ok, i am not going to complain, i am just gonna' rant a bit. you see, my buddy aaron and i go to a concert every year around our birthdays (well, we started last year but this will continue until one of us is dead). we call it BIG BOY BIRTHDAY BASH. no one else is invited, sorry.
anywho, last year, we went to see the police. wow, what a show! blew me away how these guys rocked. 2 1/2 straight hours of the police was incredible. this year, we decided to do another blast from the past and go to a concert we would normally never go see (that is like the theme of our BASH...going to concerts we haven't or would never go to...we actually thought about trying to go to a marlyn manson show but i am scared). we went to salisbury, aaron's birthplace, and attended the willie nelson show. i learned many things, some good, some aggravating. the show started at 745, and it was scheduled to start at 730...clue #1 this guy has no plans of being up past 10 when he walks on stage so close to the actual time. whatever. below are some of my learning/rants from the show last night.
#1: already mentioned. but when the "show" starts so close to the actual time (before 9pm is really odd for a good show), it is a bad sign. wille was on stage for one hour, twenty six minutes. he was done before he even got started.
#2: the average age in the "Center" was nowhere under 60. aaron and i were definitely a minority. one old woman fell during a song and some "ushers" spent quite a while picking her up, not sure if she had really broken the hip or not. i saw SIX motorized scooter chair thingys. and the smell of the "center" was coffee and moth balls, not the second hand stuff you would expect at a willie nelson show. so here's what i learned: talent/leaders/music attract their own age group unless they change their message and delivery.
#3: since i mentioned delivery, how about willie's band? well, there was willie, who sang and strummed an old guitar pretty poorly, the harmonica player who looked bored the entire time, the "drummer" who only played a boom chuck beat on a snare (there was no drum set, cymbals, kick, anything...just a snare), bass player, piano player, auxiliary percussion guy (played the triangle and tambourine a few times...no joke), and that was it. each song lasted about 2 minutes and was in the same key.
#4: apparently, willie has no idea how to sing or play his guitar in the right key or tempo. he played what he wanted while his "band" played recognizable melodies. when willie sang, he more or less spoke the words and did some strumming. there was no music to much of what he did last night at all.
#5: the "center" was set up for 5000 people...there were 2000 there tops. and me and aaron were waving the "we are under 30 flag the entire time" (even though aaron is 31, we wont draw any attention to this).
#6: apparently, when leaving a concert, elderly people are very intimidated by aggressive driving. i was proud to leave the "center" like a bat out of hell and give them all something to talk about for the next month or so 'round the cracker barrel.
#7: most of willie's songs were about death, loss, or good times with no plan. this connected with me on a few levels: one, his career has centered around these themes and it is very easy to see why culture embraced him. secondly, the way he plays and sings is his way. he doesn't give a rip what i think, you think, or anyone else. that's why he is willie nelson. lastly, he sings about what most of us would really like to happen: great times with no agenda or work. this type of dreaming is what music is made of for a blues/country artist. and it is really easy to see why the rebel/protest country blues picker is very popular with an aging generation. he was their voice many times when they weren't able, or just couldn't vocalize, their dark dreams.
#8: regardless of how poor the overall experience was (compared to other concerts i have been to, this would definitely rank lower than most of the southern gospels shows my parents used to drag me to), there is something to say about seeing a legend, and i am happy i was able to see the old man.
#9: willie is really in love with hymns. last night, we group sang: i saw the light, i'll fly away, uncloudy day, and a couple more.
so, all in all, horrible show, mediocre experience, but great moment when i saw they guy.
we're thinking about next year's show, and so far, here are our thoughts in no particular order:
-marilyn manson (but i think i am a bit too scared to do that, i would really be too uncomfortable, i think)
-neil diamond
-the killers
-roots
-eminem
-kenny rogers
-dolly parton (maybe together?)
-tom jones
-cher
the point here is to see someone we wouldn't normally go see, or someone we haven't seen before. any suggestions of an awesome show? comment and let me know. FYI, dont suggest coldplay, aerosmith, DMB, U2, the police, willie nelson, counting crows, black crowes, and quite a few more...we have seen them
take the risk, have some fun before the summer is gone,
n
