|
The live show is a beast all its own. There are so many things that go into making a performance good — or ruining it.
I go to a lot of shows. Occasionally I'll have a week where I only see one or two, but it's usually more like five. I go for the bands as well as the social-networking industry part of it. My favorite performances are by bands I've never seen play live before, bands I know are fantastic live, and bands made up of really great people that I enjoy hanging out with and talking with.
The best shows, the ones that stand out for me, fall into two categories. Sometimes the band(s) have one of those magic nights where everything clicks — they're so on that I feel like I'm swept up and deposited back in the club an hour or so later, slightly dizzy and confused. Those are the nights where I stand holding an empty beer bottle for half an hour because I've forgotten it's in my hand. They're the shows that I hear people talking about for years afterwards.
The second category is when the night itself is something special. A benefit show, a special lineup of three of my favorite bands, a birthday, something like that. It often has less to do with the music itself than the overall mood and vibe of everyone involved. An evening of love and friendship can make for some great moments onstage, with spontaneous collaborations, fulfilled requests, and unpracticed cover songs, but it's often more about the feeling of it than the actual beauty of the unrehearsed cover song.
Crappy shows are usually sucky for a bunch of reasons: It's the band's first show in ages and they didn't practice enough beforehand; everyone in the band is cranky and can't get past it on stage; they're tired of playing the same songs for the 30th night in a row; they've been on tour too long without even one day off; they're hung-over from the fantastic evening they had the night before; they discovered some fun new drug on tour and just ran out; they're having money problems and haven't eaten anything but Taco Bell for a week; they didn't get any sleep the night before because they had to drive; they did get sleep the night before, but at a filthy flea-ridden nightmare of a house...the list can go on forever.
It doesn't matter so much if the band experiences a series of technical failures. Maybe they got stuck in a blizzard coming from Portland the night before, so they were late and didn't get to soundcheck for more than five minutes. Or maybe the bass amp keeps turning itself off halfway through every song. This doesn't necessarily make for a bad show — it's more about how the band handles it. Do they shrug it off? Ignore it? Laugh and joke about it? Make the audience feel like they're a part of a special moment, even if that special moment is the lead guitarist's pants splitting when he jumps into a lunge (only to reveal he apparently ran out of clean underwear last week)? Sometimes the best shows are the ones where a set of mishaps occur, and the band takes it all in stride and turns it into a show you'll never forget.
On that note, here are a few of my favorite shows of 2006 in San Francisco and beyond, and what made them great for me:
Wolf Parade at the Independent on January 5th: The band was already drunk when they took the stage (as they were during the interview I did with them beforehand), but they completely rocked out. Spencer's got this amazing Schroeder-from-the-Peanuts thing going on when he sits down at the keyboards. Julie Schuchard took photos.
Irving at the Hemlock Tavern, February 11th: Irving has three singer-songwriters plus amazing stage presence. I'm glad I got to see them at the Hemlock, which is one of the smallest, most intimate venues in San Francisco. And I had a very drunken, silly interview with them afterwards in what was effectively the janitor's closet.
Rogue Wave and Nada Surf at the Fillmore, February 23rd: Thanks to a backstage pass, I got to see Rogue Wave up close as they played a fantastic set of songs from my favorite record of 2005, followed by slow-dancing with Gram during Nada Surf, and finally dancing onstage during Nada Surf's song, "Blankest Year." Oh yeah, and I ate a bunch of Nada Surf's food while they were onstage. Oops!
Amusement Parks on Fire, Silversun Pickups, and Nine Black Alps at Cafe Du Nord, March 11th: It was the first time I saw Silversun Pickups, a band I'd become addicted to after listening to their Pikul EP, and they did not disappoint. I saw them recently at the Fillmore, and it just wasn't as good at such a large venue. The evening ended with Brian from Silversun and Mike from Amusement Parks interviewing each other for me, drunkenly, and then the Amusement Parks' van getting towed.
The Spinto Band at Cafe Du Nord, March 12th: My friend Julie loves the Spinto Band, as do I. So for her birthday, I made her dinner at her house across the street from Cafe Du Nord, and the Spinto Band came over for cake before we all returned to Du Nord for their show. Afterwards, they came back with us for leftovers and dice games.
The Flaming Lips, the Spinto Band, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Dirty Pretty Things, and Boy Kill Boy at Eternal in Austin, TX during SXSW, March 16th. So hot, so sweaty...and completely worth it. The Flaming Lips were on, the Spintos were charming (I even acted as a stagehand for them), Clap Your Hands were great, and the Arctic Monkeys showed up and got me drunk (even though they weren't old enough to be in the club!)
The Nylon party at SXSW, featuring Voxtrot, Two Gallants, the Rakes, the Charlatans UK, the Kooks, and Tapes 'n Tapes, at Velvet Spade in Austin, TX during SXSW, March 18th. From the lineup alone, I'm sure you can guess this day was crazy fantastic. Add to that free drinks all day, and the fact that the venue was tiny — I couldn't have been happier. Oh, and I got to meet Ramesh from Voxtrot's mom. Nice.
Feist at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco during Noisepop, March 28th. The power went out twice during her set, and Feist just grabbed an acoustic guitar, got everyone to light lighters, and sang her heart out. Talk about overcoming technical difficulties. Also, Wayne from the Flaming Lips came, so I got to hang out with him for the second night in a row and chat (he's such fun).
Band of Horses at the Independent, July 1st. Band of Horses had a powerful stage presence that night. It's hard to describe. There wasn't much talking, even between songs (by the crowd, I mean…no one wanted to interrupt them). My friends and I talked about this show for weeks afterward.
The Clientele at Cafe Du Nord, August 22nd. The first time I saw the Clientele was at the Fillmore, opening for Spoon, and I wanted to be rocked out — which they did not do. This second time, in a small, intimate venue, they wove a wall of sound so beautiful and engaging that I wanted to cry when it was over.
OK Go at Great American Music Hall, November 2nd. OK Go had been on tour for months and months, and after the success of their treadmill and dance videos, this show was sold out ages in advance. I managed to get on the guest list, thanks to meeting Damian from OK Go at SXSW during a Mates of State show. They have the live show down, let me tell you. Video projection, choreographed dancing, and they even set up a mini-stage in the back of the room for a few songs, handed battery-operated "spotlights" to the fans around them, and played a few acoustic songs. The show was so good it distracted me from the throngs of screaming teenage girls at the venue.
What was your favorite show of 2006, and why?
Posted January 2007
Send to del.icio.us |
|
julieandrews commented, on January 13, 2007 at 1:15 a.m.:
Those where some of my favorites too. Thank you Ms. Nordling