Adolescent dreams and the ghost of Tupac

[venta]

Brief comments, since it's bedtime:

Last time I went to see NMA, I commented that they'd seemed a little subdued. This time, I found myself trying to see the gig as it would appear to someone who'd never seen them before, who maybe didn't know the music that well.

What did I see ? A bunch of aging blokes, fronted by an almost cartoon aging rocker with wild, staring eyes and wild, staring teeth. The Zodiac's poor sound (and habit of turning it way up) rendered a lot of the guitars down to a muddy mess which hurt the ears and numbed the brain.

If I'd just blundered in, first time, to the gig myself would I have come home and raved about it ? Probably not, to be honest.

Leaving afterwards, I found myself reluctant to ask onebyone or wimble what they'd thought of the gig. As (I believe) people in the situation I'd been accidentally emulating, I didn't really want to have them confirm my doubts.

Because it's not the first time I've seen them, and even though they'd compiled the first two-thirds of their setlist out of songs I'm less bothered about, they're still the band I've been trotting round the country to see for more than ten years. Sure, seeing them is partly force of habit but to me the magic's still there.

New Beardy Guitar Guy (who probably has a name) seems to be making his impression, shoving extra bits of guitar-wank in all over the place. I'm not quite sure yet whether I approve. Nelson also seems to be beefing up his basslines, too, which can only be a good thing.

Surreal moment of the evening goes to Justin Sullivan managing to shove a vague rant about the state of the floor in the Zodiac into the middle of Poison Street.

Comments

[wimble.livejournal.com]

I don't my way around NMA. The only song they played that I recognised was Here Comes The War. Oh, and No Rest, although, for some reason, I'd never connected it with NMA: I actually wondered whether it was a cover when they played it tonight.

So. No, I wouldn't rave. But I'd put that down to the fact that I wasn't a bouncing little fanboy before I went. I enjoyed it (apart from the usual problems of the Zodiac: over heating, and that standing mostly stationary for two hours does my back in), and thought they'd done a good job.

Now, where can I find somebody to lend me a carefully selected "Best of" to educate me properly ;-?

[zotz]

The last time I saw them the sound was OK. They are, though, increasingly beardy.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, someone really needs to tell the Zodiac that louder doesn't mean better.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Actually, their '& Nobody Else' live album is a pretty good 'best of'.

[liriselei.livejournal.com]

as someone who'd never seen NMA live before and doesn't know much of their stuff (i recognised two or three tracks), i thought they were bloody good and generally had a fantastic time. then again, i almost never see gigs anywhere other than the Zodiac/Wheatsheaf/Bully so probably wouldn't know decent sound if it jumped up and bit me.

what did you lot think of David R. Black ? i liked the music, but he was so pathetically grateful for our applause it made me want to punch him !

was hoping to talk to folks afterwards, but i turned my back to talk to the Sarahs and when i looked round you'd all vamooshed...

[venta.livejournal.com]

Now, where can I find somebody to lend me a carefully selected "Best of" to educate me properly ;-?

Well, not here :)

I don't own any form of best-of, carefully selected or otherwise.

I could make you up a CD of recommend tracks according to me, but that'd be when I have the time. So, like, December or something.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'd ever give someone a live album as an introduction to a band[*]. The production tends to detract quite a lot from the songs, unless you already know what you're listening to (in my ever so humble opinion ;)

[*] With the notable exception of Live At San Quentin, by Johnny Cash.

[venta.livejournal.com]

what did you lot think of David R. Black ? i liked the music, but he was so pathetically grateful for our applause it made me want to punch him !

Um, I thought they were OK. Good support material - enjoyed listening to them, but felt no inclincation to go and buy their stuff. Interesting enough, but didn't really grab me.

His thanks-for-applause came across to me as a bit mannered, though didn't induce punching-inclinations.

was hoping to talk to folks afterwards, but i turned my back to talk to the Sarahs and when i looked round you'd all vamooshed...

Sorry, occupational hazard of being near the door - unless you fight strongly against the tide, you get swept out as soon as the lights come up. Besides, don't tell anyone, but I was shattered and quite keen to get to bed :) (Not to mention the jetlagged housemate I had in tow).

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Ooh, new game. I think there's more than one.

I'm not so much bothered by the production/recording on live albums, though, as the fact that most pop and rock singers' voices are completely fecked after half an hour. As such they generally sound like total incompetents in the cold light of day. Still:

Rattle and Hum by U2. I might not actually choose it as an introduction, but it would certainly do. It's not entirely live, though.

In the unlikely event that anyone needed an introduction to Nirvana, I would be tempted out of sheer perversity to givet hem Unplugged. And then casually mention, after they've listened to it, that half the tracks are covers and the real albums are much louder. But I think it's a good indicator of Nirvana's general level of quality, just not what they sound like.

I seem to remember that Portishead have a very good live album, but I don't own a copy so I can't be sure.

Also, Alchemy by Dire Straits, in the unlikely even that I knew anyone likely to give a stuff about Dire Straits. And A Little South of Sanity by Aerosmith is at least as good as any of their umpteen Greatest Hitses, but similarly, who'd want to admit to listening to Aerosmith other than under the excuse that they started doing so before about 1980?

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

A bunch of aging blokes, fronted by an almost cartoon aging rocker with wild, staring eyes and wild, staring teeth.

This is fair comment, and I don't think that their instrumentship is anything unusual, for me NMA trade on a not precisely defined level of militancy. The "previously owned" appearance and wild, staring T-shirts actually helped with this, since Sullivan looks credible as an ageing activist rather than just an ageing rocker. But it does mean that only hearing Zodiac percent of the lyrics was the major limiting factor on how good they were. I can't really blame them for that though.

I tend to like people's recorded music better after I've seen them live anyway, but I probably should have seem them somewhere not the Zodiac. And when I recognise the tracks in future I'll probably think of the live performance as having sounded a bit more like that, and a bit less like an explosion in an amp factory. But as you say, the gig itself wasn't rave-inducing.

[venta.livejournal.com]

the fact that most pop and rock singers' voices are completely fecked after half an hour

Actually, yes, that may be more of an issue thant the production, really. I do tend just to think of live albums sounding "a bit crap" compared to studio albums.

I'm not familiar with any of the ones you cite... in fact, I'm having immense trouble thinking of any live albums I own. I tend to avoid them like measles.

Hmm. I wonder about one of the Pixies live albums I have. I should give it another listen.