Tosca at the opera house in Parma, Italy. My first opera. Loved it.
Showing 13 responses by n80
I can’t answer for djones51 but I agree with tonykay above, I just have not been motivated to see many live rock shows. I find the prices almost insultingly high, more so than opera tickets in many cases. The parking, unruly crowds, deafening sound levels (I have hearing loss, in part, due to rock shows) have just made it not worth it to me. Dylan is coming to town, thought I might bite on that one, but decent seats are $150 and up. No thanks. Having said all that there is a young British band called The Struts that are a throwback to British glam rock. Maybe a little heavy at times but really mostly pop. They open frequently for the Foo Fighters. Even in stadiums. They have developed a reputation for putting on a good show, their freshman CD is very good and very catchy. So when I heard they were coming to Asheville to small local venue (1000 seat max) I bought tickets. $20 general admission. This will be the first rock show I’ve been to since Black Crows/Robert Plant in 1990. It is on a Wednesday night. There may not be anyone there. I did not buy the $90 VIP pass to meet the band. I’ll hate myself if they get huge. As if. I’m worried my wife and I will be the oldest people there (55). I have no idea what to expect. I will be the one wearing ear plugs. |
I recently saw the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra play at the Rawlinson Road Middle School Auditorium. As pedestrian as that sounds it was remarkable in a number of ways: 1) It was the inaugural concert of our new local symphony which was created when many smaller orchestras are going under. And this in a small but rapidly growing, former mill city in South Carolina. It was sold out as is the rest of the 3 concert season. Expenses have been met by ticket sales and local benefactors. 2) The newly built Rawlinson Road Middle School auditorium has amazing acoustics! 3) The performance was really quite good. Which is not surprising since regional musicians are looking for work. We drew from the Charlotte and Atlanta region. There were no try-outs. The conductor (from New York) was able to hand pick. 4) My sister-in-law is on the board and my wife is on the advisory committee. This was truly a grass roots effort. 5) It now has the mayor and other large benefactors realizing that their tenuous plans to build a performing arts center is now not only do-able, but critical. Anyway, live, high quality classical performances by excellent musician in Rock Hill, SC. Who would have ever believed it? |
I saw a televised Van Morrison concert where he did Astral Weeks at the Hollywood Bowl. It was kind of sad. As mcslipp mentioned, you could tell it was Van Morrison singing but otherwise his singing was just a big muddy run-together jumble of words. I'm a huge Morrison fan but from what I've read he's not a particularly nice person, has a reputation for being unnecessarily petulant and a bit arrogant (he is Van the Man after all). He also has a history of stage fright. Hard to say but from what I've seen on TV and heard from live footage in recent years, I would not pay to go see him. I would contrast Van with Robert Plant, another one of my favorite singers. It has been a while since I saw Plant in concert but every time I have seen him you get the distinct impression that he is having the time of his life even in some podunk arena in South Carolina. Either he is having a great time and loves what he's doing OR he is a great actor. Either way, I respect that he makes the effort. Has Van lost his voice? That is possible and it does happen. Linda Ronstadt does not perform any more for that reason. Robert Plant admitted in a recent interview that he no longer has the range he used to have and so does not perform some of the more iconic Zep songs. |
Saw The Struts last night at a small 1000 person venue last night. They are a newish glam/pop band in the Queen mode. Incredible concert. Very tight playing, superb vocals. Totally engaged with the audience. Crowd in a frenzy all night. I was exhausted by the end....in a good way. If you have not heard of this band before and if you are sad that rock is dying a long slow death, check this band out. They will give you hope. YouTube them. You'll be glad you did. Tickets were $20 which, in a day when you buy $200 tickets to see has-beens phone it in, is very refreshing. Hard to tell where they're career will go. The opened for the Foo Fighters all last year and Dave Grohl said they were the best opening band they've ever had. Opened for the Stones in stadiums and a good many other big name bands. |
Not the last concert I've seen, but I mentioned The Struts above. Had so much fun in October that I'm going to see them again in May in Charlotte which is close by, in a small venue (1200 people) and then drive down to Charleston, SC to see them again two days later in a 600 person venue. Can't wait. My son and his new bride (as of about 4 hours ago) are going with us to the Charlotte show. Two generations going to see a show by a band of guys in their 20's that were inspired by Queen albums owned by their parents. Rock and roll has taken some crazy turns these last 10 years or so. |
I saw Bryan Adams in the early 80's when he was getting started. He rocked pretty hard back then. Good opener for Foreigner and Lover Boy. Last night I went to see The Struts again. In Charlotte this time. And once again it was a great show. Crowd is fully engaged for the full 2 hours. Great songs. Great execution. Great showmanship. If you like good old fashioned 70-80's rock (think Queen) then you should seek this band out and see them live. Their recordings are good but the live show is among the best I've seen. But you need to know the lyrics....there is a lot of crowd participation. Unfortunately my right ear plug must not have been in all the way and I've got loud(er) ringing and an echo sensation. Uncomfortable. Going to see them in Charleston tomorrow night. Will make sure ear plugs are well situated. In a few weeks I'm going to see JD McPherson in Asheville at a very small venue. It will be a big change from the Struts! Looking forward to that. If you have not heard of him look up his latest two albums. Talented musician with a very talented band. Sort of retro 50's style rock/ rock-a-billy. More down to earth and less swing than the Stray Cats. Haven't gone to rock shows in years but have discovered the small venue/newer artist scene and I'm loving it. |
@toddnkaya : That's why I'm enjoying small venue acts so much now. I saw the Struts again last night. Drove down to Charleston, which is a super fun place anyway. Tickets were $25 and we were maybe 8 rows from the stage. Stayed in a nice hotel for less than $300. That less than what you pay for two tickets with big acts in big venues....and as you say, that's not the good seats. It was another great show but sort of strange this time. The last two shows they played for close to two hours. Last night they played for about an hour and 15 minutes and left out their signature closing song. They still put on a good show and everything seemed to be okay. Crowd super into the show. But, at one point the lead singer, Luke Spiller, said "I'm a wreck tonight" and my wife thought his voice was off a little so maybe he was starting to lose his voice. I know that this was the third of 4 shows in a row they were playing. I'd go see them again tomorrow if they came close by. Such a blast. |
Looking forward to seeing JD McPherson at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC on Saturday. It looks like a biker joint from the outside. Concert hall is small....good in my opinion. Voted a top 25 venue by touring musicians (who?) but as a top ten must see venue in the southeast by Garden and Gun. We'll see. Just hope it is a good show and that we can get close to the stage. Will post experience after show. |
@slaw : It is weird. At one venue there was an additional $1 fee for $20 tickets to the Struts. In Charlotte that fee was more like $10 then in Charleston it was like $5. All for the same band in equally small venues. I can live with a fee or two but when the 'fee' starts to get close to the cost of the ticket I'm like you and ready to tell them to go...... @toddnkaya : In the three small venues I've been in lately it hasn't made a whole lot of difference where you stood. The joint we're going to see JD McPherson in is so small and has low ceilings so it seems like a place where the 'intimacy' of the show is more important than the sound. We'll see. If it isn't overly packed we can move around. |
Saw JD McPherson Saturday night. The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC is a dive....which was perfect. Small concert hall. Maybe 300 people and packed pretty tight. There was a taqueria and a large outdoor patio area where you could go if you wanted to. We hung out in the patio area before the show and had a beer. The show was great. We were about 5 rows back. Standing room only. The stage was only about 2 feet high so we were right there with the band. JD's Fender is about the coolest looking guitar I've ever seen: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f9/f0/1b/f9f01b1558ea00b77a445d8d59cdca15.jpg JD's bass player plays both electric and standup bass. It was loads of fun watching him play the standup in those fast paced songs. The band played well and interacted with the audience. We had a blast. Only criticism is that the show was a little short, not quite an hour and a half. There were two or three other songs that I (and the audience) kind of expected him to do but he didn't. Not a big deal but it would have made for a 'five star' show if they had. It does not seem like this band tours a whole lot. At least not as relentlessly as some. But they are older than some young bands. JD is 42 and has a family. Anyway, I was impressed and would see them again in a heartbeat. If he comes anywhere close to you, do yourself a favor and go. |