It was scheduled to be one of those weekends of music for us -- Retro Futura on Friday night, and Erasure on Saturday. Unfortunately, this is going to be another one of those write-ups that are more about me and the things going on that prevented me from really being fully present at this concert than about the concert itself.
We got our tickets to the Erasure show earlier in the year. Denise and I had both noticed that Erasure was booked to play the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on a Sunday night over the summer. Now Denise has always loved Erasure. I can take them or leave them. I like a few of their songs, and I seem to be one of the few who liked their 2017 World Be Gone album. (Comparing it to other albums released by '80s bands in 2017, I didn't like it as much as I liked the OMD album, but I liked it better than the Depeche Mode album, and maybe even better than the Blondie album). But I think a lot of their music was popular because it's very danceable, and as I explained in yesterday's post, I've never been a dancer or a dance club kid. Also I find that traveling into the city for a show is such a hassle these days -- I've gotten so used to Suffolk County's open spaces that going into Manhattan always feels like putting on a straitjacket. And don't even get me started on the traffic and the logistics of getting around there and parking. So when I heard the concert was in Manhattan, and on a Sunday night, I brushed it off.
But then, as that show sold out, they added a Saturday night show. (They would go on to add a Friday night show as well). At first, I was still of a mindset to ignore it, due to the Manhattan thing. But then I started to think about it. I knew that Denise really wanted to go. Now this was in the beginning of 2018, and things were starting to open up for us. Our children are older, and we started to experiment with leaving them for an overnight on their own, here and there. And I started realizing that as our kids were growing, Denise and I have spent the last 8 years so busy being parents that I didn't feel we were as connected as we used to be. Also, I was losing weight and feeling better physically -- more able to get around with wearing myself out. The band had an interesting opening act called Reed and Caroline, protegees of Vince Clarke of Erasure, which also made the show more attractive to me. So knowing that Denise would really enjoy it, I said, "Why not?" and told her to go ahead and get the tickets.
Unfortunately, shortly after that, things took a backwards turn in our life. As happens with parenting, there are steps forward and steps back, and as it turned out, the kids weren't as ready to be left unsupervised as we had originally thought. By the time we had figured this out, we already had tickets for Retro Futura and Erasure on back-to-back nights for this past weekend. I didn't think it was doable, and had already decided I'd go with her to the Westbury show, and we'd ask one of our friends to accompany her into the city for Erasure.
Then things changed again in a way that seemed to make things easier for seeing both shows. My son decided to go upstate for three weeks and work with his uncle. We dropped him off last weekend, and went back to our original plan. But it didn't work out the way we hoped. Just about as soon as we got him up there, he decided he wanted to come back home. We kept trying to get him to hang in there, thinking it would be good for him -- he'd make some money, learn more about building things, and get some time with his relatives. Things went back and forth, with a final decision being delayed until Saturday.
Friday night, we went to Retro Futura, as I already detailed, and had a pretty good time. By the time we got home, it was close to 1AM. Unfortunately, I had to stay up for a few more hours working on some notes for work, so when I got up for my Saturday morning Weight Watcher's meeting, I was already working short-sleeped. As I suspected, my son still wanted to come home. He actually wanted to take the train, which would have been good, as it would have spared us a drive up to Rome. However, after more than an hour online and on the phone with Amtrak (Their website is a mess! Try it sometime.) it became obvious that this wasn't going to work -- I had forgotten that Penn Station is in disarray all summer because they're refurbishing the damned thing. All of the Amtrak trains are being rerouted to Grand Central, and the LIRR service (which I'd need to go into the city and pick him up) was in shambles as well. It didn't help my mood that in the middle of figuring all of this out, I had to stop to mediate because while I was working trying to help him get home, he was on the phone fighting with his sister. Finally, it became apparent that the best of several bad choices was to just bite the bullet, go to the show, and then take off from there and drive all night to Rome.
After a (very) brief nap, we wound up leaving the house late, as Denise made several calls trying to book us a room up there so we could grab some sleep before we drove home. Then we got hit with a few more problems. Before we'd gotten too far, incredibly, my son was on the car phone again driving us crazy about another fight he was having with his sister. And as I tried to get him off of the phone, we hit a complete stop in the traffic on the LIE. It was now a guarantee that we were going to be late for the show.
Denise rolls with things much better than I do. By this time, I was mentally and emotionally done. I was hot, I was overtired, I was emotionally fried (I had been dealing with this situation with my son all week), and I was totally bummed that we were going to miss Reed and Caroline. And I wasn't even sure we were likely to make it there in time for the start of Erasure's set. (I also knew from looking up their setlist on setlist.fm that they were probably going to open with my favorite Erasure song, "Oh L'Amour"). We passed an Olive Garden restaurant, and I can tell you that if I didn't know Denise really wanted to go to the show, I'd have liked to just stop, unwind during a leisurely dinner, skip the show entirely, and just drive upstate after dinner.
Once we got past the accident on the Long Island Parking Lot (as the LIE is not-so-affectionately known), we actually made reasonable time into and across the city. Denise had prepaid for parking at a nearby lot, which we found with no problem. We made it to the Beacon at about 8:40PM, missing Reed and Caroline entirely, but with enough time to settle into our seats before Erasure started. We were seated in the balcony, and the Beacon being a pretty old theater, there aren't elevators (that I know of, anyway). So we got out our ropes and grappling hooks, and Denise, our pet mountain goat and I scaled the two flights of stairs up to our seats with a minmum of yodeling. By this time, I was just glad to relax for a few hours before our all-night drive.
As predicted, Erasure opened up with "Oh L'Amour", which was good. As soon as they played the last note of the song, I went back inside to get us some waters (we were parched by the summer heat, the long drive, and the hike up to the balcony). Then I settled in as the music just washed over me.
In all honesty, I didn't really enjoy the show at all, but it had nothing to do with Erasure. (I'm so freaking dyslexic -- I keep typing them as "Earsure"!). The house was totally rocking, people were up and dancing, and I guarantee you, I was pretty much the only person in the theater that didn't have a good time. But by that time, I just wanted to flash forward to being done with the all-night drive and settle into bed at our motel in Herkimer.
Here are some observations I can give you about the concert:
1. The band (Andy Bell and Vince Clarke) had two backup singers of questionable gender. (I actually spent a good part of the night musing about this question. I asked Denise, but she wasn't sure who was what either.) There was a skinny singer dressed in a man's suit, who I'm pretty sure was actually a woman. (I detected breasts). Then there was a fleshier person wearing a corset and a skirt, who may or may not have been a man. (Their vocals were turned down somewhat in the mix, but I definitely heard at least one female voice.) Neither was, as they say, a "spring chicken".
2. Andy Bell's outfit was frightening, although at least we'd been pre-warned about it. As the night wore on, he stripped down to a tatooed, flesh-colored onesy leotard. He is also not a spring chicken. He has a bit of a pot belly, and once again, I saw breasts. (Not making fun of the man's body -- he's actually in much better shape than I am. I am making fun of his fashion sense. But then again, I'm sure that so was he.)
3. I want Vince Clarke's job. He's the most relaxed mf'er I've ever seen on a stage, even more so than Stephin Merritt (who is not so much relaxed as mopey). He has most of his music pre-programmed, so that he mostly just pushes a button here and there, then lets the music pour forth. I'm pretty sure he's already got next year's tour, and the year after's as well, programmed in there already. Once in awhile, he straps on an acoustic guitar. He might have even strummed it occasionally.
4. The stage was visually interesting. Andy Bell played and danced mostly at the front of the stage on stage level. Behind him, on either side, was a lit door frame with a short stairway, once for each of the two backup singers. (Did he ever even introduce them? I don't remember if he did). There was another door frame in the middle, which led up to a lit balcony center stage, where Vince played (or didn't) all night, above the others' heads.
5. The Beacon Theater is pretty old, and when everyone dances, you can feel the whole balcony bounce. I posted on Sputnik about this, and suggested that it would collapse one day, and I was glad that that day hadn't been on Saturday. But one of my friends on there assured me that the fact that it's flexible and moves is actually a good thing, and makes a collapse less likely. I'll take his word for it. Nevertheless, I was going to suggest that if you go to the Beacon, you sit downstairs. But then I thought about it, and realized you wouldn't want the damned thing coming down on top of you either. So don't worry about it, just go and enjoy yourself. It won't come down. Probably.
6. They played about five songs from the new album, and I realized that the reason a lot of '80s fans aren't crazy about it is that it's much slower and less danceable than their older material. The band used the songs in this show mostly to give poor Andy a rest -- he moves around a lot, and he's got to be at least in his fifties. The new songs were received politely, if not enthusiastically. Most of the crowd probably needed a break from all the dancing as much as Andy did. They, too, were not all "spring chickens".
7. I was sorry they didn't play my favorite number from the World Be Gone album, "Still It's Not Over". But I knew they probably wouldn't. According to setlist.fm, they've only played it three times during the whole tour.
8. They played a 21-song set, with a 1-song encore, "A Little Respect".
9. My favorite songs of the night were "Oh L'Amour", "Love to Hate You", a cover of Blondie's "Atomic", and "A Little Respect". Denise also mentioned "Blue Savannah Sun" as a highlight.
In retrospect, I'd say that Erasure put on a really good show. I wish I could have seen it a day or so later, when I'd have been in more a mindset to enjoy it. I also wish I'd seen Reed and Caroline. I've watched a couple of their videos since then, and I liked them, so I ordered their new album. (And one of these days, I'll probably review it). Not sure if Erasure's crowd dug them, though. The general feedback Denise seems to be getting from her WLIR group is that everyone thought they were pretty weird.
Anyway, hope that in spite of my sour emotional state for the night, I was able to give you a general sense of what the show was like. I'm going to bet that for most of the crowd that was there, they're going to rate it as one of their favorite shows of the year. As for me, I'm just glad we were sitting far enough away that my blurry eyes didn't really get a clear look at Andy Bell's onesy.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Monday, July 16, 2018
Retro Futura 2018
Last summer, Denise and I attended the Retro Futura tour, or as I then labeled it "Six '80s Bands in Search of a Headliner" tour, on its Atlantic City stop. This year, the lineup was a little less interesting to me (I was really kind of psyched to see Men Without Hats last year), but the venue was one of my favorites, the NYCB Theater in Westbury (aka the Westbury Music Fair). The lineup included (in the order I expected them to go on in) Tony Lewis from The Outfield, Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow, Limahl of Kajagoogoo, Modern English (the only holdovers from last year's tour), ABC, and Belinda Carlisle. Tony Lewis replaced Nick Heyward of Haircut 100, who was originally scheduled to be part of the tour. Also, I think in some locations, the band Expose is scheduled to perform (not sure who they're replacing, if anyone).
Denise and I thought it looked like an interesting lineup. We've seen Annabella with Bow Wow Wow (on a bill that included the Basals, or Iridesense, or possibly both), and we saw Modern English on last year's tour. We've seen Belinda a couple of times with The Go-Go's, but never as a solo artist. And we figured seeing ABC, Limahl, and Nick Heyward (who was still part of the lineup when we bought the tickets), could be cool. And especially because it was at the Westbury Music Fair, a venue we both like a lot, we figured we'd just go ahead and get some tickets.
Now we've had some problematic times in our house lately. Nothing terrible, but the kind of issues that a lot of families go through when their kids go through difficult stages. And one of the ways that Denise has been handling it is by occasionally reliving her club days to relieve her stress. She's connected with a group of friends who keep a WLIR fan page on Facebook. I've never really been with her at any of their dance club meetups because, 1. I wasn't a club kid. My dancing skills equal those of Frankenstein's monster, if he had a broomstick shoved up his butt, and 2. We usually trade off, so that when one of us goes out, the other guards the home front, thanks to some of these family issues I've been talking about. (I met a few of them before the OMD show in Manhattan, but that was very briefly, and in a room that was too loud and overcrowded to really talk much to anyone.) Naturally, a show like this attracts WLIR lovers like picnic baskets attract Yogi Bear and BooBoo. So Denise was excited that the group was having a pre-show meetup/tailgate party in the Westbury Music Fair parking lot. (Our son was staying with relatives upstate, so for once, we were both able to get out for a night).
Unfortunately, I had a phone call for work that I needed to take that kept us from leaving the house before 5PM. (The show was starting at 7PM). And, as usual, there was heavy Friday rush-hour traffic plus an accident on the LIE, so we caught maybe 15 minutes with her friends in the parking lot before it was time to head inside to the show.
The whole theater was opened up for this show, meaning that we'd be seeing the venue's famous rotating stage. (It's been awhile since I saw this. The last bunch of shows I saw there were in the half-round). As the show began, the venue was about half full. In front of me was a woman who enjoyed holding her phone over her head, so she could both tape the performances and block my view at the same time. She sat there for the first two of three sets, until the actual ticket holder for the seat showed up (more on him later), and the usher kicked her out. (Stun gun! Stun gun! Stun gun!)
The first three artists all shared the same backing band, which included a fairly young looking (for this crowd) female keyboard player, and a Chris Peters looking mf'er on bass (sans the white lab coat). As it turned out, the order of the performances was different than what we anticipated. Up first was Annabella. She came out wearing a hat I'm pretty sure she stole from Mr. Monopoly, a black sequined jacket, and some rather tight, and colorful pants. She performed an all-too-brief trio of songs, closing with Bow Wow Wow's big hit, "I Want Candy".
Next up, again to my surprise, was Limahl. He was wearing something yellowish, and is still a very skinny man, with stylish, (though more controlled than in his heyday) hair. He too sang a brief set, closing with Kajagoogoo's big hit, "Too Shy".
Up next was Tony Lewis, who received a pretty good reaction from the crowd, which had filled in considerably by this point. A word here about all three of the opening sets: Obviously, the sound man was a huge fan of the backup band. He must have been, because although people paid their money to see famous and popular '80s singers, he had the band turned up so loud in relation to the vocals that Annabella had to shriek in order to try to compete with them, and Limahl's vocals were washed away entirely -- you could only really hear him on one of his four songs. I don't know if the sound man works for the venue or is traveling with the tour, but boo sound man!
Luckily, Tony Lewis is a more traditional rock singer than the first two (although he looks like an older version of Mario, sans his Luigi), so his vocals at least gave the band a run for their money. He performed a very energetic 5-song set (which got both the crowd and the band really moving), closing with The Outfield's best-known hit, "Your Love". (You know it -- "I just wanna use your love toniiiiight/I don't wanna lose your love toniiiiiight!".)
At this point, the backing band left the stage (breaking the sound man's heart), and Modern English set up shop. Playing as a 6-piece, they all wore black, and mostly wore jackets, even though it was a pretty hot evening. They played a fine 5-song set, which included one number from their decent 2017 album, Take Me to the Trees. They closed with what is far-and-away their best known song, one of the seminal hits of the 1980s, "I Melt With You". (Does anyone here remember the Nicholas Cage film this was featured in, Valley Girl? That was the first thing I ever saw him in.) This was one of the highlights of the night.
Next up was Belinda Carlisle, who I would have guessed would have been the headliner. Now the last time I saw Belinda was at a Go-Go's show at this same Westbury venue. I'd seen them a few years earlier at Jones Beach, and they were great. Then, when I saw them at Westbury, the sound was mixed so that the band largely drowned Belinda out. I thought this was just bad sound at first, until I listened more closely, and discovered that her voice was all over the place, and the sound man was protecting her. I figured her voice was just burnt out like poor Ian Anderson's, but then I saw a DVD of a concert The Go-Go's gave in Central Park at a later date, and she sounded great. I was confused about this until I read her bio. Then I realized that the Westbury concert I saw was likely during her heavy drug days. Give me a "D"! Give me an "R". Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect out of her tonight.
As it turned out, it was somewhere in the middle. She's lost a little vocally. Mainly, she's lost that cute little growl she used to have in her voice back in her Go-Go's days. She still sounds decent, but her voice doesn't have the bite it used to.
By the time Belinda came on, the crowd was worked up, and the venue was pretty full, although there were some empty seats to be found. About four rows in front of me was a male gay couple who looked about fifteen years younger than most of the rest of the crowd. Seated directly in front me was a mountain wearing human clothing. He wasn't fat so much as he was broad, and he was quite tall. Man Mountain was pretty well behaved on his own. But the gay couple were obviously big Belinda fans, and every time they got up to shake their butts (which was pretty much for all of Belinda's best songs), they blocked Man Mountain's view, causing him to stand up too. This basically caused a full solar eclipse for me. The sun, the moon, and Belinda and her whole band were totally blotted out. I moved my head from side to side, trying vainly to see around him. But it was like trying to see around a 16-car freight train. Denise was up dancing also, but I've already told you about my dancing skills. So I sat and watched most of Belinda's set on the overhead monitors.
In any event, Belinda performed an extremely well received 9-song set. Her backing band consisted of the Chris Peters looking mf'er from the backing band from the first three sets (now on regular guitar), plus (I think) a trio of guys who later turned out to be part of ABC. (I guess they have to cut costs where they can on these multi-band tours). Belinda opened with one of her biggest solo hits, "Mad About You", then thrilled the crowd (myself included) by going into "Head Over Heels", one of my favorite Go-Go's songs. As it turned out, the set was almost evenly split between her solo hits (like "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", which she closed with, and "Circle in the Sand", which might have been her best vocal number of the night), and Go-Go's classics such as "Vacation", "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We've Got the Beat", which she did all in a row. Overall, I'd say she was the most popular act of the night, and deservedly so.
ABC closed the show. You know how sometimes you go to a concert of a band you know somewhat, and every other song they play, you say, "Oh! I know that song," and "I know that one, too!"? Well, that didn't happen for me here.
Now in their favor, I'd tell you that although I really had a hard time getting into a lot of their set, for the most part, I was alone in that. The crowd was pretty enthusiastic about them, and Denise was certainly dancing up a storm right along with them. But on the other hand, I'd say that about a quarter, or at least a fifth, of the crowd actually left before ABC went on, so that's a mark against them.
Anyway, they were pretty tight as a band, but they're too funky for my taste. (They were also mostly dressed in ties and jackets, which just pisses me off for off some reason. It feels really old-fashioned to me, the kind of thing the bands of the sixties and seventies successfully broke away from). Of their 10-song set, I only really knew three of them, and one of those ("Poison Arrow") I don't really like. I do like "Be Near Me" and "The Look of Love", probably their two biggest hits, (and also the two songs they closed with). And I might have heard their opener, "When Smoky Sings", before, which was another one of their better numbers. Still, I was a little let down by their set, especially following after Belinda Carlisle's. Maybe my energy was just flagging.
After the show, we hooked up again with some of the stout hearts from Denise's WLIR group in the parking lot, and got some of the backstage info about the order of the show. I don't know how fluid it will be on future dates, but some of the things that affected the order of tonight's show included, 1. Annabella was up first because she had to jump on a flight to England to perform the next night at Let's Rock Shrewsbury with performers like UB40 and Midge Ure; and 2. Belinda went on early because she was still wiped out from performing with some (or all) of the other Go-Go's at a preview for the new Go-Go's Broadway musical, Head Over Heels.
In any event, Retro Futura 2018 was a pretty fun show, even though I wouldn't rate it as highly as last year's Retro Futura show (which was actually one of my favorite shows for all of last year). We got to enjoy some good music at a good venue, and I got to finally meet some of Denise's new WLIR friends. This one was definitely worth the price of the tickets.
Denise and I thought it looked like an interesting lineup. We've seen Annabella with Bow Wow Wow (on a bill that included the Basals, or Iridesense, or possibly both), and we saw Modern English on last year's tour. We've seen Belinda a couple of times with The Go-Go's, but never as a solo artist. And we figured seeing ABC, Limahl, and Nick Heyward (who was still part of the lineup when we bought the tickets), could be cool. And especially because it was at the Westbury Music Fair, a venue we both like a lot, we figured we'd just go ahead and get some tickets.
Now we've had some problematic times in our house lately. Nothing terrible, but the kind of issues that a lot of families go through when their kids go through difficult stages. And one of the ways that Denise has been handling it is by occasionally reliving her club days to relieve her stress. She's connected with a group of friends who keep a WLIR fan page on Facebook. I've never really been with her at any of their dance club meetups because, 1. I wasn't a club kid. My dancing skills equal those of Frankenstein's monster, if he had a broomstick shoved up his butt, and 2. We usually trade off, so that when one of us goes out, the other guards the home front, thanks to some of these family issues I've been talking about. (I met a few of them before the OMD show in Manhattan, but that was very briefly, and in a room that was too loud and overcrowded to really talk much to anyone.) Naturally, a show like this attracts WLIR lovers like picnic baskets attract Yogi Bear and BooBoo. So Denise was excited that the group was having a pre-show meetup/tailgate party in the Westbury Music Fair parking lot. (Our son was staying with relatives upstate, so for once, we were both able to get out for a night).
Unfortunately, I had a phone call for work that I needed to take that kept us from leaving the house before 5PM. (The show was starting at 7PM). And, as usual, there was heavy Friday rush-hour traffic plus an accident on the LIE, so we caught maybe 15 minutes with her friends in the parking lot before it was time to head inside to the show.
The whole theater was opened up for this show, meaning that we'd be seeing the venue's famous rotating stage. (It's been awhile since I saw this. The last bunch of shows I saw there were in the half-round). As the show began, the venue was about half full. In front of me was a woman who enjoyed holding her phone over her head, so she could both tape the performances and block my view at the same time. She sat there for the first two of three sets, until the actual ticket holder for the seat showed up (more on him later), and the usher kicked her out. (Stun gun! Stun gun! Stun gun!)
The first three artists all shared the same backing band, which included a fairly young looking (for this crowd) female keyboard player, and a Chris Peters looking mf'er on bass (sans the white lab coat). As it turned out, the order of the performances was different than what we anticipated. Up first was Annabella. She came out wearing a hat I'm pretty sure she stole from Mr. Monopoly, a black sequined jacket, and some rather tight, and colorful pants. She performed an all-too-brief trio of songs, closing with Bow Wow Wow's big hit, "I Want Candy".
Next up, again to my surprise, was Limahl. He was wearing something yellowish, and is still a very skinny man, with stylish, (though more controlled than in his heyday) hair. He too sang a brief set, closing with Kajagoogoo's big hit, "Too Shy".
Up next was Tony Lewis, who received a pretty good reaction from the crowd, which had filled in considerably by this point. A word here about all three of the opening sets: Obviously, the sound man was a huge fan of the backup band. He must have been, because although people paid their money to see famous and popular '80s singers, he had the band turned up so loud in relation to the vocals that Annabella had to shriek in order to try to compete with them, and Limahl's vocals were washed away entirely -- you could only really hear him on one of his four songs. I don't know if the sound man works for the venue or is traveling with the tour, but boo sound man!
Luckily, Tony Lewis is a more traditional rock singer than the first two (although he looks like an older version of Mario, sans his Luigi), so his vocals at least gave the band a run for their money. He performed a very energetic 5-song set (which got both the crowd and the band really moving), closing with The Outfield's best-known hit, "Your Love". (You know it -- "I just wanna use your love toniiiiight/I don't wanna lose your love toniiiiiight!".)
At this point, the backing band left the stage (breaking the sound man's heart), and Modern English set up shop. Playing as a 6-piece, they all wore black, and mostly wore jackets, even though it was a pretty hot evening. They played a fine 5-song set, which included one number from their decent 2017 album, Take Me to the Trees. They closed with what is far-and-away their best known song, one of the seminal hits of the 1980s, "I Melt With You". (Does anyone here remember the Nicholas Cage film this was featured in, Valley Girl? That was the first thing I ever saw him in.) This was one of the highlights of the night.
Next up was Belinda Carlisle, who I would have guessed would have been the headliner. Now the last time I saw Belinda was at a Go-Go's show at this same Westbury venue. I'd seen them a few years earlier at Jones Beach, and they were great. Then, when I saw them at Westbury, the sound was mixed so that the band largely drowned Belinda out. I thought this was just bad sound at first, until I listened more closely, and discovered that her voice was all over the place, and the sound man was protecting her. I figured her voice was just burnt out like poor Ian Anderson's, but then I saw a DVD of a concert The Go-Go's gave in Central Park at a later date, and she sounded great. I was confused about this until I read her bio. Then I realized that the Westbury concert I saw was likely during her heavy drug days. Give me a "D"! Give me an "R". Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect out of her tonight.
As it turned out, it was somewhere in the middle. She's lost a little vocally. Mainly, she's lost that cute little growl she used to have in her voice back in her Go-Go's days. She still sounds decent, but her voice doesn't have the bite it used to.
By the time Belinda came on, the crowd was worked up, and the venue was pretty full, although there were some empty seats to be found. About four rows in front of me was a male gay couple who looked about fifteen years younger than most of the rest of the crowd. Seated directly in front me was a mountain wearing human clothing. He wasn't fat so much as he was broad, and he was quite tall. Man Mountain was pretty well behaved on his own. But the gay couple were obviously big Belinda fans, and every time they got up to shake their butts (which was pretty much for all of Belinda's best songs), they blocked Man Mountain's view, causing him to stand up too. This basically caused a full solar eclipse for me. The sun, the moon, and Belinda and her whole band were totally blotted out. I moved my head from side to side, trying vainly to see around him. But it was like trying to see around a 16-car freight train. Denise was up dancing also, but I've already told you about my dancing skills. So I sat and watched most of Belinda's set on the overhead monitors.
In any event, Belinda performed an extremely well received 9-song set. Her backing band consisted of the Chris Peters looking mf'er from the backing band from the first three sets (now on regular guitar), plus (I think) a trio of guys who later turned out to be part of ABC. (I guess they have to cut costs where they can on these multi-band tours). Belinda opened with one of her biggest solo hits, "Mad About You", then thrilled the crowd (myself included) by going into "Head Over Heels", one of my favorite Go-Go's songs. As it turned out, the set was almost evenly split between her solo hits (like "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", which she closed with, and "Circle in the Sand", which might have been her best vocal number of the night), and Go-Go's classics such as "Vacation", "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We've Got the Beat", which she did all in a row. Overall, I'd say she was the most popular act of the night, and deservedly so.
ABC closed the show. You know how sometimes you go to a concert of a band you know somewhat, and every other song they play, you say, "Oh! I know that song," and "I know that one, too!"? Well, that didn't happen for me here.
Now in their favor, I'd tell you that although I really had a hard time getting into a lot of their set, for the most part, I was alone in that. The crowd was pretty enthusiastic about them, and Denise was certainly dancing up a storm right along with them. But on the other hand, I'd say that about a quarter, or at least a fifth, of the crowd actually left before ABC went on, so that's a mark against them.
Anyway, they were pretty tight as a band, but they're too funky for my taste. (They were also mostly dressed in ties and jackets, which just pisses me off for off some reason. It feels really old-fashioned to me, the kind of thing the bands of the sixties and seventies successfully broke away from). Of their 10-song set, I only really knew three of them, and one of those ("Poison Arrow") I don't really like. I do like "Be Near Me" and "The Look of Love", probably their two biggest hits, (and also the two songs they closed with). And I might have heard their opener, "When Smoky Sings", before, which was another one of their better numbers. Still, I was a little let down by their set, especially following after Belinda Carlisle's. Maybe my energy was just flagging.
After the show, we hooked up again with some of the stout hearts from Denise's WLIR group in the parking lot, and got some of the backstage info about the order of the show. I don't know how fluid it will be on future dates, but some of the things that affected the order of tonight's show included, 1. Annabella was up first because she had to jump on a flight to England to perform the next night at Let's Rock Shrewsbury with performers like UB40 and Midge Ure; and 2. Belinda went on early because she was still wiped out from performing with some (or all) of the other Go-Go's at a preview for the new Go-Go's Broadway musical, Head Over Heels.
In any event, Retro Futura 2018 was a pretty fun show, even though I wouldn't rate it as highly as last year's Retro Futura show (which was actually one of my favorite shows for all of last year). We got to enjoy some good music at a good venue, and I got to finally meet some of Denise's new WLIR friends. This one was definitely worth the price of the tickets.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Review of Eurythmics' "1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)"
I posted the following review earlier this afternoon on the Sputnik Music website:
1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) was released (wait for it...) in 1984. It's one of those albums where the story behind it might be as interesting as the music. The band was commissioned by Virgin Films to write music for the soundtrack of their upcoming film Nineteen Eighty-Four, based on the dystopian George Orwell novel about a future where everything is controlled by a dishonest and malevolent government. Unbeknownst to them, however, the director Michael Radford had no interest in using an electro-pop musical backdrop for his story, and he had already asked British composer Dominic Muldowney to write a more traditionally classical score for the same film. Hijinks ensued. Radford edited the film together using only Muldowney's score. The band got pissed, as they had been dragged into this conflict unknowingly, and now they were having their efforts unfairly disparaged. The studio intervened and re-edited the film, this time using the music from both scores. The film received some awards, which gave the director the opportunity to publicly complain about having been "forced" to use Eurythmics' music. Good times.
This album, therefore, was released as a "soundtrack" album, although the version of the music that is actually used in the film is significantly less electronic than the version released here on the LP. Within the context of Eurythmics' musical history, it can be seen as the third, and final, album of Eurythmic's electronic period, following after Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and Touch (both released in 1983). With their following album, Be Yourself Tonight (1985), Eurythmics moved heavily in a more traditionally R&B direction.
The album didn't do nearly as well in the charts as the band's two previous LPs, for several reasons. For one, it wasn't as heavily promoted as either of those had been. Because the film belonged to Virgin films, the soundtrack was released by the Virgin label instead of Eurythmic's usual RCA label, which understandably treated it as a one-off soundtrack instead of as a major pop release. Also, as a soundtrack, the LP was much less single-heavy than were the band's previous two releases. The only successful single from 1984 was "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" which did well in the UK and Europe (but tanked badly in the U.S.). In fact, most of the songs on the LP didn't even have traditional lyrics -- they were largely instrumentals that included Annie Lennox's vocal grunts, cries and other what-have-you's.
So how is the music on the LP? Well, I'd have to admit, in listening to it recently for this review, I've had to revise my opinion upwards. When Eurythmics first formed as a duo, it was with the intention of taking pop music in a more experimental direction, and this is about as experimental as the band ever got. Some of the tracks are excellent. "Doubleplusgood" is a joyous musical illustration of Orwell's notion of government "doublespeak" that gets it just right, and "Julia", while it wasn't successful as a single, is haunting and beautiful. As for "Sexcrime", while it's not the typical hook-laden single, it is a pretty decent song -- there's a nice tension between Lennox's somewhat ethereal verses, and the harsh robotic choruses.
I think the primary negative of the album is this -- whatever their aspirations (and what their detractors would label as pretensions), Eurythmics was really a singles band. To the extent they are remembered today, it's for Top 40 hits and MTV music videos. 1984, while it contains some striking and memorable music, is light in the area that Eurythmics is best known for, the three-to-four minute catchy pop tune. It does, however, do an excellent job of capturing much of the feeling of the Orwell novel, which is presumably what Lennox and Dave Stewart set out to do. So on its own terms, it's more successful than not.
Overall, I'd rate 1984 as a pretty good album. While it doesn't have a dominant single such as "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "Here Comes the Rain Again" or "Who's That Girl"" from the band's previous two albums, it does have atmosphere and some interesting music. In retrospect, I see it as a final, if slightly flawed, entry in what was for me Eurythmics' most interesting musical period.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Review Summary: This soundtrack album was the final entry from Eurythmics' electro-pop period.
1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) was released (wait for it...) in 1984. It's one of those albums where the story behind it might be as interesting as the music. The band was commissioned by Virgin Films to write music for the soundtrack of their upcoming film Nineteen Eighty-Four, based on the dystopian George Orwell novel about a future where everything is controlled by a dishonest and malevolent government. Unbeknownst to them, however, the director Michael Radford had no interest in using an electro-pop musical backdrop for his story, and he had already asked British composer Dominic Muldowney to write a more traditionally classical score for the same film. Hijinks ensued. Radford edited the film together using only Muldowney's score. The band got pissed, as they had been dragged into this conflict unknowingly, and now they were having their efforts unfairly disparaged. The studio intervened and re-edited the film, this time using the music from both scores. The film received some awards, which gave the director the opportunity to publicly complain about having been "forced" to use Eurythmics' music. Good times.
This album, therefore, was released as a "soundtrack" album, although the version of the music that is actually used in the film is significantly less electronic than the version released here on the LP. Within the context of Eurythmics' musical history, it can be seen as the third, and final, album of Eurythmic's electronic period, following after Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and Touch (both released in 1983). With their following album, Be Yourself Tonight (1985), Eurythmics moved heavily in a more traditionally R&B direction.
The album didn't do nearly as well in the charts as the band's two previous LPs, for several reasons. For one, it wasn't as heavily promoted as either of those had been. Because the film belonged to Virgin films, the soundtrack was released by the Virgin label instead of Eurythmic's usual RCA label, which understandably treated it as a one-off soundtrack instead of as a major pop release. Also, as a soundtrack, the LP was much less single-heavy than were the band's previous two releases. The only successful single from 1984 was "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" which did well in the UK and Europe (but tanked badly in the U.S.). In fact, most of the songs on the LP didn't even have traditional lyrics -- they were largely instrumentals that included Annie Lennox's vocal grunts, cries and other what-have-you's.
So how is the music on the LP? Well, I'd have to admit, in listening to it recently for this review, I've had to revise my opinion upwards. When Eurythmics first formed as a duo, it was with the intention of taking pop music in a more experimental direction, and this is about as experimental as the band ever got. Some of the tracks are excellent. "Doubleplusgood" is a joyous musical illustration of Orwell's notion of government "doublespeak" that gets it just right, and "Julia", while it wasn't successful as a single, is haunting and beautiful. As for "Sexcrime", while it's not the typical hook-laden single, it is a pretty decent song -- there's a nice tension between Lennox's somewhat ethereal verses, and the harsh robotic choruses.
I think the primary negative of the album is this -- whatever their aspirations (and what their detractors would label as pretensions), Eurythmics was really a singles band. To the extent they are remembered today, it's for Top 40 hits and MTV music videos. 1984, while it contains some striking and memorable music, is light in the area that Eurythmics is best known for, the three-to-four minute catchy pop tune. It does, however, do an excellent job of capturing much of the feeling of the Orwell novel, which is presumably what Lennox and Dave Stewart set out to do. So on its own terms, it's more successful than not.
Overall, I'd rate 1984 as a pretty good album. While it doesn't have a dominant single such as "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "Here Comes the Rain Again" or "Who's That Girl"" from the band's previous two albums, it does have atmosphere and some interesting music. In retrospect, I see it as a final, if slightly flawed, entry in what was for me Eurythmics' most interesting musical period.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Favorite Artists, Part 2: About The Who
This is Part 2 of my "Favorite Artists" series, a series where I write in-depth about my favorite bands and artists of all time.
I consider The Who to be the greatest rock band of all time. I don't say that lightly. I realize that some people might offer other valid choices for this title. I also realize that there's a difference between naming a band "my favorite band" and saying that a band is the objectively the greatest ever. Some days, The Who is my favorite band. But I've had many favorite bands on many different days, including The Monkees (who were my first musical love when I got my first transistor radio), Procol Harum (who were my favorites for most of my teen years), and Jethro Tull (who've probably been my favorite band on most of the days of my adult life). My pick for greatest band of all time is different, though. It doesn't fluctuate daily with my moods and my taste. A favorite band is a choice of the heart (and certainly there are many days where The Who is my favorite band as well). But my choice of greatest band ever is more a choice of the head.
Here's my case. To start with, the individual members of The Who are all at or near their top of their chosen instruments. Many would pick Keith Moon as the greatest rock drummer of all time, and many would pick John Entwistle as the greatest bass player. While Pete Townshend is seldom mentioned as the "greatest" guitarist of all time, he is undeniably a great guitarist, with his own unique style of rhythm guitar playing (which is as visually impressive as it is musically impressive). As for Roger Daltrey, he was doubtlessly the last of the four members of The Who to fully come into his own. However, once he did, as he began to embody the character of Tommy Walker and make him his own, he too became a singular and forceful vocal talent, one of those rare singers who can sing with equal parts power and beauty. (And it's enhanced by the weird high-pitched harmonies and occasional lead vocals Townshend and Entwistle provide). Add to all of this the uncommon chemistry that these four men had together, and their deserved reputation as one of the greatest live bands ever. Then finish it off with the genius of Townshend's writing (and yes, I know that word is overused, but in this case, it's 100% earned) and you have, in my eyes, the one band that stands out among all others.
I don't think there's ever been a one-two-three punch of studio LPs in rock annals like the successive releases of Tommy, Who's Next and Quadrophenia (and just for laughs, they threw Live at Leeds in the middle of all that, an album that many consider one of the legendary live albums of all time). The closest comparison, for me, was Pink Floyd's run from Dark Side through The Wall, but even here, I'd have to give a narrow buT definite advantage to The Who.
Think about Who's Next for a minute. Here we have what is almost universally accepted as one of the top albums in rock history, and the damned thing was a frigging failure by Townshend's standards. Fresh off the amazing breakthrough that was Tommy (which went beyond the notion of the mere concept album to become the world's first rock opera,) he was trying to create something so big it would blow Tommy out of the water, a project that would exist in multiple media formats and would join the band and the audience together in the creative process: The Lifehouse project. The concept was so big that he couldn't ever pull it all together and get it into a form that even his own management and his bandmates could understand. So after pretty much giving himself a nervous breakdown, Townshend admitted failure, abandoned the project, took the best individual songs (like "Baba O'Riley" and "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again") and put them out in a regular album format as Who's Next. What we wound up with was of the most amazing LPs in the history of LPs, and this was one of his failures! Then, just for laughs, after he'd gotten a little rest and came back to his right mind, he lowered his sights and banged out Quadrophenia. I'm in awe whenever I think about it.
Here's another thing, too. When we think of those albums, we think of the legendary rock anthems such as "Pinball Wizard" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" from Tommy, the three songs I mentioned earlier from Who's Next, and "Love, Reign O'er Me" and "5:15" from Quadrophenia. But some of my favorites are the smaller numbers from those three albums: "Sensation" and "Amazing Journey" from Tommy, "Bargain" and "Getting in Tune" from Who's Next, and "Cut My Hair", "The Dirty Jobs" and "Sea and Sand" from Quadrophenia. Then there are the character numbers, like "Bell Boy" from Quadrophenia. And don't even get me started on the "added-value" of John Entwistle's songs -- songs like "Boris the Spider", "Fiddle About" and "My Wife".
I once heard it said that "A million Def Leppards will come and go -- but there will only ever be one Who". I feel bad picking on Def Leppard in particular -- I have nothing against them (although I have nothing especially for them either). But you get the point. Although they only released eleven actual studio albums, The Who not only created music that is timeless, but also ideas and ways of doing things that forever changed rock history. Ironically, even the punk movement, which mostly abhorred what had come to be thought of "stadium rock", by and large revered The Who.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I'll be the first to admit that someone else could make the case for other bands. For me, though, it's pretty cut and dried. The Who are my choice the greatest band in rock history.
Coming up next in this series, in about 3 months: Pink Floyd.
I consider The Who to be the greatest rock band of all time. I don't say that lightly. I realize that some people might offer other valid choices for this title. I also realize that there's a difference between naming a band "my favorite band" and saying that a band is the objectively the greatest ever. Some days, The Who is my favorite band. But I've had many favorite bands on many different days, including The Monkees (who were my first musical love when I got my first transistor radio), Procol Harum (who were my favorites for most of my teen years), and Jethro Tull (who've probably been my favorite band on most of the days of my adult life). My pick for greatest band of all time is different, though. It doesn't fluctuate daily with my moods and my taste. A favorite band is a choice of the heart (and certainly there are many days where The Who is my favorite band as well). But my choice of greatest band ever is more a choice of the head.
Here's my case. To start with, the individual members of The Who are all at or near their top of their chosen instruments. Many would pick Keith Moon as the greatest rock drummer of all time, and many would pick John Entwistle as the greatest bass player. While Pete Townshend is seldom mentioned as the "greatest" guitarist of all time, he is undeniably a great guitarist, with his own unique style of rhythm guitar playing (which is as visually impressive as it is musically impressive). As for Roger Daltrey, he was doubtlessly the last of the four members of The Who to fully come into his own. However, once he did, as he began to embody the character of Tommy Walker and make him his own, he too became a singular and forceful vocal talent, one of those rare singers who can sing with equal parts power and beauty. (And it's enhanced by the weird high-pitched harmonies and occasional lead vocals Townshend and Entwistle provide). Add to all of this the uncommon chemistry that these four men had together, and their deserved reputation as one of the greatest live bands ever. Then finish it off with the genius of Townshend's writing (and yes, I know that word is overused, but in this case, it's 100% earned) and you have, in my eyes, the one band that stands out among all others.
I don't think there's ever been a one-two-three punch of studio LPs in rock annals like the successive releases of Tommy, Who's Next and Quadrophenia (and just for laughs, they threw Live at Leeds in the middle of all that, an album that many consider one of the legendary live albums of all time). The closest comparison, for me, was Pink Floyd's run from Dark Side through The Wall, but even here, I'd have to give a narrow buT definite advantage to The Who.
Think about Who's Next for a minute. Here we have what is almost universally accepted as one of the top albums in rock history, and the damned thing was a frigging failure by Townshend's standards. Fresh off the amazing breakthrough that was Tommy (which went beyond the notion of the mere concept album to become the world's first rock opera,) he was trying to create something so big it would blow Tommy out of the water, a project that would exist in multiple media formats and would join the band and the audience together in the creative process: The Lifehouse project. The concept was so big that he couldn't ever pull it all together and get it into a form that even his own management and his bandmates could understand. So after pretty much giving himself a nervous breakdown, Townshend admitted failure, abandoned the project, took the best individual songs (like "Baba O'Riley" and "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again") and put them out in a regular album format as Who's Next. What we wound up with was of the most amazing LPs in the history of LPs, and this was one of his failures! Then, just for laughs, after he'd gotten a little rest and came back to his right mind, he lowered his sights and banged out Quadrophenia. I'm in awe whenever I think about it.
Here's another thing, too. When we think of those albums, we think of the legendary rock anthems such as "Pinball Wizard" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" from Tommy, the three songs I mentioned earlier from Who's Next, and "Love, Reign O'er Me" and "5:15" from Quadrophenia. But some of my favorites are the smaller numbers from those three albums: "Sensation" and "Amazing Journey" from Tommy, "Bargain" and "Getting in Tune" from Who's Next, and "Cut My Hair", "The Dirty Jobs" and "Sea and Sand" from Quadrophenia. Then there are the character numbers, like "Bell Boy" from Quadrophenia. And don't even get me started on the "added-value" of John Entwistle's songs -- songs like "Boris the Spider", "Fiddle About" and "My Wife".
I once heard it said that "A million Def Leppards will come and go -- but there will only ever be one Who". I feel bad picking on Def Leppard in particular -- I have nothing against them (although I have nothing especially for them either). But you get the point. Although they only released eleven actual studio albums, The Who not only created music that is timeless, but also ideas and ways of doing things that forever changed rock history. Ironically, even the punk movement, which mostly abhorred what had come to be thought of "stadium rock", by and large revered The Who.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I'll be the first to admit that someone else could make the case for other bands. For me, though, it's pretty cut and dried. The Who are my choice the greatest band in rock history.
Coming up next in this series, in about 3 months: Pink Floyd.
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Review of The Gothard Sisters' "Midnight Sun"
I posted this review a short while ago on the Sputnik Music website:
Three sweet-voiced blonde-haired sisters fiddling away and singing songs about flowers and mermaids and fairies -- it sounds like many a Sputniker's vision of aural hell. But as John Astin discovered in that classic episode of the old Night Gallery show, one man's hell is another man's heaven.
The Gothard Sisters are a trio of performing siblings from Washington State. Purportedly inspired by a video of Riverdance, they began taking Irish step dancing lessons to complement the violin lessons they were already engaged in, and by their teens, they were performing at state fairs and Celtic music festivals throughout their home area. Now all in their twenties, they have released a dozen or so albums, and become headliners at Celtic music events all over North America.
Midnight Sun is their most recent LP. Released this past May, it contains a dozen songs that are evenly split between instrumental tracks and tracks with vocals. For those who appreciate Celtic-tinged original music, there's a lot to like here. The fiddling throughout is particularly enjoyable, and there's some nice acoustic guitar and piano playing as well. As for the lead vocals, they're sung by the youngest sister, Solana, with sibs Greta and Willow providing the harmonies. Solana's voice is high-pitched and pleasant, if maybe a tad thin. The songs are nicely constructed musically, although some of the lyrics can be a little insipid. In their defense, though, they're working in a genre where songs about magical beings is part of the tradition, so I'm going to cut them some slack here.
Among the best tracks on Midnight Sun are the title track, which pays homage to living in one of those areas in the northern hemisphere where the sun never sets at certain times of the year, and "Rose, Marie and Heather", which tells the tale of an encounter between three sisters and a Fairy Queen of ill intent who tries unsuccessfully to get each of them to betray the other two. The best of the instrumental numbers might be "When the Rain Falls", which Willow Gothard co-wrote with pianist Michele McLaughlin (who also plays on the track).
Midnight Sun won't be for everyone. Its unrelenting positivity will doubtlessly turn some listeners off, and others might find the sugary vocals intolerable. Nevertheless, there is some truly lovely music to be had here that's also lively and fun. It might even inspire you to step dance.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Review Summary: If I could do it without breaking a hip and endangering those around me, this album would inspire me to step dance.
Three sweet-voiced blonde-haired sisters fiddling away and singing songs about flowers and mermaids and fairies -- it sounds like many a Sputniker's vision of aural hell. But as John Astin discovered in that classic episode of the old Night Gallery show, one man's hell is another man's heaven.
The Gothard Sisters are a trio of performing siblings from Washington State. Purportedly inspired by a video of Riverdance, they began taking Irish step dancing lessons to complement the violin lessons they were already engaged in, and by their teens, they were performing at state fairs and Celtic music festivals throughout their home area. Now all in their twenties, they have released a dozen or so albums, and become headliners at Celtic music events all over North America.
Midnight Sun is their most recent LP. Released this past May, it contains a dozen songs that are evenly split between instrumental tracks and tracks with vocals. For those who appreciate Celtic-tinged original music, there's a lot to like here. The fiddling throughout is particularly enjoyable, and there's some nice acoustic guitar and piano playing as well. As for the lead vocals, they're sung by the youngest sister, Solana, with sibs Greta and Willow providing the harmonies. Solana's voice is high-pitched and pleasant, if maybe a tad thin. The songs are nicely constructed musically, although some of the lyrics can be a little insipid. In their defense, though, they're working in a genre where songs about magical beings is part of the tradition, so I'm going to cut them some slack here.
Among the best tracks on Midnight Sun are the title track, which pays homage to living in one of those areas in the northern hemisphere where the sun never sets at certain times of the year, and "Rose, Marie and Heather", which tells the tale of an encounter between three sisters and a Fairy Queen of ill intent who tries unsuccessfully to get each of them to betray the other two. The best of the instrumental numbers might be "When the Rain Falls", which Willow Gothard co-wrote with pianist Michele McLaughlin (who also plays on the track).
Midnight Sun won't be for everyone. Its unrelenting positivity will doubtlessly turn some listeners off, and others might find the sugary vocals intolerable. Nevertheless, there is some truly lovely music to be had here that's also lively and fun. It might even inspire you to step dance.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Review of Pete Townshend's "All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes"
I just posted this review on the Sputnik Music website a few minutes ago:
All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes was released in June of 1982, nearly four years after the death of Who drummer Keith Moon, and just three months before the release of It's Hard, The Who's last studio album (at least until 2006's Endless Wire.). It was a time, then, when the band's three surviving members were all starting to transition into solo careers, and in fact, some critics who didn't like It's Hard accused Townshend of holding back his best new material from The Who in order to stoke his own solo career. Cowboys didn't do that great at first, either sales-wise, or with the critics. It only reached the #32 position on the UK charts, and the #26 position on the U.S. charts (as opposed to his previous solo LP Empty Glass, which got as high as #11 and #5, respectively). There were also no successful singles on the album. Nevertheless, the LP's reputation has grown in stature over the years, and it's now considered a pretty solid effort by most critics and Townshend/Who fans alike.
You can't really review the album in 2018 without commenting on the incredibly insensitive (by today's standards) nature of the title. In a 1982 interview with Rolling Stone, Townshend explained that the title referred to the way American movie western heroes such as Clint Eastwood and John Wayne were famous for the steel-eyed squints they gave off as they blew multiple people away, but then went on to add that it also referred to how different ethnic and national groups such as Americans, Russians, Chinese, etc. tend to stereotype one another and view the other groups as evil. Old Pete could always dissemble with the best of them. All I can tell you is it was 1982, and the rules of what you could and couldn't say were a little more relaxed, or at least less explosive, than they are today. I fully expect that sometime soon, they'll be burning this album on the same pile as copies of the Huckleberry Finn novel. When they do, please don't tell them I own this on CD. I'm not giving my copy up.
The sound here is, as you would expect, is much lighter and poppier than that of the average Who album. There's none of Entwistle's booming bass, or (of course) Moon's whirlwind drums. Instead, the album relies largely on Townshend's acoustic guitar and synthesizers. While there are no singles here that charted as well as "Let My Love Open the Door", or even "A Little Is Enough" from Townshend's previous LP, there are some solid and memorable songs. The best of them might be "Slit Skirts", the album closer, which seems to be mostly about the disappointment inherent in a mature long-term relationship. However, "Face Dances, Pt. 2", which is an upbeat little electropop number, and the spiritual and triumphant "The Sea Refuses No River," aren't far behind. I'm also fond of "Somebody Saved Me", which seems to be a song in praise of, umm, shall we say sexual obstructionism (and which also reminds me of that one Elton John song, only without the "sugar bear"s), and "North Country Girl", an alternative version of Dylan's "Girl From the North Country".
Although I'm sure I'm in the minority here, this is actually my favorite LP overall out of Pete Townshend's solo albums. Pretend the full title is simply All the Best Cowboys... and enjoy it for the music, or burn it if you must. Admittedly, Pete Townshend has said, done and written some questionable things throughout his career. He sure has made some great music, though.
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Review Summary: While this album wasn't particularly successful when it was fist released in 1982, its reputation has improved over the years with critics and fans alike.
All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes was released in June of 1982, nearly four years after the death of Who drummer Keith Moon, and just three months before the release of It's Hard, The Who's last studio album (at least until 2006's Endless Wire.). It was a time, then, when the band's three surviving members were all starting to transition into solo careers, and in fact, some critics who didn't like It's Hard accused Townshend of holding back his best new material from The Who in order to stoke his own solo career. Cowboys didn't do that great at first, either sales-wise, or with the critics. It only reached the #32 position on the UK charts, and the #26 position on the U.S. charts (as opposed to his previous solo LP Empty Glass, which got as high as #11 and #5, respectively). There were also no successful singles on the album. Nevertheless, the LP's reputation has grown in stature over the years, and it's now considered a pretty solid effort by most critics and Townshend/Who fans alike.
You can't really review the album in 2018 without commenting on the incredibly insensitive (by today's standards) nature of the title. In a 1982 interview with Rolling Stone, Townshend explained that the title referred to the way American movie western heroes such as Clint Eastwood and John Wayne were famous for the steel-eyed squints they gave off as they blew multiple people away, but then went on to add that it also referred to how different ethnic and national groups such as Americans, Russians, Chinese, etc. tend to stereotype one another and view the other groups as evil. Old Pete could always dissemble with the best of them. All I can tell you is it was 1982, and the rules of what you could and couldn't say were a little more relaxed, or at least less explosive, than they are today. I fully expect that sometime soon, they'll be burning this album on the same pile as copies of the Huckleberry Finn novel. When they do, please don't tell them I own this on CD. I'm not giving my copy up.
The sound here is, as you would expect, is much lighter and poppier than that of the average Who album. There's none of Entwistle's booming bass, or (of course) Moon's whirlwind drums. Instead, the album relies largely on Townshend's acoustic guitar and synthesizers. While there are no singles here that charted as well as "Let My Love Open the Door", or even "A Little Is Enough" from Townshend's previous LP, there are some solid and memorable songs. The best of them might be "Slit Skirts", the album closer, which seems to be mostly about the disappointment inherent in a mature long-term relationship. However, "Face Dances, Pt. 2", which is an upbeat little electropop number, and the spiritual and triumphant "The Sea Refuses No River," aren't far behind. I'm also fond of "Somebody Saved Me", which seems to be a song in praise of, umm, shall we say sexual obstructionism (and which also reminds me of that one Elton John song, only without the "sugar bear"s), and "North Country Girl", an alternative version of Dylan's "Girl From the North Country".
Although I'm sure I'm in the minority here, this is actually my favorite LP overall out of Pete Townshend's solo albums. Pretend the full title is simply All the Best Cowboys... and enjoy it for the music, or burn it if you must. Admittedly, Pete Townshend has said, done and written some questionable things throughout his career. He sure has made some great music, though.
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Tesla, Styx and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
I've had Styx on my list of bands to finally see live for the last few years. I was going to see them at Citi Field in a concert after a Mets game two years ago, but I couldn't drum up any interest from my family. I could have gone on my own, but I assumed (incorrectly, as it turned out) that they'd probably only play a few songs, since the show would be coming at the end of a full nine-inning baseball game. As it turns out, I remember that day was stiflingly hot, so I was just as glad I didn't.
Last summer, I caught up with another band I'd wanted to see for a while that I've always associated with Styx, Kansas. This made me more determined than ever to see Styx. They were playing Jones Beach last summer, but two things decided me against getting tickets. The first was that the opening band was REO Speedwagon, who I have no interest in whatsoever. The second was that when I looked up the setlist the band was playing last summer, for whatever reason, they weren't playing "Mr. Roboto". I'm willing to compromise on other songs, but if I go and see Styx, the three must-hear songs for me are "Come Sail Away", "Fooling Yourself", and "Mr. Roboto". So I didn't buy the tickets, and my family wound up going upstate that week anyway.
So this summer, when the Jones Beach schedule started coming out, I immediately looked for Styx, and sure enough, there they were. And better yet, this year, the opening act was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Now I'm not the biggest Joan Jett fan, but she definitely has some songs I like, and for my taste, she was a huge step up over REO Speedwagon. And as a bonus, there was a third act on the bill, Tesla, who I'd heard of, although I wasn't really familiar with them. I asked Denise if she had any interest in going, but I wasn't surprised that the answer was no. But the tickets were inexpensive, so I bought a pair, so I'd have a little room to manuever.
Flash forward to this past Friday night. It was a hot day, 87 degrees. I tried to tempt my daughter into going with me, even if using the extra ticket would make my space tighter. (I know that at least she likes "Mr. Roboto" and "Come Sail Away".)
"Guess where I'm going tonight?" I asked her. She ignored me entirely, and went back to her room. Later, I reminded her, "Hey, you never guessed where I'm going tonight."
"That's because I don't care," she responded.
My enthusiasm unhampered, I continued, "I'm going to see Styx!"
"Wow!" my daughter answered. "That's incredibly lame!"
"Come on," I pleaded. "Domo Arigoto, Mr. Roboto!"
She shook her head sadly, and went back to her room.
OK, I was on my own then.
I left the house at about 5 o'clock, picked up a hero from TJ's (my favorite hero shop), and headed for Ocean Parkway.
I reached the parking lot at around 6PM. All around me, people were having tailgate parties. It was a weird crowd -- definitely older, and several people were wearing the paraphernalia of bands like Motley Crue. I assumed they were there for Tesla. I quietly ate my hero and listened to music until 6:30. Then I headed in.
I soon found my seats, four rows from the top of the stadium. I pulled out my mountain climbing equipment, and climbed up the stairs. The stadium was still mostly empty.
I texted my daughter: "Nice breeze up here. Beautiful night. Up a little high for my taste, though."
She texted back: "I hope a bird dookies on your head."
Hmm. Families might just be wildly overrated.
I was comfortable enough. However, I was dead in the middle of the row, and all I could think of was if I had to get out to use the restroom once the stadium was full, I was going to wind up tumbling down the rows when I tried to climb over people. Down by the landing was a lovely handicapped section. So I took a chance and climbed down the steps again (desperately hoping I wouldn't have to climb back up), and happily enough, they let me trade in my two tickets for a cushioned pull-out chair below.
Soon enough, Tesla came on. The only song I was familiar with of theirs was "Signs". (You know it: "Signs, signs, everywhere a sign!"). I discovered that they were sort of a mix of '80s hair band meets southern rock band -- kind of Cinderella meets Lynyrd Skynyrd -- not really my thing. Truthfully, I was pretty bored for most of their set, although to be fair, being that opening band while the stadium is still empty is a pretty thankless position. They had their contingent of fans in front of the stage, but in a large venue like that, they got lost. They worked hard, although I found their lead singer's voice pretty annoying. Their best number was their closer, a decent rock anthem called "Modern Western."
During the set change, I paid little attention, texting back and forth with my wife about my son's upcoming eighteenth birthday. Then the lights dimmed, and I heard the first strains of -- Styx!!!?
Wtf?!!!!!
It was true, though. Apparently, Styx and Joan Jett are co-headlining this tour, and at least for tonight (maybe because Joan is a hometown Long Island girl), Styx was going on first. All I could think of was how pissed I'd have been if I'd have come late, and missed Styx, or missed half of their set.
Unfortunately -- and it pains me to say this -- while I did enjoy Styx's set, they had the absolute worst sound mix I've ever heard at Jones Beach. Not only was it muddy, but it seemed to pulsate. I'd also have liked for the synthesizers to have been much higher in the mix -- on some of Styx's songs, like "Fooling Yourself," the synth should absolutely slice right through you, and it was so damned low in the mix that it was lost behind the guitars.
Nevertheless, I was glad to be there. Styx played the three songs I wanted, plus a lot of other good ones like "Blue Collar Man", "The Grand Illusion", "Lady", and "Renegade". The only other ones I can think of I'd have loved to heard were "Babe" (which they play surprisingly rarely in concert, considering what a popular song it was), and "Locomotive" (which I knew they wouldn't play. It's my favorite song from their 2017 album The Mission, but it's very low-key, not really a big live number). Still, I wish the sound had been better. I don't know if it was entirely the venue's fault, or if some of it was the band's equipment, but regardless, it was a disappointment.
When their set ended, I had a decision to make. I'd already seen the band I really came to see. I thought about how nice it might be to escape the stadium early, and avoid all of that traffic at the end of the night.
I also had some concerns that Joan was going to get political. Like much of America, I'm pretty burnt out by the constant political noise going on in the country 24/7, and in my head, I thought Joan was a bit of an activist. (Might have been wrong about that, as it turns out.) But it was a beautiful night. It was comfortable and cool, and now that it was dark, there was gorgeous blood moon hanging low in the sky over Ocean Parkway. So I decided to stay, although I was secretly hoping that Joan would open up with "Bad Reputation", my favorite song of hers, so that if she did start preaching and I decided to walk out, at least I'd have heard that one.
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Joan's style is to focus entirely on the music, with a bare minimum of stage banter of any kind, which I found to be quite a relief (and rather admirable on her part).
It didn't all go smoothly, though. Here's what happened.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts opened with a song I wasn't familiar with, "Victim of Circumstance". Unlike with Styx, this time, the sound was perfect. Then she busted out a trifecta of rock classics right in a row, "Cherry Bomb," "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" and "Bad Reputation," and the stadium was on fire. People were dancing and hitting beach balls around. Unfortunately, that was the high point.
Here's the problem: Joan is a rock goddess. However, she simply doesn't have enough A-list material to headline a show like this. She pulled out another obscure Runaways song, played "Light of Day," from the film she made with Michael J. Fox (A Springsteen song, but one I think he banged out in about five minutes while he was sitting on the toilet), the Blackhearts' first hit single, something from her most recent (2013) album, etc. And all the while, more and more of the energy was sucked out of the arena.
As I watched the line of cars start pulling out of the parking lot halfway through her set, I started thinking about the fact that even some of Joan's biggest hits were actually covers, so it makes sense that she has a limited number of truly great songs.
Joan and the band played 21 songs in all, including the encore, but they never got back the momentum they had in that three-song spread from "Cherry Bomb" to "Reputation". The weird thing is they did have some popular songs left, but they held them in reserve until the very end of Joan's regular set, then, bang-bang-bang!, she reeled off "I Love Rock and Roll", "Crimson and Clover" and "I Hate Myself for Loving You" all in a row again. It was good, but at this point, the audience had had the life sucked out them, and they never fully got back in the groove.
At this point, a mass exodus occurred in between the end of the set and the encore, so that when the lights came back up on stage, only about a third of the audience remained. This was unfortunate, because while the first two songs of the encore ("Hard to Grow Up" and "Make It Back") were pretty basic and boring, she closed with a nice cover of Sly & The Family Stone's "Everyday People". Meantime, the only song in the set between "Bad Reputation" and "I Love Rock and Roll" that I found at all engaging was a number called "Fresh Start", which is apparently going to be a single from a documentary about Joan's career coming out later this year (fittingly called Bad Reputation).
I felt bad for Joan and the band. They deserved better. But, 1. Styx should have been the headliner, local gal or not. I've seen them on dvd hold a crowd's attention just by playing all of the songs from The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight from start to finish. Joan's set as a headliner was just too long. And, 2. whoever put together Joan's setlist made a huge error by clumping all of her biggest songs into those two groups of three instead of spreading them out more. They wouldn't have had as much excitement early in the set, but they also wouldn't have had that long dead spot in the middle.
That's the story of one of the weirder nights of music I've ever experienced at Jones Beach. I know it wasn't just me, because as I walked down the ten thousand flights of steps to exit the stadium, I heard other people talking about how they'd never seen a Jones Beach show clear out like that before the end.
So the show wasn't perfect, by any means. The bill was made up of three bands who really don't belong together, the sound for Styx was lousy, and Joan's set was way too long for her material to sustain it. But it was also a beautiful night, and I was really conscious of how lucky I was to spend such a night, comfortable and happy and listening to three bands all of whom have created fine careers for themselves. (And for once, because so many people had left early, I was out of the parking lot and back on ocean Parkway in a jiffy). And a bird didn't dookie on my head.
So while it could been better, it was still pretty great.
Last summer, I caught up with another band I'd wanted to see for a while that I've always associated with Styx, Kansas. This made me more determined than ever to see Styx. They were playing Jones Beach last summer, but two things decided me against getting tickets. The first was that the opening band was REO Speedwagon, who I have no interest in whatsoever. The second was that when I looked up the setlist the band was playing last summer, for whatever reason, they weren't playing "Mr. Roboto". I'm willing to compromise on other songs, but if I go and see Styx, the three must-hear songs for me are "Come Sail Away", "Fooling Yourself", and "Mr. Roboto". So I didn't buy the tickets, and my family wound up going upstate that week anyway.
So this summer, when the Jones Beach schedule started coming out, I immediately looked for Styx, and sure enough, there they were. And better yet, this year, the opening act was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Now I'm not the biggest Joan Jett fan, but she definitely has some songs I like, and for my taste, she was a huge step up over REO Speedwagon. And as a bonus, there was a third act on the bill, Tesla, who I'd heard of, although I wasn't really familiar with them. I asked Denise if she had any interest in going, but I wasn't surprised that the answer was no. But the tickets were inexpensive, so I bought a pair, so I'd have a little room to manuever.
Flash forward to this past Friday night. It was a hot day, 87 degrees. I tried to tempt my daughter into going with me, even if using the extra ticket would make my space tighter. (I know that at least she likes "Mr. Roboto" and "Come Sail Away".)
"Guess where I'm going tonight?" I asked her. She ignored me entirely, and went back to her room. Later, I reminded her, "Hey, you never guessed where I'm going tonight."
"That's because I don't care," she responded.
My enthusiasm unhampered, I continued, "I'm going to see Styx!"
"Wow!" my daughter answered. "That's incredibly lame!"
"Come on," I pleaded. "Domo Arigoto, Mr. Roboto!"
She shook her head sadly, and went back to her room.
OK, I was on my own then.
I left the house at about 5 o'clock, picked up a hero from TJ's (my favorite hero shop), and headed for Ocean Parkway.
I reached the parking lot at around 6PM. All around me, people were having tailgate parties. It was a weird crowd -- definitely older, and several people were wearing the paraphernalia of bands like Motley Crue. I assumed they were there for Tesla. I quietly ate my hero and listened to music until 6:30. Then I headed in.
I soon found my seats, four rows from the top of the stadium. I pulled out my mountain climbing equipment, and climbed up the stairs. The stadium was still mostly empty.
I texted my daughter: "Nice breeze up here. Beautiful night. Up a little high for my taste, though."
She texted back: "I hope a bird dookies on your head."
Hmm. Families might just be wildly overrated.
I was comfortable enough. However, I was dead in the middle of the row, and all I could think of was if I had to get out to use the restroom once the stadium was full, I was going to wind up tumbling down the rows when I tried to climb over people. Down by the landing was a lovely handicapped section. So I took a chance and climbed down the steps again (desperately hoping I wouldn't have to climb back up), and happily enough, they let me trade in my two tickets for a cushioned pull-out chair below.
Soon enough, Tesla came on. The only song I was familiar with of theirs was "Signs". (You know it: "Signs, signs, everywhere a sign!"). I discovered that they were sort of a mix of '80s hair band meets southern rock band -- kind of Cinderella meets Lynyrd Skynyrd -- not really my thing. Truthfully, I was pretty bored for most of their set, although to be fair, being that opening band while the stadium is still empty is a pretty thankless position. They had their contingent of fans in front of the stage, but in a large venue like that, they got lost. They worked hard, although I found their lead singer's voice pretty annoying. Their best number was their closer, a decent rock anthem called "Modern Western."
During the set change, I paid little attention, texting back and forth with my wife about my son's upcoming eighteenth birthday. Then the lights dimmed, and I heard the first strains of -- Styx!!!?
Wtf?!!!!!
It was true, though. Apparently, Styx and Joan Jett are co-headlining this tour, and at least for tonight (maybe because Joan is a hometown Long Island girl), Styx was going on first. All I could think of was how pissed I'd have been if I'd have come late, and missed Styx, or missed half of their set.
Unfortunately -- and it pains me to say this -- while I did enjoy Styx's set, they had the absolute worst sound mix I've ever heard at Jones Beach. Not only was it muddy, but it seemed to pulsate. I'd also have liked for the synthesizers to have been much higher in the mix -- on some of Styx's songs, like "Fooling Yourself," the synth should absolutely slice right through you, and it was so damned low in the mix that it was lost behind the guitars.
Nevertheless, I was glad to be there. Styx played the three songs I wanted, plus a lot of other good ones like "Blue Collar Man", "The Grand Illusion", "Lady", and "Renegade". The only other ones I can think of I'd have loved to heard were "Babe" (which they play surprisingly rarely in concert, considering what a popular song it was), and "Locomotive" (which I knew they wouldn't play. It's my favorite song from their 2017 album The Mission, but it's very low-key, not really a big live number). Still, I wish the sound had been better. I don't know if it was entirely the venue's fault, or if some of it was the band's equipment, but regardless, it was a disappointment.
When their set ended, I had a decision to make. I'd already seen the band I really came to see. I thought about how nice it might be to escape the stadium early, and avoid all of that traffic at the end of the night.
I also had some concerns that Joan was going to get political. Like much of America, I'm pretty burnt out by the constant political noise going on in the country 24/7, and in my head, I thought Joan was a bit of an activist. (Might have been wrong about that, as it turns out.) But it was a beautiful night. It was comfortable and cool, and now that it was dark, there was gorgeous blood moon hanging low in the sky over Ocean Parkway. So I decided to stay, although I was secretly hoping that Joan would open up with "Bad Reputation", my favorite song of hers, so that if she did start preaching and I decided to walk out, at least I'd have heard that one.
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Joan's style is to focus entirely on the music, with a bare minimum of stage banter of any kind, which I found to be quite a relief (and rather admirable on her part).
It didn't all go smoothly, though. Here's what happened.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts opened with a song I wasn't familiar with, "Victim of Circumstance". Unlike with Styx, this time, the sound was perfect. Then she busted out a trifecta of rock classics right in a row, "Cherry Bomb," "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" and "Bad Reputation," and the stadium was on fire. People were dancing and hitting beach balls around. Unfortunately, that was the high point.
Here's the problem: Joan is a rock goddess. However, she simply doesn't have enough A-list material to headline a show like this. She pulled out another obscure Runaways song, played "Light of Day," from the film she made with Michael J. Fox (A Springsteen song, but one I think he banged out in about five minutes while he was sitting on the toilet), the Blackhearts' first hit single, something from her most recent (2013) album, etc. And all the while, more and more of the energy was sucked out of the arena.
As I watched the line of cars start pulling out of the parking lot halfway through her set, I started thinking about the fact that even some of Joan's biggest hits were actually covers, so it makes sense that she has a limited number of truly great songs.
Joan and the band played 21 songs in all, including the encore, but they never got back the momentum they had in that three-song spread from "Cherry Bomb" to "Reputation". The weird thing is they did have some popular songs left, but they held them in reserve until the very end of Joan's regular set, then, bang-bang-bang!, she reeled off "I Love Rock and Roll", "Crimson and Clover" and "I Hate Myself for Loving You" all in a row again. It was good, but at this point, the audience had had the life sucked out them, and they never fully got back in the groove.
At this point, a mass exodus occurred in between the end of the set and the encore, so that when the lights came back up on stage, only about a third of the audience remained. This was unfortunate, because while the first two songs of the encore ("Hard to Grow Up" and "Make It Back") were pretty basic and boring, she closed with a nice cover of Sly & The Family Stone's "Everyday People". Meantime, the only song in the set between "Bad Reputation" and "I Love Rock and Roll" that I found at all engaging was a number called "Fresh Start", which is apparently going to be a single from a documentary about Joan's career coming out later this year (fittingly called Bad Reputation).
I felt bad for Joan and the band. They deserved better. But, 1. Styx should have been the headliner, local gal or not. I've seen them on dvd hold a crowd's attention just by playing all of the songs from The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight from start to finish. Joan's set as a headliner was just too long. And, 2. whoever put together Joan's setlist made a huge error by clumping all of her biggest songs into those two groups of three instead of spreading them out more. They wouldn't have had as much excitement early in the set, but they also wouldn't have had that long dead spot in the middle.
That's the story of one of the weirder nights of music I've ever experienced at Jones Beach. I know it wasn't just me, because as I walked down the ten thousand flights of steps to exit the stadium, I heard other people talking about how they'd never seen a Jones Beach show clear out like that before the end.
So the show wasn't perfect, by any means. The bill was made up of three bands who really don't belong together, the sound for Styx was lousy, and Joan's set was way too long for her material to sustain it. But it was also a beautiful night, and I was really conscious of how lucky I was to spend such a night, comfortable and happy and listening to three bands all of whom have created fine careers for themselves. (And for once, because so many people had left early, I was out of the parking lot and back on ocean Parkway in a jiffy). And a bird didn't dookie on my head.
So while it could been better, it was still pretty great.
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