Every year the Hartford Advocate and the Greater Hartford Arts Council put together a local music showcase called the Hartford Advocate Grand Band Slam. Over the years, many of my friends' bands have been nominated, many have been offered for nomination, and many have been completely overlooked. This year, I received a notification from one of these friends, Ronnie Neuhauser, calling to supporters to nominated his band for this years contest. Normally, I would think that asking your friends to nominate your band would defeat the value of a nomination process, but knowing how these things (unfortunately) work, I completely understood the call for support.
As a friend and fan of Ronnie's, a supporter of local music, and a musician myself, I felt compelled to share Ronnie's thoughts on the subject. I will add first my own editorial that Ronnie and the members of his ensemble are among the most talented individuals I have ever seen perform, and without a doubt, the most original and creative group of musicians in the area.
Ronnie's letter:
Dear Greater Hartford Arts Council,
My name is Ronnie Neuhauser, composer/guitarist for No Cheez Orchestra and Styrocultural Antidote. I wanted to bring to your attention something I feel very strongly about. It is quite upsetting that the Grand Band Slam, a contest where I imagine the intent is to support creative local artists; is nothing but a popularity contest. This is disturbing because every contest I come across, especially corporate sponsored ones, have zero to do with the art form. A contest of this fashion immediately excludes many artists who are doing something different (of course there are a few exceptions). It's bad enough that the current culture has such a narrow view of what music is because of the corporate musical landscape, but for an establishment whose intent should be to give voice to artists pushing boundaries; this is nothing short of frightening. I was hoping a contest devised by an arts council would be much different. Why not have a group of judges who at least have some idea of aesthetics decide? The contest/event should cater to artists. As I examine these events I find that the artist becomes the least important participant. I hope you give my thoughts serious consideration and I'd certainly love to speak in more detail about it.
I believe the council has an obligation to help establish ground breaking artists, and give a voice to those who are being marginalized.
Peace, Ronnie
www.nocheez.com
Showing posts with label live music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label live music. Show all posts
29 December 2007
From York Street to Oblivion
I’m going back to Tennessee, back where I come from...
OK, I'm not from Tennessee, but then again, neither is Neil Fallon. Neil -- and his buddies Tim, Dan, Jean-Paul, and Mick -- actually hail from a place called Germantown, Maryland. I've never been there, but I'm sure I've driven trough it on the I-95 approach to Baltimore. But this isn't a blog about geography...
I've lost track of exactly how many times I've seen Clutch play live now -- few times in Connecticut; once in Jersey; Rhode Island for my first show -- never disappointed. Never the same show twice, even if it's twice on the same tour. Strangely, though, it is the same fans twice, or most of the time... of course, Jimbo's there every time, but I couldn't imagine going to see Clutch without him... and after a while, you begin to recognize a bulk of the fans, like they're your distant cousins or something.
Now Thursday night, the crowd was huge. I've been to a couple Valby Christmas shows, and I've still never seen Toad's Place that packed. Clutch is a great band, but I've never known them to pack a house like that, especially around here, and especially on a Thursday. But packed it was, and it was a very good crowd.
Covin was up first; a local original rock band from right here in New Haven. Solid band. Because they're local, I know I'll get to check them out again; give them a solid review of their own. Any band that can pull off a Life of Agony cover the way they did deserves a blog of their own.
No one knows what happened to Puny Human. I was told good things about them, but alas they no-showed the gig. In the end, what I think that really added up to was more time for Priestess.
When Priestess took the stage I immediately noticed two things. The first was that I now knew what it would have looked like to see Mountain in 1972. The second was that the lone dude manning their merch table was indeed to guitarist/lead singer Mikey Heppner. Very DIY... very cool in my book.
The bearded boys of Montréal put on a show of insane ferocity. Wailing guitars and screaming vocals, both kept in time by, and challenged by, Vince Nudo's insanely energetic drumming. That guy is an animal, plain and simple, and you have to respect a guy who can still play a drum solo in modern music. The Priestess set was amazing, but the capper was when, as their final song of the night, they ripped into Lay Down, their single most of us know from Guitar Hero III. Who could help but to green-yellow-red along with it?
So is a short cigarette break, a random discussion on GH:3 and whether or not Slash cheats, a couple bottles of water, and them on the the main event, and a giant Maryland state flag hanging from the rafters.
Barely had the band taken to the stage when, over the roar of the assembled masses, the open chords of Devil & Me started up. The would-be-title-track of the most recent album sent the audience into motion. The opening few songs were played much in the style of classic Clutch, Tim on guitars, Dan on bass, Mick on the organ, and Jean-Paul keeping it all in time while Neil barks, screams, sings, and gesticulates as he ministers to his audience-parish.
Jean-Paul Gaster, who I contend may be the hardest working drummer in rock today, and potentially the most talented, earned his paycheck Thursday night. Beyond his incredible talent, in addition to punching up some of the older tunes to the level of percussive acrobatics he displays in later works, three sprawling solos -- including the one that marked the division of Big News I and II -- not only took the audience on a rhythmic ride of tempo and technique, but gave his band mates some 10+ minutes of breather and beer-break he never saw nor slowed down for.
The second half of the set featured the newest track King of Arizona, another very bluesy track, but with a big, wall of sound dynamic to it, driven by the full and extended line-up instrumentation with 2 guitars, organ, and harmonica. Power Player, One-Eye Dollar, and Electric Worry rounded out the Beale Street component of the set, and the rest of the night was an eclectic sampling of many of their older works, covering just about everything but Elephant Riders -- odd since the merch table seemed to be focused on Elephant Riders and Pure Rock Fury shirts and other swag.
Neil likes to play guitar in the second half of the set, but I was happy to see him put it down to sling a mic over his shoulder to join Jean-Paul the only cowbell duet you'll see at a live rock show. Only Clutch could possibly fuse blues and hardcore, highlighted with a Hammond organ and harmonica. But it completely works. Personally I'm not a fan of the harmonica player. I first saw him last year in Sayerville, where Clutch was touring with his band -- don't ask me which band; I have no clue -- and Neil asked him up to play of the last three, very blues-heavy, songs of the night. His continued presence with the band irks me in some weird way; perhaps its his spastic movement, perhaps its the fact that he tries to scream backing vocals into his bullet mic. Whatever the reason, I am please to know that he's not considered part of the band, and although there were as many as 7 people on stage playing during one song, he's still not one of the five that actually make up Clutch.
All in all and excellent show -- not that I'd expect less. And although I was unable to snag the one broke shard of Jean-Paul's stick -- Gaster is one of the few drummers I've seen who does not toss his extra sticks into the crowd after a show -- I was delighted to be handed 2 free lighters and 2 free shot glasses by the guy at the merch table when I bought my tour shirt. It seems that the folks at Jägermeister Music like to give the fans a little something for showing up. That and the CD I got earlier in the year were really nice of them.
So, the next tour kicks off very soon, with back-to-back shows at Cambridge, Massachusetts' Middle East, starting Thursday, February 21, 2008. I know I'll be there one of the two dates, and I know it'll be another great show.
Now Thursday night, the crowd was huge. I've been to a couple Valby Christmas shows, and I've still never seen Toad's Place that packed. Clutch is a great band, but I've never known them to pack a house like that, especially around here, and especially on a Thursday. But packed it was, and it was a very good crowd.
Covin was up first; a local original rock band from right here in New Haven. Solid band. Because they're local, I know I'll get to check them out again; give them a solid review of their own. Any band that can pull off a Life of Agony cover the way they did deserves a blog of their own.
No one knows what happened to Puny Human. I was told good things about them, but alas they no-showed the gig. In the end, what I think that really added up to was more time for Priestess.
When Priestess took the stage I immediately noticed two things. The first was that I now knew what it would have looked like to see Mountain in 1972. The second was that the lone dude manning their merch table was indeed to guitarist/lead singer Mikey Heppner. Very DIY... very cool in my book.
The bearded boys of Montréal put on a show of insane ferocity. Wailing guitars and screaming vocals, both kept in time by, and challenged by, Vince Nudo's insanely energetic drumming. That guy is an animal, plain and simple, and you have to respect a guy who can still play a drum solo in modern music. The Priestess set was amazing, but the capper was when, as their final song of the night, they ripped into Lay Down, their single most of us know from Guitar Hero III. Who could help but to green-yellow-red along with it?
So is a short cigarette break, a random discussion on GH:3 and whether or not Slash cheats, a couple bottles of water, and them on the the main event, and a giant Maryland state flag hanging from the rafters.
Barely had the band taken to the stage when, over the roar of the assembled masses, the open chords of Devil & Me started up. The would-be-title-track of the most recent album sent the audience into motion. The opening few songs were played much in the style of classic Clutch, Tim on guitars, Dan on bass, Mick on the organ, and Jean-Paul keeping it all in time while Neil barks, screams, sings, and gesticulates as he ministers to his audience-parish.
Jean-Paul Gaster, who I contend may be the hardest working drummer in rock today, and potentially the most talented, earned his paycheck Thursday night. Beyond his incredible talent, in addition to punching up some of the older tunes to the level of percussive acrobatics he displays in later works, three sprawling solos -- including the one that marked the division of Big News I and II -- not only took the audience on a rhythmic ride of tempo and technique, but gave his band mates some 10+ minutes of breather and beer-break he never saw nor slowed down for.
The second half of the set featured the newest track King of Arizona, another very bluesy track, but with a big, wall of sound dynamic to it, driven by the full and extended line-up instrumentation with 2 guitars, organ, and harmonica. Power Player, One-Eye Dollar, and Electric Worry rounded out the Beale Street component of the set, and the rest of the night was an eclectic sampling of many of their older works, covering just about everything but Elephant Riders -- odd since the merch table seemed to be focused on Elephant Riders and Pure Rock Fury shirts and other swag.
Neil likes to play guitar in the second half of the set, but I was happy to see him put it down to sling a mic over his shoulder to join Jean-Paul the only cowbell duet you'll see at a live rock show. Only Clutch could possibly fuse blues and hardcore, highlighted with a Hammond organ and harmonica. But it completely works. Personally I'm not a fan of the harmonica player. I first saw him last year in Sayerville, where Clutch was touring with his band -- don't ask me which band; I have no clue -- and Neil asked him up to play of the last three, very blues-heavy, songs of the night. His continued presence with the band irks me in some weird way; perhaps its his spastic movement, perhaps its the fact that he tries to scream backing vocals into his bullet mic. Whatever the reason, I am please to know that he's not considered part of the band, and although there were as many as 7 people on stage playing during one song, he's still not one of the five that actually make up Clutch.
All in all and excellent show -- not that I'd expect less. And although I was unable to snag the one broke shard of Jean-Paul's stick -- Gaster is one of the few drummers I've seen who does not toss his extra sticks into the crowd after a show -- I was delighted to be handed 2 free lighters and 2 free shot glasses by the guy at the merch table when I bought my tour shirt. It seems that the folks at Jägermeister Music like to give the fans a little something for showing up. That and the CD I got earlier in the year were really nice of them.
So, the next tour kicks off very soon, with back-to-back shows at Cambridge, Massachusetts' Middle East, starting Thursday, February 21, 2008. I know I'll be there one of the two dates, and I know it'll be another great show.
19 June 2007
A review I probably should have written in May
-or-
Gríma Wormtongue can still frikkin' rock!!!
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So, tickets go on sale Friday for Heaven and Hell -- again -- (Thursday, I think, through the local rock station) for a September show at the casino. I'm in a quandary as to whether to buy. I know it's going to be a great show; I've already seen it.
Heaven and Hell played the Mohegan Sun Arena May 15th, with Megadeth (and some other band I didn't see) in tow. In September, they'll play with Queensrÿche and Alice Cooper -- the former I've seen 5 times, and the latter never. The May show was fantastic. September promises to be as good -- if the 3 major bands on the bill doesn't shorten everyone's set. This isn't the show you you want 3 hour-long set for -- after only an hour, each of these bands is only getting warmed up.
Megadeth, on the other hand, is the perfect band to do an hour before the headliner. Why? Because in an hour's time, they can blister and burn through some 10 of their greatest hits and a nice sampling off the new record. The busted on stage, the drummer pinned to the back of the stage curtain by his kit looking like an animal in a cage, and with maybe two words on welcome, slammed into a blistering set that covered everything a fan would want to hear. A couple words from Dave to promote the new album, a couple more to thank the crowd for their enthusiasm -- and who wouldn't be enthused with a set that ran like a runaway train from start to finish of his career. Hanger 18, Sweating Bullets, and a medley of 5 tunes, including the classic Mechanics Dave wrote for Metallica before his unceremonious departure. The best thing about Megadeth medley, though, in 6 minutes, they play 5 songs, start to finish, each normally clocking 3 minutes long. Mechanics reminded me of an important thing: for as popular as Metallica has become, for anything they play (The Four Horsemen, for example, being James Hetfield's lyrical rewrite for Mechanics), Dave and Megadeth can play it bigger, louder, better, and without doubt... faster.
So Megadeth's set closed, and you'd think we'd been playing for an hour, so we went for a smoke and another beer. Cooled off, and back in the auditorium -- our seats, thank to a good hookup at the Sun, were phenomenal, by the way -- we waited to see what was in store for us from the headlining act. Well, from the moment the curtain lifted, we weren't disappointed.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences doesn't give awards for live performance. They should. And if they did, The Heaven and Hell Tour would undoubtedly win the Grammy for Best Set Decoration. The curtains parted to reveal the ruins of a gothic church, stone arches, torches, and 3 stained glass windows that revealed as video screens displaying images such as angels smoking cigarettes.
On the left (the far end from our vantage point), Geezer Butler, in his elder years now looking like Gérard Depardieu with a bass. At the rear of the stage, Vinny Appice, a menacing humanoid representation of the Muppet Show's Animal, across between Joe Pesci and an Orge. On the right, Tony Iommi... OK, Tony Iommi just looks like Tony Iommi, plastic fingertips and all. And running to the front of the stage, the Angry Gnome of Metal -- scratch that; his prior battles with gnomes being quite well known, referring to him as such seems wrong -- the Gollum-like Metal God that he is, the man who brought us Metal Hand, Gríma Worm... I mean, Ronnie James Dio. But yeah, he really does look too much like Gríma Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings. He does.
But anyway, enough mocking the appearance of 4 of the greatest men to ever get together and make Metal, they deserve better than the fickle comparisons of my mind's eye. They deserve to get together and make an album. Oh wait, they did. And for an album that spans the "best of" of a career that lasted an entire two studio albums, it truly is an amazing offering. And the tour to support it, amazing as well..
I'd like to stop a moment, and thank VH1 Classic for existing. Not only is it possibly the only place on television to listen to good music, but the VH1 Classic Concert Series has brought us some of the best shows in recent memory. The joy of this series for me, is that I can finally catch some of the bands, that in their hey-day, I was just too young to go see. Pandora's Box of classic shows, of bands I got into too late, or bands who toured when I was still in Elementary School, has been opened. But Eddie Trunk, our modern-day Pandora, need not be chastised for what he has released into the world.
Musically -- and when it comes down to it,musically is what really matters -- the show surpassed my expectations. I had seen Black Sabbath, the real Black Sabbath, at OzzFest not too many years ago -- again, a line-up I had expected had passed me by before I was born. At that show I had been impressed with the musicianship of the original line-up, but that was nothing compared to what I heard at Heaven and Hell. It would be my humble opinion that Black Sabbath really blossomed into true Heavy Metal at the time when they picked up Dio. Tony Iommi is an indisputably awesome guitarist, but this era of the band really allowed him to display the kind of prowess that defines him as a Metal God. Geezer Butler, who almost seems absent in early Sabbath, really shines, and unlike many of his contemporaries, produces a fast, heavy sound without the aid of pick. And of course, there is Vinny Appice. Perhaps moreso than Dio himself, the addition of Appice on drums truly defines the heavier, darker, truly just more metal sound of Dio era Sabbath. The man is a monster... and not just in appearance.
I haven't yet picked up the album this tour supports, but I know I will. There is no way I could not. Perhaps it is in fact a bi-product of the fact that The Dio Years is an eponymous spanning a mere two albums, but everything just fit together. From the heaviest, to the lightest ballad -- well, what passes for a ballad from Dio and Sabbath -- everything just flowed together beautifully. Shockingly, the two of the three new song that they did play live, not only fit, not only were just great tunes, they in fact sounded more like the older works of Sabbath than everything else they played. Ronnie, Tony, Geezer and Vinny truly succeeded when they got back into the studio, and managed to put together 3 tracks that unequivocally deserved to be call Black Sabbath songs.
Kudos, boys.
Now, the question does remain... do I do it all again? I'll have to think on that some more. But in thinking on it initially, I was lucky to have been reminded of what a fantastic show it was the first time around.
Currently listening :
The Dio Years
By Black Sabbath
Release date: 03 April, 2007
Gríma Wormtongue can still frikkin' rock!!!
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So, tickets go on sale Friday for Heaven and Hell -- again -- (Thursday, I think, through the local rock station) for a September show at the casino. I'm in a quandary as to whether to buy. I know it's going to be a great show; I've already seen it.
Heaven and Hell played the Mohegan Sun Arena May 15th, with Megadeth (and some other band I didn't see) in tow. In September, they'll play with Queensrÿche and Alice Cooper -- the former I've seen 5 times, and the latter never. The May show was fantastic. September promises to be as good -- if the 3 major bands on the bill doesn't shorten everyone's set. This isn't the show you you want 3 hour-long set for -- after only an hour, each of these bands is only getting warmed up.
Megadeth, on the other hand, is the perfect band to do an hour before the headliner. Why? Because in an hour's time, they can blister and burn through some 10 of their greatest hits and a nice sampling off the new record. The busted on stage, the drummer pinned to the back of the stage curtain by his kit looking like an animal in a cage, and with maybe two words on welcome, slammed into a blistering set that covered everything a fan would want to hear. A couple words from Dave to promote the new album, a couple more to thank the crowd for their enthusiasm -- and who wouldn't be enthused with a set that ran like a runaway train from start to finish of his career. Hanger 18, Sweating Bullets, and a medley of 5 tunes, including the classic Mechanics Dave wrote for Metallica before his unceremonious departure. The best thing about Megadeth medley, though, in 6 minutes, they play 5 songs, start to finish, each normally clocking 3 minutes long. Mechanics reminded me of an important thing: for as popular as Metallica has become, for anything they play (The Four Horsemen, for example, being James Hetfield's lyrical rewrite for Mechanics), Dave and Megadeth can play it bigger, louder, better, and without doubt... faster.
So Megadeth's set closed, and you'd think we'd been playing for an hour, so we went for a smoke and another beer. Cooled off, and back in the auditorium -- our seats, thank to a good hookup at the Sun, were phenomenal, by the way -- we waited to see what was in store for us from the headlining act. Well, from the moment the curtain lifted, we weren't disappointed.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences doesn't give awards for live performance. They should. And if they did, The Heaven and Hell Tour would undoubtedly win the Grammy for Best Set Decoration. The curtains parted to reveal the ruins of a gothic church, stone arches, torches, and 3 stained glass windows that revealed as video screens displaying images such as angels smoking cigarettes.
On the left (the far end from our vantage point), Geezer Butler, in his elder years now looking like Gérard Depardieu with a bass. At the rear of the stage, Vinny Appice, a menacing humanoid representation of the Muppet Show's Animal, across between Joe Pesci and an Orge. On the right, Tony Iommi... OK, Tony Iommi just looks like Tony Iommi, plastic fingertips and all. And running to the front of the stage, the Angry Gnome of Metal -- scratch that; his prior battles with gnomes being quite well known, referring to him as such seems wrong -- the Gollum-like Metal God that he is, the man who brought us Metal Hand, Gríma Worm... I mean, Ronnie James Dio. But yeah, he really does look too much like Gríma Wormtongue from The Lord of the Rings. He does.
But anyway, enough mocking the appearance of 4 of the greatest men to ever get together and make Metal, they deserve better than the fickle comparisons of my mind's eye. They deserve to get together and make an album. Oh wait, they did. And for an album that spans the "best of" of a career that lasted an entire two studio albums, it truly is an amazing offering. And the tour to support it, amazing as well..
I'd like to stop a moment, and thank VH1 Classic for existing. Not only is it possibly the only place on television to listen to good music, but the VH1 Classic Concert Series has brought us some of the best shows in recent memory. The joy of this series for me, is that I can finally catch some of the bands, that in their hey-day, I was just too young to go see. Pandora's Box of classic shows, of bands I got into too late, or bands who toured when I was still in Elementary School, has been opened. But Eddie Trunk, our modern-day Pandora, need not be chastised for what he has released into the world.
Musically -- and when it comes down to it,musically is what really matters -- the show surpassed my expectations. I had seen Black Sabbath, the real Black Sabbath, at OzzFest not too many years ago -- again, a line-up I had expected had passed me by before I was born. At that show I had been impressed with the musicianship of the original line-up, but that was nothing compared to what I heard at Heaven and Hell. It would be my humble opinion that Black Sabbath really blossomed into true Heavy Metal at the time when they picked up Dio. Tony Iommi is an indisputably awesome guitarist, but this era of the band really allowed him to display the kind of prowess that defines him as a Metal God. Geezer Butler, who almost seems absent in early Sabbath, really shines, and unlike many of his contemporaries, produces a fast, heavy sound without the aid of pick. And of course, there is Vinny Appice. Perhaps moreso than Dio himself, the addition of Appice on drums truly defines the heavier, darker, truly just more metal sound of Dio era Sabbath. The man is a monster... and not just in appearance.
I haven't yet picked up the album this tour supports, but I know I will. There is no way I could not. Perhaps it is in fact a bi-product of the fact that The Dio Years is an eponymous spanning a mere two albums, but everything just fit together. From the heaviest, to the lightest ballad -- well, what passes for a ballad from Dio and Sabbath -- everything just flowed together beautifully. Shockingly, the two of the three new song that they did play live, not only fit, not only were just great tunes, they in fact sounded more like the older works of Sabbath than everything else they played. Ronnie, Tony, Geezer and Vinny truly succeeded when they got back into the studio, and managed to put together 3 tracks that unequivocally deserved to be call Black Sabbath songs.
Kudos, boys.
Now, the question does remain... do I do it all again? I'll have to think on that some more. But in thinking on it initially, I was lucky to have been reminded of what a fantastic show it was the first time around.
Currently listening :
The Dio Years
By Black Sabbath
Release date: 03 April, 2007
11 November 2006
Mindcrime II, Take II
-or-
Why the Venue Makes Everything Different
Archived MySpace blog
Category: Music
It's been a while since I've written a blog, and it seems odd that what should inspire me to write now is something I wrote a blog about not 2 months ago. But... here we are.
September 22nd, I saw Queensrÿche perform Operation: Mindrime and Operation: Mindcrime II at the Nokia Theater in New York. I went with my friends, and brothers, Jim and Joe, and had an amazing time, which you can read about here. Not long after, and after posting the above mentioned blog, I learned that my friend Phil was regretting that he didn't make the show. So, knowing that there's only a limited amount of Queensrÿche left to see, and that I would love to see the show again, I invited Phil, and of course my girl Molly, and got tickets for the show at the Chevy (Oakdale) Theatre, in Wallingford.
So, about 6:30 we depart West Haven, having picked up Angie -- who had gotten tickets with other friends, and would later have her own separate story to tell of her night. Here's your Kudos, Angie! -- and Phil, and were en route. It's about 10 or 15 minutes to the Oakdale, so after a brief discussion of that fact that we shall not "be that guy" and play any Queensrÿche on the way to the show, and a couple of running Ren and Stimpy references, we found ourselves there.
So now we are there, and of the reason why this is indeed a separate blog, and my friend Clint can now attest, a venue can make or break a show. This is by no meas a tear at the Oakdale, it has it's up points and its down points, but it simply amazes me how different the experience was at a different venue.
We arrived, and after out quick walk over from Premier Parking, we found ourselves inside the theatre. The Oakdale has a large, if slightly crowded, lobby, ringed by concessions. The beer is only slightly overpriced, and true to it's theatre roots, also has the more typical concessions like popcorn, nachos, and coffee. I can't be certain, but I do believe the merch booth was even a bit cheaper than in New York, and I did find myself buying a t-shirt from the tour.
Our seats were excellent, aisle seats right near the front of our level, and with no seats in front of us as we were at the edge of the pie-wedge shaped section 207. The view was amazing, and in stark contrast to the New York show, where we did not have seats at all until the second act.
By the time Anarchy-X came up, and I could actually see the stage set and the incomparable Scott Rockenfield wailing away at that telltale drum lick, I realized the value of our seats. I was able now to see that the sets... and moreover some of the images on the projection behind the set... had been changed since the original Mindcrime production I had been lucky enough to see a couple years back. The band sounded awesome as always, and the house sound, although maybe a touch scaled down from the Nokia, was clean and clear.
But, when Geoff Tate stumble on stage to belt out the first notes of Revolution Calling, they all but weren't there. By midway through the song, they had his vocals up, and a couple songs in, they seemed to be EQ'd perfectly, but then, when Pamela Moore came on for Spreading the Disease, it was the same old thing all over again.
Pamela's vocals would unfortunately never be spot-on, and the issues the wireless headset mics seemed to be causing only came out more in contrast to the crystal clear canned vocals of The Chase, featuring Ronnie James Dio, in the second act. In fact, even the band's synch with the the other prerecorded orchestration and effects seemed just a hair off.
The inferiority of the vocals, though, was set off by the visual superiority of the show from my much better vantage point. Visually, the show was stunning, and this was the first time I got to see the performance in its entirety without impediment. Geoff's performance was brilliant, and he moved about the stage with an energy and showmanship rare in this day and age -- rarer still when not 5 hours earlier he appeared on WCCC sounding like he was in fact dying of his head cold.
Against my better judgment, I did not mug Angela for her backstage pass, nor did I have an opportunity to acquire any of the Queensrÿche money from I'm American, but I still had a phenomenal time.
Kudos to you, Queensrÿche!
Currently watching :
Queensryche - Operation Livecrime
Release date: 20 November, 2001
Why the Venue Makes Everything Different
Archived MySpace blog
Category: Music
It's been a while since I've written a blog, and it seems odd that what should inspire me to write now is something I wrote a blog about not 2 months ago. But... here we are.
September 22nd, I saw Queensrÿche perform Operation: Mindrime and Operation: Mindcrime II at the Nokia Theater in New York. I went with my friends, and brothers, Jim and Joe, and had an amazing time, which you can read about here. Not long after, and after posting the above mentioned blog, I learned that my friend Phil was regretting that he didn't make the show. So, knowing that there's only a limited amount of Queensrÿche left to see, and that I would love to see the show again, I invited Phil, and of course my girl Molly, and got tickets for the show at the Chevy (Oakdale) Theatre, in Wallingford.
So, about 6:30 we depart West Haven, having picked up Angie -- who had gotten tickets with other friends, and would later have her own separate story to tell of her night. Here's your Kudos, Angie! -- and Phil, and were en route. It's about 10 or 15 minutes to the Oakdale, so after a brief discussion of that fact that we shall not "be that guy" and play any Queensrÿche on the way to the show, and a couple of running Ren and Stimpy references, we found ourselves there.
So now we are there, and of the reason why this is indeed a separate blog, and my friend Clint can now attest, a venue can make or break a show. This is by no meas a tear at the Oakdale, it has it's up points and its down points, but it simply amazes me how different the experience was at a different venue.
We arrived, and after out quick walk over from Premier Parking, we found ourselves inside the theatre. The Oakdale has a large, if slightly crowded, lobby, ringed by concessions. The beer is only slightly overpriced, and true to it's theatre roots, also has the more typical concessions like popcorn, nachos, and coffee. I can't be certain, but I do believe the merch booth was even a bit cheaper than in New York, and I did find myself buying a t-shirt from the tour.
Our seats were excellent, aisle seats right near the front of our level, and with no seats in front of us as we were at the edge of the pie-wedge shaped section 207. The view was amazing, and in stark contrast to the New York show, where we did not have seats at all until the second act.
By the time Anarchy-X came up, and I could actually see the stage set and the incomparable Scott Rockenfield wailing away at that telltale drum lick, I realized the value of our seats. I was able now to see that the sets... and moreover some of the images on the projection behind the set... had been changed since the original Mindcrime production I had been lucky enough to see a couple years back. The band sounded awesome as always, and the house sound, although maybe a touch scaled down from the Nokia, was clean and clear.
But, when Geoff Tate stumble on stage to belt out the first notes of Revolution Calling, they all but weren't there. By midway through the song, they had his vocals up, and a couple songs in, they seemed to be EQ'd perfectly, but then, when Pamela Moore came on for Spreading the Disease, it was the same old thing all over again.
Pamela's vocals would unfortunately never be spot-on, and the issues the wireless headset mics seemed to be causing only came out more in contrast to the crystal clear canned vocals of The Chase, featuring Ronnie James Dio, in the second act. In fact, even the band's synch with the the other prerecorded orchestration and effects seemed just a hair off.
The inferiority of the vocals, though, was set off by the visual superiority of the show from my much better vantage point. Visually, the show was stunning, and this was the first time I got to see the performance in its entirety without impediment. Geoff's performance was brilliant, and he moved about the stage with an energy and showmanship rare in this day and age -- rarer still when not 5 hours earlier he appeared on WCCC sounding like he was in fact dying of his head cold.
Against my better judgment, I did not mug Angela for her backstage pass, nor did I have an opportunity to acquire any of the Queensrÿche money from I'm American, but I still had a phenomenal time.
Kudos to you, Queensrÿche!
Currently watching :
Queensryche - Operation Livecrime
Release date: 20 November, 2001
24 September 2006
Speak the Word...
REVOLUTION
...The Word is All of Us.
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So here it is, the first big show of the Fall... OK, last of the Summer if you want to get technical, yesterday was actually the first day of Fall. But this one... well this one's been planned for so long... I heard about it at the end of a show at the Webster last year, and knew I was going.
And so it was, that Jim and I were taking a trip to New York. I love New York -- yeah, I know that sounds trite -- I just can't think of another city with that much energy. And I think you bring that energy with you when you go to New York to do something, especially to a show. And so, this is how we find ourselves on the 4:52 out of New Haven.
I left work a bit early, just so I could catch the right train. Changed clothes in the parking garage; what a sight that must have been if anyone was looking. Run to track 14; Jim had already bought my train ticket for me. The train ride was uneventful -- crowded, but average -- highlighted in the first 3 stops by Jim trying in vain to see if his brother had caught the same train in Milford.
Somewhere down the line, Fairfield County, "You're gonna have to get on or off the train." "You have to clear the doors; ON or OFF." The on-board loudspeaker, to some teenager in Greens Farms; he and his friends couldn't figure out which car they were getting on. Our, it seemed, was the answer, and 3 girls and a guy, armed with large bags, proceeded to walk up and down the aisle of the train, bumping into as many people as possible on the way. "Sorry." "Oops, sorry." Where is... who's the Mayor of Green's Farms, anyway?
On to New York. Jim's brother Joe caught a later train. He'll meet us at the theater. Smoke break at Grand Central, then back underground, we're on an S train, Times Square bound. It's a small, tightly packed subway train, one stop. OK, so it's only a 5 block walk... but when in Rome, ya know?
Times Square is truly and amazing place. I've been there a few times, and to New York many more... but Time Square always impresses me: A giant Mecca to industry and popular culture. At 2 in the morning, it still looks like broad daylight. So there we are, looking up -- everything is up in Times Square -- asking "where is the Nokia Theatre?" I suggested in jest that if the Cingular building is beside us, the Verizon building to our right, LG straight ahead, Nokia must be up and to the left. Who'd have thought I'd be correct? Times Square may indeed be laid out by market share.
No Joe yet, and no phone to call Ang, Dre, or Pete, so... break for dinner. When the plan is to meet 5 or 6 people in New York when we're all taking different transportation, it's unfortunately a bad time for your phone to run out of juice. But, food in our bellies, we returned to the Nokia, undaunted.
Fantastic venue. At least that's my opinion. I think it's shared by those I've spoken to. Small, intimate, very few bad views... and excellently set-up hall. Even at the security end, the venue is well designed, and very efficient. Once you're pasted the front doors, you don't need your tickets, you don't interact with the security. They're there, but very unobtrusive. A variety of bars along the way to the main hall keep the crowds down. All in all, one of the best venues I've ever been to.
But at 8:05 the lights dropped. Joe's not yet to be found, nor have I spied anyone else. It no longer matters. From this point on it's about Geoff Tate, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield. Last year we saw Operation: Mindcrime live. At the end of the show we saw a trailer for the very long-waited sequel. Now it was here. Not only was Mindcrime II finally a reality, but it was in fact presented in the best way possible, both shows, full rock opera format, back to back with only a show intermission. In short: Queensrÿche, Operation: Mindcrime I & II. And it was awesome.
Remember Now, Anarchy-X, Revolution Calling; the audience singing along. The stage show getting harder to see over the assembled crowd. Operation: Mindcrime, Speak; by now the room is packed, ever giant word flashed on the screen echoing through the crowd. Spreading The Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary.
"Don't ever trust..." By The Needle Lies the crowd is in a fervor. Everyone is completely into the show. There is the guy next to us -- awesome guy -- he must be 70, in an AC/DC t-shirt, with his sweet, grandmotherly wife, headbanging and completely rocking out. I want to be that guy when I'm his age... I really do.
Electric Requiem, Breaking the Silence, I Don't believe in Love; at this point we take our exit. No we didn't leave for good... quite the opposite. But we've seen Mindcrime before. We listen to Waiting For 22, My Empty Room, and Eyes Of A Stranger from outside the main hall so we can grab a smoke. We're heading back to the hall right as everyone's leaving, right in time to spot Joe, and perfectly to snipe 3 prime seats, just left of center, in the front row of the seated tier. Still no sight of the rest, but Jim, Joe and I are in perfect position to see every moment of what we came there to see: Operation: Mindcrime II.
Freiheit Overture began, and the energy was incredible. Convict began, and Geoff Tate comes out on stage in an orange jumpsuit.I'm American; throwing funny money into the audience. One Foot in Hell, Hostage, Hands, Speed of Light; everything with the clarity you can't just get by listening to the album. Signs Say Go, Re-Arrange You, Chase; Ronnie James Dio up on the screen, while his canned -- yet wonderfully produced -- vocals meshed perfectly with the live instrumentation. The opera itself was less intense; less characters and lacking the style of Tate singing and interacting with Nikki, but still captivating, still strong. Murderer?, Circles, If I Could Change It All, An Intentional Confrontation, Junkie's Blues; a strong finish.
The house music came up, but the lights did not. There's still a treat in store. Jim asked another fan -- one he'd gathered had been to last night's show as well -- and discovered that indeed there was an encore. Three songs, including Jet City Woman, and... thankfully... no Silently Lucidity. The audience got into the encore possibly even more strongly than the show itself. Not out of dislike for the performance, but during the Mindcrimes you had to watch and listen, during the encore... just sing along... just Speak the Word.
Currently listening :
Operation: Mindcrime
By Queensrÿche
Release date: 06 May, 2003
...The Word is All of Us.
Archive from MySpace blog
Category: Music
So here it is, the first big show of the Fall... OK, last of the Summer if you want to get technical, yesterday was actually the first day of Fall. But this one... well this one's been planned for so long... I heard about it at the end of a show at the Webster last year, and knew I was going.
And so it was, that Jim and I were taking a trip to New York. I love New York -- yeah, I know that sounds trite -- I just can't think of another city with that much energy. And I think you bring that energy with you when you go to New York to do something, especially to a show. And so, this is how we find ourselves on the 4:52 out of New Haven.
I left work a bit early, just so I could catch the right train. Changed clothes in the parking garage; what a sight that must have been if anyone was looking. Run to track 14; Jim had already bought my train ticket for me. The train ride was uneventful -- crowded, but average -- highlighted in the first 3 stops by Jim trying in vain to see if his brother had caught the same train in Milford.
Somewhere down the line, Fairfield County, "You're gonna have to get on or off the train." "You have to clear the doors; ON or OFF." The on-board loudspeaker, to some teenager in Greens Farms; he and his friends couldn't figure out which car they were getting on. Our, it seemed, was the answer, and 3 girls and a guy, armed with large bags, proceeded to walk up and down the aisle of the train, bumping into as many people as possible on the way. "Sorry." "Oops, sorry." Where is... who's the Mayor of Green's Farms, anyway?
On to New York. Jim's brother Joe caught a later train. He'll meet us at the theater. Smoke break at Grand Central, then back underground, we're on an S train, Times Square bound. It's a small, tightly packed subway train, one stop. OK, so it's only a 5 block walk... but when in Rome, ya know?
Times Square is truly and amazing place. I've been there a few times, and to New York many more... but Time Square always impresses me: A giant Mecca to industry and popular culture. At 2 in the morning, it still looks like broad daylight. So there we are, looking up -- everything is up in Times Square -- asking "where is the Nokia Theatre?" I suggested in jest that if the Cingular building is beside us, the Verizon building to our right, LG straight ahead, Nokia must be up and to the left. Who'd have thought I'd be correct? Times Square may indeed be laid out by market share.
No Joe yet, and no phone to call Ang, Dre, or Pete, so... break for dinner. When the plan is to meet 5 or 6 people in New York when we're all taking different transportation, it's unfortunately a bad time for your phone to run out of juice. But, food in our bellies, we returned to the Nokia, undaunted.
Fantastic venue. At least that's my opinion. I think it's shared by those I've spoken to. Small, intimate, very few bad views... and excellently set-up hall. Even at the security end, the venue is well designed, and very efficient. Once you're pasted the front doors, you don't need your tickets, you don't interact with the security. They're there, but very unobtrusive. A variety of bars along the way to the main hall keep the crowds down. All in all, one of the best venues I've ever been to.
But at 8:05 the lights dropped. Joe's not yet to be found, nor have I spied anyone else. It no longer matters. From this point on it's about Geoff Tate, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield. Last year we saw Operation: Mindcrime live. At the end of the show we saw a trailer for the very long-waited sequel. Now it was here. Not only was Mindcrime II finally a reality, but it was in fact presented in the best way possible, both shows, full rock opera format, back to back with only a show intermission. In short: Queensrÿche, Operation: Mindcrime I & II. And it was awesome.
Remember Now, Anarchy-X, Revolution Calling; the audience singing along. The stage show getting harder to see over the assembled crowd. Operation: Mindcrime, Speak; by now the room is packed, ever giant word flashed on the screen echoing through the crowd. Spreading The Disease, The Mission, Suite Sister Mary.
"Don't ever trust..." By The Needle Lies the crowd is in a fervor. Everyone is completely into the show. There is the guy next to us -- awesome guy -- he must be 70, in an AC/DC t-shirt, with his sweet, grandmotherly wife, headbanging and completely rocking out. I want to be that guy when I'm his age... I really do.
Electric Requiem, Breaking the Silence, I Don't believe in Love; at this point we take our exit. No we didn't leave for good... quite the opposite. But we've seen Mindcrime before. We listen to Waiting For 22, My Empty Room, and Eyes Of A Stranger from outside the main hall so we can grab a smoke. We're heading back to the hall right as everyone's leaving, right in time to spot Joe, and perfectly to snipe 3 prime seats, just left of center, in the front row of the seated tier. Still no sight of the rest, but Jim, Joe and I are in perfect position to see every moment of what we came there to see: Operation: Mindcrime II.
Freiheit Overture began, and the energy was incredible. Convict began, and Geoff Tate comes out on stage in an orange jumpsuit.I'm American; throwing funny money into the audience. One Foot in Hell, Hostage, Hands, Speed of Light; everything with the clarity you can't just get by listening to the album. Signs Say Go, Re-Arrange You, Chase; Ronnie James Dio up on the screen, while his canned -- yet wonderfully produced -- vocals meshed perfectly with the live instrumentation. The opera itself was less intense; less characters and lacking the style of Tate singing and interacting with Nikki, but still captivating, still strong. Murderer?, Circles, If I Could Change It All, An Intentional Confrontation, Junkie's Blues; a strong finish.
The house music came up, but the lights did not. There's still a treat in store. Jim asked another fan -- one he'd gathered had been to last night's show as well -- and discovered that indeed there was an encore. Three songs, including Jet City Woman, and... thankfully... no Silently Lucidity. The audience got into the encore possibly even more strongly than the show itself. Not out of dislike for the performance, but during the Mindcrimes you had to watch and listen, during the encore... just sing along... just Speak the Word.
Currently listening :
Operation: Mindcrime
By Queensrÿche
Release date: 06 May, 2003
18 July 2005
I got down and dirty at OzzFest...
Archived MySpace blog
Current mood: beat
... just not in the good way.
Soaked.
Hot all morning. Yeah, we got there about 10. Saw a lot of second stage bands. Good time. Got kinda hot, but then the rain came. Ducked in under a Pavilion. Second downpour... not so lucky. On the lawn, right before Zakk Wylde. Nothing one can do, but sit back, and embrace the rain...
Yup, soaked.
Covered in mud.
So the rain stops. Wet ground + festival show = competitive sod lobbing. Yay. I made it my point to enjoy the show, so there I stood, in a pocket a relative emptiness, bright white tank top, mud flying back and forth overhead. I stood fast, for another band and a half, just enjoying the show in the crossfire of the muddy idiots, but eventually....
Yeah, covered in mud.
The Trooper.
Learned a few things on the lawn. Learned that I really like Shadows Fall, and that I don't like Mudvayne nearly as much as I thought I did. Learned that a mob of retarded teenagers will follow the first drunken idiot with disdain for landscaping. Learned that even when you run sound at OzzFest for a living, every once in a while you just forget to turn on the PA main when the next band starts. And most important right now, I learned that just when things look bleak, you can just start wailing on that unforgettable riff...
The beginning of "The Trooper".
Down and dirty.
So the night is winding down. Shorts are drying off. Lawn is wet. Its dark. The ground is now littered with piss, puke, empty beer cups, and Lord knows what else. Let's have sex. No, not me. But these 2 randoms about 20 feet to my left. Free show. Not like I haven't already seen the 10 or so girls who thought airbrushing was a reasonable alternative to shirts. You know, when I hear "The Wizard" I get in the mood, too. OK, not really, but it was working for them. Well maybe not really.
"Girl, who's name I never got, could you go grab that piece of dirty plastic over there. We can wrap ourselves in it, and then maybe no one will notice what we're doing."
"But we've already been going at it for ten minutes."
"Yeah, but I don't think I can finish unless my bare ass is pressed against someone's dirty discarded plastic."
Yeah, not dirty in the porn movie way. No, it was something that can only happen at OzzFest. On the lawn, in a pile of garbage, with an audience of sweaty metal-heads...
Getting down and dirty.
Current mood: beat
... just not in the good way.
Soaked.
Hot all morning. Yeah, we got there about 10. Saw a lot of second stage bands. Good time. Got kinda hot, but then the rain came. Ducked in under a Pavilion. Second downpour... not so lucky. On the lawn, right before Zakk Wylde. Nothing one can do, but sit back, and embrace the rain...
Yup, soaked.
Covered in mud.
So the rain stops. Wet ground + festival show = competitive sod lobbing. Yay. I made it my point to enjoy the show, so there I stood, in a pocket a relative emptiness, bright white tank top, mud flying back and forth overhead. I stood fast, for another band and a half, just enjoying the show in the crossfire of the muddy idiots, but eventually....
Yeah, covered in mud.
The Trooper.
Learned a few things on the lawn. Learned that I really like Shadows Fall, and that I don't like Mudvayne nearly as much as I thought I did. Learned that a mob of retarded teenagers will follow the first drunken idiot with disdain for landscaping. Learned that even when you run sound at OzzFest for a living, every once in a while you just forget to turn on the PA main when the next band starts. And most important right now, I learned that just when things look bleak, you can just start wailing on that unforgettable riff...
The beginning of "The Trooper".
Down and dirty.
So the night is winding down. Shorts are drying off. Lawn is wet. Its dark. The ground is now littered with piss, puke, empty beer cups, and Lord knows what else. Let's have sex. No, not me. But these 2 randoms about 20 feet to my left. Free show. Not like I haven't already seen the 10 or so girls who thought airbrushing was a reasonable alternative to shirts. You know, when I hear "The Wizard" I get in the mood, too. OK, not really, but it was working for them. Well maybe not really.
"Girl, who's name I never got, could you go grab that piece of dirty plastic over there. We can wrap ourselves in it, and then maybe no one will notice what we're doing."
"But we've already been going at it for ten minutes."
"Yeah, but I don't think I can finish unless my bare ass is pressed against someone's dirty discarded plastic."
Yeah, not dirty in the porn movie way. No, it was something that can only happen at OzzFest. On the lawn, in a pile of garbage, with an audience of sweaty metal-heads...
Getting down and dirty.
09 January 2005
And the night played on...
So I went out last night, to my buddy's bar, to see a couple bands. The headlining band was awesome. The opening band was good for a group of 14 and 15 years olds (who books 14 & 15 year olds???). Didn't stay much past the 1st song of the 3rd band; I was just beat from the day and the week.
Generally a good show, and a good night out; the Guinness was flowing pretty freely. But the interesting point of the night came on about 12. That's when I had to say to myself, "Who invited the hookers?"
I love watching people, seeing what kinds of people come to places, and what crazy things that actually costume themselves in before they arrive. And these three where great. With their entourage of "Vinny the Super-Guid'", "Paco the Busboy", and the 2 old gay dudes, these three evoked questions such as “Is that a skirt or a belt?”, “Can human hair actually be bleached that much or is she an albino with a bad perm?”, and “Gee, when I’m not looking, does my mom actually dress that bad?”
They were a sight to behold! Makes me wish I had a camera-phone.
Earth is a fascinating place.
Currently listening:
Brethren
By Ink
Release date: 2004
Generally a good show, and a good night out; the Guinness was flowing pretty freely. But the interesting point of the night came on about 12. That's when I had to say to myself, "Who invited the hookers?"
I love watching people, seeing what kinds of people come to places, and what crazy things that actually costume themselves in before they arrive. And these three where great. With their entourage of "Vinny the Super-Guid'", "Paco the Busboy", and the 2 old gay dudes, these three evoked questions such as “Is that a skirt or a belt?”, “Can human hair actually be bleached that much or is she an albino with a bad perm?”, and “Gee, when I’m not looking, does my mom actually dress that bad?”
They were a sight to behold! Makes me wish I had a camera-phone.
Earth is a fascinating place.
Currently listening:
Brethren
By Ink
Release date: 2004
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