Saw Lindsey at the Roxy tonight. I didn't quite know what to expect. I think I imagined this was a listening party for the movie soundtrack and I would hear Lindsey's new songs, but it wasn't like that. Lindsey performed
SUD, Go Insane, NGBA and
Big Love.
Standing outside of the Roxy watching the cars speed by on Sunset Blvd. for 90 minutes, I realized that I am too old for General Admission shows. Much less General Admission to a Standing Room Only show.
When they finally let us in, their were curtains covering the stage. I stood at the side of the stage at first, but then reasoned that I didn't know what the stage set would be like and maybe from the side I would only see Lindsey's back, so I moved around to the front, even though there were already rows of people there by then. I might have been better off sticking to the side. As you can see, my vantage point gave me lovely views of the back of heads.
Judd Apatow came on a little after 8 to kick things off. Ryan Adam did 3 songs. He mentioned the fact that he was getting out of the way for Lindsey Buckingham three different times during his set. He is either a big Lindsey fan or he really wasn't prepared to stay on stage long himself. Every time he would say he was leaving soon, people in the audience would yell, "Noooo." I was thinking, "Goodbye!"
Ryan sat while he played, so I wasn't sure that Lindsey would position himself in the same place where Ryan's chair had been. There were mics on the stage and I wondered if Lindsey would use one of them. If so, I would have moved over to try to get in front of one of them. But I couldn't tell which, if any, would be his. It would be nice if he used ribbons or streamers or his mic, so you could identify it as his before the show. Hmmm.
Anyway, Lindsey came on and he said that he's been working with Judd and Brion, people he didn't even really know a few years ago. He says that he hopes that he was able to give them some ideas about what
not to do on this album.
He started with SUD. Even though Shut Us Down is a "slow" song, his performance seemed so fierce and penetrating, especially in contrast to Ryan's. Ryan had a soft voice that went well with his lyrics. As he sat there on his chair, the hair falling softly in his eyes, you gently contemplated the pain of unrequited love. But Lindsey, he throbs and bristles and when he says "I will stay around as long as I can," you get the feeling that he's really keeping it low key for as long as he can and that his energy is always at the point of bursting through. Of course,
Go Insane is
mostly burst.
We had NGBA and the rustle from the audience when they realized what song it was going to be. Then, he gave the
Big Love introduction a meditation on contemplation that leads to my frustration.
The audience was enthusiastic. I think he made some new fans. Graham Parker didn't. I left the Roxy as soon as Lindsey left the stage.
I enjoyed the unexpected taste of Mr. B. Michele
