eli (10/27/82)
I'm not sure if this is really the proper newsgroup to submit this to... but I figure it's of fairly general interest to those who read the record reviews of 'new music' discs... This past week was a very busy week on the Seattle concert scene, and I thought I'd post a few notes about the shows I saw for those who are in cities that will be visited by these bands in the near future. First was The Who/The Clash/T-Bone Burnett at the home of the Seattle Mariners, The Kingdome (-drone?). The sound, while obviously not likely to be very good, did clear up as the show progressed. Burnett was barely distinguishable from any other source of random audio waves -- which is too bad, since his recent release (on Warner Bros.) is quite good pop'n'rock. The Clash also suffered from sound problems... but also seemed to suffer from apathy -- both on their part and on the part of the crowd. I've seen them before in smaller venues, and they can definitely put fire into their performance. But their show at the 'Dome was rather dull, and withdrawn. All of the recent articles which cite the confusion between their politics and the reality of playing before 60,000 people seem true. The band seemed lost, and unable to put forth any "message" to such a large crowd. If they're playing a smaller auditorium in your city I'd say it's worth taking a chance, but if they're playing in a baseball park, save your money. The Who are still (in my opinion) the greatest rock'n'roll band around. It took them a half-hour or so to warm up, but when they did they were excellent. Again, I've seen them do better shows, however they are still the only band that demands my attention at all times, even in a place as large as the Kingdome. They're billing this as their last North American tour... but who knows. Kenny Jones seems to be a bit more comfortable than he did on the last tour... Townshend no longer has to give him visual signals as to when the improvisations are going to end. A good slice of all of their material... and a great encore of 'Twist and Shout'. And since I never got to see The Beatles live (yes, I know it's an Isley Brothers song, but...), this was a close second. The following night I saw 'X', from L.A. After listening to their records, I was surprised to find what a rock'n'roll band they are live. Not nearly so "new-wavey" as I had expected. Guitarist Billy Zoom was in excellent form... although it's rather disconcerting to hear him whip out amazing guitar lines, and see him staring innanely off into the distance. I've heard that this band can be very cold in concert, but the night I saw them they seemed really involved, and "friendly." A good show, but I found after a half hour their trademark vocals (Exene and John Doe) really started to grate on me. And the following night (and the night after that too) The Bongos were in town. For those of you who aren't on to The Bongos yet, get with it! From Hoboken, N.J., which is quickly becoming the pop music center of the universe, The Bongos did two excellent shows consisting mostly of material off their first U.S. release, "Drums Along The Hudson" (on PVC records), plus a few new songs. Of all the shows, I think these were far and away the best. If they're coming to your town (and they'll be in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Diego and LA this week) GO SEE THEM! Apparently they never rehearse for their live shows, so each set is different. Very inventive on stage (I've never seen any one play a Slinky as a percussion instrument before), and a power-pop sound that amazes. That's it for now... unless I get alot of complaints about using net.records for live show reviews, I'll submit some more (coming up here in the near future: Bonnie Hayes and The Wild Combo, PiL, The Psychedelic Furs, Nina Hagen, ...) Signing my name, since the mailer does it anyway... ... eli messinger