The hook did not, in fact, bring us back
Feb. 23rd, 2018 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miladygreyBlues Traveler--Yeats' most favorite band in the world, and a band I have grown to like due to being married to him--was in town last night on their 30th anniversary tour, so we went to the show with happy expectations. We saw them three or four years ago last time they came through, and a fun time was had by all.
The venue is a nice club, but for some reason, they decided to make the concert GA/standing room only, with very limited seating options. Yeats and I staked out some wall space early on as opposed to paying the $25 upgrade for seating way far back and above the stage. Opening act was four youngish men named (I think) Los Colognes. Their piano playing was amazing. Their bass player was excellent. The guitarist and the vocalist's guitar playing were terrific. The vocalist...had a range of maaaaaaybe one octave, and really loved his fast-car metaphors. But that was okay, because we were waiting on Blues Traveler.
Now, BT is pretty well known for smoking weed now and then, so I wasn't really bothered (aside from coughing) when I smelled pot smoke during the interval before they came out. They came out, there was cheering, they did two songs. Then two of the guys broke into a guitar jam session, while John Popper the vocalist and Chan the guitarist ducked backstage. And a lot--a lot of smoke was wafting up from backstage. They came back, did two or three more songs, including "Runaround". I noticed John was singing the song in a...rather different key than it's customarily in, but he's said that his vocal range has downshifted as he ages, so that's understandable.
Another guitar jam began, John and Chan vanished again, more smoke. They came back out. They did "Devil Went Down to Georgia", which sounded great musically, but John was kind of slurring and not enunciating a lot of words. This continued through two or three more songs, and reached a point where I knew the songs that were being played, but if I hadn't already known the lyrics, I wouldn't have had any idea what he was saying.
And then John made a long, rambling speech about the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, and introduced the guitarist from Los Colognes "for a jam!" Guitars start wailing, and he and Chan vanish backstage. Again. At this point, my feet hurt, my back hurt like whoa, the smoke and feedback were starting to get to me, and people were pinning me against the wall as they tried to get shots of the stage. When Yeats put his hand on my shoulder, leaned in, and said "This is not good, you want to get out of here?", I said "Yes please." We left before intermission.
Yeats was (and is) honestly upset. He confirmed that both John and Chan were really, really high and only half-assing their performance, leaving the other guys in the band and the Colognes guys to carry the slack. He's seen Blues Traveler something like a dozen times, and says this is the first time he's ever seen them perform like they don't care. He feels let down. I don't have the close fannish relationship with the band he does, but I like concerts and live music, and I don't like showing up and cheering for a band only to get one-half of the band, incoherent songs, and a smoke-fug headache.
Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Saturday we are driving up to PA to see Ellis Paul, who is 100% guaranteed not to get high as balls during a concert. And Sunday we are seeing "The Dark Crystal" in a theater, and my nerd glee is unalloyed.
Reading Log: The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden; Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks; Silverlock by John Myers Myers
The venue is a nice club, but for some reason, they decided to make the concert GA/standing room only, with very limited seating options. Yeats and I staked out some wall space early on as opposed to paying the $25 upgrade for seating way far back and above the stage. Opening act was four youngish men named (I think) Los Colognes. Their piano playing was amazing. Their bass player was excellent. The guitarist and the vocalist's guitar playing were terrific. The vocalist...had a range of maaaaaaybe one octave, and really loved his fast-car metaphors. But that was okay, because we were waiting on Blues Traveler.
Now, BT is pretty well known for smoking weed now and then, so I wasn't really bothered (aside from coughing) when I smelled pot smoke during the interval before they came out. They came out, there was cheering, they did two songs. Then two of the guys broke into a guitar jam session, while John Popper the vocalist and Chan the guitarist ducked backstage. And a lot--a lot of smoke was wafting up from backstage. They came back, did two or three more songs, including "Runaround". I noticed John was singing the song in a...rather different key than it's customarily in, but he's said that his vocal range has downshifted as he ages, so that's understandable.
Another guitar jam began, John and Chan vanished again, more smoke. They came back out. They did "Devil Went Down to Georgia", which sounded great musically, but John was kind of slurring and not enunciating a lot of words. This continued through two or three more songs, and reached a point where I knew the songs that were being played, but if I hadn't already known the lyrics, I wouldn't have had any idea what he was saying.
And then John made a long, rambling speech about the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, and introduced the guitarist from Los Colognes "for a jam!" Guitars start wailing, and he and Chan vanish backstage. Again. At this point, my feet hurt, my back hurt like whoa, the smoke and feedback were starting to get to me, and people were pinning me against the wall as they tried to get shots of the stage. When Yeats put his hand on my shoulder, leaned in, and said "This is not good, you want to get out of here?", I said "Yes please." We left before intermission.
Yeats was (and is) honestly upset. He confirmed that both John and Chan were really, really high and only half-assing their performance, leaving the other guys in the band and the Colognes guys to carry the slack. He's seen Blues Traveler something like a dozen times, and says this is the first time he's ever seen them perform like they don't care. He feels let down. I don't have the close fannish relationship with the band he does, but I like concerts and live music, and I don't like showing up and cheering for a band only to get one-half of the band, incoherent songs, and a smoke-fug headache.
Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Saturday we are driving up to PA to see Ellis Paul, who is 100% guaranteed not to get high as balls during a concert. And Sunday we are seeing "The Dark Crystal" in a theater, and my nerd glee is unalloyed.
Reading Log: The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden; Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks; Silverlock by John Myers Myers
