Still Rock and Roll to Me
Posted By Kathleen David on June 11, 2006
That was Ariel’s second live Rock concert. When she was 8 we took her to see “Cherry Popping Daddies” which is more big band swing than hard rock. She enjoyed Blondie but didn’t think much of the New Cars so I promised to play her some old Cars so she could compare the two.
The seats we had were wonderful corporate seating that came with a VIP pass to a lounge with a restroom with a much shorter line than the rest of the venue. The seats had a wait staff to get you what you wanted during the concert. Nice posh seats too with nice thick cushions to sit on. A big THANK YOU to Jo Duffy who thought of us for the tickers.
I had seen both Blondie and the Cars in the 80s. Debra Harry has not lost anything off her fastball as they say. It was entertaining and she was wonderful. Same punk attitude that I remember from oh so long ago. They saved “Heart of Glass” for last and the crowd roared their approval. She did get the crowd going and kept them in the palm of her hand for her part of the concert.
After a short intermission the new Cars performed. Todd Rundgren did a fine job but he was no Ric Ocasek. I think his voice was really bothering him to because he more spoke sung than sung the songs. I was so glad that the keyboardist Greg Hawkes was there because that made it the Cars for me at points and Elliot Easton still plays a mean guitar. They did some old stuff, some new stuff, and some of Todd’s stuff too. The crowd was dancing up a storm and singing along with them more so than with Blondie. I took Ariel home a little early since she was falling asleep so I didn’t hear what they did for an encore. I am glad I did since we missed some major road construction by about half an hour.
All during the concert I was have a trip down memory lane to other concerts I attended and worked over the years. I watched the crew switch over from one group to the next and appreciated the precision that they did it. There were the usual couple of sound problems to be dealt with but it was done quickly and the operator had my sympathies. I did put in my ear plugs so my hearing is just fine this morning. Only bad thing was some bad fruit that I ate which I regurgitated after we got home.
I am grateful that Ariel had fun at the concert.
I was waiting to hear what you thought of the concert. I’ve been a Cars fan since the late seventies when somebody on my dorm floor at college brought back an album by a new band he had just heard while up in Boston. I saw them in concert in ’81 or 82, and while I’ve enjoyed most of their studio work, it wasn’t a very exciting concert. Nothing wrong with the music; they just weren’t exciting on stage, especially compared to groups like The Police and the Kinks who I had also seen within months of that concert.
That said, I would have loved to go to a Cherry Poppin’ Daddies concert. Joe Straczynzki turned me on to them years ago while I was doing a Babylon 5 set visit and we got to talking about music during lunch one day, for which I am eternally grateful (for the suggestion, not the lunch). I still bring one of their albums along to the gym quite a lot and still enjoy it just as much as when I first heard it. If anybody enjoys a good swing band, I would recommend them without reservation.
You’re not the only one I’ve heard say that the Cars aren’t an exciting group to see live, Joe — my dad saw them back in the mid-80s and said much the same thing. Good music, not much stage presence.
Now Blondie — that’s a group I’d still be interested in seeing. Glad Ariel had such a good time, Kath.
TWL
Joe and Tim-
I guess the Cars are a good example of what I call a studio band. One that needs the studio to sound like the band unlike say Tom Petty who sounds in concert like he does on his records/Cds.
It’s not quite that, Kath, though I certainly agree with that assessment. Even if the music sounds the same, if it just sounds like there’s a jukebox up there playing Cars music the appeal is blunted. Bands need to add something in the presentation, whether it’s new musical riffs or just some really good patter.
Then again, after seeing Barenaked Ladies a couple of years back my bar for live bands has been set significantly higher. 🙂
TWL
Tim-
I had that bar raised WAY up a number of years ago when I went to see a Peter Gabriel concert that was close to a religious experience.
Kath
Oh, Peter Gabriel’s got to be way, way up there as well — we’ve seen him twice over the last decade or so and he’s terrific. That’s a different type of bar-raising, though I agree it’s a fantastic one. (I would not call a BNL show a religious experience, unless the religion is something involving the worship of anarchy. 🙂
Dar Williams is one of our go-to people for live shows as well, for a reason entirely different from the other two. If you haven’t seen her, you and Peter really should go sometime — and she’s based in NYC these days, so does a lot of relatively local shows. (Ariel would probably like her a bunch as well.)
TWL