On CD, Arctic Monkeys are catchy, twisty, fizzy, and sly. As with Franz Ferdinand, every time you listen to these hip Brits, you’re in for a good time. Or so I thought…
It turns out, though, that in concert, Arctic Monkeys are loud, scratchy, repetitive, and unpleasant. And they never say a word to the audience. They mumble “thank you” at their mic stands a few times, but this hardly feels like genuine appreciation.
Frustrating as the concert was, it had not been a Bob-Dylan-level failure. The first thing that salvaged it was that I had never connected as deeply with Arctic Monkeys as I had with Bob Dylan. I had less to lose. The band also did not seem hostile towards the audience; they just seemed inordinately focused on the songs. The final, significant difference was that Monkeys frontman Alex Turner did not sound like a serial killer. That’s always a plus. ;)
Grade: D+
If you’ve never heard Arctic Monkeys before, check out “A Certain Romance.” The video appears below, as does my reaction from three years ago, when I first encountered on Magic’s Pledge Survey mixed CD. Here’s what I heard and wrote back then:
You have to divide this song into two parts: the first minute and a half, and the last four minutes. The good news: both parts are awesome. The first part is all instrumental: an emphatic drum beat, a more restrained guitar solo -- it totally draws you into the song. The second part is a clever commentary on people's tendency to latch onto and fight for whatever they think is the "authentic" musical genre. They're so busy worrying about their "classic Reeboks, knackered Converse, or tracky bottoms tucked in socks" that they miss the romance of what they're listening to. Music should be about discovering new and exciting sounds. In their world, though, "there's only music so that there's new ringtones." (Great line!)
The final, intriguing thing about "A.C.R." is its last verse. Lead singer Alex Turner (thanks, Wikipedia…) could've made the song a diatribe against people who conform, but he chooses not to. People who are likely to offer diatribes are those who demand "broken bones" for their new ringtones, who scrap for their bands with "pool cues in their hands." Turner, though, resists such violence and recognizes that, in the end, if those type of people are your friends, you've gotta forgive them: "Over there, there's friends of mine. What can I say, I've known them for a long, long time / And yeah, they may overstep the line / But I cannot get angry in the same way. Not in the same way." (Genuinely insightful!)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
58 – Rise Against – Friday, December 4, 2009 – The National – Richmond, VA
I was about to leave. The first few songs were so upsetting, so harmful to my opinion of Rise Against, that I thought it would be better to get in my car, drive back to Williamsburg, and enjoy the rest of a William and Mary Friday night. A number of things pushed me to this point. First, The National, the concert hall, refused to turn off all the lights. How can you have a dark rock show in a bright ballroom? Can music ever be sinister beneath a chandelier?
Not content to merely ruin the visual, the concert hall also provided the worst possible acoustics. The beat is supposed to pound, the vocals are supposed to thrash, and the ground is supposed to shake. At no point should you feel like you stumbled in on a mini-mall Battle of the Bands.
Undoubtedly The National’s most toxic element, though, was their ban on moshing. You book a hardcore band, your website claims that you “showcase the nation’s best punk groups,” and you ban moshing?! That’s like booking Jack Johnson and banning golf claps – or booking The Jonas Brothers and banning all high-pitched shrieks. This no-moshing pronouncement was made more ridiculous by the fact that there had been more than an hour of moshing at the National concert I had been to the previous year. There had not been a ban because there was no need for one. It was high energy, but under control.
After listening to seven songs in this environment, I needed to get out. I preferred to leave and declare the show a failure than stay and have my opinion poisoned further.
And yet…I stayed for “Give It All.” In that moment, in that song, everything changed. During the first few relatively slow seconds of the song, audience members glanced at one another. There seemed to be this recognition that, a few notes later, if they were being true to the song and the band, all hell should break loose. No one would do anything intentionally harmful, of course, but they would need to amp up the energy. It started with a few people jumping. A couple others bounced back and forth. Then there were a few brief thrusts. Before you knew it, by the time they hit the chorus, multiple mosh pits had sprung up throughout the crowd! All this occurred as the band sang these words: “For far too long, these voices muffled by distances / It’s time to come to our senses / And from the dark we give it all / This is the reason why I sing / So give it all.” This was not some Good Charlotte single; this was not some Simple Plan ballad. This was a punk anthem made REAL – an incredible flash-bulb memory.
The crowd remained united the rest of the concert. The Man’s mindless rule had been struck down, and all had become an “Audience of One.” Sound and lighting issues could not stop anyone from pouring his or her soul into “Paper Wings,” “Prayer of the Refugee,” “Chamber the Cartridge,” “Ready to Fall,” and ten other songs.
The final song I’ll mention is “Savior.” Halfway through the song, I got knocked down. It was inadvertent and I wasn’t hurt, but I did fall to the floor. Seconds after I fell, this hulking 6’5’’ football player, who had been among the most active on the floor, stopped moshing, reached down, and asked, “Are you ok?” It was moving. It did not occur to me until later that it was also freaky: what are the odds that that would occur during a song called “Savior”?!
The culmination of the bizarre, unforgettable night occurred right after “Savior,” when frontman Tim McIllrath commended the crowd for “looking out for each together, for keeping your kick-a** circle pits safe.” Had he actually seen me? Had he seen what the guy had done?! Who knows. All I know is…I’m glad I stayed.
Grade: A+
Not content to merely ruin the visual, the concert hall also provided the worst possible acoustics. The beat is supposed to pound, the vocals are supposed to thrash, and the ground is supposed to shake. At no point should you feel like you stumbled in on a mini-mall Battle of the Bands.
Undoubtedly The National’s most toxic element, though, was their ban on moshing. You book a hardcore band, your website claims that you “showcase the nation’s best punk groups,” and you ban moshing?! That’s like booking Jack Johnson and banning golf claps – or booking The Jonas Brothers and banning all high-pitched shrieks. This no-moshing pronouncement was made more ridiculous by the fact that there had been more than an hour of moshing at the National concert I had been to the previous year. There had not been a ban because there was no need for one. It was high energy, but under control.
After listening to seven songs in this environment, I needed to get out. I preferred to leave and declare the show a failure than stay and have my opinion poisoned further.
And yet…I stayed for “Give It All.” In that moment, in that song, everything changed. During the first few relatively slow seconds of the song, audience members glanced at one another. There seemed to be this recognition that, a few notes later, if they were being true to the song and the band, all hell should break loose. No one would do anything intentionally harmful, of course, but they would need to amp up the energy. It started with a few people jumping. A couple others bounced back and forth. Then there were a few brief thrusts. Before you knew it, by the time they hit the chorus, multiple mosh pits had sprung up throughout the crowd! All this occurred as the band sang these words: “For far too long, these voices muffled by distances / It’s time to come to our senses / And from the dark we give it all / This is the reason why I sing / So give it all.” This was not some Good Charlotte single; this was not some Simple Plan ballad. This was a punk anthem made REAL – an incredible flash-bulb memory.
The crowd remained united the rest of the concert. The Man’s mindless rule had been struck down, and all had become an “Audience of One.” Sound and lighting issues could not stop anyone from pouring his or her soul into “Paper Wings,” “Prayer of the Refugee,” “Chamber the Cartridge,” “Ready to Fall,” and ten other songs.
The final song I’ll mention is “Savior.” Halfway through the song, I got knocked down. It was inadvertent and I wasn’t hurt, but I did fall to the floor. Seconds after I fell, this hulking 6’5’’ football player, who had been among the most active on the floor, stopped moshing, reached down, and asked, “Are you ok?” It was moving. It did not occur to me until later that it was also freaky: what are the odds that that would occur during a song called “Savior”?!
The culmination of the bizarre, unforgettable night occurred right after “Savior,” when frontman Tim McIllrath commended the crowd for “looking out for each together, for keeping your kick-a** circle pits safe.” Had he actually seen me? Had he seen what the guy had done?! Who knows. All I know is…I’m glad I stayed.
Grade: A+
57 – Rock and Cole – Thursday, December 3, 2009 – FMS – F., VA
There are many perks to being a teacher: working with hilarious students/colleagues, creating meaningful lessons, seeing students improve, etc.
One specific perk I get every November is participating in Rock and Cole. In the Rock and Cole project, students create their own mixed CD, matching five characters from the novel Touching Spirit Bear to five songs. (The project gets its name from Spirit Bear’s central character, Cole Matthews.) In the days leading up to the in-class concert, students scour book passages and song lyrics to find things that connect. On concert day, each student analyzes another student’s CD, trying to match the characters, songs, traits, and quotes. It’s also a pretty entertaining day, considering the desks are filled with 30-plus CD players, boom boxes, and headphones, and several students rock out as they work.
The best part for me is that I get to listen to all the CDs. New discoveries this year were Three Days Grace’ “Animal I’ve Become,” Shinedown’s “Second Chance,” and Dr. Seuss’ “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” (Somehow I’d never heard the full Seuss song!) Amusing episodes this year included digging out CD batteries that had been pinned in by bread crumbs and watching five CD players fail one poor child. Less amusing episodes included two students trying to deafen me with all-static CDs and hearing Owl City’s “Fireflies” and Daniel Powter’s “Have a Bad Day” twelve times on a continuous loop. So…much…sugar.
In the end, Rock and Cole may not be perfect, but it sure beats grading 125 essays!
Grade: A-
One specific perk I get every November is participating in Rock and Cole. In the Rock and Cole project, students create their own mixed CD, matching five characters from the novel Touching Spirit Bear to five songs. (The project gets its name from Spirit Bear’s central character, Cole Matthews.) In the days leading up to the in-class concert, students scour book passages and song lyrics to find things that connect. On concert day, each student analyzes another student’s CD, trying to match the characters, songs, traits, and quotes. It’s also a pretty entertaining day, considering the desks are filled with 30-plus CD players, boom boxes, and headphones, and several students rock out as they work.
The best part for me is that I get to listen to all the CDs. New discoveries this year were Three Days Grace’ “Animal I’ve Become,” Shinedown’s “Second Chance,” and Dr. Seuss’ “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” (Somehow I’d never heard the full Seuss song!) Amusing episodes this year included digging out CD batteries that had been pinned in by bread crumbs and watching five CD players fail one poor child. Less amusing episodes included two students trying to deafen me with all-static CDs and hearing Owl City’s “Fireflies” and Daniel Powter’s “Have a Bad Day” twelve times on a continuous loop. So…much…sugar.
In the end, Rock and Cole may not be perfect, but it sure beats grading 125 essays!
Grade: A-
The Pixies – Monday, November 30, 2009 – DAR Constitution Hall -- DC /Weezer – Wednesday, December 9, 2009 – The Patriot Center – Fairfax, VA
I was disappointed to miss the Pixies show. They seemed primed to follow the Smashing Pumpkins model. They would be another scary band I didn’t particularly like who would became scary good live. Wish I’d been able to find out if that actually happened…
I was even more disappointed to miss the Weezer show. This was the first time I had ever gotten floor tickets for an arena show. I could have been feet from “Getchoo”’s thrashing guitars; I could have stood across from Rivers during “Across the Sea.” (No, Weezer fans, I would not like to become an 18-year-old girl from a small city in Japan – just go with the phrasing. ;))
Sadly, I was not able to stand anywhere in the arena because the tour bush crashed into an ice patch two days before the concert, canceling the rest of the tour. Tear.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, though, and they plan on rescheduling in the new year. Once they come up with an exact date, count me in!
I was even more disappointed to miss the Weezer show. This was the first time I had ever gotten floor tickets for an arena show. I could have been feet from “Getchoo”’s thrashing guitars; I could have stood across from Rivers during “Across the Sea.” (No, Weezer fans, I would not like to become an 18-year-old girl from a small city in Japan – just go with the phrasing. ;))
Sadly, I was not able to stand anywhere in the arena because the tour bush crashed into an ice patch two days before the concert, canceling the rest of the tour. Tear.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, though, and they plan on rescheduling in the new year. Once they come up with an exact date, count me in!
56 – Guster – Wednesday, November 28, 2009 – The Beacon Theater – NYC
When I first saw Guster at William and Mary in October 2007, it was awkward. The crowd was there to hear live music on Homecoming, not necessarily Guster. The band tried to compensate with ‘rowdy’ pranks, which did not remotely match their vibe or sound. And the sound itself was not very good: Matoaka may be a visually impressive outdoor amphitheater, but it certainly does not enhance acoustics.
It was with great hesitation, then, that I stepped into the Beacon Theater for another Guster show two years later. I had been drawn back by the prospect of a straight album show (they would play 1999’s Lost and Gone Forever), but was skeptical they would sound anything other than mediocre.
Man, was I wrong. From the first song, 2007’s spirited “Captain,” they sounded great. The vocals were smooth, the instrumentals were strong, and the Beacon provided Constitution-Hall-level acoustics. This time you also had a committed crowd. Instead of hundreds of halfhearted non-fans who talked through most of the songs, there were two thousand devoted fans who joined in during the choruses and verses.
Considering this, every performance was an improvement. Every song was a pleasant surprise. Some of the best of those appear below:
Grade: A
It was with great hesitation, then, that I stepped into the Beacon Theater for another Guster show two years later. I had been drawn back by the prospect of a straight album show (they would play 1999’s Lost and Gone Forever), but was skeptical they would sound anything other than mediocre.
Man, was I wrong. From the first song, 2007’s spirited “Captain,” they sounded great. The vocals were smooth, the instrumentals were strong, and the Beacon provided Constitution-Hall-level acoustics. This time you also had a committed crowd. Instead of hundreds of halfhearted non-fans who talked through most of the songs, there were two thousand devoted fans who joined in during the choruses and verses.
Considering this, every performance was an improvement. Every song was a pleasant surprise. Some of the best of those appear below:
Grade: A
55 – Bob Dylan – Wednesday, November 11, 2009 – The Patriot Center – Fairfax, VA
The good news: I can now say I’ve seen Bob Dylan.
The bad news: To say that, I had to actually HEAR him. The closest comparison I can make is that he sounded like a serial killer. He had down the guttural growls and the wheezy moans – all he needed was a few horcruxes and he’d be a dead ringer for Lord Voldemort.
Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan has proven that demonic presence is not always a bad thing. His Pumpkins’ show last May was one of the five best concerts I’ve ever been to. The key difference is that Corgan’s music is supposed to be menacing. When your most famous lyric is “despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage,” it makes sense for the audience to be uneasy. Corgan’s performance was consistent with this identity: he pounded through creepy, nine-minute guitar riffs, he enveloped the stage in dark neon, he barely said anything to the audience, etc. The point is you would expect Smashing Pumpkins to be villains, and they were.
The problem with the Dylan concert was that Dylan is not a villain. A renegade, a rebel, sure, but not a blood-sucking villain. Yet that’s exactly how he came off during the show. He never faced or acknowledged the audience, he spit out every verse with maximum phlegm, and he assembled a band that was destined to fail. I cannot see why, other than self-sabotage, someone would assemble such a band. They started with somber folk music, then abruptly shifted to square dance. And all the while, Dylan kept up that same wheezy moan. It was enough to make you seasick.
I could take such discordant sounds if they were meant to be amusing, like Dylan’s recent “Must Be Santa.” He clearly meant for that song to be ironic. Christmas should involve time with family and thoughtful presents – not drunken, nauseous polka. Moreover, Dylan seemed to intend most of his holiday album to be a joke. Why else, Chris Erickson asks, would a Jewish homeless man with tuberculosis sing about Christmas?
The problem is, the vast majority of his work is not a joke – it is subtle, sophisticated, and even, in its own way, well sung. The way he inflects the “now” in “My Back Pages,” the “hey” in “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and the four different “hard”s in “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” are all first-rate. His lyrics also connect with various stages of my life: “Hurricane” with my dad in high school, “Like a Rolling Stone” with my quiz buds in England, and “Blowin in the Wind” with Evan, Kyle, Kinslow, Pierre, and Texas in New Orleans.
To hear all of that tarnished in one night, it was sad. I’m sure I’ll eventually start listening to him again, but for now, in my mind, he is a complete unknown…
Grade: F
What brought me back to Dylan after the concert -- Friday Night Lights:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw572hRD1diCOVhwem5xdW9vLU0/view?usp=sharing
The times they are a-changin from Tony Fox on Vimeo.
The bad news: To say that, I had to actually HEAR him. The closest comparison I can make is that he sounded like a serial killer. He had down the guttural growls and the wheezy moans – all he needed was a few horcruxes and he’d be a dead ringer for Lord Voldemort.
Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan has proven that demonic presence is not always a bad thing. His Pumpkins’ show last May was one of the five best concerts I’ve ever been to. The key difference is that Corgan’s music is supposed to be menacing. When your most famous lyric is “despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage,” it makes sense for the audience to be uneasy. Corgan’s performance was consistent with this identity: he pounded through creepy, nine-minute guitar riffs, he enveloped the stage in dark neon, he barely said anything to the audience, etc. The point is you would expect Smashing Pumpkins to be villains, and they were.
The problem with the Dylan concert was that Dylan is not a villain. A renegade, a rebel, sure, but not a blood-sucking villain. Yet that’s exactly how he came off during the show. He never faced or acknowledged the audience, he spit out every verse with maximum phlegm, and he assembled a band that was destined to fail. I cannot see why, other than self-sabotage, someone would assemble such a band. They started with somber folk music, then abruptly shifted to square dance. And all the while, Dylan kept up that same wheezy moan. It was enough to make you seasick.
I could take such discordant sounds if they were meant to be amusing, like Dylan’s recent “Must Be Santa.” He clearly meant for that song to be ironic. Christmas should involve time with family and thoughtful presents – not drunken, nauseous polka. Moreover, Dylan seemed to intend most of his holiday album to be a joke. Why else, Chris Erickson asks, would a Jewish homeless man with tuberculosis sing about Christmas?
The problem is, the vast majority of his work is not a joke – it is subtle, sophisticated, and even, in its own way, well sung. The way he inflects the “now” in “My Back Pages,” the “hey” in “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and the four different “hard”s in “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” are all first-rate. His lyrics also connect with various stages of my life: “Hurricane” with my dad in high school, “Like a Rolling Stone” with my quiz buds in England, and “Blowin in the Wind” with Evan, Kyle, Kinslow, Pierre, and Texas in New Orleans.
To hear all of that tarnished in one night, it was sad. I’m sure I’ll eventually start listening to him again, but for now, in my mind, he is a complete unknown…
Grade: F
What brought me back to Dylan after the concert -- Friday Night Lights:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw572hRD1diCOVhwem5xdW9vLU0/view?usp=sharing
The times they are a-changin from Tony Fox on Vimeo.
54 -- The Get Up Kids – Tuesday, November 3, 2009 – 9:30 Club – DC
I had not even heard of The Get Up Kids a month before the concert, so I wasn’t expecting much. Fortunately, for a number of reasons, I was pleasantly surprised.
1. There was an impressive mix of genres: driving rock (“Grunge Pig”), atmospheric mix (“Walking on a Wire”), punk anthem (“Red Letter Day”), nostalgic ballad (“Campfire Kansas”), romantic ballad (“I’ll Catch You”), etc.
2. I’d forgotten how great the 9:30 Club is. The proximity to the stage, the floodlights, and the packed crowds all enhance the music.
3. They played more than an hour and a half yet finished the concert before 11. They also acknowledged the audience’s dedication to come out on a Tuesday night.
4. The lead singer did not have a great voice. That might sound like a bad thing, but in this case, the rough edges were endearing. He made up for his deficiency with energy.
Considering all this, I’ll definitely see them again next time they come to DC. Thanks for the recommendation, Sketch.
Grade: B++
1. There was an impressive mix of genres: driving rock (“Grunge Pig”), atmospheric mix (“Walking on a Wire”), punk anthem (“Red Letter Day”), nostalgic ballad (“Campfire Kansas”), romantic ballad (“I’ll Catch You”), etc.
2. I’d forgotten how great the 9:30 Club is. The proximity to the stage, the floodlights, and the packed crowds all enhance the music.
3. They played more than an hour and a half yet finished the concert before 11. They also acknowledged the audience’s dedication to come out on a Tuesday night.
4. The lead singer did not have a great voice. That might sound like a bad thing, but in this case, the rough edges were endearing. He made up for his deficiency with energy.
Considering all this, I’ll definitely see them again next time they come to DC. Thanks for the recommendation, Sketch.
Grade: B++
Bruce Springsteen – Saturday, November 7, 2009 – Madison Square Garden – NYC
It was my dad’s birthday, so I gave him my ticket. Then I bought myself a scalper ticket. $125 later, I found out that the scalper ticket was a fraud!!! I was NOT happy.
Disappointed as I was not to join him, at least my dad got to experience his first full Springsteen show. :)
Disappointed as I was not to join him, at least my dad got to experience his first full Springsteen show. :)
53 -- Bruce Springsteen – Monday, November 2, 2009 – Verizon Center – DC
Terrorists should be forced to see a Bruce Springsteen show. Little by little over the three hours, their hatred would just melt away…
I’ve covered all the major songs in the other six Springsteen concert reviews, so I’ll just mention the few new things:
1. They played every song on Born to Run! Early in the show, I heard some woman, who I thought was an idiot, shouting, “Play ‘Born to Run’! Play ‘Born to Run’!” I thought she was dumb because he would clearly save that song until the end. What I eventually realized was that she was referring to the album Born to Run. Apparently the focus of this tour was to include an entire album in every show. Straight album shows are cool enough with Jimmy Eat World and Guster; if Springsteen’s doing it, that’s a whole different level!
2. I was able to walk up to the box office at 7:57pm the day of the show and get a 100-Level, Row-A ticket for face value! All tickets had been sold out months in advance, yet somehow I was able to get one.
3. The crowd requests were all solid: “Stand on It,” “Seven Nights to Rock,” “Pink Cadillac” and “Growin' Up.”
4. The whisper moans during “Backstreets” was nearly as powerful as “Jungleland.”
5. The last song of the night was a stunning new one. Most of the show emphasized Bruce (as it should have). This rousing new gospel tune, “Higher and Higher,” showcased two backup singers, Soozie Tyrell and Curtis King.
6. The last thing I’ll mention actually happened towards the beginning of the show. Midway through “Hungry Heart,” Bruce crowd surfed from the island all the way back to the stage! At 60 years old!
Grade: A+
I’ve covered all the major songs in the other six Springsteen concert reviews, so I’ll just mention the few new things:
1. They played every song on Born to Run! Early in the show, I heard some woman, who I thought was an idiot, shouting, “Play ‘Born to Run’! Play ‘Born to Run’!” I thought she was dumb because he would clearly save that song until the end. What I eventually realized was that she was referring to the album Born to Run. Apparently the focus of this tour was to include an entire album in every show. Straight album shows are cool enough with Jimmy Eat World and Guster; if Springsteen’s doing it, that’s a whole different level!
2. I was able to walk up to the box office at 7:57pm the day of the show and get a 100-Level, Row-A ticket for face value! All tickets had been sold out months in advance, yet somehow I was able to get one.
3. The crowd requests were all solid: “Stand on It,” “Seven Nights to Rock,” “Pink Cadillac” and “Growin' Up.”
4. The whisper moans during “Backstreets” was nearly as powerful as “Jungleland.”
5. The last song of the night was a stunning new one. Most of the show emphasized Bruce (as it should have). This rousing new gospel tune, “Higher and Higher,” showcased two backup singers, Soozie Tyrell and Curtis King.
6. The last thing I’ll mention actually happened towards the beginning of the show. Midway through “Hungry Heart,” Bruce crowd surfed from the island all the way back to the stage! At 60 years old!
Grade: A+
52 -- U2 -- Thursday, October 1, 2009 – Scott Stadium – Charlottesville, VA
Zzzzzzzzzzz. Unless it’s in Fairfax and free, I will never go to another U2 concert.
In the past, I’ve enjoyed a number of U2 songs: “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” "Vertigo," “In the Name of Love,” “New Years Day,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Beautiful Day.” And that night, I could not help but be impressed by the stagecraft: the band and crowd were surrounded by a friggin’ four-story spaceship! In the end, though, I could not get past the fact that the songs were boring live. Bono meandered through melody after melody, and I started to nod off.
“Soft” rock is acceptable; “sleepy” rock is not.
Grade: C
In the past, I’ve enjoyed a number of U2 songs: “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” "Vertigo," “In the Name of Love,” “New Years Day,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Beautiful Day.” And that night, I could not help but be impressed by the stagecraft: the band and crowd were surrounded by a friggin’ four-story spaceship! In the end, though, I could not get past the fact that the songs were boring live. Bono meandered through melody after melody, and I started to nod off.
“Soft” rock is acceptable; “sleepy” rock is not.
Grade: C
51 -- Ben Folds -- Thursday, September 24, 2009 – The Kennedy Center – DC
Concerts never start on time. Sometimes there are two opening bands, other times there’s one, but even when there’s no opening band, you’re guaranteed forty minutes before the main act starts. During my 1st Ben Folds concert, for example, I arrived at DAR Constitution Hall at 8:15, fifteen minutes after the time listed on the ticket, sixty minutes before Folds actually came on stage.
It made perfect sense then to arrive at my 2nd Ben Folds concert at 7:40, forty minutes after the time listed on the ticket. When I entered at the Kennedy Center, however, I found that Folds had been on stage for forty minutes! He then walked off the stage at 8:20, without an encore, performing for less than ninety minutes total! I paid an $18 parking fee for that?!
Irritating as all of this was, the worst part was recognizing how good the show would have been if I’d been there the whole time. Every song he played, he was accompanied by a full philharmonic orchestra! This lent serious songs like “The Luckiest” and “Hope is a Fool” gravitas and made playful songs like “Narcolepsy” and “Jesusland” hilarious. (To get why playful songs were funnier with the philharmonic, picture a well-known Jay-Z song, which Folds frequently covers, and add an oboe, flute, and French horn…)
The final bitter note of the concert sounded the next morning when I looked up the setlist online. Apparently he had played “Fred Jones Part 2” and “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” two of my all-time favorite songs! Oh well, next time he comes to DC, at least I know to arrive forty minutes early…
Grade: C-
It made perfect sense then to arrive at my 2nd Ben Folds concert at 7:40, forty minutes after the time listed on the ticket. When I entered at the Kennedy Center, however, I found that Folds had been on stage for forty minutes! He then walked off the stage at 8:20, without an encore, performing for less than ninety minutes total! I paid an $18 parking fee for that?!
Irritating as all of this was, the worst part was recognizing how good the show would have been if I’d been there the whole time. Every song he played, he was accompanied by a full philharmonic orchestra! This lent serious songs like “The Luckiest” and “Hope is a Fool” gravitas and made playful songs like “Narcolepsy” and “Jesusland” hilarious. (To get why playful songs were funnier with the philharmonic, picture a well-known Jay-Z song, which Folds frequently covers, and add an oboe, flute, and French horn…)
The final bitter note of the concert sounded the next morning when I looked up the setlist online. Apparently he had played “Fred Jones Part 2” and “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” two of my all-time favorite songs! Oh well, next time he comes to DC, at least I know to arrive forty minutes early…
Grade: C-
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