Tuesday, September 13, 2011 Originality at an All Time Low

This isn't really about food, I suppose it could be, but it's more about music. And not the crap you hear on the radio - if I hear one more driving beat I'm gonna drive off a cliff. I'm talking about leaving the house to see a band in the neighborhood.

Over the weekend we did that twice, believe it or not. One show we actually left the house at 10PM! WTF? That's my bedtime! But the word on the street indicated the venue was looking to discontinue hosting local original music and was planning to replace it with cover bands.

Don't get me wrong, I love covers. I love it when a band takes an established piece of music and puts their own stamp on it. One day, when I get my act together, I'll start my vanity band MetalLand and I'll sing Sugarland songs to double bass and electric guitar distortion. But these bands simply play the music the same way you hear it on the radio. Like a wedding band. But who the hell leaves the house at 10PM to see a wedding band?

So we all showed up in force to see Pink Missile and Arcane Malevolence (and Sons of Atlas and Impera which I missed because they played before 10PM). I even drank a few bottled waters to add to the till (and I had to jet out of there at the end of the show because there was no way in hell I was going to use the bathroom there). Anyway, long story short, the bands fucking rocked beyond belief and at the end of the day Pink Missile was asked back but Arcane was not - I guess Baldwin made half-a-dozen too many "bad cover band" jokes and ruffled the feathers of the owners. But, you know what, good for Baldwin - I'm all for speaking your mind!

Two days later was a 9/11 show and fundraiser for Tuesday's Children. We went to see Pink Missile, but a scheduling snafu forced us to watch a Jam Band from New Jersey for close to an hour before Pink Missile was able to take the stage. They were very good, very tight, the keyboard player was amazing - and they played some covers, Santana-kinda-stuff and even some originals, but it all sounded alike after a while. It was good, but it's nothing I haven't heard before. After a while it was dreadfully boring. The crowd liked it - a sign of their intelligence I guess, or their unwillingness to try anything new - they've probably been listening to 95.9 the FOX since they graduated from High School 25+ years ago. And I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm insulting them, but after a while all the sameness was insulting to me!

Who the fuck are you as musicians? You're not Carlos Santana - you're white as the driven snow. This music your playing may be technically correct but it's not telling me a damn thing about you, about your experience - I want to hear the world through your eyes, today in 2011, not in some tired old format that was hip when vinyl was king! YOU BORE ME!!!

Thankfully Pink Missile finally took the stage (and all the FOX fans took off on their bikes) and those of us with the capacity to appreciate original thought were left to Bitty-Bop - all the Mr. Dickhead's were gone.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call a crying shame.

Here's another - the "Original Thought" page on Facebook only has 73 fans.

The terrorists have won.

-HH

2 comments:

Natalie said...

I hear ya... I'm a Liquid Metal listener on Sirius XM, and my peeve these days are these bands that sing so sweetly, and then growl like death. I just don't get it. They all sound the same to me. Either growl or sing, but not both.. it's an oxymoron to me. Just my opinion, but it's like nails on a chalkboard.

To end on a positive note, at least we have been blessed with a new Anthrax album! I love the older metal style that they seem to have brought to the forefront (again). Love the singing. Songs are catchy, and don't sound all the same. I wasn't a fan of it at first, but it grew on me like mold on stale bread. I mean that in the best possible way! ;-) Rock on sister!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for enjoying/tolerating Pink Missile twice in one weekend! -- Jessie

Post a Comment