Friday

Yo Dawg, That Was Kind of Pitchy for Me

bonosinging

So continuing on from yesterday where I mentioned that I get mildly irked by products that claim to be one flavour (pear) but in reality are a different one all together (apple)... Last night was just such a case.

For those of you not familiar with Classic Albums Live, it's essentially your favorite albums done from start to finish by a cover band whose sole purpose is to sound exactly like the original. I was lucky enough to have attended Led Zepplin's Houses of the Holy a couple of months ago. Fantastic. It was Led Zepplin. It was freaky. So, assuming that all of the concerts in the series were going to be just as good, it was with much effort that I dragged my tired ass to The Phoenix to catch the cover of Joshua Tree. I did not want to miss it for the world.

It started off great. With the opening riffs of Where the Streets Have No Name, you could feel the excitment and anticipation of the crowd...

Aaaand Theeeeeeeeeeeeeen...

So, much like the "it says it's pear flavoured but it is really apple" Bacardi cooler from MiXture... so too was this a case of something claiming to be one flavour (Bono/U2) but was, in reality, something completely different (Geddy Lee/Rush).

geddylee

There is a reason why U2 is beloved around the world whereas Rush is enjoyed by like 5 people in Canada.

Anyway, despite the fact that this Danny Williams character seemed to consistently forget:

a) That he was supposed to sound like Bono and not inject his own sound and nuances into the songs. In all fairness to him, there were a few times when, if you closed your eyes and blocked his mullet from your mind, you could almost hear a tiny bit of Bono among the notes... but those were few and far between.
b) The words to even the most well known U2 songs.
c) That he was NOT the star of the show and people did not pay to come and hear HIM sing...

... It was a really good show. Kudos to the band (and especially a certain guitarist that the roomie seemed particularily mesmerized by...) for pulling the whole show together. At least they knew what they were supposed to be sounding like.

And here we are, the long weekend almost upon us. I need to recharge badly after two late nights in a row. I have a date tonight... with my couch... and perhaps a certain team of marionettes with a penchant for blowing up important cultural monuments. Also, as it seems that my loss of mojo has also come with an inability to read a calendar and/or movie listings... THIS weekend will be the Star Wars weekend. May the force be with me.

Bea

4 comments:

Cascadia said...

What is it about Rush? They drive me up the freakin' wall. I had to stop listening to the Q because they played way to much Rush. Okay, well, one Rush song is way too much for me, but I digress...

mollyblogger said...

I think being mesmerized by the cute "shredder" guitarist was useful. I barely noticed the singer, except to note that he bore a striking resemblance to my January/February stalker Rod... (or Todd as you like to call him).

Trish said...

I've always appreciated bands that cover bands that no longer exist. The Doors, Zepplin, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis... those make sense to me. But tribute bands for bands that are still touring? That makes me scratch my head.

Beatrice Petty said...

I appreciate cover bands when they SOUND like the band they are covering.

I forgot to mention that he lip synched as well-- some of the higher notes (the keyboardist was actually the one singing). Now THAT made me scratch my head!