From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V3 #235 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Wednesday, July 21 2004 Volume 03 : Number 235 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:11:01 +0100 (BST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Jim=20Crud?= Subject: Re: seven-seas OT***Don't be that guy/gal!***OT Ah, the Concert Fool is a pain in the arse........unless it happens to be me! It all depends on the extent of the 'lager frenzy'!! Jim "Theresa Y. Burrock" wrote: Ijust love this...at a recent Furs/Pleased show we came across the singing fool and the chick who had to work her way to the front....--- carlito way wrote: > Just One Request > Going to A Concert? Don't Play The Fool. > > By David Segal > Washington Post Staff Writer > Tuesday, July 20, 2004; Page C01 > > Nick Lowe has just finished 90 minutes of solo music > at the Birchmere, a set > that included all of his best-known songs -- except > one. The silver-haired > daddy of British pop hasn't played "(What's So Funny > 'Bout) Peace, Love & > Understanding," a track that he wrote and that > helped make Elvis Costello > famous in the 1970s. So everybody knows what's > coming when Lowe returns > to the stage for an encore. He strums the opening > chords and a ripple of > delight rolls through the room. > > Then stops. A man in a striped shirt has wobbled up > to the stage, a > hand-drawn sign in one hand, a drink in the other. > He edges so close to the > spotlight that Lowe has no choice but to ask what he > wants. > > "Zmmuphhmen," comes the reply. Or something like > that. Lowe looks baffled. > > "What?" he asks, politely. > > "Zmmuphhmen!" There's a Web address on the sign, and > Lowe gamely tries > to read it out loud. By now, whatever spell had > mesmerized this room is > gone, > replaced by confusion, which is soon replaced by > rage. All at once, fans > realize what has happened. Their joy has been killed > -- at least for the > moment -- by a Concert Fool. > > There is no escaping the Concert Fool. He (and every > once in a while, she) > is > the chronic carbuncle on the butt of rock, an > inflammation that makes it > hard > to really get comfortable. The Concert Fool is > either unglued by music, or > drunk, or unaware of the invisible line that > separates civilization > from anarchy. > Or aware of the line but past caring about it. > Mostly, the Concert Fool is > having a great time because these guys rawwwwk and > because it's a concert > and up top, dude. Rock and roll! > > Ultimately, the Concert Fool is confused. He > believes that the rules of > courtesy have been suspended during showtime, which > isn't exactly true. > Though it's not entirely false, either. At a typical > rock concert, you get > far > more leash than you do at, say, the theater or the > symphony. The Concert > Fool, however, misconstrues limited license for an > excuse to vomit on your > girlfriend's pants. > > Decorum at a rock concert is actually > venue-dependent; what will fly at the > 9:30 club, where bands skew loud and young, will get > you tossed from the > Birchmere, where the acts are generally quieter and > pitched to adults. You > need to sit down and zip it at the Birchmere and > halls like it, which seems > proper for a singer like Nick Lowe, whose > distorted-amp days are well behind > him. But even at 9:30 -- as well as the Black Cat, > MCI Center, Merriweather > Post and other venues -- you need a set of manners, > even if those manners > fall somewhere between the standards of decency for > a baseball game and > the standards of decency for a kegger. Most fans > settle comfortably within > that fairly broad range, finding a way to exult in > the show without > thrashing > the collective buzz. > > The Concert Fool, on the other hand, finds inventive > ways to annoy. A wide > variety stalk the nation's pop venues, and during my > years as a pop-music > critic, I've seen them all. So here's a field guide > to what's out there -- a > taxonomy, if you will, of show-going morons. Avoid > them if you can. > > The Singer wants to the world to know he's got a > great voice. So he sings. > Really, really loud, during the lulls, during the > shrieks. All the time. > Fans of > James Mercer met a prime example of this genus of > Concert Fool last year at > Iota, when Mercer, the lead singer of the Shins, > closed a showcase for the > Seattle label Sub Pop. Toward the end of his set, > Mercer played "New Slang," > his most popular tune, but suddenly you could barely > hear the guy. A Singer > had chimed in -- eyes closed, shot glass hoisted -- > at a volume loud enough > to drown out the man everyone had paid to hear. > > The Reckless Smoker -- A cigarette is a dangerous > weapon around people > packed together tight. At a Guided by Voices show in > New York -- before that > glorious smoking ban went into effect -- fans were > so jammed one night at a > club called Tramps that you had to applaud with your > hands above your > head. This didn't stop a guy behind me from lighting > up -- and then singeing > some unlucky fan standing in front of him. "Sorry, > man," the Smoker said. No > doubt this made the burn victim feel a whole lot > better. > > The Angler -- They arrived late, and they don't want > to stand in the back. > So > the Anglers connive to get close to the stage, which > is tricky -- and rude > -- at > a show that's sold out. The most inventive Angler > I've seen waited till > right > before the first song and pretended to be on the > verge of vomiting as he > waded toward the lip of the stage. People leapt out > of his way. When he got > to the front, he just smiled. > > More recently, at a Bob Dylan show, a woman murmured > "That's my > husband" as she nudged her way to a place at a > forward section on the floor > of the 9:30 club. She slipped an arm around a tall > man and smiled as if > greeting her mate. Which he wasn't. The man gave her > a confounded look > and a polite brushoff. Why she thought this would > work is a mystery, but I > had > the sense it wasn't the first time she'd tried the > gambit. In this instance > she > retreated, muttering: "What a jerk." > > The Requestaholic -- They came for one song, and > they're going to hear that > song if it kills them. Which it nearly did at a > couple of Bruce > Springsteen's solo > shows during his "Ghost of Tom Joad" tour in 1996. > The Boss asked fans at > the outset not to shout for tunes, and in those > cities where the > Requestaholics > wouldn't stop, Springsteen threatened to ask fans > nearby to take matters > into > their own hands. > > For performers, you can imagine the frustration, > especially at a show for an > album like "Joad," which was somber and low-key. > Anyway, most set lists are > cooked up well before a tour hits the road, so > shouting is nearly always > pointless. It's just annoying. One of the few things > I remember about the > Steve Earle show at the 9:30 two years ago is a twit > who screamed > "Jackalope Eye!" at least 25 times over the course > of the show. Earle tried > to > shut him up by doing a belittling impersonation of > him. But the true > Requestaholic won't let a little humiliation get in > the way. > === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== - --------------------------------- ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - sooooo many all-new ways to express yourself ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V3 #235 ********************************