Another day, another Rockers' nostalgia tour....
By Ray on December 6, 2007 - 11:10am
The Vancouver Sun's Amy O'Brian wasn't overly impressed with Van Halen's show
Wednesday evening, writing The 13,000 or so fans seemed to love the rocking' reunion of Eddie Van Halen, his drummer brother Alex and the notorious David Lee Roth. But there was also something slightly sad and stale about the tunes, the performance, the bare chests, and the male bravado. Maybe it had something to do with her almost getting knocked out by a flying beer bottle thrown from the Viaduct as she was entering the building. Or maybe, like I said yesterday, "We don't get a second chance to make a first impression."
I'm from the pre-rock era myself, but I did embrace some of it during the Seventies and Eighties, when a lot of today's aging rockers were in their prime. So who did I like? Laugh if you care to, but I was a big fan of Pink Floyd. I also collected some of Led Zep's stuff, and an assortment of others. I never did collect any Van Halen, but I do have a nearly-mint 12-inch LP of David Lee Roth's "Crazy From The Heat". And how many of you remember Three Dog Night's Greatest Hits, or Heart's "Dreamboat Annie"? Anyone remember those picture-LPs, the ones that usually looked better than they sounded?
Ah, The Seventies - I almost-remember them well... Our 'Friendly Neighbourhood Witch'
who organized the whole mob's entertainment, and read our Tarot cards, and knew all the latest gossip before it happened. And the motley collection of singles who made up that group, living mostly south of Broadway, and over near the Avalon Dairy. Those were the days, as they say... Back then, we actually thought the world was going to
get better. It was a nice idea while it lasted...
Enjoy your day, everyone.
Your comments today on last nights Van Halen concert certainly paralleled our comments back and forth from yesterday re: rock n' roll legends reluctant to hang up their skates.
But the original rockers were from the 50's and 60's and some are still "on the road". As a 60's hippie rocker a number of the great legends of that decade did not make it into the 70's like (some of my favs) - Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Mamas & Papas, Buddy Holly, Cream, technically the Beatles - their last recorded LP was 'Abbey Road' in 1969 - not 'Let it Be' - it was a mishmash recorded earlier in '69.
Our legends of Rock n' Roll like Van Halen are "on the road again" offering very little "new music". They appear to be apathetic towards our ongoing thirst for new sounds. Are they not playing on our predictable love affair "in reminiscing". See: Spice Girls reunion - that is where the money is baby!
I've never been to a live rock concert, because I refuse to pay those prices for a look
at the faces that made the music - especially when those faces are years or decades older, and considerably the worse for wear. As you mentioned, too many of them are
making a lifetime career of repeating their original hits, ad nauseum. Some are more famous for that than others - John Denver springs to mind - or Joni Mitchell - basically
if not "one-hit wonders" certainly of limited catalogue. These days, it's "quantity"
not "quality". Put four mediocre kids together, only one or two of whom can carry a tune in a suitcase, and you've got a "flavour-of-the-month" rock group. It's pathetic.
joyless baby boomers should really not blog - just go out to pasture and spare us all
(Patrick) you seem to be "joyful with mediocrity", a strong candidate for defeatism, and no doubt thrive on apathy! Your inability to give any intelligent verbatim or substance in support of your wimpy rhetoric finds me humming Carly Simon's hit song just for you - "You're So Vain"!
Note to Patrick:- I was born in 1932. That makes me 2 years older than the
discovery of nuclear fission, and one year younger than the Empire State Building.
When I was young, the Dead Sea was alive....
Post new comment