as part of an EPIC road trip that involved a great deal of hysteria and Dairy Queen soft serve. We spent most of the 80 miles from Rochester to St Paul trapped in the worst thunder storm of the summer, me in the front seat trying to calm the driver, Linnea, to the point of not killing us, while Jess H took pictures of the storm from the backseat. Once we escaped the rain we hit the Interstate, which was a completely new adventure for Linnea, and needless to say, when we got to the show we were all feeling pretty lucky to be alive.
The opening band was Louis XIV and the sound quality was appalling. We couldn't hear any of the actual music, but they were so pleasant and looked like they were having so much fun that I went out and bought The Best Little Secrets Are Kept which, although it's mercilessly "influenced" by T Rex and the Kinks, remains a dancing-as-I'm-cleaning-the-house favourite.
Sound-wise, the Killers were fantastic, but it was just like listening to the album in an arena with other people. There was something really joyless about Brandon Flowers' performance that I found terribly dissappointing. I know it must be hard touring for weeks and months at a time, but shit! Afterwards I read an interview they did with the Rolling Stone where he was talking about the shows -- they're shorter than most, and he doesn't enjoy them. I think he described it as "paying their dues."
Again, the Killers' sound quality was superb, but when I think of bands that are exciting to watch, I'm going to think of the UK Subs at Milkwood Jam, or Pour Habit who I recently saw opening for NOFX. Again, the sound quality was not fantastic, but man, were they fun! It's a shame I couldn't get a photo of Chuck scaling the stack. Fantastic!
Madina Lake was surprisingly fun to watch in a weird sort of way. None of them were plugged in to facilitate all of their manic bouncing and twirling. The balloons were a nice touch and well-judged for the age and mood of the audience, and I have to commend Nate for surfing a crowd THAT hormone-ridden. Fair play, dude. That would have scared me.
Next for my adventures I'm reviewing the Counting Crows show in Cardiff on Saturday. My inner ten year old is excited. I played August and Everything After to death in 1994/5. Undecided about the more recent stuff, but I'm sure it'll be a good time.
Either way, you'll hear about it.
It also helps when people are used to be interviewed. Talking to Rat Scabies yesterday was brilliant. He told me all about the Holy Grail and what makes a good quest ("the weather"), what it was like producing the latest Flipron album (Gravity Calling) and what drives his current recordings. Very interesting stuff! He had no end of nice things to say about Flipron as musicians and as people, and although my interview with Jesse Budd leads me to agree with him, it's still nice to hear good things about a band you're a fan of -- it reaffirms your allegiance. It's rubbish when you find out someone you admire is a tosser.
Take the Killers, for example:
In my first year at Uni, me and all of my friends listened to Hot Fuzz on a loop until I headed back to the States for the summer. I got to see them in Minneapolis with Linnea and Jess H as part of an EPIC road trip that involved a great deal of hysteria and Dairy Queen soft serve. We spent most of the 80 miles from Rochester to St Paul trapped in the worst thunder storm of the summer, me in the front seat trying to calm the driver, Linnea, to the point of not killing us, while Jess H took pictures of the storm from the backseat. Once we escaped the rain we hit the Interstate, which was a completely new adventure for Linnea, and needless to say, when we got to the show we were all feeling pretty lucky to be alive.
The opening band was Louis XIV and the sound quality was appalling. We couldn't hear any of the actual music, but they were so pleasant and looked like they were having so much fun that I went out and bought The Best Little Secrets Are Kept which, although it's mercilessly "influenced" by T Rex and the Kinks, remains a dancing-as-I'm-cleaning-the-house favourite.
Sound-wise, the Killers were fantastic, but it was just like listening to the album in an arena with other people. There was something really joyless about Brandon Flowers' performance that I found terribly dissappointing. I know it must be hard touring for weeks and months at a time, but shit! Afterwards I read an interview they did with the Rolling Stone where he was talking about the shows -- they're shorter than most, and he doesn't enjoy them. I think he described it as "paying their dues."
Again, the Killers' sound quality was superb, but when I think of bands that are exciting to watch, I'm going to think of the UK Subs at Milkwood Jam, or Pour Habit who I recently saw opening for NOFX. Again, the sound quality was not fantastic, but man, were they fun! It's a shame I couldn't get a photo of Chuck scaling the stack. Fantastic!
Madina Lake was surprisingly fun to watch in a weird sort of way. None of them were plugged in to facilitate all of their manic bouncing and twirling. The balloons were a nice touch and well-judged for the age and mood of the audience, and I have to commend Nate for surfing a crowd THAT hormone-ridden. Fair play, dude. That would have scared me.
Next for my adventures I'm reviewing the Counting Crows show in Cardiff on Saturday. My inner ten year old is excited. I played August and Everything After to death in 1994/5. Undecided about the more recent stuff, but I'm sure it'll be a good time.
Either way, you'll hear about it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
