Random Play: The Cure -- for what ails you
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Graham you liked it or no ? whatever ..
where we were downstairs there was loads a room and it sounded good actually .. crisp and loud . was a good laugh too ... the cure are the cure .
reviewing your review ... sorry fell asleep half way through it .
the gig was lots a fun , fatboy bob smith he really is quite the talent . inbetween days ...indeed . -
When an artist massacres their own song-book so thoroughly it's probably time to hang up the guitar.
Yes, because artists should just churn out the same music in the same style, note for note, for the rest of their lives.
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I think the re-invention of songs in a live setting can be very rewarding if done well but The Cure's was ham-fisted - making their whole 30 year oeuvre sound like it came from their 2004 "rock" album.
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Yes, because artists should just churn out the same music in the same style, note for note, for the rest of their lives.
*sigh* God that's stupid - I've got a less than stellar DVD of Prince's 'Sign O' The Times' - and think RB saw one of the dates on that tour - and it's quietly astound how, time after time, the man and a crack band took tracks from (IMO) one of the great albums and made them even better. What a no-talent hack. :)
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From a comment on the linked Dylan review:
Bob showed me (and several thousand others) a whole lot less respect than $120 should have bought.
Because you can buy Bob Dylans respect. For $120.
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*sigh* God that's stupid
I think Craig's agreeing with me, but I can't tell. Heh.
The Cure's was ham-fisted - making their whole 30 year oeuvre sound like it came from their 2004 "rock" album.
So you don't like it. Oh well. They obviously do. And if integrity as an musician means much of anything, it means performing the music you like, the way you like, rather than churning out whatever you've been told will make the most moolah.
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Because you can buy Bob Dylans respect. For $120.
If Dylan doesn't like the people who pay $120 to come to see him, he should perhaps make attendence based on something other than stupid ticket prices. Or not perform. If he hates performing but does it for the money, he's a whore. And unless I'm into the whole BDSM experience, I'd prefer my whores to pretend they like their work.
It's the nature of the service industry.
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I've got a less than stellar DVD of Prince's 'Sign O' The Times' - and think RB saw one of the dates on that tour
That was the tour he cancelled, but I saw the Parade tour before that, and it was astonishing. Still a contender for the best gig I've ever seen.
But I saw him twice more after that and it was a bit less good each time ...
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I've never seen Dylan live, and I suspect that I never will, given that I couldn't afford to see him this time, and he's not exactly young anymore.
But if I was to see him live, I want it to be him, an acoustic guitar, a stage, and no more than a few hundred people in a cafe or bar. Preferably in Greenwich Village.
I suspect that would cost about $1000 each of course.
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I must come to Dylan's defence here and say I don't think he's ever been much of a stage banterer (unless 'I don't believe you - you're a liar!' counts). He and his band played well, and with feeling, and I don't think he is perfunctory about live performance at all, and hasn't been for some years. He's on the Neverending Tour, after all. I've seen him four times since 2000, and he was great each time, and I never felt cheated because he didn't *talk* to me. I have the radio show for that.
Besides, who really needs banter like 'Hey [insert town name here]! I hear [insert town name here] likes to party!'? Don't insult me with that shit. Bloc Party did it, and it was cheesy. (On the other hand, the Eagles of Death Metal were so crazily over the top with it that it was kind of endearing. And they did spend a lot of time talking about specific Auckland landmarks, which helped.)
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'Hey [insert town name here]! I hear [insert town name here] likes to party!'?
Yeah, but can they party as hard as Shelbyville?
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If Dylan doesn't like the people who pay $120 to come to see him, he should perhaps make attendence based on something other than stupid ticket prices. Or not perform. If he hates performing but does it for the money, he's a whore.
If Bob Dylan is trying to whore himself out for money he isn't doing a very good job, since it seems there are a lot of people who would rather see one of the shows he played in the 60's than a show from his current tour.
I think this interview explains some of his feelings on live shows:
"I can't stand to play arenas, but I do play 'em. But I know that's not where music's supposed to be. It's not meant to be heard in football stadiums, it's not 'Hey, how are you doin' tonight, Cleveland?' Nobody gives a shit how you're doin' tonight in Cleveland." He grins and rolls his eyes, to let me know he knows he's teasing at Spinal Tap heresy. Then he plunges deeper. "They say, 'Dylan never talks'. What the hell is there to say? That's not the reason an artist is in front of people." The words seem brash, but his tone is nearly pleading. "An artist has come for a different purpose. Maybe a self-help group -- maybe a Dr. Phil -- would say, 'How you doin'?' I don't want to get harsh and say I don't care. You do care, you care in a big way, otherwise you wouldn't be there. But it's a different kind of connection. It's not a light thing."
Rogerd, I'm not sure how you can go from saying The Cure shouldn't change to fit people's desires and should stay true to their integrity, then in the next post complain that Dylan should be enjoying whoring himself out more, when he is clearly just trying to play his music the way he wants to.
Do you really think he needs more money? And that tours the world out of some terrible contract to play shows to people he hates?
I can understand people not liking the way Bob plays his songs now, but to base your opinion of a show on something as trivial as how much he talks to the audience or the way he stands behind the keyboard is just as silly as expecting him to still be the exact same musician as he was 40 years ago.
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merc,
I dare anyone, anyone, to sit in their room with a guitar, work up a 30 minute set of your own songs then go onstage and let it rip.
Dare ya! -
"All of the originals' keyboard melodies were turned into gigantic guitar riffs that destroyed the song - where was the keyboardist anyway?"
I thought it worked. Similar to when Smith put out some acoustic versions of his songs (in the early 90s?). Both times it has surprised me how well the songs held up to that treatment - which maybe shows how good they really are. Anyways, why go to a concert if you just want to hear the CD?
On Tuesday I stood dead centre about 12 metres from the stage and the sound was fantastic. At times there seemed to be duel between the guitar soloist and the drums, with the drums of course ultimately crushing the guitar. But I could still hear everything underneath. I recall Smith saying a couple of times he was losing his voice at random intervals - maybe that was a comment about sound, but again, it came through fine where I was. My hearing wasn't so good yesterday though.
And guess what? Robert Smith isn't actually fat!
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Obviously Robert doesn't have a pet keyboardist right now and that's a pity as his guitarist with the tatooed head tried vainly to emulate the synth wash with a midi guitar leaving the mix with an excess of treble and white noise.
That's why my ears are still dulled. But I loved the volume which evened the room out as I wandered round the lower bowl. I'm always amazed that people don't have a wander in concerts.
The Peppers didn't have the volume so the slap back could be heard. I have thought that a felt carpet instead of bare concrete floor would make a significant difference to the room.
But overall I'm tired of complaints from people who expect their live rock n roll to be served up to them like widescreen at home in a la-z-boy. I mean seats on the grass at Western Springs?! Come on. Stay home and buy the DVD.
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PS Robert was pitch perfect all night long. And the drummers hair stayed up all night even though his forearms must have had the world's greatest workout.
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Both times it has surprised me how well the songs held up to that treatment - which maybe shows how good they really are.
I don't know the older songs at all, but I thought that encore was ace. My (somewhat more experienced) companion was swooning. It was also the first time I'd really enjoyed "killing an arab". The only time I thought it didn't really work so well was Lullaby.
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"It was also the first time I'd really enjoyed "killing an arab"."
It may have been my imagination, but I thought I heard Smith use the "killing another" alternative lyrics to that song. My partner disagrees with me - maybe someone can clear it up?
Wikipedia has some info on the above happening in 2006: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_an_Arab
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Is it worth me intruding at this late date re The Cure -- and their gig at Mainstreet all those decades ago?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
It might have been in about 1980 (hence my joke in the "review") and the intro-music was the astonishingly loud Psychedelic Furs' first album: I recall going '"ah... fug.. wow" when the Furs' brilliantly cyncial "India" fell out of the soundsystem on my head. (a song i love to this day -- and which i am listening to right now on gloriously party-damaged old vinyl)
I think there were maybe 60 people there at Mainstreet (okay, maybe 70\80, but no more despite what some may claim) and when the pre-show noise went off this huddle of hunched up Poms shuffled on stage and the pre-Goth/underground "crowd" offered what we might charitably call "scattered" and nervous "applause"?
Skinny Robert Smith got to mike stand and offered a distainful: "We haven't done anything yet".
. . . and that shut us up.
After that all I remember is that it was the goddamnloudesfuggintnoise I have ever suffered and I left after about three "songs".
I loved them before the gig and loved them after -- I think I even went into print or some debate about Killing An Arab because, more fool me, I'd actually read Camus at that time -- but the gig was just noise.
Without a word of a lie, that has been the only gig I've ever left because it was too loud.
And I've seen Bailterspace do a mindnumbingly tedious gig at CBGBs -- a space the size of your Grey Lynn villa lounge.
Think about it BS fans!
Of course no one was there erither, but i guess that's another story for another day
Comments on the Cure at Mainstreet welcomed.
Frankly the Knack were much better . . .
And you could learn about that here!
http://www.elsewhere.co.nz/mybackpages/dsp_backpage.cfm?backpageid=21Ho ho ho!!!!!!!!!
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Thought the Knack's gig was rubbish but that was mainly because my then girlfriend threw up in a taxi on the way home, and it cost me $50. As a band, even though they were not really my thing on record, they were quite fine live, but the best of that 79 / 80 bunch was Magazine IMO, although Wreckless Eric was far and away the drunkest, and The Members the most fun.
The Cure..yep it was quiet as hell people wise, but so were quite a few of those early post punk gigs. My memory, vague as it was (I'd been partaking with Harry Ratbag so I wasn't really up for rational comment or thought) was quite ok, and the volume level,like the rest is a wee bit of a blur. I have a strange recollection of being tasked to review it for Rip It Up but failing miserably and Mo having to find another to do it. I seem to remember lots of smoke.
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didn't attend the mainstreet one but the same tour in chch was one of the best things I've ever attended.
Don't recall it being too loud, just right, pulse pounding, mesmeric,..
Tickets were cheap cos no one knew who they were, ($6 if I remember) The gig had one of the best endings ever.A skinny punk girl jumps on stage in order to dance, bouncer shooed her off away, she climbs back on, smith is amused, and stops the bouncer removing her. soon she is joined by a hoard of like minded stage dancers, and suddenly the band are hoisted onto shoulders still playing.
very non shoe-gazing post punkers.
"we'll be back" robert said, and they were a year later with the faith tour, where boot boys proceeded to spit at the stage, (doing us all proud bless em)........and they never returned, ever.
Many years later chatted to Robert I mentioned I was at those CHCH gigs. he said, "I remember chch, but not for good reasons", I coughed and changed the subject. nice bloke though.Others sworn never to return were Australia's Died Pretty who had a bottle thrown at them at the gladstone, The DP warned others not to visit cos CHCH were the meanest audience ever.
Is it still good to be the best at something even if its being the best at being the worst? -
"we'll be back" robert said, and they were a year later with the faith tour, where boot boys proceeded to spit at the stage, (doing us all proud bless em)........and they never returned, ever.
You reap what you sow. You sad tossers.
Is it still good to be the best at something even if its being the best at being the worst?
No, you sad tossers.
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sorry should have written <irony/sarcasm>, (doing us all proud bless em),......Is it still good to be the best at something even if its being the best at being the worst?</irony/sarcasm>
I'm more from the japanese school of "silence reverence" toward performers I admire in concert, (suitable applause and shouts of support at applicable moments of course).
I'm merely recounting the shame, tosser :)
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you are fergivin :)
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thank you sir.
I'll pass your tosser comments on to the applicable losers the next time I see them at a non free gig, which hopefully will be never, although people actually paid to attend the recent chris matthews robot monkey orchestra gig in dunedin in order to yell at him he was "shit" and that he'd "done nothing good since railway surfing",
I'm sure he was pleased he'd stepped out of retirement just for that :)
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