I recently saw an ad from one of my favorite bands (They Might Be Giants) looking for people to join their secret fan club. I am technically not allowed to talk about the club (haha, inside club joke), but one of the many perks were two "free" tickets to any one of their upcoming shows. I looked up to see where they were going to be playing and I saw Albany (which is close to where I live) was one of the stops on their tour. Doing a little math, comparing the cost of two tickets and all the other stuff they were offering versus the cost of the membership, it ended up being an easy decision. I joined!
The last time I saw the band, a good 5+ years ago, it had been at the Egg, which is a fantastic venue located in Albany so I assumed that this is where they were going to be playing. TMBG even sang a song about this venue called, surprisingly enough "The Egg," Why would I think the concert would be anywhere else, right? .... right? <Fill in phrase about assuming and asses and me and you, etc.>
Later, as more details came out, I noticed the tour posters and such said they were actually playing at the Upstate Concert Hall... which is not in Albany but Clifton Park (which is 20 miles north of Albany.) This concerned me. I had never been to the UCH before and had heard mixed opinions about it. Some people told me it was good, but it really depended on what band was playing. Others said that it was just a big bar, there was no seating and it got very hot, especially with a lot of people packed in it.
Now this last bit was a bit distressing. I am not that old (44) but the thought of standing for a couple of hours with my wife, with a ton of people crushed into us in a sweltering, confined space did not appeal to me. I almost talked myself out of going. The tickets were basically good forever and I figured I could just wait for the band to perform in a location where I could sit my lazy ass down. I decided to just suck it up and go and let me tell you, I am very, very , very glad I did.
Just to give a brief history of my concerting experience. My first show was Guns N' Roses opening for Aerosmith late in high school (88'-89' ish). Next I saw the Violent Femmes at my college before "Blister in the Sun" was a hit for them and that was pretty much it, until I got divorced a little over 5 years ago. Then I saw a friend/co-worker's band play a couple of local bars, went and saw Cake, Weezer (It was also supposed to be Blink 182, but they had to cancel at the last minute) and TMBG the first time. All of the latter venues all had seating, so my wimpy ass was fine.
Fast forward and now I find myself and my wife at the show. We got there really early and got pretty close to the stage (maybe 3-4 "rows" back). The place was not as bad as I had heard... actually it was pretty cool! The temperature was not overwhelming, though I could see it being bad in the middle of summer. The band played two sets and my wife and I dropped back after the first set to cool down a bit.
I can't even begin to tell you how fun it was. I got to annoy the people behind me with my amateur film making (though I covered the back of the camera with my hand to try to minimize the glowing screen, I'm sure the people behind me were like, "All right Spike Jonze, that's a wrap!") I also got repeatedly jostled by the happy, dancing, were-so-in-love couple next to me. My wife kept getting hit by the girls hair, so I think she may have had it worse. We also had the periodic tall person drift in front of us which just made me enjoy the experience all the more.
I can't even begin to tell you how fun it was. I got to annoy the people behind me with my amateur film making (though I covered the back of the camera with my hand to try to minimize the glowing screen, I'm sure the people behind me were like, "All right Spike Jonze, that's a wrap!") I also got repeatedly jostled by the happy, dancing, were-so-in-love couple next to me. My wife kept getting hit by the girls hair, so I think she may have had it worse. We also had the periodic tall person drift in front of us which just made me enjoy the experience all the more.
I never really went to the dive bars and shitty venues to see bands. I don't drink so I never really went to bars in general. This concert made me feel that I was getting to experience a little of what I missed, especially considering I was there with a beautiful woman. Not only was the music great but so was the crowd. Then again, I really wasn't expecting it to be that bad. TMBG is not a death metal band and is known not only for their alternative/indie rock but also their kids albums (they did not bust out with "The Hot Dog Song," but I am sure it would have been hilarious if they had) so there was no mosh pit or really aggressive personality types. It was just a very mellow crowd enjoying an awesome band.
The band was promoting a new album which was good for the people around me because I was unfamiliar with the lion's share of the songs they played so the crowd was spared my awful singing. That is by far my biggest fault as a concert goer. I'm a wanna be singer and I am terrible at it! Despite the many new tunes, they played most of their big older titles for all us long time fans and it took me back to college where I was first introduced to They Might Be Giants.
I will never be a reviewer because I like everything. I am not a musician so I wouldn't even notice if the music was off, unless it was really, really noticeable, so I will just say they sounded great. The light show was good, the volume was good (I was not deafened by the sound) the band was hilarious and really had great onstage banter. Everything was just, in a word... awesome. When the show ended, I could not believe how much time had passed. It went by too quick. But you know what they say about time flying when fun/a good time is involved.
The only thing I will say negative is (not specifically about TMBG, but concerts in general) that I really hate the concept of the "encore." I was already getting tired and hoarse from a long night of screaming and clapping and then you have to do a bunch more to get them to come out and play a couple of more tunes. You know they were already planning on coming out again and then they make you do it again. I wish they would just say that "We are going to do two encores tonight. We will say thank you and good night and duck down a little bit, pretending we ran of the stage. All of you just do one round of rhythmic clapping and we will pop up after it crescendos. You cheer. We play an extra song or three. We will do it all one more time and the show will end."
When my wife and I left the show we were both pretty wired, but weary. In younger days we probably would have hit Denny's or something, but being old folks with kids, we had to get home. My sister was watching the little ones and we figured she would like to get home at some point before dawn. Over all it was a great experience. With having kids and dealing with the regular day to day of adult life, it was nice to jump in the time machine and act like our younger selves. My wife and I have been friends since college, but have only been married for a short time. We missed a lot of these wild crazy nights, but if this concert has shown us anything, we aren't too old to make new memories and rock on! Now if I can only convince her to go see GWAR when they are in town next....
ps. In case you don't know who GWAR is. Here is a photo (though their lead singer just passed last year, I am using a photo with him in it. Miss you Dave!)
The band was promoting a new album which was good for the people around me because I was unfamiliar with the lion's share of the songs they played so the crowd was spared my awful singing. That is by far my biggest fault as a concert goer. I'm a wanna be singer and I am terrible at it! Despite the many new tunes, they played most of their big older titles for all us long time fans and it took me back to college where I was first introduced to They Might Be Giants.
I will never be a reviewer because I like everything. I am not a musician so I wouldn't even notice if the music was off, unless it was really, really noticeable, so I will just say they sounded great. The light show was good, the volume was good (I was not deafened by the sound) the band was hilarious and really had great onstage banter. Everything was just, in a word... awesome. When the show ended, I could not believe how much time had passed. It went by too quick. But you know what they say about time flying when fun/a good time is involved.
The only thing I will say negative is (not specifically about TMBG, but concerts in general) that I really hate the concept of the "encore." I was already getting tired and hoarse from a long night of screaming and clapping and then you have to do a bunch more to get them to come out and play a couple of more tunes. You know they were already planning on coming out again and then they make you do it again. I wish they would just say that "We are going to do two encores tonight. We will say thank you and good night and duck down a little bit, pretending we ran of the stage. All of you just do one round of rhythmic clapping and we will pop up after it crescendos. You cheer. We play an extra song or three. We will do it all one more time and the show will end."
When my wife and I left the show we were both pretty wired, but weary. In younger days we probably would have hit Denny's or something, but being old folks with kids, we had to get home. My sister was watching the little ones and we figured she would like to get home at some point before dawn. Over all it was a great experience. With having kids and dealing with the regular day to day of adult life, it was nice to jump in the time machine and act like our younger selves. My wife and I have been friends since college, but have only been married for a short time. We missed a lot of these wild crazy nights, but if this concert has shown us anything, we aren't too old to make new memories and rock on! Now if I can only convince her to go see GWAR when they are in town next....
ps. In case you don't know who GWAR is. Here is a photo (though their lead singer just passed last year, I am using a photo with him in it. Miss you Dave!)
No comments:
Post a Comment