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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: ggw on September 30, 2003, 01:19:00 pm
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CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK
Back Together, for Better or Worse
By JON PARELES
Published: September 29, 2003
Back in 1968, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel imagined themselves at the unthinkable age of 70 and sang, "Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." Those men, now 61, have also preserved something far more marketable: their once-a-decade reunions. Tickets have been moving fast for the Simon and Garfunkel "Old Friends" tour, which starts on Oct. 16 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and includes a three-night stand at Madison Square Garden Dec. 2 to 4.
It is another rush of nostalgia for baby boomers, particularly those who didn't hear the duo's rusty, dragged-out versions of the old songs in concert in 1993 as I did. Etched into vinyl, their 1960's songs defy time for musicians and fans as unchanging artifacts of younger days â?? much younger days, when people actually admitted to "feelin' groovy." The closer the pair sound to their early recordings, the more they help recollections eclipse reality, the happier the fans will be. A reunion tour provides a payoff for suspending artistic development.
Simon and Garfunkel are not the only ones offering fans a wishful dip into the fountain of youth. Other reunions this fall include a tour by Duran Duran, an Iggy Pop album including new songs he recorded with the Stooges (who played some incendiary reunion gigs over the summer) and a cozy new album from the female folk-rock band the Bangles. Fleetwood Mac has been touring with a near-reunion of its best-selling lineup â?? only Christine McVie is missing â?? and has new songs about trying to rekindle old loves. And the cast of "A Mighty Wind," the mockumentary about 1960's folk bands, has been performing what might be considered a metareunion, harking back to hits that never were.
Reunions are staples of the concert business. Pop memories renew themselves every time someone hears an oldie on the radio or pulls a favorite album off the shelf. Put enough time between a breakup and a reunion, or even a reunion and another reunion, and a reappearance is as close as a concert promoter can get to a sure thing. Since there is always the chance that a reunion will turn out to be a one-shot, like the brief sets by the Police, Talking Heads and Cream for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, concert dates can be sold like a combination greatest-hits and farewell tour. And if some apparent one-shots â?? the Sex Pistols reunion, Kiss in full makeup â?? are then repeated, well, caveat emptor.
For a ticket buyer, a reunion tour presents more certainty than the latest swing through town by a regular working band. Since groups that have to reunite have not been cranking out albums steadily, there is a higher percentage of well-remembered songs to play onstage. A reunion skips those difficult years between precocious inspiration and the smartened-up taste of the present. Nostalgia, no matter how affectionate, has a way of winnowing a set list.
A hit-making name is a lucrative trademark that can linger beyond the grave. This year's Doors reunion tour, with Ian Astbury doing his Jim Morrison impression, included only two out of three surviving Doors, and the old arrangements were punched up with extra musicians. But fans applauded, and the band insisted it was working on new songs. The video ghost of Elvis Presley was reunited with his old band members a few years ago, and in October a video Frank Sinatra is to be reanimated with his old arrangements live at Radio City Music Hall.
Even a non-hit-making group like the briefly reunited Mission of Burma can draw a crowd because its songs have had a long, cultish afterlife. Given the choice between never seeing a vanished band and seeing its reunion, there is always hope that the old spark will return.
Sometimes it does. Elvis Costello's 2002 reunion with three-quarters of the Attractions, renamed the Imposters and playing with predatory dynamics, cut the slack out of his songwriting. Joe Jackson's recent tour with his lean but unstoppable late-1970's band stoked his combativeness and his rhythmic kick. Both reunions showed the most auspicious sign: they generated full albums of new songs, proving that the musicians were willing to engage one another instead of just learn the old parts.
The frictions that tear bands apart the first time around can give reunions a fascinating overlay of psychodrama; tension can make for high-stakes music or bad comedy. But old reflexes can also cause musicians to be professional and nothing more, pretending to be their younger selves minus the promising futures. Then it is up to the audience to suspend disbelief and sing along as if it were yesteryear.
But here is a critic's proposal: Every band should be allowed one reunion, no more. If things work out and the reunited band becomes a going concern, so much the better. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, winding up their tour with three shows this week at Shea Stadium, have spurred one another to some of the best music of their careers since reuniting in 1999. Steely Dan's brain trust, those persnickety songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, reunited in 1993 to start touring again; they have stayed together and honed a band that they consider good enough to back them in the studio.
At their best, reunions can remind musicians and fans what they saw in each other in the first place. And if not â?? well, the audience always has the songs, and the memories.
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Stone Roses = Good
Everyone else = Bad
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I really liked the Mission of Burma show. They broke up because the guitarist's hearing was so bad. Now they have that somewhat in control and they had all kept playing so it is not like they were out of musical form.
Sex Pistols, had to go. It was great, I was cynical from the start but they won me over. Best line "Spare tires (tyres?) are sexy".
What of bands like the Rolling Stones, The Who, or Cher who keep doing "Last tour ever" shows. You go they do another boom you were scammed.
Good:
Stone Roses (if this happens)
PiL (with Jah and Keith)
My Bloody Valentine (or is this just a long hiatus?)
Bad:
Simon and whats-his-name
The Grateful Dead (Jerry was that band man)
Most 50s acts (who is left in them?)
and any band with fewer than 1/2 the original famous line-up.
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I'm all for reunion tours. I've had great luck this year with Joe Jackson, Sex Pistols, and even Styx/REO Speedwagon/Journey (which was purely for sentimental fun -- I felt like I was 13 again, belting out those radio hits). I'm considering Simon & Garfunkel, though those ticket prices may keep me from going.
And if it's a reunion I'm not interested in, I won't go.
Occasionally it's sad, when the band itself and each individual member seems pretty spent. But often enough it's either nostalgic fun or newly inspiring.
Also, I don't think reunion tours hurt other touring bands. Most people I know who'd go to Duran Duran don't see other shows anyhow. Or, they're like me and see lots, regardless of a $30 or $40 ticket here and there for some old geezers.
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Sex Pistols = Bad
Pixies = Good
Stone Roses = come on, they were never really THAT good.
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I missed the Pistols, but I did see their punk brethren, the Buzzcocks. And I had to conclude that punk reunion tours are generally not a very good idea. Punk was so much about the moment, and when you take that away, all you've got left are a bunch of catchy pop songs played without much energy to a crowd that no longer cares enough to dance very hard.
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I'm of a mixed mind on the punk reunion tours -- Sex Pistols were a lot of fun. Black Flag (if that can really be called a reunion tour) was excellent. Dead Kennedys and Misfits were just campy.
Mission of Burma was also top notch. But a large part of that is that the music stands up to time a lot better than some of the other bands.
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Dr. Doom, where'd you see the Buzzcocks? I saw them open for Pearl Jam, and that was *not* good. At the time I thought much of it had to do with how long the drive to Nissan was, so the crowd was really sparse, making them seem so far away and screwing up the energy of the performance.
I missed their show in Baltimore, though.
For the record, their show in 1993 at the old 9:30 Club is, to this day, one of the best shows I've ever seen.
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Originally posted by SPIN:
Sex Pistols = Bad
Pixies = Good
Stone Roses = come on, they were never really THAT good.
Btitain 0, America 1?
Were you at the sex pistols show?
The stone roses first album is one of the best albums ever in my opinion, dont know if they were much good live. The one person I know who saw them said he couldnt hear the vocals and that they were pretty mediocre.
how can you jydge the pixies will be good before it happens?
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Originally posted by Bubba:
Originally posted by SPIN:
Sex Pistols = Bad
Pixies = Good
Stone Roses = come on, they were never really THAT good.
Btitain 0, America 1?
Were you at the sex pistols show?
The stone roses first album is one of the best albums ever in my opinion, dont know if they were much good live. The one person I know who saw them said he couldnt hear the vocals and that they were pretty mediocre.
how can you jydge the pixies will be good before it happens? [/b]
I wasnt at the just recently past Sex Pistols reunion show, but i did see them a while back in Toronto at thier "MGD Blind Date" show and they were dumb, and Johnny got mad and left cause people were booing them. pretty sad.
I THINK the Pixies will be a good reunion tour, obviously i dont know for sure.
And i just think the Stone Roses are worse than Guns N Roses. (IMHO)
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Originally posted by SPIN:
I wasnt at the just recently past Sex Pistols reunion show, but i did see them a while back in Toronto at thier "MGD Blind Date" show and they were dumb, and Johnny got mad and left cause people were booing them. pretty sad.
I THINK the Pixies will be a good reunion tour, obviously i dont know for sure.
And i just think the Stone Roses are worse than Guns N Roses. (IMHO)
Isn't that MGD Blind Date thing where the fans thought Hootie would play? Sounds like a Sex Pistols friendly crowd. Hostile crowds normally make for great shows right.
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it was actually a Molson Canadian Blind Date show (my mistake) and not only did they suck, but they had JUST played in Toronto the week before, they played a wimpy one hour set, or that I think most people expected Tool to play. at least that was the rumour.
not Hootie :)
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I saw them at the new 9:30 club. The crowd wasn't sparse, but it wasn't very energetic, either. I noticed this lack of energy at another punk reunion show recently, very striking to anyone who saw original punk bands "back in the day" when such shows were frenzied insanity. My girlfriend said she thought it had something to do with the fact that back then, most of the peeps in the crowd had not yet gotten laid.
But so lack of crowd energy did have something to do with it. But also, they sounded tired.
Originally posted by bags:
Dr. Doom, where'd you see the Buzzcocks? I saw them open for Pearl Jam, and that was *not* good. At the time I thought much of it had to do with how long the drive to Nissan was, so the crowd was really sparse, making them seem so far away and screwing up the energy of the performance.
I missed their show in Baltimore, though.
For the record, their show in 1993 at the old 9:30 Club is, to this day, one of the best shows I've ever seen.
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Would be great reunions:
The Pogues
Talking Heads
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
And of course the Pixies
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Originally posted by SPIN:
I wasnt at the just recently past Sex Pistols reunion show, but i did see them a while back in Toronto at thier "MGD Blind Date" show and they were dumb, and Johnny got mad and left cause people were booing them. pretty sad.
I THINK the Pixies will be a good reunion tour, obviously i dont know for sure.
And i just think the Stone Roses are worse than Guns N Roses. (IMHO)
the pistols were good here.......
you dont like the stone roses or GnR, but you like radiohead? Curious.
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Saw the Stone Roses play what is now the 9:30 club. They were brilliant (this was the second coming tour). They did an acoustic set in the middle, played top notch for 1 1/2 hours (no opener) then no encore. I didn't feel cheated in the least. They could play live, if you can't hear the vocals don't blame the band it is either (a) sound guy's fault or (b) where you are standing.
Sex Pistols was because I could never have been there the first time. They played tight here, were having fun, and of course you don't expect the audience of 30-somethings or higher to have the engergy of 16-18 year olds. Heard about the blind date show, people thought it was Hootie and so started to boo and the rest. Not their crowd.
I don't expect to relive the day with a reunion show, anyone who does will usually be bummed.
Oh, and I would go to a Happy Mondays reunion. Bez would have to be there though.
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Yeah, with the Buzzcocks I wasn't expecting to relive the day either, but I was expecting something special. And it just wasn't. I've seen other reunion shows that were amazing (Bauhaus comes to mind) so I know it doesn't have to be that way. But more often than not, it is.
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Just saw The Cure on the Craig Kilborn show a couple times the past couple of weeks and I was very surprised with them. They still sounded fresh and looked good. Well, as good as you can imagine Robert possibly looking. He's a little puffy now but has been for decades. The other guys looked good, from what I could tell from the camera angles. Most importantly, the music very oddly, did not sound dated. It was played very well and still seemed relavant. After that surprise, I'd now like to see their show.
For the record, I love the Stone Roses. ;)
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Originally posted by Barcelona:
Would be great reunions:
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
Great call... a band that included future Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison and future Cars Drummer David Robinson.
How about The Runaways
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How much frickin' fun would a Runaways show be!?! Teach those namby pamby Donnas and such what is *really* going on!
Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
Originally posted by Barcelona:
Would be great reunions:
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
How about The Runaways [/b]
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Originally posted by Doctor Doom:
I've seen other reunion shows that were amazing (Bauhaus comes to mind) so I know it doesn't have to be that way. But more often than not, it is.
I second that.Bauhaus was easily the best reunion tour i have ever witnessed.And i would've paid just to see the crowd at that one.It really brought em out of the woodwork.
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Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
Originally posted by Barcelona:
Would be great reunions:
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
Great call... a band that included future Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison and future Cars Drummer David Robinson.
[/b]
Plus, at one point, half of Robin Lane's band, the Chartbusters. But it will probably never happen.
I saw Richman solo a few years ago at the old Palms Playhouse in Davis, CA (which held about 80 people, so interaction with the performers was very close). Asked him about a reunion. Stare. Shakes head. Rolls eyes. Asked for "Roadrunner." Stare. Shakes head. Rolls eyes. Someone bailed me out by requesting Rod Stewart, for a goof, and he broke into a perfect first eight bars or so of "Maggie May."
Riveting show, though.
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I have to agree with wanting to see the Happy Mondays.
The one I would pay $50-100 to see is Pink Floyd. If only Roger Waters and David Gilmour could get over it and reunite the band.
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Originally posted by G.Love:
I have to agree with wanting to see the Happy Mondays.
The one I would pay $50-100 to see is Pink Floyd. If only Roger Waters and David Gilmour could get over it and reunite the band.
I've seen them a couple times and they were very good. Better yet, once was before Dark Side Of The Moon and the next was when DSOTM was just released and way before all the mainstream burnouts had ever heard of them. Each time was at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore which is supposedly accoustically perfect and a great venue for their kind of music. Granted, not a party atmosphere but great for spacing out to a very cerebral band.
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Originally posted by bags:
How much frickin' fun would a Runaways show be!?! Teach those namby pamby Donnas and such what is *really* going on!
and the Datsuns, Kings of Leon...
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Originally posted by Jaguär: once was before Dark Side Of The Moon and the next was when DSOTM was just released and way before all the mainstream burnouts had ever heard of them. Each time was at the Lyric Theatre in Baltimore[/QB]
Was either concert comparable to the Wall concert in terms of pageantry?
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Pageantry? Were they prancing around in powdered wigs and buckled shoes?
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No. This was when it was all about the music and nothing about theatrics. Just a group of geeky long haired guys onstage with a bunch of computer-like equipement and a few traditional instruments. They did use some cool stage lighting but that was about the extent of the visual play. I think they may have had some backdrop visuals but nothing out of the ordinary though it wasn't the most common thing used at that time. Hard to remember most of it now since it was so long ago. Alzheimer's kicks in, ya know. :D )
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That sounds pretty cool. I'm really into that geeky electronic equipment. A friend of mine has a basement studio full of that stuff.
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Originally posted by thirsty moore:
That sounds pretty cool. I'm really into that geeky electronic equipment. A friend of mine has a basement studio full of that stuff.
This was a whole stage full. You would have loved it!
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Originally posted by SPARX:
I second that.Bauhaus was easily the best reunion tour i have ever witnessed.And i would've paid just to see the crowd at that one.It really brought em out of the woodwork.
heh... it was funny that the 9:30 club was noticeably darker that night owing to all the light being absorbed by all the black-wearing goths in attendance.
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Originally posted by thirsty moore:
Pageantry? Were they prancing around in powdered wigs and buckled shoes?
i do that.
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Originally posted by Doctor Doom:
Originally posted by SPARX:
I second that.Bauhaus was easily the best reunion tour i have ever witnessed.And i would've paid just to see the crowd at that one.It really brought em out of the woodwork.
heh... it was funny that the 9:30 club was noticeably darker that night owing to all the light being absorbed by all the black-wearing goths in attendance. [/b]
True, I was impressed they all still fit their goth duds. I was scared of bumping into anyone and getting lots of white foundation make-up all over me. Great show though.
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I think reunion shows can be fun if they're not overdone and they don't continue to tour without putting out something new.
I saw the Pistols too and they were great, despite the irony in the Pistols doing such a tour.
I saw the Who on their reunion tour in 1989, and wasn't expecting much since Pete was playing acoustic guitar and couldn't hear, and the band hasd extra musicians. i was afraid it would be a Vegas lounge act. But it totally rocked. They played for about four hours (including a break) and played 40 songs (we counted). Now, i also saw them last year after Entwistle died and is was still really good (and Pete was playing electric guitar this time) but it seemed odd that they had nothing new to play.
I would definitley go see Led Zeppelin if they reformed, esp. with someone like Dave Grohl drumming
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Originally posted by tooms:
I think reunion shows can be fun if they're not overdone and they don't continue to tour without putting out something new.
Are you sure about that? As fun as the Styx/REO Speedwagon/Journey show was, all the new stuff each band played SUCKED. Some bands should stick to their hits.
Originally posted by tooms:
I would definitley go see Led Zeppelin if they reformed, esp. with someone like Dave Grohl drumming
SHIT yeah!! Oh man, now you've got me all hot and bothered about a Zep/Grohl show. Somebody hose me down!
;)
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the smiths.
very good.
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On priciple I would not see Led Zepplin if John Paul Jones is not on tour with them. He is the bomb. Without him on mellotron and bass you don't have the band. Was pissed that they played without him a bit back as Led Zep.
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not sure where to put this news, so i dug up this old thread: Review: Spandau Ballet turn the clock back 20 years to the 80s for comeback concert (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1220246/Spandau-Ballet-turn-clock-20-years-comeback-concert.html)
I would definitley go see Led Zeppelin if they reformed, esp. with someone like Dave Grohl drumming
On priciple I would not see Led Zepplin if John Paul Jones is not on tour with them. He is the bomb. Without him on mellotron and bass you don't have the band. Was pissed that they played without him a bit back as Led Zep.
how timely!
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Anybody go to Bob Mould?
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Anybody go to Bob Mould?
Mary J. Bilge
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Mary J. Bilge
RIP
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not sure where to put this news, so i dug up this old thread: Review: Spandau Ballet turn the clock back 20 years to the 80s for comeback concert (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1220246/Spandau-Ballet-turn-clock-20-years-comeback-concert.html)
OMG OMG OMG HEY SETHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
(Also, Magazine needs to play the US. They've been doing reunion shows all over the UK all year.)
And the big reunion that needs to happen is Talk Talk. F'real.
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not sure where to put this news, so i dug up this old thread: Review: Spandau Ballet turn the clock back 20 years to the 80s for comeback concert (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1220246/Spandau-Ballet-turn-clock-20-years-comeback-concert.html)
Bump.
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Bump