FB reminded me that exactly 10 years ago today, I made it through this sea of people (at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, in GGP)... ...to see Social Distortion... It was a hot day then too (we're currently having an October heat wave in the Bay Area). Tomorrow has Yo La Tengo > Patti Smith > Emmylou Harris (among others).
This is amazing, and he performed again last night at the Great American Music Hall, in SF. "TJ" posted some decent footage of his show up your way... ...those tickets were long gone by the time I heard about this. I love when artists do these pop up shows, in small venues. Prince would sometimes announce several shows in a row, at small venues around here...and, of course, as soon as he would announce them, those tickets were all quickly snatched up.
Neil Young would occasionally do a surprise show at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz back in the mid 90’s. Only once did I hear about it beforehand, and I regret not calling out of work to go (though my boss was the one who told me about it so I guess that wouldn’t have worked anyway).
A girl from here played with him and recorded on some of his albums. I met her a couple of times. Nice person. At one point, her Wiki page listed her as being younger than she is- we were in HS at the same time for a year, she was at the White HS. Her page has been edited Carla Azar - Wikipedia
@Auriaprottu I should fill this thought in a little. I find it amazing that Jack White drew so much inspiration and influence from such a minimalist (yet powerful) song. And I've always admired his innovative style, his brilliant guitar work and his stripped down, bare bones approach to song writing. White Stripes of course were a two piece. And the importance of blues to rock has always been fascinating to me.
This is really saying something. I've had so many "favorite" tunes I lost count long ago. He's been able to stick with one. I've had favorite tunes for a week that I never played again after two. I'm not ever going to be a fan of the sort of blues he loves (tho there are plenty of Black folks who are. Also, it seems to have achieved a Smithsonian/PBS level of respect, which says a lot) Grinnin was recorded in 1965, but evokes 1935. I can't romanticize the sound. FWIW, that goes pretty much across the board. I don't care for a lot of the original White guy rock like the Everly Brothers or Bill Haley or their modern counterparts the Stray Cats, I can't with any of that ducktail stuff.
Southern Rock bands been making a killing off bluesy licks and tunes since forever. That said, one of the things I love so much about the Beatles was their ability to go in a different direction from bluesy things and end up with a Strawberry Fields, a Fool On The Hill, a She's Leaving Home, etc. Great Brit bands like Tears For Fears stepped away from that and created a sound that was more complex. I like blues fine, but when I want to hear it, blues-infused rock won't get the job done.
Where do you come down on the great Chuck Berry? That was some "ducktail stuff" that influenced a whole generation of rock musicians, particularly Lennon and the Beatles...
About the same place, if I'm to be honest about my listening tastes. Note that I'm not saying Berry and House ain't great. I'm saying they don't take up much room in my ears. I'd rather Berry have set his guitar on fire than duckwalked while playing it.
we don’t get to “setting his guitar on fire”… …without Chuck Berry duck walking his way into our imagination.
Nope. 'Nam would have made music more serious and better eventually. Doesn't matter anyway. They represent entirely different ways of "entertaining" an audience, and Chuck could have done something that didn't require him to duck walk for his Black audiences (don't know how many White ones he played for in his early days). Think Cab Calloway v. Richie Havens. I can respect that Cab made money without endorsing his actions. I've seen footage of Richie doing that one Woodstock tune, and it doesn't offend me.
Every metal show I've ever worked tended to have the most polite people you can imagine. Picture a guy who's 6'4 wearing black and looking like he's going to throw down at the slightest offense. Only to come up to you and say, "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but could you direct me to the restrooms, please?" or something along those lines. They're polite as it gets. For me? The meanest crowds were either country or Dave Matthews Band. Just about every genre has it's trashy side. Country was elite at it. Tina Turner brings out an elegant but fun crowd. Jimmy Buffet was the most fun show I ever worked. Worked a lot of shows that were just mellow and fun. Worked shows where I said never again (My Chemical Romance for instance).
The ICP looks at them goes “No thanks!” Black Parade is OK for an anthem, but MY GOD! The rest of their catalog is awful!!!
My experience with MCR was my senior year of high school, coming to work at 4, seeing a massive crowd just waiting to get inside (Doors don't open till 6) and them being the kind of crowd I just can't sand. I know some ICP fans and while they are nowhere near my crowd, a lot of them are nice.
Did I ever tell you about the time Hank Williams Jr. and his band ate at my brother’s restaurant before a show in. . . wherever the Pistons were playing (Auburn Hills)?
You mentioned James Edwards hanging out, but not that part. And The Palace of Auburn Hills. One of the rare arenas built out of private funds. Helps that Auburn Hills doesn't have much going for it except for a shopping mall. Although that's slowly changing.
The TV was on CBS after football. Never watch award shows but this came on which was cool Still bringing the disco magic like no other, @nilerodgers and @CHICorg! 🪩🕺 #AMAs50 #AMAsWatch NOW on @CBS and streaming on @paramountplus. pic.twitter.com/Udpg6qPojI— American Music Awards (@AMAs) October 7, 2024
That's what I figured, and why I said what I did about the music/attire. I don't hate on metal. I've even posted some here. But I don't get the whole black clothing thing- I don't see why any sort of music needs a fashion to go with it. Rock doesn't. Jazz doesn't. Pop doesn't. Duran Duran in linen suits was still Duran Duran. It didn't make their fans wear linen suits. I mean, it's one thing when MJ fans bought red "leather" jackets and a sequined glove at the convenience store, quite another when millions of men go from whatever they're wearing to undersized black t-shirts (and Chucks haven't been athletic shoes for almost 50 years- please stop), and women go from the heights of glam-rock groupie look (probably the best-looking of the bunch) to pale, black-dyed shoegazing vegans who think a bat is a normal pet. Rock's too old to be rebellious anyway, and its listeners today seem not to know what they need to be rebelling against. Country crowds be drankin for real at they shows, mane. A friend who worked arena cleanup here for a few years told this to me. Said there were more bottles at a country concert than in any two other genre concerts of the same attendance. Dave Matthews? What in the wide world of sports do his fans do that's mean???? I figured they'd be 40-50something professionals reliving their Hakky Sack days. Wait, lemme guess. They're a bunch of Karens?
Hank Jr. and his band and entourage showed up before the gig. Long story short, they were dicks. And they drank a lot. So at the end of the night, after accumulating a massive tab, my brother, the manager, decided to see what happened if he added a 100% gratuity. Nothing. Some yahoo in the entourage signed off on it. So the servers who had to work on that table got combat pay (several hundred dollars on top of what they usually get -- which probably didn't make up for the harrassment, but it was better than nothing). Servers and bussers who did not work the big table also got a few hundred, and in order not to exacerbate the kitchen/front of the house divide, cooks and dishwashers went home with a three or four hundred dollars as well. Most of the people in the restaurant were going to the show. Eating in the same place as their hero was a disappointment to all of them. But speaking of heroes... those people in that restaurant would go out of their way to never let my brother down for the remaining year and half before the company transferred him to the Chicago area.