Is this Townsman chergeuvara-submitted clip of legendary (in some circles, such as Irish rock/Thin Lizzy/hard rock circles) guitarist Gary Moore‘s original Skid Row the best white-blooz performance ever? And by “best white-blooz performance ever” I don’t mean “best,” necessarily. I don’t mean “best-worst” performance, as you might expect me to snarkily mean it. I mean best performance that exemplifies the best and worst aspects of white dudes playing da blooz.
Along these lines, for example, an argument could be made that Cream was a great white-blooz band. Their white, heavily amplified, possibly even non-American psychedelic rock approach to a musical form removed from the band members’ culture both added appealing new aspects to the genre while occasionally overstepping stylistic bounds of good taste. At their best, Cream was really easy to dig while also providing unintentional laughs. I think this Skid Row clip adds as many valuable new wrinkles to da blooz while simultaneously doing more in the name of whiteness. I think I now finally understand the cult appeal of Gary Moore.
You say you’ve been meaning to check out Gentle Giant? Well, here’s your chance: an entire concert from 1978!
Watching this entire concert is daunting, but I encourage you to click on any point in the video, spend a minute or two, and and see if your highly developed Rock Town Hall sensibilities do not kick in. This performance, by a band dressed in the gamut of Rock’s Unfulfilled Fashion Ideas, is ripe with odd rock details that our Townspeople have made their specialty. For each RTH quirk you spot (eg, fashion/hair oddities, rock stances, specific soloing faces, instrumentation, RTH Glossary-defined behaviors) list it in the Comments section with an indication of the time in the clip—one detail per post—in Last Man Standing fashion!
Right off the bat, for instance, the clip features a guitarist in overalls. Another example: I clicked on the concert at the 14:35 mark to witness a man in an Oakland A’s jersey and hat playing vibes. Then I clicked again, around the 28-minute mark, to hear a guitarist playing a Dr. Q solo! Normal people don’t readily identify Dr. Q solos. We’re not normal.
Make sense? In short, click on this concert video at any point and I bet within 1 minute you’ll see something that delights your RTH sensibilities. Please share your discoveries so that others might see through your eyes. Thank you.
I’m not posting this to start a “thread” or to invite discussion or argument. I know you’ll all agree with me on this one. I suppose if you want to list the reasons why this is the greatest album cover ever, that would be okay.
(To witness this cover in its full-sized glory, click here.)
I was never a huge Matthew Sweet fan. Not to say I didn’t dig him, I just never bought any of his music, including his great Girlfriend CD. So when me and the missus were invited to join fellow Townsman AndyR and his missus for dinner and the show at Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live, we had a slight regret (just for the show, of course).
A bit of history here: Our great college friend and housemate Eric Peterson (RIP) was best friends growing up with Sweet (from Lincoln, NE). He was always talking him up and playing us demos to which we were optimistic about but hey, who do we really know that’s actually gonna “make it” in the music biz. So when he broke as huge as he did—and deservedly so—I think we were all a bit taken back. And the fact that he had the balls to play with two of my all-time favorite guitarists really impressed me outta my mind. I need to read about how they hooked up. That would be a book in itself.
Now there were a few things that we were worried about. How would Sweet’s jangly/sorta effeminate pop play live? How could anyone replace Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd? And what about those man-boobs Sweet had acquired from years of having the munchies through his pot-soaked years. And backed by bassist and drummer of Velvet Crush (now, I do have two of their CDs) would they even be MORE jangly than I feared?
Well, I am happy to report that 1) dinner with AndyR and the wives was awesome and 2) more of a surprise—Matthew Sweet was awesome.
He was heavy. And I mean really heavy thanks to a lead guitarist that played every solo loud and, while not note-for-note, totally captured the spirit and wizardry of the originals. Even Sweet said he had big shoes to fill…and fill him he did. Even the Velvet Crush guys were more than serviceable. Sweet’s voice was in great form and he was turned up as well—so it was a great heavy affair.
They played the whole Girlfriend album in order—including the three bonus tracks included in the reissue. Then ended with his other hit from the other album because he didn’t want the show to end on a downer. He came out for an encore, which we missed. (Fan, not huge fan.) The first 6 songs were all radio-station staples—and, like I said, they really, really rocked.
All in all, a fun night of Rock, with some other RTHers in the audience for good measure. I might buy that CD after all.
On tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Shut-In Mr. Moderator tries one more time to rally a few Townspeople to join him for a screening of the upcoming Rock of Ages. He also passes along a gauntlet regarding the new Saint Etienne album thrown down by our old friend The Great 48. Finally, he discusses the final scene in the American remake of Wings of Desire, whatever the hell that was called. Good tunes to boot, including Bob Welch’s finest moment!
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/RTH-Saturday-Night-Shut-In-81.mp3|titles=RTH Saturday Night Shut-In, episode 81]
One of the bittersweet delights of being a music fanatic is to be sitting on a band that history has passed over: to listen, investigate, enthuse, and have lived through the creativity of that which has been ignored by the many. It is a special and intangible intimacy.
I’ll make such a case for Felt.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/17-Something-Sends-Me-To-Sleep.mp3|titles=Felt: Something Sends Me to Sleep]
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/15-Evergreen-Dazed.mp3|titles=Felt: Evergreen Dazed]
Led by the eccentric and singularly named Lawrence, they are one of those groups who, despite musical talent, indie looks, and influence on others, never quite managed to garner the success they deserved. They remain fairly underestimated.
Now, your average RTH reader may find Felt an acquired taste. Clear and jangly ’80s guitars wedded with swirly organ (from future Primal Scream-er Martin Duffy), and Lawrence’s relish of failure expressed through vocals which recall The Fall, Dylan, or Tom Verlaine of Television.
