October 05' Reviews

I didn't even realize our Midwesterner had posted his yet...some similar rules for Concert etiquette. (Mike, we may not agree a lot, but you crack me up.)

Music Group 10/19/05

CD Reviews:

Chemical Brothers – Dig Your Own Hole:
I must say that this selection was a welcome relief for me. I don’t want to complain, but we seem to be listening to a lot of the same stuff from month to month and this was a nice change of pace.

As much as I hate to admit it, I went through a short “raver” phase a while back and the Chemical Brothers were one of my favorites. Much like any music scene, there are the elitists that think that if its commercial its crap, yet many of the people I encountered in my brief stint as a raver all agreed that the Chemical Brothers were talented and it’s great to dance to.

This is by far my favorite of their CDs with “Exit Planet Dust” being a close second. The Chemical Brothers know how to mix techno and rock n’ roll perfectly. There was enough of each to both bring in both the mainstream fans and the underground music fans. That is why they became a commercial success. The guitars, hip-hop drums, and pure energy make this album amazing. With songs like “Setting Sun,” “Block Rockin Beats”, “Get Up On It Like This”, etc. this album is great to dance to, drive to, and rock out to. Seeing them live is quite interesting too, though the two are stuck behind walls of keyboards, turntables, etc the crowd’s enthusiasm makes the show worthwhile. Yes, I know ecstasy probably played a large part in the crowd’s energy, but the best ecstasy in the world cannot make you dance to crap (not that I would know from personal experience – cough cough.) Score: 3.5

Peter Gabriel – Melted Face:
I’ve experienced Gabriel’s early Genesis material and I’ve experienced his later, more commercial solo work, so I wasn’t sure of what happened in between. It took a few listens to really appreciate it, but I really like this album. The first track “Intruder” reminded me in an odd way of Bowie. It was quite a creepy song when I really listened to it and Gabriel seemed to really get in character for it. I loved it. “I Don’t Remember” and “Games Without Frontiers” were definitely my favorite tracks on the album and caught my attention on the first listen. I love the funky bass line throughout it. The interesting worldly percussion sound on some of the tracks gives the album a unique and pleasant sound. Gabriel seems to get consumed by the characters in the song and it makes you wonder what really goes on his head. Whatever is going on in there creates good music. Score: 3

Hanoi Rocks – Two Steps From the Move:
I expected something completely different from this album when I first saw the cover. I was expecting all out hair-band ridiculousness with cheesy ballads and overdone guitar solos to match the hair and makeup of the band. However, I grew up on hair bands so they’re really not a guilty pleasure for me. I admit it, I love hair bands. I was expecting more of a hair band sound from them though. It was a pretty decent rock album, but with the exception of some lame lyrics I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of hair band arena rock that I grew up with. I still enjoyed it though. The “Up Around the Bend” cover was not bad, and songs like “Boulevard of Broken Dream”, “Don’t You Ever Leave Me,” and “Futurama” were some of the better tracks on the CD. I wonder what would have happened to them if Vince Neil didn’t kill the drummer. I don’t know if I see them getting as big as Motley Crue or Poison if they had continued on. Score: 2.5

The Call – Greatest Hits:
Maybe I just don’t get it. I was so bored with this disc. It did nothing for me. I had wondered why I hadn’t heard of this band except for the mentions from the Lucas’ brothers in past meetings; well now I can see why. Nothing stood out to me at all and I listened to it 4 or 5 times…each time getting more tiresome than the last. Score: 1

Topic
5 Rules for Performers:

1. Bands/artist not allowed to perform the same set-list every night. This also means that the same set of songs cannot be used night to night. There must be some variation in songs.
2. No encores. It is just an ego boost to hear the crowd yelling for more - just play longer.
3. Headlining bands/artists that have at least 3 albums are required to play at least a 90 minute set. (For bands with fewer albums it would be difficult to play a 90 minute set unless they played a lot of covers – which would make them seem more like a cover band.)
4. Limit the amount of opening acts to 2 bands. This way the openers can play longer sets than 30 minutes (especially if the opener has a larger discography – see above).
5. No excessive drinking/drug intake before or during a show. I’ve seen too many concerts were a lead singer or front man is so intoxicated that they fuck up badly. It’s not cool to watch that train wreck on stage. And an added addendum to that rule would be to not encourage the crowd to do the same.

Another rule that should be set – though not for the actual performance…
6. Stop the sale of concert tickets on Ebay. Being online at the moment tickets go on sale and they are already sold out – only to find minutes later hundreds of pairs on Ebay for 3 times their actual value – sucks more than anything.

The topic originally made me think of rules for the crowd, so I will include those as well.
1. No crowd surfing. It may be fun to you, but for the rest of us who are trying to enjoy the show without worrying about a foot in the head, it sucks.
2. No loud whistling or ear-piercing shrieks. The music is loud enough; we don’t need you making us deaf on top of it.
3. Does this really need to be said…do not wear the shirt of the band you are going to see! Don’t be that guy. (See the movie P.C.U, and you’ll understand.)
4. Do not listen to the band you are going to see on the way to or from the show. If I hear one more car blasting the music of the band I’m about to see, I’m going to start slashing some tires.
5. Don’t get so drunk that you either can’t stand up or puke. Why drink so much that you don’t remember the show the next morning? You spend the money on tickets and probably a ton on alcohol for what? To not remember any of it?