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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: Bags on November 17, 2003, 04:53:00 pm
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So I've been trying to get some info on the Smith Center show Saturday. It's nigh near impossible to find. GW only knows that doors open at 8:00, because it's not a GW-sponsored event.
So, I go to the White Stripes website -- nothing but the date of the show. (I'm trying to find out if there's an opening band and get a read on starting times, as we have to drink somewhere else before the show...).
End up on a fan site, going to their forum. It's a hoot! There's a couple threads on what to wear to the show -- you know, whether you should wear only red, white and black (p.s., I'll be in FUSCHIA! Oops, unless that can be interpreted as a type of red -- okay, KELLY GREEN).
Here's one post [sp]:
"I faced the same delema when I went to go see them. I didn't want to look like a looser-psycho-teeni-bopper-try-hard fan, but wanted to support the band just the same."
Isn't it supportive enough to go to the show? I must be not just getting old, but living old. How funny....
If anyone has any info on show specifics, I'll be much obliged.
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Anyone? Anyone? I called the Smith Center and got nest to nowhere. I'm hoping this show ends early so I can get over to IOTA to check out the Detroit Cobras. I do know there is an opening band - Whirlwind Heat, and that doors are at 8.
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Aha, you are correct on Whirl Wind Heat. Just checked their website, and lo and behold, there it is.
So, maybe W.S. go on about 9:30?
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I've heard that the White Stripes have been playing about 2 hours, so they wouldn't wrap up until 11:30. Even if the Detroit Cobras are still playing at 11:30-12:00, I think that show will be sold out. It seems like a lot of people have been talking about that show, and not just on here.
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Any ideas for watering holes nearby? I never go to that part of town, so have no clue at all (except that there's a Tower Records and TGIF nearby...).
Thanks
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Originally posted by Bagster:
Any ideas for watering holes nearby? I never go to that part of town, so have no clue at all (except that there's a Tower Records and TGIF nearby...).
Thanks
A good place to go is Lindy's Red Lion, on the corner of 21st and I. In fact, really the only good place in the area, unless you count the Dark Horse pub, on 25th and Pennsylvania. Otherwise you have to move further into the city and it is far less convenient. But i know lots of folks who swear by the Lion, you won't be dissapointed. Good burgers too.
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Are doors definitely at 8? I am planning on lining up pretty early to get a good spot in front of the stage. (It's my b-day show after all.)
ggw, the thought of a 2 hour show is almost too tantalizing...
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here is a setlist of what they played last week in WI, this may or may not be something to go by
cant wait until saturday!!!!
Setlist for The White Stripes' 11/10/03 Milwaukee show
1) Black Math
2) Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
3) I Think I Smell A Rat / Take A Whiff
4) Jolene (Dolly Parton cover)
5) Hotel Yorba
6) Let's Shake Hands
7) Cannon / John the Revelator
8) I'm Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman
9) Why Can't You Be Nicer To Me
10) In The Cold, Cold Night
11) I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart
12) Death Letter
13) Little Bird
13) I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
14) Wasting My Time
15) Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine
16) The Big Three Killed My Baby
17) Hardest Button To Button
18) Ball and Biscuit
19) Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan cover)
20) Screwdriver
Encore
21) Seven Nation Army
22) Boll Weevil (traditional folk cover)
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22 songs x 3 minutes....... will it really last 2 hours?
They have some pretty good songs on that list though.
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That's a great setlist! And they are opening with my favorite song off the latest album: Black Math.
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one of my favourites too, but when you hear Ball and Biscuit live.....you will love them forever, if you dont already :)
its almost magical (yeah, thats gay, but its true)
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
I've heard that the White Stripes have been playing about 2 hours, so they wouldn't wrap up until 11:30. Even if the Detroit Cobras are still playing at 11:30-12:00, I think that show will be sold out. It seems like a lot of people have been talking about that show, and not just on here.
Geez...quite a dilema here. I don't know which show I'd rather see. Do you really think the cobras may sell out? I may have to bag the White Stripes show and go the Detroit Cobras instead.
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Originally posted by markie:
22 songs x 3 minutes....... will it really last 2 hours?
They have some pretty good songs on that list though.
Just going by what I heard.
Indianapolis - 30+ songs
Cleveland - 30-35 songs
Providence - 1 hour 40 min
I Fought Piranhas
Cannon
Wasting My Time
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
Lovesick
Black Math
Hotel Yorba
Death Letter/Little Bird
In the Cold Cold Night
I think I Smell a Rat
I'm finding it harder to be a gentlemen
I want to the be the boy to warm your mother's heart
This Protector
Same boy you've always known
Hello Operator
We're Going to be Friends
Pretty Good Looking (for a girl)
Girl, you have no faith in medecine
Hardest Button to Button
Ball and Biscuit
Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?
Small Faces
Screwdriver
encore
Lord send me an Angel down
Seven nation army
Boll Weevil
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Originally posted by Bagster:
Any ideas for watering holes nearby? I never go to that part of town, so have no clue at all (except that there's a Tower Records and TGIF nearby...).
Thanks
i hear all the kids are hip to mcfaddens on penn and 20-something.
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so shall we do a pre white stripes meetup? put a face to those screen names your curious about...
i decided to go with an "ironic" detroit techno t-shirt for the show... specifically my Underground Resistance shirt. UR where an early techno duo who created their own waves.
might try to go see detroit cobras if it isn't sold out, which it will probably will be....
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hipster! ;)
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
so shall we do a pre white stripes meetup? put a face to those screen names your curious about...
i decided to go with an "ironic" detroit techno t-shirt for the show... specifically my Underground Resistance shirt. UR where an early techno duo who created their own waves.
might try to go see detroit cobras if it isn't sold out, which it will probably will be....
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
so shall we do a pre white stripes meetup? put a face to those screen names your curious about...
i decided to go with an "ironic" detroit techno t-shirt for the show... specifically my Underground Resistance shirt. UR where an early techno duo who created their own waves.
might try to go see detroit cobras if it isn't sold out, which it will probably will be....
I'll second that motion with a red t-shirt from the "Motor Club" in Detroit. Kind of a black flame design on the front of it saying Motor Detroit.com on the back collar.
Motor Detroit is the best techno club in the country...was i mean.
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Why don't we all meet up at the Froggy Bottom Pub? That's gotta be close by.
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
so shall we do a pre white stripes meetup? put a face to those screen names your curious about...
i decided to go with an "ironic" detroit techno t-shirt for the show... specifically my Underground Resistance shirt. UR where an early techno duo who created their own waves.
might try to go see detroit cobras if it isn't sold out, which it will probably will be....
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So Will I finally get to meet you sonick? My god how I wish I had a radiohead t-shirt.......
who else is going?
I too would like to see the detroit cobras.
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Kurosawa, Markie needs a ride...
Originally posted by mark e smith:
So Will I finally get to meet you sonick? My god how I wish I had a radiohead t-shirt.......
who else is going?
I too would like to see the detroit cobras.
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plans have already been drawn.
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Originally posted by mark e smith:
So Will I finally get to meet you sonick? My god how I wish I had a radiohead t-shirt.......
who else is going?
I too would like to see the detroit cobras.
you will get to meet me!! we should meet up somewhere. me and my friends are planning on getting down to DC around 6:30pm. Its early but i dont want to get there late and have to sit in the bleachers!
I'd be down to meet up for some preshow shots :)
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why don't we all meet up at the Froggy Bottom Pub? That's gotta be close by.
you are going, rhett?
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by mark e smith:
So Will I finally get to meet you sonick? My god how I wish I had a radiohead t-shirt.......
who else is going?
I too would like to see the detroit cobras.
you will get to meet me!! we should meet up somewhere. me and my friends are planning on getting down to DC around 6:30pm. Its early but i dont want to get there late and have to sit in the bleachers!
I'd be down to meet up for some preshow shots :) [/b]
Wow, even though I'm not going to the show, Sonick and I have some "business" to take care of. Perhaps I will finally get to meet some of you folks as well.
And Froggy Bottom is pretty close, right on Pennsylvania, 3 blocks away from Smith Center.
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
you will get to meet me!! we should meet up somewhere. me and my friends are planning on getting down to DC around 6:30pm. Its early but i dont want to get there late and have to sit in the bleachers!
I'd be down to meet up for some preshow shots :)
My missus does not finish work till 7...... But we will need to grab some food, a quick subway probably, So I should think we will only get there just before 8.
I could meet you by myself, but that is scarey..... Perhaps we will eat at the store where she works and then try and get to GW for 7.20- 7.30.
What time were you planning on getting inline?
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this boy wonders if we'll get a suprise set from the detroit cobras at the white stripes show...
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i think my friends are coming into town sometime around 6, so a 7:00 meet would be doable for me and my friends.
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Originally posted by mark e smith:
What time were you planning on getting inline?
scary??? me??? no way. haha.
as for the line, i was thinking 7:30ish. But if there isnt really a line at 7:30 , i may not stand in it! We're gonna get there pre 7pm and check out the situation, if theres 500 people in line already or something, then we'll jump in, if not, drinks. That Froggy Bottom place sounds cool to me.
if you need to look for me in line, I'll have a red tshirt with a long sleeve shirt underneath, Boston red sox hat and a pretty long goatee. I would think I'd be easy to find.
Just start singing the O Canada and I'll know its you :)
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Originally posted by redsock:
Sonick and I have some "business" to take care of.
sounds like some important stuff!!!
<img src="http://www.kolumbus.fi/osku.ekqvist/oravat/closeup3.jpg" alt=" - " />
woodchuck to grey squirrel....come in grey squirrel.
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And BTW, for all you Stripes folks looking for something else to do after the show, and you aren't going to the Detroit Cobras (will be sold out anyway), or some other show in the city (generally boring night), feel free to head up to Adams Morgan and check out Exit Clov at Staccato. They go one around 1130.
Sorry, just had to get the plug in.
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actually, the Scratch tour is where we are going post-White Stripes. Unless THAT sells out too. I am definitely looking fwd to hearing the X-men.
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
actually, the Scratch tour is where we are going post-White Stripes. Unless THAT sells out too. I am definitely looking fwd to hearing the X-men.
I know you are, I was referring more to the Stripes-going hipster set who would not be caught dead at the Scratch tour. I think its cool, but they won't
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Originally posted by redsock:
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
actually, the Scratch tour is where we are going post-White Stripes. Unless THAT sells out too. I am definitely looking fwd to hearing the X-men.
I know you are, I was referring more to the Stripes-going hipster set who would not be caught dead at the Scratch tour. I think its cool, but they won't [/b]
:) I'll make it to one of those famous Exit Clov shows sooner or later, dont you worry.
are you saying that i am not a hipster???? how dare you!
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Not to the show, but the pre-show meetup just sounds too good to miss.
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Why don't we all meet up at the Froggy Bottom Pub? That's gotta be close by.
you are going, rhett? [/b]
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
are you saying that i am not a hipster???? how dare you!
I know what you used to do for a living, not the work of a hipster. And I'm not entirely convinced I didn't just compliment you.
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<img src="http://www.ninthfloor.com/photo/comics/hipster_grrl_1.jpg" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://www.ninthfloor.com/photo/comics/hipster_grrl_2.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
I would think I'd be easy to find.
Just start singing the blame Canada and I'll know its you :)
OK, I will be looking out for you. I will let you know what I will be wearing tomorrow.....
red t-shirt black trousers probably, but then that would fit half the people going, I suspect.
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I'm pre-concert on U Street at the Saloon. We're trying the whole Velvet Lounge hand-stamps for Washington Social Club later...don't ask.
I'll be in purple or black Amoeba records shirt. I'll probably stick a couple buttons on, to be 'ironically' new wave... ;)
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
so shall we do a pre white stripes meetup? put a face to those screen names your curious about...
i decided to go with an "ironic" detroit techno t-shirt for the show... specifically my Underground Resistance shirt. UR where an early techno duo who created their own waves.
might try to go see detroit cobras if it isn't sold out, which it will probably will be....
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Originally posted by mark e smith:
OK, I will be looking out for you. I will let you know what I will be wearing tomorrow.....
red t-shirt black trousers probably, but then that would fit half the people going, I suspect. [/b]
I think you should wear that body-hugging little Ferrari number you have...Jack would love that I'm sure.
We have this last seasons pit crew shirts for sale if you want one!
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You really think that's possible?
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
this boy wonders if we'll get a suprise set from the detroit cobras at the white stripes show...
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is there a metro stop near the Smith Center? like within 5 blocks or so?
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Originally posted by mankie:
I think you should wear that body-hugging little Ferrari number you have...Jack would love that I'm sure.
We have this last seasons pit crew shirts for sale if you want one!
thats a great idea.....
how much is a pit crew shirt?
I dont see the timing right for the detroit cobras. The only possibility I thought was that the White Stripes might go to iota after their show.
I think Foggy bottom is the nearest metro. It should be really close.
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i'll be at the show tomorrow and i'll probably have a cold. i'm feeling on coming on now and it sucks. stupid undecisive weather and too much free beaujolais on wednesday nite are to blame.
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
is there a metro stop near the Smith Center? like within 5 blocks or so?
Foggy Bottom/GWU, Orange/blue line
2 blocks away
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Originally posted by redsock:
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
is there a metro stop near the Smith Center? like within 5 blocks or so?
Foggy Bottom/GWU, Orange/blue line
2 blocks away [/b]
you are THE man!!! thanks. I couldnt remember if there was a GWU stop.
i like you redsock. :D
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
Originally posted by redsock:
Originally posted by sonickteam2:
is there a metro stop near the Smith Center? like within 5 blocks or so?
Foggy Bottom/GWU, Orange/blue line
2 blocks away [/b]
you are THE man!!! thanks. I couldnt remember if there was a GWU stop.
i like you redsock. :D [/b]
I helps that i went there for 4 years.
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For the hell of it I double-checked. No booze at the Smith Center.
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Questions regarding tonight...
My ticket from July says 8pm, so can I assume doors will be open around 7 or does anybody have any more info on this?
Is this a GA show? Do only the first however many through the door get to stay on the floor while the remainder will relegated to the seats?
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Doors open at 8. The time on rock music concert tickets is almost always the time the doors open, unlike theatre tickets where the time is that of the performance.......
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I don't know, i think this it means the show starts at 8 (or so) and the doors would open earlier. Remember, Smith Center isn't a rock club---rock clubs usually list the time the doors open b/c they want to get people in to drink at the bar.
I think it'll be treated like an arena show where the time listed on the ticket is usually about the time the opening band starts and the doors open earlier.
Plus, I bet Smith Center has a relatively early curfew, so they probably will need to get it going.
The show is GA, i would think it's first come, first serve on seating or standing.
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Kurosawa, our correspondent from the front line just called in a news flash:
"Doors are opening at 7.
The soundcheck sounded brilliant."
Thanks Kurosawa.
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Liked the show. Opening band left a lot to be desired. You could tell the venue was a gym and not a club. (Acoustic sucked.) Stripes played a good variety. Was worth the drive from Richmond to see the show but will wait until they are at a better venue to see them again.
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Ok, so it was QUITE a pain to even get to this show, and i didnt even get to the Smith Center til after 8:30, or it was almost 9. So I missed Whirlwind Heat and only got about 1/2way up toward the front. But it was ok.
They fucking rock so hard. I dont know WHAT was wrong with everyone there. I mean, i guess its "cool" to just stand there and look unimpressed, and i can assume that you may have even been unimpressed for some of it. But when they did Ball and Biscuit and Just Don't Know what to do with myself, I dont know what more you can ask for.
True, the sound was only as hot as a gym sound can be, But it was bearable and acceptable, hopefully they will play someplace else next time.
One of the better shows i have seen all year. and when they played Screwdriver, it made me think, "I'll be seeing them play again for another 10 years at least"
hope everyone else had as good a time as me, and sorry i didnt meet up with anyone.
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ok let me add to this.
1. Screwdriver was one of the best live songs i have heard played in a VERY long time.
2. Jack White is one hell of a guitar player and should be recognized that way.
3. I dont like hipsters with big hair cause my girlfriend cant see over them :)
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
They fucking rock so hard. I dont know WHAT was wrong with everyone there. I mean, i guess its "cool" to just stand there and look unimpressed, and i can assume that you may have even been unimpressed for some of it. But when they did Ball and Biscuit and Just Don't Know what to do with myself, I dont know what more you can ask for.
yeah, the crowd was kinda lame, i stood up to dance at a couple points in the show and got yelled at to sit down by people behind me. which is understandable seeing as i was in the seated area, but still people weren't even showing the least bit of amusement by the show. Also, they must've had really padded butts, or maybe i just have a really boney butt, cos after sitting there for over an hour my butt was hurting!
but yeah, other than the lame (and fat) ass people sitting in my section, the show was good
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Isn't it a bit ironic people blame a less than perfect concert (if it was that) on a "lame crowd"? The performers are giving the performance, not the crowd.
White Stripes: Rocking Is Fundamental
By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 24, 2003; Page C01
When medical science can build the perfect garage rocker -- and surely, we're just years away from that glorious day -- lab workers should acquire a double helix or two from Jack White, the multi-gifted frontman of the White Stripes. The guy has just about every strand of DNA you'd need for the ultimate test tube guitar god. Power-chord mastery? Check! Intensity? Check! Unruly black hair? Check! Ghostly pallor? Oh yes. A voice that can screech in the loud moments and lilt through the soft ones? Absolutely.
This once-in-a-decade talent brought a crowd of more than 4,000 to George Washington University's Smith Center on Saturday night. The White Stripes -- Jack and his ex-wife, Meg White, who plays drums -- are the most heartening musical story of 2003, and their ascent marks one of those rare and wondrous moments when you look at the Billboard charts and think: Sometimes the system works. The band's fourth album, "Elephant," has outsold Madonna's latest, which is astounding given that just 18 months ago, hardly anyone but dedicated Spin readers knew their name.
If you've never heard them, the White Stripes are a bit like Led Zeppelin on a pauper's budget -- the same dedication to metal and melody, but without any of the frills, and most notably, without a bass player. On albums, the duo's leanness seems a virtue, a demonstration of how powerful rock can be when it sticks to the essentials.
But in a concert, the White Stripes' asceticism presents a challenge. How does a guy and his guitar and a gal and her drums entertain a venue as large as the Smith Center? A couple of dozen thrashy songs will get you much of the way there, but it takes more than music to drive an audience this large into that goggle-eyed state of rock-concert euphoria. It takes showbiz. It takes shtick. It takes whatever it is that compels Bruce Springsteen to tell hokey stories, or causes Iggy Pop to leap headfirst into crowds, or spurs Andrew W.K. to invite fans to leap on his back.
This is the one rock gene that Jack White lacks: He doesn't do shtick.
Well, on Saturday night he did a little shtick. He dressed, as he always does, in red; he spoke with an accent that is certainly not from his native Detroit; and he referred to Meg as his sister, although by now everyone knows she isn't. But from the outset, a shredding version of "Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground," he seemed a bit overwhelmed, or shy, or perhaps just nervous. Maybe the just-business style is simply his style. Aside from some rushed pleasantries that were hard to understand, he barely acknowledged the audience, and considering the dizzying impact of his guitar playing, he came across as a bit reserved.
So the concert was two radically different things, almost at once: goose-bump great and a little dull, on fire one moment and strangely subdued the next. The audience, even near the stage, seemed more like gawkers at a zoo than fans in a frenzy. It was as if they were waiting for a sign to go berserk, and the sign never came.
Though low on showmanship, the concert made an irresistible case for the music of the White Stripes. Switching in nanoseconds between rhythm and lead guitar, the Whites ambushed a batch of tunes from "Elephant," including "Seven Nation Army," "The Hardest Button to Button" and "Ball and Biscuit." With a screen behind the pair projecting geometric shapes in primary colors, the Whites paid homage to their forefathers and -mothers: a cover of Bob Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee," a glowering take on Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" and a tingle-inducing version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene." Blues legend Son House was resurrected through an electric slide re-imagining of "Death Letter." Meg stepped to the mic for her one tune, "In the Cold, Cold Night," but mostly spent the evening pounding the basics on her drums, and yielding the spotlight to Jack. The show ended with an abrupt "thank you," followed by enough cheers to bring the group out for a handful of encores.
"I hope you enjoyed the basketball game," he said, a little enigmatically. "We're going home to hug our mother." With the closer, "Boll Weevil," Jack White finally interacted with the crowd, inviting everyone to sing "I'm looking for a home" in unison. Everyone obliged, but the show could have used another dozen moments like that. The reality is that if the White Stripes played the very same set in a tiny venue, you'd probably quit your job and follow the band for the rest of your life. But these crazy kids have gone national, and when you go national, it's hard to show up with nothing more than songs.
No doubt if the White Stipes had played the very same set in a tiny venue, Jack could have babbled in Dutch and it wouldn't have mattered. But with so much acreage to fill, the band could use some razzle-dazzle in the program. That's the thing about catching on. The rooms get bigger and then it's not just about the music anymore.
This isn't news to the band, of course. Here are the lyrics to "LIttle Room," a 50-second outburst from their second-to-last album.
When you're in your little room
And you're working on something good
But if it's really good
You're going to need a bigger room
And when you're in the bigger room
You might not know what to do
You might have to think of how you got started
Sitting in your little room.
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Originally posted by sonickteam2:
1. Screwdriver was one of the best live songs i have heard played in a VERY long time.
2. Jack White is one hell of a guitar player and should be recognized that way.
3. I dont like hipsters with big hair cause my girlfriend cant see over them :)
I agree with all three of those points! But the Smith Center was a pain to get to? It's nearly the same distance from a Metro as 9:30, and the on-street parking is probably slightly better (and less risky).
The Post's review today was spot on -- about as good of a show as you could expect given the setting. I think Segal was on to something in his review -- it's up to the band to get energy flowing through the crowd, and they can't just do it with awesome music.
Today's indie and garage bands are putting out some of the best rock-n-roll ever, but compare their crowd interaction with some much-less talented groups of years past... maybe I have selective memory, but it seems much more common for bands today to play a face-melting, gut-busting show on stage, but in terms of crowd interaction, they might as well be facing a different direction or performing in front of a wall.
No hellos, thank yous etc. between songs -- not even any obligatory HE SAID THE NAME OF OUR TOWN!!!! moments to get people out of their own little worlds. I still love the music, but the whole too-cool-for-school attitude definitely makes me less likely to move around and more likely to keep my enjoyment to myself. The Libertines last summer at the Black Cat was another example of a show that rocked on stage but featured a band that hardly acknowledged the crowd's presence.
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I really enjoyed the White Stripes set. Jack really is an outstanding guitar player. I think the venue could have been better...the acoustics were shit, especially w/out a bass player. Very echo-y from where I stood...Definately a great band. I'm just really not used to seeing shows in such a large venue. This is about as large a show as I'm likely to attend, except of course the Wiggles tonight at the MCI Center with my little girl!
I left just a little early and hauled ass down to Iota and got there in time to get into the Detroit Cobras show. Now that show totally killed. If you've ever heard and liked a DC record, you would have loved this. My only complaint is that they didn't play longer. I can't wait for them to come back to this area. Anyone else make this show?
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
White Stripes: Rocking Is Fundamental
By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
"I hope you enjoyed the basketball game," he said, a little enigmatically.
more proof Segal is a dullard...the concert was in a *gym* right? duh!what's so enigmatic about that...
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Well I enjoyed the white stripes......
But saying the libertines rocked the blackcat, but the libertines didnt rock the smith center is just missing the obvious, one if 8 times bigger than the other, and one has alcohol sales, the other I couldnt even find a diet pepsi. One is dark with low ceilings, one is bright and looks like a basketball court.
I did think the crowd was ready to erupt, but it never quite did. Perhaps a lot of first time concert goers and young girls in the front middle really was the reason?
The white Stripes did have a shakey start, I really wasnt impressed by Dead Leaves on the dirty ground, but both of them sounded a little fluey. But by about the fifth song they seemed to more into it and sound much better.
Afterwards we took the trip to iota and got to see the last 4 songs of the detroit cobras. They looked like they had been rocking the iota. I think I might of had more fun spending the whole night there, with the old drunk people and crazy Larry.
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Isn't it a bit ironic people blame a less than perfect concert (if it was that) on a "lame crowd"? The performers are giving the performance, not the crowd.
you are right. and jack did not much to get the crowd going and thier stage presence is not much, but that crowd didnt get crazy ONCE!! I dont know if Motley Crue couldve gotten those people off thier ass.
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Originally posted by mustourdman:
But the Smith Center was a pain to get to? It's nearly the same distance from a Metro as 9:30, and the on-street parking is probably slightly better (and less risky).
[/b]
oh, its a personal thing. Traffic in Baltimore was terrible on saturday evening, my friend wasnt ready, my girlfriend had to "get cigarettes and pee", then traffic heading to DC was bad, then we TRIED to get a drink beforehand in DC and went to the slowest bar in town apparently, then we waited 12 minutes for the freaking train....
anyway, it was just madness....took us like 2 hrs and 25 minutes. it was one of those evenings where everything seems to take forever.
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I agree with the review as well. We were on the floor near the back (which is cool with me; I no longer want to fight to stay center front in a crowd). But, being near the back, there was plenty of room to let loose, and the only folks doing so were in my posse of five or so.
That being said, I thought the W.S. really rocked -- I was amazed they had no filler tour musicians, so I came to really appreciate Jack's skill. They're schtick sometimes annoys me, especially his, but he plays so well he can do whatever damn schtick he wants with his sister!
Not a great venue, but a good show none the less.
We hit Velvet Lounge after for the Washington Social Club, and that kicked ass -- again. So glad I got to catch an entire set by the Club...it combined with the big gym show to make for a nearly perfect night out.
I wish Detroit Cobras were this Saturday...I definitely woulda been there.
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the smith center was certainly a better venue than bender, the long stage along the side, as bunnyman pointed out, enables more to be people to be up front verses the layout at bender.
i had earplugs in most of the night, so other than muffled thought the sound was good. didn't hear much of the crowd noise either. they also did a good job of focusing the sound over those in the front.
the lack of energy imho was due to the pacing of the show... why it took them so long to hit the stage after the whirlwind heat. it sucked whatever energy out the created... the cartoons just becaming irritating after 10 minutes.
they certainly needed more dynamic groups playing shorter sets to whipped up the energy of the crowd before them... do it like the 60's. get the acts on and off the stage quickly doing only their best materials. which makes even more sense nowadays with all the shorten attention spans.
when i saw the white stripes at the old black cat in 2001 the audience was totally into the show... lost now a days is the rawiness of the early records. jack has become a slicker guitar player and it shows in terms of urgency of the shows. the black cat had a great warmup act in the gossip, that really got the audience going..
seeing both the detroit cobras and the white stripes in the same night showed why it'scbetter to see a great bar band working hard in the small confines of a club... verses a band going through the motions in a large venue because it's expected of them.
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
seeing both the detroit cobras and the white stripes in the same night showed why it'scbetter to see a great bar band working hard in the small confines of a club... verses a band going through the motions in a large venue because it's expected of them.
Yeah I spoke briefly after the show with a guy who had been to both the White Stipes and Detroit Cobras show that night. We both agreed that the Cobras show was much better...in my opinion mostly because of the audience and the venue.
I was at the Black Cat the night the White Stripes played there a few years ago. The Greenhornes opened the show and I decided not to pay to get in cuz I got there too late to see them. I wish I'd just gone anyway.
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borrowing broadkat's drywall for a moment, lets analyze whirlwind heat...
Creating a new band.
Requirements
Young - check
Skinny - check
Squiffy Hair - check
Spastic Dancing - check
Unique Lineup (drums, bass, occasional analog synth and second bass) - check
Actual Songs - MISSING!!
This band didn't come across as being geniune, all flash and image little else. Like the emo guitarist in box product Guitar Center is selling , there must be a checklist for creating the next buzz band. Well Whirlwind Heat isn't going to be it. I noticed very little interest in most of the audience in them, which one would think is who would be most likely to run out and buy their record. Jack must have burned all his bridges in Detroit....
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Originally posted by chaz:
Yeah I spoke briefly after the show with a guy who had been to both the White Stipes and Detroit Cobras show that night. We both agreed that the Cobras show was much better...in my opinion mostly because of the audience and the venue.
[/QB][/QUOTE]
by the way... do you know who the tall guy in the Iota audience is, that a number of people after the Detroit Cobras show were hanging around and posing for pictures with. enquiring minds what to know....
thanks to markie for dragging my ass to see the detroit cobras and to jaquar for prodviding the ride. event the four songs we caught were entirely worth it...
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
by the way... do you know who the tall guy in the Iota audience is, that a number of people after the Detroit Cobras show were hanging around and posing for pictures with. enquiring minds what to know....
[/b]
GGW?
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I think I know who you are talking about. Pretty tall, square jawed guy? If we're talking about the same guy, he looked real familiar to me.
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Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
by the way... do you know who the tall guy in the Iota audience is, that a number of people after the Detroit Cobras show were hanging around and posing for pictures with. enquiring minds what to know....
[/b]
GGW? [/b]
My fans love me......
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oh, forgot about the cartoons -- yeah, those were annoying. The novelty wore off on the second one... the third one was unfortunate, the crowd grew testy at the fourth, and actually started booing at the fifth. It was like seeing Lord of the Rings at the Uptown on opening week when they throw in about a dozen previews and commercials before the film.
Since the roadies had done all the set up that was needed by the third cartoon, I couldn't help picturing Jack White backstage with nothing to do but wait until ALL FIVE cartoons were finished. Why not just go on when the stage has been set up?
If the band had been interested in energizing the crowd with any aspect of a performace other than their music, they could have waited until the crowd grew testy... then started another cartoon -- just long enough to get a few scattered boos, before abruptly shutting it off and coming out on stage.
Sure, little teasing tricks like that are cliched and more showmanship that artistic, but if you're going to play to 4,000 seat-plus arenas and a mainstream, less concert-experienced audience, it's probably not a bad idea to pull a few of those out of the bag every once in a while...
But then again, maybe they don't CARE what the crowd does, as long as they buy tickets.
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Originally posted by mustourdman :
<img src="http://www.bloggerheads.com/can_weblogs/images/mustard_man.jpg" alt=" - " />
yes, the cartoons were really annoying...especially the betty boop ones, grr, i can't stand betty boop
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Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
by the way... do you know who the tall guy in the Iota audience is, that a number of people after the Detroit Cobras show were hanging around and posing for pictures with. enquiring minds what to know....
[/b]
GGW? [/b]
nay... this guy was handsome :D
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I saw Tin Machine and they did the cartoon thing...someone walked out and put a small tv on a chair then walked off and cartoons starting showing on the telly...The audience had a collective "HUH" but after the 4th cartoon started getting pissed off, by the time the band came on after the 6th or so, the crowd was so fired up they went wild when the band walked on, and the energy carried on for the whole of the show.
Sounds like the White Stripes tried to do the same thing but failed miserably....because they just aren't as cool as Mr. Bowie, but then again....who is?
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To clarify, I don't think there was *no* energy at this show. I think the reason that it's a discussion point is that the music was so good that the lack of a concomitant buzz in the audience is especially...inconsistent, and a bit of a let down. But the show was great, I thought. Just lower wattage overall then I would have hoped.
It was a show in a gym, though, so I never thought it was going to rock my world completely.
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personally i think that the lack of energy was due to people focusing in jack's rather tight pants...
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exactly. i just didnt see that crowd getting excited over anything. me and my two friends were going nuts though :) and people were backing up in fear of us touching them or something, which didnt bother me at all.
i paid $30 i am getting my money's worth
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Just read the Wahington Post's review of the show, well two paragraphs of it before the attention span had gone.
According to them, they should clone Jack White or something because he's the ultimate rocker, which sort of contradicts the reviews I'm reading here...(it was okay)...I then read that Jack and Meg are ex-husband and wife which confirmed this Washington Post chump doesn't know squat, but what's new with that rag?
They're brother and sister....right??
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No, they were married. You're believing the hype, Mank!
And the clone thing doesn't really belie the article. While Jack is an incredible musician , the performance wasn't carried by just the two of them.
Or that was the point of the article. I enjoyed the show, though as tooms pointed out to me, about five minutes into the washington social club, all memory of the White Stripes show was gone.
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well even the ultimate rocker can have an off night... it was a good show not a great one... personally i would have preferred a shorter high energy show. the white stripes slower stuff while great, tends to drag the show a bit especially if you've been standing for three hours.
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Originally posted by Bagster:
No, they were married. You're believing the hype, Mank!
Actually bags, I couldn't give a badgers bum about any hype...but all I've seen mentioned on this board is brother/sister...but then again they could be from West Virginia so qutie possibly husband/wife as well.
Don't tell me all these more music savvy board members were wrong? :eek:
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i've never referred to them as brother and sister since the legal documents proving their marriage surfaced a couple years ago... i'm sure there were people in detroit who knew along they weren't married, but the rest of the world had to go by their story.
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Originally posted by Bagster:
To clarify, I don't think there was *no* energy at this show. I think the reason that it's a discussion point is that the music was so good that the lack of a concomitant buzz in the audience is especially...inconsistent, and a bit of a let down. But the show was great, I thought. Just lower wattage overall then I would have hoped.
It was a show in a gym, though, so I never thought it was going to rock my world completely.
Yeah, I second that clarification.
Great music, mild crowd, no consensus on whether that was due to the band, the audience, or the venue.
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Still no ideas as to who the mystery celeb at the Detroit Cobras show was?
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nope... i have a gut feeling is he's a local musician from nova, in town for the holidays, who went on to bigger and better things. but i don't know the scene well enough to start to figure out who he could be.
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As long as it wasn't Tommy Keene...though I don't think he'd be described as tall, necessarily.
:D
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
nope... i have a gut feeling is he's a local musician from nova, in town for the holidays, who went on to bigger and better things. but i don't know the scene well enough to start to figure out who he could be.
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Originally posted by chaz:
Still no ideas as to who the mystery celeb at the Detroit Cobras show was?
If not GGW...Dave Grohl?
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Originally posted by Bagster:
As long as it wasn't Tommy Keene...though I don't think he'd be described as tall, necessarily.
:D
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
nope... i have a gut feeling is he's a local musician from nova, in town for the holidays, who went on to bigger and better things. but i don't know the scene well enough to start to figure out who he could be.
[/b]
not tommy i would know him if i saw him...
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Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by chaz:
Still no ideas as to who the mystery celeb at the Detroit Cobras show was?
If not GGW...Dave Grohl? [/b]
He's like 5'7"
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by chaz:
Still no ideas as to who the mystery celeb at the Detroit Cobras show was?
If not GGW...Dave Grohl? [/b]
He's like 5'7" [/b]
I'm hoping you mean 67"! :D
I was just trying to get bags going.
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Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by chaz:
Still no ideas as to who the mystery celeb at the Detroit Cobras show was?
If not GGW...Dave Grohl? [/b]
He's like 5'7" [/b]
I'm hoping you mean 67"! :D
I was just trying to get bags going. [/b]
The fonts on this board are screwy. There's an apostrophe between the 5 and the 7, you just can't see it. So, yes, he's about 67 inches tall.
What other musical celebrities hail from DC?
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Oh my, I think I have the vapors!
:D
I was just trying to get bags going. [/b][/quote]
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What other musical celebrities hail from DC? [/QB]
Marvin Gaye!
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EmmyLou Harris was valedictorian of her class at Woodbridge HS, but I bet it wasn't her that was at Iota.
What other musical celebrities hail from DC? [/QB]
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Didn't Robyn Hitchcock live in Northern VA?
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No worries, Mank. I never thought you cared about the hype -- trust me! Just love that phrase, DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!
That whole sister/brother and husband/wife crap is some of the stuff I think is silly and distracting. Whatever. If the kids enjoy it, go for it.
Originally posted by mankie:
Originally posted by Bagster:
No, they were married. You're believing the hype, Mank!
Actually bags, I couldn't give a badgers bum about any hype...[/b]
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Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
What other musical celebrities hail from DC? [/b]
Aretha Franklin, she's big.
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Todd Rundgren (I thnk)
Could it be the singer from Carbon Leaf? I think I remember him being tall.
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One comment on the Post review- It says Jack White needs to learn to be more of a showman to play the bigger venues. But he seems to have learned the first rule of showmanship- always leave them wanting more.
The set was certainly on the lower key side. I was especially happy to hear One More Cup of Coffee. The set could have used another rave-up like Astro/Jack the Ripper to really get things going . . . Too bad they didn't play another night in DC.
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The singer from Last Train Home is tall, and they were in town for the Escovedo benefit.
But then again, they aint thay big, and he aint that handsome.
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Anyone have a set list for this show?
I thought the show was excellent, but I agree with most of the comments that there was something lacking... I put the blame on both the audience and Jack. The audience was way too apathetic. I think it's the college crowd. They'll attend any concert on campus because it's convenient, not necessarily because they are a real fan of the performer. Plus they have nothing better to do than get in line, so they got all the spots nearest the stage. Someone else mentioned that there were a lot of young, first-time concert-goers, and I have to agree. At the same time, I think Jack could have done more to get the audience going. He barely acknowledged the crowd until the final song, and he and Meg often didn't give the audience time to even applaud before going into the next song. That said, I enjoyed the heck out of it, and there were definitely some fans there that were just as excited as I was, but a lot of people were just standing around.
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Is this the Detroit Cobras mystery celeb that you saw being photographed?
<img src="http://pages.ivillage.com/kristinab71/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/Wiggles1.jpg.w300h256.jpg" alt=" - " />
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a wiggle at the detroit cobras? well he's famous in a crowd i don't hang with thats for sure... least he has good taste in music. :D
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Last night I took my daughter to the Wiggles and it hit me that he might be the guy, but I didn't get a good long look at him at IOTA.
Kosmo, does this look like the guy you saw being photographed?
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i only got a good look at him from the side, but i think you may be right on the id. according to wiggles website he's 6 foot 3 which fits as well.
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I wish i'd put all together when i was at iota. I guess i didn't recognize him without his guitar and singing "Fruit salad, Yummy yummy". I would have told him I was taking my daughter to their show!
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it's a shame markie wasn't on his third or fourth newcastle brown, we would have found out for sure...
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Never heard of the Wiggles unti lthe last week or so. As a future parent, are they worthwhile childrens fare, or should they be avoided?
Some cool artists are actually putting out cool childrens music...Iota has matinee shows for the kiddies...
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they look evil to me...i wouldnt want my kids near them.....
<img src="http://www.harpercollins.com.au/news/wiggles.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Never heard of the Wiggles unti lthe last week or so. As a future parent, are they worthwhile childrens fare, or should they be avoided?
Some cool artists are actually putting out cool childrens music...Iota has matinee shows for the kiddies...
Well the Wiggles are better than much of what's out there and my little girl really digs them. I'd say they are ok...Much better than Barney or most of the mainstream kids stuff. When we saw them live they seemed like pretty cool guys....putting in some pretty good jokes for the parents too. You could see they were cracking themselves up at times, obviously well aware that what they do for a living is totally ridiculous.
I recently got my daughter a cd by Dan Zanes of the Del Fuegos. He's been put out a few kids records and we all really like it. When it's over she says "Daddy, I want more". Loads better than anything else I've heard for kids. I also heard recently the the guy from They Might be Giants is doing some kids records but haven't heard them.
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The Wiggles did actually start off as a serious rock band.
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Yeah, I had heard about the Dan Zanes record. Jason Ringenberg of Jason and the Scorcers also has one out with a farm theme.
Originally posted by chaz:
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Never heard of the Wiggles unti lthe last week or so. As a future parent, are they worthwhile childrens fare, or should they be avoided?
Some cool artists are actually putting out cool childrens music...Iota has matinee shows for the kiddies...
Well the Wiggles are better than much of what's out there and my little girl really digs them. I'd say they are ok...Much better than Barney or most of the mainstream kids stuff. When we saw them live they seemed like pretty cool guys....putting in some pretty good jokes for the parents too. You could see they were cracking themselves up at times, obviously well aware that what they do for a living is totally ridiculous.
I recently got my daughter a cd by Dan Zanes of the Del Fuegos. He's been put out a few kids records and we all really like it. When it's over she says "Daddy, I want more". Loads better than anything else I've heard for kids. I also heard recently the the guy from They Might be Giants is doing some kids records but haven't heard them. [/b]
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The Ispy award of the week goes to chaz...
It's a Wiggy, Giggly Wiggles World
By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 26, 2003; Page C01
Most of the crowd is in tears, or screaming, or so overwhelmed they don't know where they are. Something close to hysteria reigns here at MCI Center on Monday night, the kind of fevered commotion that every rock band dreams of stirring. But there's something very strange about the tumult, and it's this: The concert hasn't started. Not a note has been heard. It'll be another 20 minutes before the music even starts.
What kind of band has fans wailing in the lobby? The kind worshiped by 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. The Wiggles, to be specific, a tirelessly sweet-natured quartet of Australian men who've become the Fab Four of toddlers. Now on a month-long tour of the United States, the group stopped in Washington to play four shows for a total of 30,000 kiddies and bedraggled parents who paid $20 and up for tickets.
To most adults, the Wiggles will look like nothing more than cheery middle-aged men in bright shirts, singing and dancing to instantly annoying tunes such as "Do the Owl" and "Vegetable Soup." Preschoolers, on the other hand, see something riveting, though exactly what they see is hard to say. Or rather, the tykes on Monday are having a hard time putting it into words.
Why do you like the Wiggles, Seth Hartson?
"Five!" he shouts.
"He's not 5," says his mom, shaking her head.
"Because I'm 1!" he counters. Of course, he's not 1, either.
"What do you like about them, Seth?" mom asks, hoping for better.
"Two!" This, apparently, is Seth's final offer because he grins and turns his back.
This won't be news to parents, but debriefing a child under 3 is a lot like cross-examining someone who is insane or tripping on acid. So how about you, Helena Weisskopf, in the soft-serve ice cream line? Why do you like the Wiggles?
"Because I'm Bambi!" she says.
Because I'm Bambi?
"Noooooo," she says, exasperated. "Because I'm Bambi."
For the record, Bambi has nothing to do with the Wiggles, though the group brings along a handful of recurring characters, including Wags the Dog and a chipper pirate called Captain Feathersword. But at the heart of this cash-guzzling, multimedia machine are Murray Cook, Anthony Field, Greg Page and Jeff Fatt, all between the ages of 31 and 50, who formed the Wiggles in 1991 and have since sold about 11 million CDs and videos. On this U.S. tour alone, they'll play before 250,000 people.
Long beloved in Australia, the group came to the attention of U.S. audiences as the opening act for Barney, the famously pummel-worthy purple dinosaur. Then last January, the Disney Channel picked up the Wiggles' half-hour TV show -- a gentle assemblage of skits, dancing and songs -- and the program now runs about three times a day. Moms and dads have been mercilessly badgered for Wiggles' merchandise ever since.
The group was formed by three friends who met in an early childhood education program at a university in Sydney. They wanted to be teachers, and for a while two of them were. But they also played music -- a pair were in a band called the Cockroaches -- and what they learned in college about the 3-year-old brain they began to apply to their songwriting.
"It's not just that they know less, they think quite differently," says Murray Cook, who chatted for a couple minutes in MCI Center's press room before the show on Monday. "You really have to focus on them more, because they're really egocentric. The world revolves around them, so a lot of the stuff we do is to empower them. A lot of it is interactive, songs that have things for them to do."
Cook, who is well over 6 feet 4 inches takes the Wiggles seriously without seeming humorless or deadly earnest. He and his band mates -- yes, they play instruments -- can do corny without irony, and they all appear genuinely amused by the antics of their audience, which is why their act never seems at all creepy. Cook, for one, enjoys being a celebrity to people who think he lives in the television, or don't understand what perspiration is.
"When I go out into the audience, usually the kids just say things like 'Why are you wet?' Once a kid said to me, 'You're melting!' "
When he has a night off he tries to check out up-and-comers, such as the Strokes.
"I went to see the Detroit Cobras on Saturday at Iota," he says, naming a pretty obscure garage band. "They were great."
As promised, the show on Monday night is interactive, and it happens on a stage that is surprisingly low-tech, nothing more than a couple of brightly colored inflatables that could have come from a Dr. Seuss moon bounce. The Wiggles, each in his signature colored shirt, jog on stage with the glad-to-meet-ya energy of real estate agents. They sing about mashed bananas. They do the monkey, a dance that has everyone, parents included, shaking and giggling. They introduce Wags, Feathersword and others along with a troupe of six dancers, then go through routines that the kids know by heart. They have to scream to wake up Jeff, who is apparently stricken with narcolepsy and often pretends to fall asleep.
"Wake up Jeff!" the room shouts in unison.
Everyone is goofily ecstatic, or on the verge of a meltdown, and everybody is dancing without regard to how foolish they look. If you've ever seen a Grateful Dead crowd, you know what it looked like.
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Speaking of the Detroit Cobras
Detroit Cobras
The Detroit Cobras -- consisting of the kind of long- and greasy-haired guitarist, bassist and drummer who could have inspired Brownsville Station's "Smoking in the Boys Room," a black-clad, tough-girl guitarist and a husky-voiced female singer whose former occupations include butcher and stripper -- exude the cool of another era. And if it isn't quite the prime late-'60s Detroit epoch of MC5, Creem magazine and the Stooges they evoke, this Motor City quintet still stands knee-deep in urban grit, dredging rock and soul nuggets from Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, the Marvelettes and British mod icons the Action. And after nearly seven years of existence, they've proudly never written an original song.
The Cobras didn't break that string at Iota Saturday night, they just emitted raw, smoky, steamy bar-band vigor. And by the time they finished cutting through Otis Redding's "Shout Bamalama," Iota was as close to a beer-drenched back-alley dive as increasingly yuppiefied Clarendon is likely to conjure.
Singer Rachel Nagy is the swaying head of the Cobras -- her exotic good looks and pack-a-day rasp make her a natural rock-and-roll centerpiece -- but the group's real drive comes from drummer Kenny Tudrick and guitarist Maribel Restrepo, whose call-and-response vocals and instrumental engine on songs like "Right Around the Corner" and Mickey Lee Lane's "Hey Sailor" were nearly delirious. Despite not rocking long into the night, the Cobras' hour-long set was invigorating and the perfect antidote to anyone suffering from the wearying warbles of too many singer-songwriters.
-- Patrick Foster
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
I love this bit, truer words have not been spoken of late...
Detroit Cobras
Despite not rocking long into the night, the Cobras' hour-long set was invigorating and the perfect antidote to anyone suffering from the wearying warbles of too many singer-songwriters.
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Great line, considering they played at Iota, home of the warbly singer-songwriters (and some fantastic shows as well....hello Fleshtones!).