I offer this video to anyone who happens to be a drummer and dentist and celebrating a birthday today. Why? The fantastic bass drum playing this guy does over his head! And the cameraperson’s strange fixation on Bob Seger’s dental hygiene for most of the video. Seger slinging a thunderbird?
Nine things I like. Do you have a tenth?
- The song rocks.
- It took all of 3 notes out of the bass to get all the bald heads bouncing and swaying in recognition.
- The matching stage wear of the band. All agreed; no shirts. We’re going for the escaped prison camp look. That’s some real dedication to a uniform look.
- Guy Picciotto, the hardcore hype man I find so entertaining to watch. He’s getting a lot work in for very little asked of him.
- The melding of band and audience. There are so many people next to them, behind them, and even over them. Everyone is giving the band enough room, and no one is tossing kids off speakers.
- At the 00:55 mark when it’s the sing-along I Wait, I Wait; from behind, the one hardcore guy puts his arm around the other hardcore guy and they look like they are singing along to a sea chanty. It’s sweet.
- Camera sweep over the audience, and you see how chill it is for a “hardcore” show.
- You can really hear the audience singing at the end of the song before a tight ending.
- It’s a joyous performance.
You’re sent to the proverbial deserted island, except on this lousy island, you’re not allowed to bring your 10 favorite albums or artists. There are only four bands’ records available here, and there’s a waiting list. You get to choose from among these four bands: U2, REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pearl Jam. What order do you put those bands in when you send them to the island quartermaster? Most desired to least desired. I will share my order, but I’m curious about the wisdom and tastes of the Hall.
A band’s name is a nickname too, but sometimes the hippest of the hipsters need to prove their deeper band loyalty by referring to their favorites by their second-level nickname. Are there a lot of these? Ask your friends Whitey and Lumpy for the band nicknames that can only be associated with a single band and must be obviously recognized as that band’s nickname. Easy one: Everyone knows your talking about The Beatles when you say the Fab Four.
If you were forming a band comprised of the most annoying personalities in rock and roll, who would get invited? This is not a call for musicians that make annoying music. This is meant to gather the most annoying personalities in rock. You may even like the music they play, but know that their personalities are so objectionable that there would be multiple homicides even before the tour bus pulled out of the parking lot.
A couple of names I’d put on the roster would be Stewart Copeland on drums and Ted Nugent on lead guitar. I’m basing their inclusion on Copeland’s interview on Costello’s Spectacle and on everything I’ve ever seen Nugent say or do. Offer a replacement if you have someone even more annoying than those two. Who else gets the call to fill out the band?
I’m a 2per. So is George Harrison, and so is John Entwistle, and so is Dave Davies. That’s the term I’m slapping on a person in a band with a dominant songwriter who typically gets two of his songs included on each album among the principal songwriter’s songs. When I brought up the concept to E. Pluribus Gergley of RTH discussing who the best 2per is, he responded in his typically open-minded way that there’s nothing to discuss. It’s George Harrison. So I sat on the topic until I thought of a different angle on it.
Last night Bruce Springsteen invited Paul McCartney to join him on stage for his show’s fantastic finale in Hyde Park in London. Despite the enormity of this musical event, representatives from City Council pulled the plug while Bruce, Paul, and the band were still playing because it was getting too late! It’s like a soundman giving Jesus the “2 more minutes” sign while he’s delivering the Sermon on the Mount.
What’s the appropriate use of a lyric, album title, etc. to create the Daily Mail’s morning headline for the story? I’m going with ‘Because the Night’ ends at 10:30. Others?