What a difference a band makes [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : What a difference a band makes



ForeverAutumn
08-27-2004, 04:54 AM
We went to see Blue Rodeo last night. The opening acts were Blackie and the Rodeo Kings (who we missed, thanks to traffic woes) and Kris Kristofferson. Now, I willingly admit my ignorance when it comes to Kristofferson's music. He obviously had a lot of fans in the crowd, but I wasn't one of them. He stood on stage, just him and a guitar, and sang his songs. His guitar playing was mediocre and his songs all sounded the same. Honestly, he looked and sounded like he should be standing on a street corner somewhere with his guitar case open at his feet, crooning for quarters. He did, however, get a standing ovation, but we really felt that it was out of respect for who he was moreso than his performance that night.

Well...halfway through Blue Rodeo's show, they brought him out on stage to do a few songs with the band. What a difference! With the band backing him up, his voice became more melodic; he seemed to have more energy. Suddenly, I could see why he had so many fans in the crowd. He was amazing.

Blue Rodeo were excellent. I have seen Blue Rodeo about 10 times, but all before their second album came out. And I had only paid to see them once. The other shows were free shows that they used to play around the city when they were just starting out. So, I haven't seen them live in about 14 years (excluding the three songs they played at last years SARSfest). They were fantastic last night. I even enjoyed the songs that Greg Keeler sang. On CD, I hate his voice and often skip over the songs he sings.

BUT...the freakin' people sitting in front of us just ruined the whole experience for us. Why do people spend $100 on concert tickets just to sit and yap through the whole show. There was a group of eight friends sitting in front of us -- not kids, probably around my age. They all talked non-stop through the whole show. Then, like it was on cue, in the middle of a song, they would all stand-up, switch seats, and start talking all over again to whoever was now sitting beside them. They did this about four times! Not between songs. Oh no, don't get up and move around between songs when it would be less disturbing to those around you. Yes, please, just stand up in the middle of Bulletproof and shuffle around and be as loud as you want. What's that? You can't hear your friend over the band? Well, we can't ask the band to turn the volume down so you'll just have to speak louder. I'm really sorry if the band's music is keeping you from a conversation that is soooo important it just can't wait until after the show. After all, I didn't spent $200 on tickets to see and hear the band. Oh no, that would have just been silly of me. ARGGGHHHHH!!! And it's not like we had bad seats so far from the stage that the band were just little dots that you couldn't see anyway. No, these were premium seats -- centre section, not more than 200 feet from the stage.

Anyway, these inconsiderate *@()_^# were so distracting, that it really made it hard to get into the music. I'm a pretty passive person, but I really just wanted to smack them all in the back of the head and remind to act like grown-ups.

My review has officially turned into a rant, but heck, that was the flavour of the evening. I think that I'll spin a few Blue Rodeo disks this morning so that I can actually hear them!!!

Dusty Chalk
08-27-2004, 05:44 PM
I had a guy like that next to me once. It was CGT and King Crimson. I asked him, "are you going to talk through the whole concert, or just the opening act?" He shut up. I actually felt kind of bad, because I didn't want to ruin his entire experience, but...(shrugs)...oh, well.