I hate when people talk at concerts - Page 3

syringeXkaboom · 10-02-2006, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onop

I'm completely with you on that one. I don't think I do anything with my time that I enjoy more than concert going. It's what I spend my money on, it's the only thing I make long term plans concerning, and when i go i don't want the performance ruined by two fourteen year old girls who like to pretend to be John Butler Trio fans talking the entire time. Really what irks me the most is local acts who don't have the stage presence or fan base to command as much attention, and don't get it even though their music surpasses, say snow patrol.

oh man john butler is so amazing. I saw him in april. These guys next to me were really annoying and kept dumping beer on me.

btw, onop, I'm a 14 year old girl and it's okay for me to like him isn't it? I went with a friend and we talked a little bit because this one guy was in love with this other. And maybe those pretenders you complain of arent? Do you know them personally or are they retorical?

Joey Self · 10-03-2006, 12:24 AM

I went to a Rolling Stones concert in March in which I was among the best behaved crowd at a concert I've ever seen (at least at one that size). The section I was in kept their seats for the entire show; we'd stand sometimes and applaud but then sat back down. I didn't hear a single person trying to sing along except when we were urged to do so. I did smell someone that brought some dope in, but they were several rows away from me, and even that small annoyance wasn't anything to ruin the experience.

I wanted to take the group--and I knew none of them!--to the next concert I went to.

JcS

tanjello · 10-03-2006, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey Self

I went to a Rolling Stones concert in March in which I was among the best behaved crowd at a concert I've ever seen (at least at one that size). The section I was in kept their seats for the entire show; we'd stand sometimes and applaud but then sat back down. I didn't hear a single person trying to sing along except when we were urged to do so. I did smell someone that brought some dope in, but they were several rows away from me, and even that small annoyance wasn't anything to ruin the experience.

I wanted to take the group--and I knew none of them!--to the next concert I went to.

JcS

sounds very boring.

syringeXkaboom · 10-03-2006, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanjello

sounds very boring.

extremly boring. I like being punched in the face at shows. I want beer to be spit on me.

Joey Self · 10-07-2006, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanjello

sounds very boring.

Quite the contrary, it was exciting to be able to see and hear what I came for--The Rolling Stones, not the morons trying to be the show.

JcS

OldSmell · 10-11-2006, 08:06 AM

Yeah, I'd definitely wouldn't have been bored either.

Quote:

Streisand has outburst at NYC concert

10/10/2006 10:27 AM, AP
Nekesa Mumbi Moody

It was an evening that elicited tears, standing ovations, raucous laughter and shouts of joy from the audience — and that was just in the first few minutes.

Yes, Barbra Streisand's return to touring after a 12-year absence was the extravaganza that it promised to be. Monday night's show at Madison Square Garden was the third stop of a 20-city jaunt across the nation — a virtual lovefest between the ultimate diva and an adoring, sold-out, celebrity-dotted crowd.

Streisand effortlessly crooned through a select repertoire of her four decades of hits. But night's most riveting moment came during what was perhaps the only unscripted — and truly uncomfortable — episode in the three-hour show.

There was Streisand, enduring a smattering of loud jeers as she and "George Bush" — a celebrity impersonator — muddled through a skit that portrayed the president as a bumbling idiot.

Though most of the crowd offered polite applause during the slightly humorous routine, it had gone on a bit too long, especially for those who just wanted to hear Streisand sing like she had been doing for the past hour.

"Come on, be polite!" the well-known liberal implored during the sketch as she and "Bush" exchanged zingers. But one heckler wouldn't let up. And finally, Streisand let him have it.

"Shut the (expletive) up!" Streisand bellowed, drawing wild applause. "Shut up if you can't take a joke!"

With that one F-word, the jeers ended. And the message was delivered — no one gets away with trying to upstage Barbra Streisand, especially not in her hometown.

Once the outburst (which Streisand later apologized for) was over, Streisand noted that "the artist's role is to disturb," and delivered a message of tolerance before launching into a serenely beautiful rendition of "Somewhere." That put the focus back on what the audience came for — her voice, one of the greatest female instruments of her generation.

Streisand's sound, at once soaring and soothing, doesn't seem to have been affected much by her long layoff from performing.

Early on she seemed to fall short of her full potential — moments when she once belted a tune, she now seemed to simply sing at a steady register, sounding great but not delivering that the big showstopper as she had in the past. But as the evening progressed she got stronger, such as during her stirring performance of one of her biggest hits, "People."

Though she sang a few of her signature songs ("They Way We Were," "Evergreen"), the evening was not designed as a hit parade — some of her most popular work was absent. Instead, the show had more of a cabaret feel, from the choice of songs (including those from her Oscar-winning performance in "Funny Girl") to her onstage banter. Though most of it was completely scripted and read from a teleprompter, there were a few funny, spontaneous moments, such as when one fan shouted out, "Marry me, and I'm gay!" to which Streisand, a gay icon, replied: "There are gay people here?"

The comedic moments were best when unscripted. The few planned skits came across as forced and trite, such as when Il Divo, the dreamy, operatic boy band, came out to sing backup and joked about their difference in ages.

Streisand relinquished the stage twice to Il Divo, a Simon Cowell creation known for their crossover style. Though they apparently pleased the crowd, they were grating at times. They would have served better as an opening act instead of having Streisand leave the stage in their hands — it was like going to a Madonna concert and having her surrender the stage to Brooke Hogan.

When Streisand was on stage — and most importantly, when she was singing — she was masterful. Her performance of "I Stayed Too Long at the Fair" — sung just before her outburst — was poignant, especially from an entertainer who has spent so many years away from the spotlight.

By the time she offered her encore with the rousing "Don't Rain On My Parade," it was clear that Streisand hadn't stayed too long — she hadn't stayed long enough.

___

I kind of have mixed feelings about this one. I guess it's part of the show but I wouldn't want to hear her politics. Then again, I wouldn't want to hear three hours of her music either. I could go for one hour, all the hits with no corny political skits. As for the heckler, I guess that depends on what the tickets cost. With ticket prices what they are these days I guess it's pretty reasonable for the fans to demand what they want. I like to hear the hits myself. One time I went to see Neil Young and he did this 30 minute plus Sonic Youth style noise jam and the whole time I was thinking 'Play 'Old Man'' or 'Play Sugar Mountain''. I'm cool with noise jams but that's not what I went to NY for.

Seerix · 10-11-2006, 01:27 PM

Buyer beware at a Streisand concert. It's not like you can't see that coming given her politics. Seeing as she chages top dollar for the privelege, pricing out a slew of her fans as she does so, anyone who wants to shell out money for her shows would do well to conduct a little research.

As for the heckler...well he did indeed pay a pretty penny for a seat so close she could hear him, no doubt. It's not nice, but neither is wasting the audience's time. I wish someone had thrown a few rocks at Tony Iommi as he was putting the audience to sleep when I saw Sabbath during the Dehumanizer tour - and those tickets were under $20.

OldSmell · 10-11-2006, 07:58 PM

Quote:

I wish someone had thrown a few rocks at Tony Iommi as he was putting the audience to sleep when I saw Sabbath during the Dehumanizer tour

Do tell! Details please!

Seerix · 10-13-2006, 04:42 PM

Well, to be fair, I do not like any noodling at rock concerts that takes more than a few minutes. I realize band members need a bathroom break, and it's not too much to have an established musician such as Tony Iommi to stretch for a bit unaccompanied by bandmates. It is cliched yes, but not totally disruptive if kept at 5 minutes or less. We don't tar and feather bands for using dry ice machines, either.

But how about 20 minutes of doing nothing? Iommi literally wasted our time by alternating rudimentary excercies with pitch bends and ripping into a riff of a song the band had no intention of playing. As an example he did the opening riff to "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" eight times before going back to pitch bends. As weak as Dehumannizer was an album, as an uninspired as the band clearly was, Dio was at least doing what he could to make it seem like a metal concert. Every minute without him was putting the outdoor crowd to sleep. You could hear people groaning.

Opener Danzig, who was touring for his (then) worst album Danzig 3: How The Gods Kill, actually blew Sabbath away. The icing on the cake was this wankfest, the second worst masturbatory display I have personally seen. Granted, I've never seen Phish live, but I did see Stanley Clarke a few years later, and he gave one guy a mouth harp solo that STILL didn't touch this (although their fuckup of "Bolero" was on par with the worst Iommi moment). I have seen several other rock bands, through the 80's and they were not close to this. Even the Ted Nugent show, a triple bill that included Blackfoot and Krokus, and THREE extended jams as a result, was not close.

Of course the worst ever time-wasting agony I have suffered was a Metallica show about a year prior, but that's a whole new thread there

MusicLand · 10-19-2006, 06:24 PM

I'm a big fan of the loud "shhhhhhhhhh" technique when the concert starts and people are still gabbing. I hate to do it but I enjoy listening to the concert without hearing commentary. The worst is when some senior falls asleep and starts snoring so loud they wake themselves up.