djwayne Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I also saw JT a few times back then. One time at a venue called the Coliseum, which was also used for pro basketball games. The place was one huge cement cave/box with no acoustics.. JT's P.A. system sounded like an AM transitor radio in an echo chamber... You could barley tell it was JT playing, the sound was so awful. But we still had fun. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timrocker Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'm going to be flamed to a crackly crunch for saying this. But please understand-I was pumped for the show and as enthusiastic as a long time fan can be. Then the sucking started... Free tix to see Santana about 3 or 4 months ago. My boss's girlfriend works for a company that has a suite at the Rose Garden. When she can't make it to a show, she'll call at the last minute and pass the tix on to me. It's super appreciated. The opening act was darned impressive. I forget their name right off, but they sounded much like Santana in their own way. If that makes any sense. Their harmonies were damn good and they had lots of them. Santana came out and launched into their most recent hits. Had the personnel on hand to sing Rob Thomas' parts and the other stuff. Very bold move-played for 40 minutes without going in to the back catalog at all. Enter Carlos' solo spot. The moment you've all been waiting for. He picked up a slide and ran it up and down the strings several times from end to end while flailing away on all six strings without a concern for what note, notes, noise and dissonance it created. It was the kind of thing a drunk adolescent does at a party while people endure it for a very definite and finite brief time. He played solos where much of what you actually heard was the open string rattle in unrelated keys that comes from not being very accomplished. I couldn't believe my ears. He was more heavy-handed and self indulgent than more than a few hard rock guitar gods. Mr. Passion. Mr. Subtlety. Not one little bit. Not from where I was sitting, on this one night. Then each player took a solo spot. The keyboard player did quite a number on his keys. It was a competition to see who could pound the hardest. No slouches here. Each percussionist had their 10 minutes or so. Thuppa Thuppa Thwackita Thuppa Thuppa Thwap Thwackity Thwackity thwackity thwackity CLANG and a zillion variations and iterations while the mind just reeled from the sheer moronic pointlessness of the onslaught. A large band of players and each person got their overtime in the spotlight to do a complete self indulgent ME-a-thon. One minute apiece would have sufficed handily. Again, I love Santana, old, middle, new (kinda), you name it, I definitely love Santana. But this was a sonic beating. Now for the real abuse. It was time for Carlos to talk to the peeps. He launched into a sermon about politics and the world today. It was unbelievably predictable. Preachy preachy preachy. He's not Bono, for cripesakes, and to the best of my knowledge hasn't done jack to improve the situation anywhere. Just words to be wording. I couldn't take anymore. I walked out. It is possible that the best half of the show was yet to come. I'd almost bet on it. All the old nuggets were getting ripe. But I just had the desire to be somewhere else. And that's reason enough to roll tires. Opening act was super. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
videoeditor1 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by djwayne: I also saw JT a few times back then. ... Whos' "JT"??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Electric Light Orchestra, circa 'Out of the Blue." Philadelphia Spectrum...notoriously awful acoustics. Space ships opens up, band appears. Loudest f***ing concert I had ever been to. Too loud. Uncomfortably loud. And they had the audacity to play to tracks. Not just strings and backing vocals, but keys and DRUMS, fer chrissakes! Bev Bevan's back there playing time and there are all these fills and shit happening. I could've stayed home and played the records and heard the same thing---only without the bleeding ears. k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by NYC Drew: Originally posted by djwayne: I also saw JT a few times back then. ... Whos' "JT"???James Taylor.. the only musical "JT" who deserves to be recognized that way, IMO. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by NYC Drew: Originally posted by djwayne: I also saw JT a few times back then. ... Whos' "JT"???Jethro Tull, in response to the previous post. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihategarybettman Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 guitplayer, I also went to a concert where the crowd was not into one of the opening bands. When I saw the Who, the Clash and David Johanson opened for them. If I was Mr. Johanson, who was no longer performing the same act he had with the New York Dolls, I would have punched out the booker for the show. The crowd came to hear songs like "My Generation" and "London Calling"; when David Johanson sang something called "Funky but Chic", everyone in Rich Stadium expressed their extreme displeasure. I'm sure it was a highly uncomfortable day for Mr. Johanson, and after the concert I felt sorry for him, but hearing 60,000 people boo him in unison was an experience I won't soon forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Oh yeah! I just remembered seeing two opening acts about get booed off the stage because the main act's audiences just weren't able to relate to their music. One was Prince, opening for the Stones. The other was the Clash, opening for the Who. Here in Los Angeles! You'd think people would be more tolerant, but no. I cheered. By myself. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihategarybettman Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 Jeff, I've seen shows in Toronto, New York, New Orleans, Boston, Florida, Norfolk, Chicago, and my hometown of Buffalo, and it's been my experience that no town has a lock on either attentive, appreciative music fans OR idiots. If you're in a crowd, whether it's in LA or Louisiana, the potential for mob mentality is always there, hovering in the background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Tull is also the subject of some of my best AND worst concert experiences. I saw them on the Stormwatch tour and they were awesome. As for the other... I can't remember what tour it was, about a decade ago, where they played a local arena and the volume was a bit low for the venue. Instead of quieting down, the audience began shouting "Turn it up" which of course neither band nor soundguy could hear. So instead of hearing Tull that night, I heard a bunch of idiots shouting. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sysexguy Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 ...anything at the Montreal Olympic Stadium with a special extra note for the Amnesty International Show (p Gabriel/ Springsteen etc.) horrific shitty sounddddddddddddddddddddddddd! (One can easily recreate this experience.....turn the heating off, put on damp clothes and run your favorite record through an SPX 90, 100% FX with the hall reverb set to 99 seconds) Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Klopmeyer Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by sysexguy: (One can easily recreate this experience.....turn the heating off, put on damp clothes and run your favorite record through an SPX 90, 100% FX with the hall reverb set to 99 seconds) AndyLOL! It has to be an SPX 90, huh? I'll have to dig mine out of the closet where it's sat for the last seven years, dust it off, hook it up and get the full sonic experience. - Jeff Marketing Communications for MI/Pro Audio My solo music and stuff They Stole My Crayon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by sysexguy: ...anything at the Montreal Olympic Stadium with a special extra note for the Amnesty International Show (p Gabriel/ Springsteen etc.) horrific shitty sounddddddddddddddddddddddddd! Actually, I saw the Police there in '83 and the sound for them was fantastic. The sound for the opening acts progressed as the day went on: Stevie Ray Vaughan's sound sucked - bass drum and bass guitar, with just enough vocals and guitar to piss you off. Peter Tosh - OK sound but not great. Talking Heads - Pretty good sound. So it's possible to get good sound there, but I wouldn't count on it -- Rob I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meccajay Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 The Spectrum- Absolutely right about those acoustics sucking!! I saw Stanley Clarke at the Convention Center in DC. Pieces Of A Dream was the backing band, and I had the date of a lifetime next to me. Stanley walks on stage plays a song, stops the band immediately after the song, and walks back to the monitor mixer and berates him with full gesticulation! He does another song, and does the same thing after that song. Then midway intro the 3rd song he stops the band, makes an announcement that he cannot hear himself and this is the last song of the night. Cusses the soundman out on the mic, starts School Days which they play for about 6 mins, then he unplugs his bass and walks offsstage.. I look at my date and she's got one of those, 'I'll smile to reassure you that it's fine, cause Im a trooper' smiles. Im cursing under my breath as we leave. Never saw the girl again. TROLL . . . ish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by Jeff Da Weasel: Oh yeah! I just remembered seeing two opening acts about get booed off the stage because the main act's audiences just weren't able to relate to their music. One was Prince, opening for the Stones. The other was the Clash, opening for the Who. Here in Los Angeles! You'd think people would be more tolerant, but no. I cheered. By myself. - JeffSeems I remember a well known factoid along these lines... Something about Jimi Hendrix getting booed opening shows for the Monkees, before he was well known. I'd have cheered with you, Jeff! It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.