face of glass
11-14-2003, 06:31 AM
Note: the writer is not drunk when he´s writing this and the concert didn´t involve any substances either. He blames it all on the music.
Note: "The night of the turd" is not a reference to FM, instead it reflects on my experience and my behaviour. ;)
I have to apologize to the American fans; this was my first FM gig so I don´t have the same memory for details that Tgee and Sodascouts have, for instance.
Ah yes, where to begin? Let it be stated that going to my first FM gig involved my first time in an airplane ever. Not too bad an experience, except my other ear went completely stuck during the landing. It didn´t affect the listening too much. From the Dusseldorf airport I got to a local train to Oberhausen. It was damn packed. After that I just went to the hotel, washed up, put on a bunch of new clothes that made me look like a mild rockabilly fan, and hid my cellphone integrated camera into my boot. There wasn´t time for anything else. Getting into the arena with the camera was easy. The security wasn´t too tight, they only checked the people with bags.
And then, the show itself. The setlist was the usual. My aunt supposedly got me great tickets, she told me so. No friggin´ way. The seat was on the side and it wasn´t too bad, but it could have been better. I should have been on the floor. I should´ve found out about things better beforehand. Then the band entered the stage with Mick waving his drumsticks in the air. I can´t remember a thing of the first few songs, they started with "The Chain" and I was just basically air-guitaring along and "singing" the lyrics with gusto. It did get the people going quite well, especially John´s spotlight and the outro section. "Welcome Oberhausen", Stevie cried.
"Dreams" comes along and the whole thing kinda halts. It´s weird how the gigs begin with the usual "let´s rock" - "let´s mellow out" pattern, and it goes on the same way until the acoustic section comes. And at this point, my "Lindsey-in-Australia-on-the-Tusk-tour" behaviour kicks in.
Let it be said now, that I acted nuttily and irresponsibly throughout the concert. I screamed and I yelled and I sung badly. Those that have heard my version of "When I See You Again" should know what I´m talking about. When I was seated I suddenly decided to stand up during the rockier songs and scream and jump my head off. The German audience wasn´t exactly excited at first, at least the ones on their seats, so I decided that if these people aren´t going to act out like they should, then I will. After all, no one gets overboard as well as an arrogant Finnish male. Man, was it ever awful for the others. They had to tap me on the back to sit down. I didn´t care about the other spectators, I only cared about the musicians and the music.
I suddenly decide that the whole thing can´t go on this way. The hell with it, they´re doing the same setlist and I´m sitting up here saying nothing? I decide to start mocking the whole show and the ridiculous theatrics it involves. First of all, I want to scream out the title of the song they´re starting to play next. After my obnoxious scream off comes "Eyes Of The World" and it gets the crowd going again, especially Lindsey´s solo (which is pretty much the same as before).
Then there´s "Peacekeeper". Lindsey starts giving out his speech. After that I instantly yell out "Hi Mom!", just to let Lindsey know that he´s not the only one who listens to Laurie Anderson and that he can´t fool everyone with this spontaneity. ;) He notices me after the scream (or at least I like to think so), but it doesn´t seem to bother him. Once again the movement is cut off and the crowd sits still in large parts of arena. Not even the "engine jet roar" before the final repetitions of the chorus can help. Lindsey touches the mic sexually at the end.
This time I actually try to get on the floor. A girl stops me and doesn´t let me go. "You have to sit where the ticket says". I bite my fist. A lot of male aggression in the air tonight.
"Second Hand News". At this point I forget my grand scheme and just enjoy the music, banging on the seat in front of me with my hands. The other hand actually still hurts from all that. This version of the song is pretty much interchangeable with the other versions played on this tour. And the same goes to a lot of the other songs, but I guess we all can expect that.
Now I can´t remember which came next, "Say You Will" or "Never Going Back Again". I guess I still don´t know the setlist well enough. ;) "Never Going Back Again" gets a big applause, as all Rumours´ songs do. The bits where Lindsey sings quietly are met with a few yells.
"This is a song from our new album 'Say You Will'. Yes, I said that. It´s called 'Say You Will'. She does the hand gestures which add a funny naivety to the song. She also plays air guitar during Lindsey´s solo.
"Rhiannon" and a big applause once again. They never really cut loose with it, but it still sounds great. Stevie adds the "weeeell, I don´t think you do" and "dream on silly dreamer" bits. I´m constantly playing the air guitar along with Lindsey.
For the next song my obnoxiousness reers its ugly head again. I start screaming "Come", "Come", like I was at a death metal concert or something. The people sitting behind me let out some laughter. Lindsey uses the usual hand-movements for this one. Brett adds a synth part that I haven´t heard before for the verses. Just before the loud section I turn to look at the people behind me and mouth with an evil grin: "Can you feel the fever?" The song gets a strong response. When Lindsey starts tearing his guitar to bits at the end it´s stadium-rock excesses at their best. He woks on this one, seriously. Once again there aren´t huge differences in the solo, but it doesn´t matter to me, the adrenaline takes care of my enjoyment.
"Gypsy". For this one I actually decide to move to the seats that are the closest to the floor. I´m waiting for the opportunity to sneak into the floor, so I can be closer to them. Stevie doesn´t do the "Do-Dos", and she sings a couple of bits, including the "and it lights up the night" line, lower than in the studio versions. For the end she adds the "I can still see your bright eyes" bit, but no "I can´t find you".
The girl who´s watching the entrance to the floor leaves for a moment. Here´s my chance, I rush to the floor and never get back. I never get any closer than ten meters to the stage though. I get yelled at by people, some call me a "schweinhund". I answer with Finnish and they don´t know what to say. After all, Finnish swearwords hit a lot harder than those of many other languages. ;)
"Big Love!" "Big Love!" I yell. Maybe Lindsey doesn´t do his speech because of that. He just goes straight into the song and plays his heart out, even though I can decipher some mistakes. Maybe he´s bothered by my behavour a bit?
"Landslide" next, Stevie milks that long pause for what it´s worth. She dedicates it to us tonight.
For "Say Goodbye" Lindsey does a speech introduction. He basically says the same things he did at the Dance tour before "Big Love", and he also mentions that it was written at the time of his departure from the group. The whole song has such tenderness on stage that the drunken idiots I´m standing next to don´t seem to appreciate it.
My nasty behaviour continues. I yell out "spontaneity! spontaneity!". That´s probably why Lindsey doesn´t include it into his "What´s The World Coming To" speech. Shackin'up said before that it sounds like "Go Your Own Way" in the beginning and that Lindsey wanted it to be so intentionally. I have to agree. The drunken clowns I was standing next to thought it was "GYOW". But yeah, people seemed to like the song. Cool tools.
"This is a song from an album we did in 1979 called 'Tusk'". People start shouting out for "Sara" and "Sisters Of The Moon" (I think, I wasn´t paying attention because I had some photographs to take). Stevie laughs at them. I can´t enjoy "Beautiful Child" now like I do when I listen to it in isolation. But it doesn´t matter, I´m completely starstruck. I´m pointing at Stevie during key phrases like "I wish that you were mine", etc. As lame as anything. But I´m completely in fanboy mode. Stevie adds the "I still love you, I still need you" bit to the end. The electric guitar bit that Carlos adds is still cool.
"Gold Dust Woman". A lot of cool wailing at the end. People once again give a big applause. I have to say that I don´t enjoy the current versions, because they´re theatrical. When she sang it in the past, it was harrowing, because she meant every word. Better to still have her alive though. And I do fall for this current version too. John´s bass bits add a lot to it. Lindsey´s sitting on the drum riser at one point, giving Stevie all the space she wants.
"I´m So Afraid" and I´m going nuts again. I scream like in the beginning of "Come" and start shaking my head viciously. The drunken fools next to me laugh, but Lindsey makes the silent quite soon. :) He still gets into the solo like mad, there´s no fakery. There´s not too much variation, although it does start to sound like "Come" at the end. Once again he does the guitar-tapping, like he does with "Come" and "GYOW". The guitar isn´t as seriously beaten though.
"Silver Springs". Stevie changes the lyrics at the end. I can´t remember how (because I don´t think that Stevie´s lyrics can be counted among the greatest literate works of our time, thank you. It´s the way SHE SINGS THEM that matters), but she does add "am I still a fool?" for the end. When she turns to face Lindsey and starts singing the last parts she moves her body intensely.
"Tusk". The crowd cheers its approval. Lindsey does his cruel laughter and starts chasing Stevie, tusks John and then the slow dancing begins. It´s a lot of fun to watch, I´m gasping in awe throughout. At the end he´s once again without his guitar, appearing like a caveman.
The percussion solo starts. Lindsey´s doing his guitar along with it. Stevie, Carlos, Neale and Brett are just waiting for him to stop. It´s one of the two moments in the show when I´m looking at my watch. I wish he did some musical things with the guitar. Neale´s solo on the song is scorching. Brett and Carlos seem to be enjoying this a lot more than other songs that night. Stevie doesn´t do the twirls but she sings the whole thing with gusto. When she´s singing the chorus it once again seems that she´s singing it to me, simply because of the stupid pointing and the stupid behaviour and the Lindsey´s speech-mocking that I had done before. I´m jumping high in the air and stepping on people´s toes. Sorry everyone. :rolleyes: By now the crowd is quite heated.
Of course, then comes "GYOW". Everyone gets more excited, even the drunks beside me. Two fans get to play Lindsey´s guitar during the song. Lindsey jumps along and once again starts tapping on his Turner. After this one at least fifty people leave, I guess that´s the one they wanted to hear.
We spend two minutes waiting for the encores. "World Turning" comes and Mick´s drum solo feels very tedious to me. I actually let my disapproval be heard, just because I´m not in the mood of pleasing the artists. When he starts making the sex noises with the vest, I start feeling very uncomfortable. I look at my clock and curse Mick´s audience-pleasing tendencies. Eventually Lindsey joins Mick on stage, Mick plays with his guitar samples and Lindsey follows him with the Turner. Then the band comes back.
The introductions follow. Mick leaves John for last and speaks very warmly of him. I have to agree with what he said; without John the band wouldn´t exist.
"Don´t Stop" comes off quite well. Brett does a cool solo and once again it seems like Stevie´s looking at me while singing the title of the song. Ah that lady.
Some people start leaving but "Goodbye Baby" stops them. Ah, it´s beautiful, although they should use a real string section. Mick´s two tiny drums look funny.
"Danke schoen", Stevie says at the end. I hope the band enjoyed the crowd response. Mick does his usual "Take care" ending speech. "The Mac Is Back", but for how long?
Of course I wait for the band, but they´ve gone already. I´m not making that good an impression on the other European fans either, so I leave for the hotel. Walking two kilometres into the wrong direction at first, because I´m still in a haze after the gig. :laugh:
So, in the end it was a good experience. In some ways maybe it was the perfect gig, at least on the professional level. The audience got what it wanted. But if I had to compare this to my other recent concerts, such as Dylan in Helsinki, where the audience didn´t mostly get what it wanted, then I guess listening to Bob was more interesting. And five days ago I saw some of the best musicians of my country in a small club for free; they were basically deciding what to play before each song. Of course, with FM it helps that I´m a fan. But I still can´t imagine anyone being entirely pleased with the way their concerts are these days. That´s why I was doing that speech-mocking between the songs. If no one else is going to change this, then at least the fans have to try. It does seem cruel, yes, but we certainly don´t have to be satisfied with the way the things are going. I didn´t care too much for the drama between Stevie and Lindsey either. It´s the music I came to hear.
And I do apologize to other fans if I ruined a part of their concert experience. The cancellation of Nuremberg still bothered me, so I decided to make as much noise as possible. ;)
In the end, John was his calm, usual steady self. Mick does need a lot of percussion help these days, but I guess it doesn´t bother me too much. Lindsey was great throughout, his energetic self, although there were some moments when he seemed a bit awkward, I guess he´s still having problems adapting to the big stage. His songs worked the best in this environment, being the noisy bastards that they are. Stevie was completely natural throughout, her charisma showed through everywhere. Her songs did suffer the most though, since a lot of those mid-tempo songs or ballads aren´t entirely suitable for arenas. But it didn´t matter to me. She shook hands with two fans at the end, smiled at them and changed a few words. Bless her heart.
That´s it for me then. Over and out from Europe. You won´t be hearing from me for a while either, I´m going to stay in Germany for a few days. I guess it´s the States for me next time then, and hopefully with a renewed setlist.
Note: "The night of the turd" is not a reference to FM, instead it reflects on my experience and my behaviour. ;)
I have to apologize to the American fans; this was my first FM gig so I don´t have the same memory for details that Tgee and Sodascouts have, for instance.
Ah yes, where to begin? Let it be stated that going to my first FM gig involved my first time in an airplane ever. Not too bad an experience, except my other ear went completely stuck during the landing. It didn´t affect the listening too much. From the Dusseldorf airport I got to a local train to Oberhausen. It was damn packed. After that I just went to the hotel, washed up, put on a bunch of new clothes that made me look like a mild rockabilly fan, and hid my cellphone integrated camera into my boot. There wasn´t time for anything else. Getting into the arena with the camera was easy. The security wasn´t too tight, they only checked the people with bags.
And then, the show itself. The setlist was the usual. My aunt supposedly got me great tickets, she told me so. No friggin´ way. The seat was on the side and it wasn´t too bad, but it could have been better. I should have been on the floor. I should´ve found out about things better beforehand. Then the band entered the stage with Mick waving his drumsticks in the air. I can´t remember a thing of the first few songs, they started with "The Chain" and I was just basically air-guitaring along and "singing" the lyrics with gusto. It did get the people going quite well, especially John´s spotlight and the outro section. "Welcome Oberhausen", Stevie cried.
"Dreams" comes along and the whole thing kinda halts. It´s weird how the gigs begin with the usual "let´s rock" - "let´s mellow out" pattern, and it goes on the same way until the acoustic section comes. And at this point, my "Lindsey-in-Australia-on-the-Tusk-tour" behaviour kicks in.
Let it be said now, that I acted nuttily and irresponsibly throughout the concert. I screamed and I yelled and I sung badly. Those that have heard my version of "When I See You Again" should know what I´m talking about. When I was seated I suddenly decided to stand up during the rockier songs and scream and jump my head off. The German audience wasn´t exactly excited at first, at least the ones on their seats, so I decided that if these people aren´t going to act out like they should, then I will. After all, no one gets overboard as well as an arrogant Finnish male. Man, was it ever awful for the others. They had to tap me on the back to sit down. I didn´t care about the other spectators, I only cared about the musicians and the music.
I suddenly decide that the whole thing can´t go on this way. The hell with it, they´re doing the same setlist and I´m sitting up here saying nothing? I decide to start mocking the whole show and the ridiculous theatrics it involves. First of all, I want to scream out the title of the song they´re starting to play next. After my obnoxious scream off comes "Eyes Of The World" and it gets the crowd going again, especially Lindsey´s solo (which is pretty much the same as before).
Then there´s "Peacekeeper". Lindsey starts giving out his speech. After that I instantly yell out "Hi Mom!", just to let Lindsey know that he´s not the only one who listens to Laurie Anderson and that he can´t fool everyone with this spontaneity. ;) He notices me after the scream (or at least I like to think so), but it doesn´t seem to bother him. Once again the movement is cut off and the crowd sits still in large parts of arena. Not even the "engine jet roar" before the final repetitions of the chorus can help. Lindsey touches the mic sexually at the end.
This time I actually try to get on the floor. A girl stops me and doesn´t let me go. "You have to sit where the ticket says". I bite my fist. A lot of male aggression in the air tonight.
"Second Hand News". At this point I forget my grand scheme and just enjoy the music, banging on the seat in front of me with my hands. The other hand actually still hurts from all that. This version of the song is pretty much interchangeable with the other versions played on this tour. And the same goes to a lot of the other songs, but I guess we all can expect that.
Now I can´t remember which came next, "Say You Will" or "Never Going Back Again". I guess I still don´t know the setlist well enough. ;) "Never Going Back Again" gets a big applause, as all Rumours´ songs do. The bits where Lindsey sings quietly are met with a few yells.
"This is a song from our new album 'Say You Will'. Yes, I said that. It´s called 'Say You Will'. She does the hand gestures which add a funny naivety to the song. She also plays air guitar during Lindsey´s solo.
"Rhiannon" and a big applause once again. They never really cut loose with it, but it still sounds great. Stevie adds the "weeeell, I don´t think you do" and "dream on silly dreamer" bits. I´m constantly playing the air guitar along with Lindsey.
For the next song my obnoxiousness reers its ugly head again. I start screaming "Come", "Come", like I was at a death metal concert or something. The people sitting behind me let out some laughter. Lindsey uses the usual hand-movements for this one. Brett adds a synth part that I haven´t heard before for the verses. Just before the loud section I turn to look at the people behind me and mouth with an evil grin: "Can you feel the fever?" The song gets a strong response. When Lindsey starts tearing his guitar to bits at the end it´s stadium-rock excesses at their best. He woks on this one, seriously. Once again there aren´t huge differences in the solo, but it doesn´t matter to me, the adrenaline takes care of my enjoyment.
"Gypsy". For this one I actually decide to move to the seats that are the closest to the floor. I´m waiting for the opportunity to sneak into the floor, so I can be closer to them. Stevie doesn´t do the "Do-Dos", and she sings a couple of bits, including the "and it lights up the night" line, lower than in the studio versions. For the end she adds the "I can still see your bright eyes" bit, but no "I can´t find you".
The girl who´s watching the entrance to the floor leaves for a moment. Here´s my chance, I rush to the floor and never get back. I never get any closer than ten meters to the stage though. I get yelled at by people, some call me a "schweinhund". I answer with Finnish and they don´t know what to say. After all, Finnish swearwords hit a lot harder than those of many other languages. ;)
"Big Love!" "Big Love!" I yell. Maybe Lindsey doesn´t do his speech because of that. He just goes straight into the song and plays his heart out, even though I can decipher some mistakes. Maybe he´s bothered by my behavour a bit?
"Landslide" next, Stevie milks that long pause for what it´s worth. She dedicates it to us tonight.
For "Say Goodbye" Lindsey does a speech introduction. He basically says the same things he did at the Dance tour before "Big Love", and he also mentions that it was written at the time of his departure from the group. The whole song has such tenderness on stage that the drunken idiots I´m standing next to don´t seem to appreciate it.
My nasty behaviour continues. I yell out "spontaneity! spontaneity!". That´s probably why Lindsey doesn´t include it into his "What´s The World Coming To" speech. Shackin'up said before that it sounds like "Go Your Own Way" in the beginning and that Lindsey wanted it to be so intentionally. I have to agree. The drunken clowns I was standing next to thought it was "GYOW". But yeah, people seemed to like the song. Cool tools.
"This is a song from an album we did in 1979 called 'Tusk'". People start shouting out for "Sara" and "Sisters Of The Moon" (I think, I wasn´t paying attention because I had some photographs to take). Stevie laughs at them. I can´t enjoy "Beautiful Child" now like I do when I listen to it in isolation. But it doesn´t matter, I´m completely starstruck. I´m pointing at Stevie during key phrases like "I wish that you were mine", etc. As lame as anything. But I´m completely in fanboy mode. Stevie adds the "I still love you, I still need you" bit to the end. The electric guitar bit that Carlos adds is still cool.
"Gold Dust Woman". A lot of cool wailing at the end. People once again give a big applause. I have to say that I don´t enjoy the current versions, because they´re theatrical. When she sang it in the past, it was harrowing, because she meant every word. Better to still have her alive though. And I do fall for this current version too. John´s bass bits add a lot to it. Lindsey´s sitting on the drum riser at one point, giving Stevie all the space she wants.
"I´m So Afraid" and I´m going nuts again. I scream like in the beginning of "Come" and start shaking my head viciously. The drunken fools next to me laugh, but Lindsey makes the silent quite soon. :) He still gets into the solo like mad, there´s no fakery. There´s not too much variation, although it does start to sound like "Come" at the end. Once again he does the guitar-tapping, like he does with "Come" and "GYOW". The guitar isn´t as seriously beaten though.
"Silver Springs". Stevie changes the lyrics at the end. I can´t remember how (because I don´t think that Stevie´s lyrics can be counted among the greatest literate works of our time, thank you. It´s the way SHE SINGS THEM that matters), but she does add "am I still a fool?" for the end. When she turns to face Lindsey and starts singing the last parts she moves her body intensely.
"Tusk". The crowd cheers its approval. Lindsey does his cruel laughter and starts chasing Stevie, tusks John and then the slow dancing begins. It´s a lot of fun to watch, I´m gasping in awe throughout. At the end he´s once again without his guitar, appearing like a caveman.
The percussion solo starts. Lindsey´s doing his guitar along with it. Stevie, Carlos, Neale and Brett are just waiting for him to stop. It´s one of the two moments in the show when I´m looking at my watch. I wish he did some musical things with the guitar. Neale´s solo on the song is scorching. Brett and Carlos seem to be enjoying this a lot more than other songs that night. Stevie doesn´t do the twirls but she sings the whole thing with gusto. When she´s singing the chorus it once again seems that she´s singing it to me, simply because of the stupid pointing and the stupid behaviour and the Lindsey´s speech-mocking that I had done before. I´m jumping high in the air and stepping on people´s toes. Sorry everyone. :rolleyes: By now the crowd is quite heated.
Of course, then comes "GYOW". Everyone gets more excited, even the drunks beside me. Two fans get to play Lindsey´s guitar during the song. Lindsey jumps along and once again starts tapping on his Turner. After this one at least fifty people leave, I guess that´s the one they wanted to hear.
We spend two minutes waiting for the encores. "World Turning" comes and Mick´s drum solo feels very tedious to me. I actually let my disapproval be heard, just because I´m not in the mood of pleasing the artists. When he starts making the sex noises with the vest, I start feeling very uncomfortable. I look at my clock and curse Mick´s audience-pleasing tendencies. Eventually Lindsey joins Mick on stage, Mick plays with his guitar samples and Lindsey follows him with the Turner. Then the band comes back.
The introductions follow. Mick leaves John for last and speaks very warmly of him. I have to agree with what he said; without John the band wouldn´t exist.
"Don´t Stop" comes off quite well. Brett does a cool solo and once again it seems like Stevie´s looking at me while singing the title of the song. Ah that lady.
Some people start leaving but "Goodbye Baby" stops them. Ah, it´s beautiful, although they should use a real string section. Mick´s two tiny drums look funny.
"Danke schoen", Stevie says at the end. I hope the band enjoyed the crowd response. Mick does his usual "Take care" ending speech. "The Mac Is Back", but for how long?
Of course I wait for the band, but they´ve gone already. I´m not making that good an impression on the other European fans either, so I leave for the hotel. Walking two kilometres into the wrong direction at first, because I´m still in a haze after the gig. :laugh:
So, in the end it was a good experience. In some ways maybe it was the perfect gig, at least on the professional level. The audience got what it wanted. But if I had to compare this to my other recent concerts, such as Dylan in Helsinki, where the audience didn´t mostly get what it wanted, then I guess listening to Bob was more interesting. And five days ago I saw some of the best musicians of my country in a small club for free; they were basically deciding what to play before each song. Of course, with FM it helps that I´m a fan. But I still can´t imagine anyone being entirely pleased with the way their concerts are these days. That´s why I was doing that speech-mocking between the songs. If no one else is going to change this, then at least the fans have to try. It does seem cruel, yes, but we certainly don´t have to be satisfied with the way the things are going. I didn´t care too much for the drama between Stevie and Lindsey either. It´s the music I came to hear.
And I do apologize to other fans if I ruined a part of their concert experience. The cancellation of Nuremberg still bothered me, so I decided to make as much noise as possible. ;)
In the end, John was his calm, usual steady self. Mick does need a lot of percussion help these days, but I guess it doesn´t bother me too much. Lindsey was great throughout, his energetic self, although there were some moments when he seemed a bit awkward, I guess he´s still having problems adapting to the big stage. His songs worked the best in this environment, being the noisy bastards that they are. Stevie was completely natural throughout, her charisma showed through everywhere. Her songs did suffer the most though, since a lot of those mid-tempo songs or ballads aren´t entirely suitable for arenas. But it didn´t matter to me. She shook hands with two fans at the end, smiled at them and changed a few words. Bless her heart.
That´s it for me then. Over and out from Europe. You won´t be hearing from me for a while either, I´m going to stay in Germany for a few days. I guess it´s the States for me next time then, and hopefully with a renewed setlist.