Concert Review
She Wants Revenge, The Lovemakers
Despite asking many people to attend this concert with me, I ended up going to this concert with just me. The concert was only moderately interesting and that had nothing to do with being there alone. Before the concert I knew one song by each band and both songs were played. That was probably the highlight (and getting a refund for my extra ticket)! The instruments (amps) were so overpowering that I couldn't hear most of the vocals. In that regard it was fortunate that neither band really tried to get the audience involved, I just missed the lyrics which for me are a very important part of the music.
My experience at recent concerts (also including the Magnetic Fields, Green Day, Dresden Dolls and Franz Ferdinand) has given me some thoughts that I would like to share about what makes a good concert.
1) knowing the music beforehand
2) seeing a group that puts on a fun show
I guess there are just those two main ones. I want to add 'going to a punk concert' as a third quality, but the ones that I have gone to also fall into one of the other two categories.
Now for a very brief review of the above mentioned concerts in relation to the 2 qualities. Magnetic Fields I had heard some of their 69 Love Songs, but didn't actually buy the album until after the concert. But they also fall in group 2. They had a great, humorous on-stage dynamic.
Green Day (those of you who know me will realize that there is no way for me to be objective about this). I spent the many months before the concert, from the time I saw them on a late night show in December 2004, listening to as many of their albums as I could request from the library. I wasn't able to get my hands on all of their albums before the show, so there were a few 'surprise' songs, but I knew the music pretty well. In addition, they also put on a good show. Billie Joe could hardly stand still, walking all around the stage and hopping up on amps regularly. He brought out a super-soaker and a king costume among other displays I won't mention and he 'forced' the crowd to get into the show.
Franz Ferdinand was not a particularly interesting stage presence and I didn't know their music very well before attending, so it was minimally entertaining.. very much like the She Wants Revenge, The Lovemakers concert too lud instruments and/or too quiet vocals.
Dresdon Dolls were in town on Halloween. I had heard maybe snippets of "Coin-Operated Boy" before attending the concert, but there stage show was incredible. (Not to mention their 3 or 4 opening bands/acts). They also started off with a cover of "Science Fiction" from Rocky Horror which I know so that got me excited from the start! This duo also had a great stage presence and a sense of humor which made for an entertaining show. Especially with the guy, Brian, wearing a black skirty thing and removing his shirt near the beginning of the set.
So, knowing the music and being able to sing along and sway, etc. is important, but the group also has a strong effect on making a show enjoyable even if I don't know the music well.
Do you all have thoughts/insights about what makes a concert good? Please share... Yay for comments!
Despite asking many people to attend this concert with me, I ended up going to this concert with just me. The concert was only moderately interesting and that had nothing to do with being there alone. Before the concert I knew one song by each band and both songs were played. That was probably the highlight (and getting a refund for my extra ticket)! The instruments (amps) were so overpowering that I couldn't hear most of the vocals. In that regard it was fortunate that neither band really tried to get the audience involved, I just missed the lyrics which for me are a very important part of the music.
My experience at recent concerts (also including the Magnetic Fields, Green Day, Dresden Dolls and Franz Ferdinand) has given me some thoughts that I would like to share about what makes a good concert.
1) knowing the music beforehand
2) seeing a group that puts on a fun show
I guess there are just those two main ones. I want to add 'going to a punk concert' as a third quality, but the ones that I have gone to also fall into one of the other two categories.
Now for a very brief review of the above mentioned concerts in relation to the 2 qualities. Magnetic Fields I had heard some of their 69 Love Songs, but didn't actually buy the album until after the concert. But they also fall in group 2. They had a great, humorous on-stage dynamic.
Green Day (those of you who know me will realize that there is no way for me to be objective about this). I spent the many months before the concert, from the time I saw them on a late night show in December 2004, listening to as many of their albums as I could request from the library. I wasn't able to get my hands on all of their albums before the show, so there were a few 'surprise' songs, but I knew the music pretty well. In addition, they also put on a good show. Billie Joe could hardly stand still, walking all around the stage and hopping up on amps regularly. He brought out a super-soaker and a king costume among other displays I won't mention and he 'forced' the crowd to get into the show.
Franz Ferdinand was not a particularly interesting stage presence and I didn't know their music very well before attending, so it was minimally entertaining.. very much like the She Wants Revenge, The Lovemakers concert too lud instruments and/or too quiet vocals.
Dresdon Dolls were in town on Halloween. I had heard maybe snippets of "Coin-Operated Boy" before attending the concert, but there stage show was incredible. (Not to mention their 3 or 4 opening bands/acts). They also started off with a cover of "Science Fiction" from Rocky Horror which I know so that got me excited from the start! This duo also had a great stage presence and a sense of humor which made for an entertaining show. Especially with the guy, Brian, wearing a black skirty thing and removing his shirt near the beginning of the set.
So, knowing the music and being able to sing along and sway, etc. is important, but the group also has a strong effect on making a show enjoyable even if I don't know the music well.
Do you all have thoughts/insights about what makes a concert good? Please share... Yay for comments!
posted by cz @ 12:24 AM
1 Comments:
At 1:54 PM,
Michael C. said…
I am so jealous about the Magnetic Fields show. I have been a fan for a while, but I've never actually gotten out to one of their live shows, which I regret. Next time for sure! I think 69 Love Songs is sheer genius and I've also heard that they're a lot of fun on stage.
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