bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 3, 2020 13:43:44 GMT
The live music and traditional concert experience that we all know and love is on hold until who knows when. Concerts and tours are being rescheduled, and there is a glimmer of hope that things will eventually return to normal. I’d like to think so. It might be weird for a while. Venues blocking off seats. Masks required at indoor concerts. Physical distancing circles painted on the ground at outdoor shows. It has all the makings of a bizarre, dystopian reality. Hey, we’re already in it.
But what if the last concert you saw before the global pandemic was declared was the last concert you EVER saw? Who was it? How was it? Are you fine with it?
The last concert I saw before lockdown was on March 9th. Nathaniel Rateliff "solo" show (with a band, but not the Night Sweats) at Roy Thomson Hall. The show was sold out, and yet the venue was more than half empty. At that time, my friends and I didn’t think the pandemic was really going to be such a big deal. But the empty seats indicated that clearly, we just hadn’t gotten with the program yet.
It wasn’t a good show. The energy was low. I don’t know if Nathaniel Rateliff just sucks as a live performer, or if he was just off that night. He seemed depressed. He ignored his too-large band, who played in a shadowy semi-circle far behind him. I don't even think he introduced the members. He kept his head down, looking at the floor. He mumbled his way through song introductions. The band played well, I guess, but they were overly orchestrated and restrained. Even the upbeat songs sounded gloomy. The silver lining was that he only played songs from his new solo album and didn't butcher any of the songs I love from his Night Sweats albums. He came across as a pompous yet self-loathing prick. It was truly awful. I’m thoroughly disappointed that THIS is the last concert I saw, for what might be quite a while.
I'm grateful that at least I got to see some wonderful concerts in 2019.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 3, 2020 17:37:13 GMT
Last summer I went to a concert in Lancaster, PA called The Happy Together Tour. Each year they gather a bunch of older artists who still have the desire - and ability - to tour around the country playing smaller venues. Each act plays four or five of their hits (complete with interesting and funny stories) and then the next act comes on. There is only about a four or five minute break in between each act. They all use the same backing band of versatile musicians who play all kinds of instruments and supply backing vocals when necessary. ALL of the performers can still sing very well, much better than the surviving Beach Boys actually, except for maybe Al.
If you think the Beach Boys' audience is old... No, really, it's a fun and sentimental night of music. The artists/groups really put out; they are really trying to put on a good show for the people. They really love what they are doing and appear grateful that they still have an audience to play for. The most consistent members of the tour are The Turtles (Howard Kaylan has retired due to health concerns), Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, The Cowsills, Gary Puckett, The Association, The Classics IV, The Buckinghams, and Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere & The Raiders. At the end of the night, all of the artists come back out and sing a snippet of a song, and they finish the show singing "Happy Together". Check out the video below:
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Post by kds on Jul 3, 2020 17:40:04 GMT
I saw Brian Wilson in Oxon Hill, MD just outside DC back in January.
It was a fairly good show. Brian's voice held up pretty well, even though he struggled a bit on H&V. There was little to no banter between songs since it was a casino show, and its likely the promoter wanted to get the fans to the tables. Well worth it to finally hear Feel Flows live.
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Post by jk on Jul 5, 2020 20:19:52 GMT
My last pop concert was when Mike, Bruce and band played a great show in my home town in mid 2017.
My last non-classical concert was by Victor Wooten later that same year. My last classical concert I believe was Berlioz's Le Damnation de Faust in autumn 2019.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 6, 2020 12:51:13 GMT
Last summer I went to a concert in Lancaster, PA called The Happy Together Tour. Each year they gather a bunch of older artists who still have the desire - and ability - to tour around the country playing smaller venues. Each act plays four or five of their hits (complete with interesting and funny stories) and then the next act comes on. There is only about a four or five minute break in between each act. They all use the same backing band of versatile musicians who play all kinds of instruments and supply backing vocals when necessary. ALL of the performers can still sing very well, much better than the surviving Beach Boys actually, except for maybe Al.
If you think the Beach Boys' audience is old... No, really, it's a fun and sentimental night of music. The artists/groups really put out; they are really trying to put on a good show for the people. They really love what they are doing and appear grateful that they still have an audience to play for. The most consistent members of the tour are The Turtles (Howard Kaylan has retired due to health concerns), Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, The Cowsills, Gary Puckett, The Association, The Classics IV, The Buckinghams, and Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere & The Raiders. At the end of the night, all of the artists come back out and sing a snippet of a song, and they finish the show singing "Happy Together". Check out the video below:
That sounds like a blast, Sheriff! Your post sparked a question... is there a notable difference between Beach Boys audiences and Brian Wilson audiences? I've seen Brian a few times, but have not yet had the pleasure of seeing a Beach Boys show (2020 was going to be the year, I had my tickets for an April show, dagnabbit!). The audience at the BW shows I've been to seemed to be fairly well balanced, a mix of young and old. The two times I saw BW in Toronto, the audience was very restrained, but that's typical of Toronto audiences (ugh, just give the band a little bit of energy back, people!). Whereas the one time I saw him in Winnipeg, the audience was extremely lively, and in the greatest hits portion of the show, actually started a dance party in front of the stage (mostly young people). I've imagined Beach Boys shows must be more similar to that, with people dancing and whatnot.
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Post by kds on Jul 6, 2020 13:09:32 GMT
Last summer I went to a concert in Lancaster, PA called The Happy Together Tour. Each year they gather a bunch of older artists who still have the desire - and ability - to tour around the country playing smaller venues. Each act plays four or five of their hits (complete with interesting and funny stories) and then the next act comes on. There is only about a four or five minute break in between each act. They all use the same backing band of versatile musicians who play all kinds of instruments and supply backing vocals when necessary. ALL of the performers can still sing very well, much better than the surviving Beach Boys actually, except for maybe Al.
If you think the Beach Boys' audience is old... No, really, it's a fun and sentimental night of music. The artists/groups really put out; they are really trying to put on a good show for the people. They really love what they are doing and appear grateful that they still have an audience to play for. The most consistent members of the tour are The Turtles (Howard Kaylan has retired due to health concerns), Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, The Cowsills, Gary Puckett, The Association, The Classics IV, The Buckinghams, and Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere & The Raiders. At the end of the night, all of the artists come back out and sing a snippet of a song, and they finish the show singing "Happy Together". Check out the video below:
That sounds like a blast, Sheriff! Your post sparked a question... is there a notable difference between Beach Boys audiences and Brian Wilson audiences? I've seen Brian a few times, but have not yet had the pleasure of seeing a Beach Boys show (2020 was going to be the year, I had my tickets for an April show, dagnabbit!). The audience at the BW shows I've been to seemed to be fairly well balanced, a mix of young and old. The two times I saw BW in Toronto, the audience was very restrained, but that's typical of Toronto audiences (ugh, just give the band a little bit of energy back, people!). Whereas the one time I saw him in Winnipeg, the audience was extremely lively, and in the greatest hits portion of the show, actually started a dance party in front of the stage (mostly young people). I've imagined Beach Boys shows must be more similar to that, with people dancing and whatnot. I've been to three M&B shows since 2015, and I'd say that, at least in my experience, the M&B audience skews a little older than Brian's. There's still some dancing in the aisles during the hits. In my experience, the M&B fans at the shows I've attended don't seem to be huge fans of the non hits. I recall a show in 2016, where the audience seems pretty unimpressed by All This is That. It also depends on the venue. The first time I saw M&B was a summer shed show, complete with beach balls bouncing in the crowd and guys in Hawaiian shirts. The other two times I saw them were theater shows, and the audience was a little more subdued.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 6, 2020 14:04:52 GMT
I agree with kds.
- The Beach Boys' audience is slightly older than Brian's. There are more younger (20-somethings) fans at Brian's concert who are probably into Brian's more-artistic music than the surf & turf hits. Not that The Beach Boys don't have fans who are interested in or familiar with the more obscure music, they do, it's just that their fans appear to prefer the hits MORE than maybe Brian's fans. - The audience is about the same as far as being...active. Like kds said, it depends on the venue. I've seen Beach Boys' concerts where the fans are dancing and singing along, and other shows where they are literally glued to their seats. Same with Brian's audience. - To me, the biggest difference is how much the fans are there to see the artists more than just going out for a night of music. I think fans at a Beach Boys' concert know who Mike Love is, probably Bruce to a lesser extent, and that's about it. It's not that much of a big deal. That's not why they are there in the first place. To a very large extent, they are there to hear a program of wall-to-wall hits performed by whoever "The Beach Boys" are who are on stage at that time. Conversely, I think many more fans attend Brian Wilson's concerts to see/hear Brian Wilson. He is a spectacle, he is an attraction, he is special. Mike and Bruce and Al are not, or not nearly as much. And I think that is somewhat reflected in the audience's...behavior.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Jul 7, 2020 13:15:18 GMT
That's an interesting point, about the venue. Standing concerts are always more comfortable for me personally (despite the fact that I can almost never see) because having the freedom to move around, dance, jump, etc. allows me to get more out of the experience, show my appreciation and give energy back to the band. With seated theatre concerts, it could be the greatest band playing the performance of their lives, and audiences seem to treat it like they're watching a movie in a cinema, removed from the experience rather than being in the same room sharing oxygen with the band they paid $$$ to see, which is irksome.
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