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ch-scene - Re: X last night...maybe my favorite Cradle show ever

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  • From: grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: RTP-area local music and culture <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: X last night...maybe my favorite Cradle show ever
  • Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 18:17:50 -0400

I should start out by saying that I was extraordinarily impressed at how hard those people played, and at how incredibly fucking deep those first three X albums are. I think they played a total of 1 song that I didn't know every-single-word to, and they played for a good solid 80 minutes. And they totally ripped into nearly every one of them, even the superfast ones ("We're Desperate" was particularly intense) despite being, well, old. I mean, crap, I'm at least 10 years younger than all of them (probably more like 15-20) and there's no way *I* could've rocked as hard as they did for 80 minutes.

Having said that, I still felt like the show was verging on the sort of reunion that I try to avoid . . . there were times when I thought to myself "I could've just stayed home and watched "X: The Unheard Music" (which is one of the best music documentaries ever made, to be sure) again." What (mostly) saved it, for me, was how damn hard they played, and how great those songs are.

(yes, the parenthetical was included in my thinking to myself, thanks for asking)

This reunion was the riskiest kind of reunion -- old old songs, a band that has played together only intermittently, and that has no intention (apparently) of writing new material . . . and so as Dave Menconi mentioned on his blog, I felt at times like I was watching the World's Greatest X Tribute Band. They played the songs, really well, so well that with eyes closed it was occasionally eerily like listening to a record. But that's not really what I'm looking for when I go see a live band.

And so I spent most of the show sitting there thinking about that, and about what I enjoy when I really enjoy a show. Which for me is almost as fun as watching a great show, so . . .

I guess the two things that mean the most to me are when a band seems like it has a real stake (emotional, intellectual) in the songs they're playing, and when the members seem to really be playing off each other, so much so that the band is like a single unit that could head off into uncharted territory at any moment, and still stay together.

And as great as they sounded up there -- and make no mistake, they sounded great, and were playing their asses off -- I wasn't picking up enough of the things I look for. The songs are old, and as great as they are, the people who wrote them are a lot older now, and presumably wiser, and they've written an assload of songs since then. They played the crap out of the songs, sure, but did they still *feel* them in the same way?

What would've worked better for me? For one thing, if they'd acknowledged the fact that they've all continued to play music in the ~25 years since this version of the band split up. Wouldn't have had to be much -- maybe the guys could've learned *one* of Exene's solo songs, and likewise for John's?

Or maybe that would've been corny or annoying, or beside-the-point. So maybe instead they could've busted out a well-chosen cover or two, other than "Soul Kitchen," which at this point they've played more often than the Doors did. Something that *wasn't* released on one of the albums?

Or if they'd even just *not* played all the songs so damn faithfully (although I did notice that in "Nausea" Exene said "oh no oh no" instead of "Christ oh Jesus Christ" -- is she all religious now or what?), and instead taken some of them off in a different direction.

Basically what I'm looking for is some hard evidence that they actually care about playing music *with* each other, as opposed to everybody woodshedding with the CDs.

Although given how fucking creepy Billy Zoom is, I wouldn't be surprised if none of them could stand to be in the same room with him for long. Back in the old days he already had that ridiculous leering grin, but in the movie he always seemed to be looking off into space, or way at the back of the room, so it was almost cute. At the show he was aiming it directly at people in the first few rows, and it gave me the creeps to see it.

Anyway. Pretty much everybody I talked to after the show was totally blown away, so I'm perfectly happy to acknowledge that I'm in the minority (and I should say again, one more time, that it was a really great performance of those songs . . . I'm just apparently more interested in surprise/suspense or intensity of emotion, than in flawless performances of songs I know by heart already).

And I think that's why the Mission of Burma and Polvo shows set such an impossibly high reunion-show standard for me: here are two bands who either still care intensely about the songs, or they're gonna rework them until they *can* care intensely about them again.

Ross

p.s. I spent about half the show standing next to a middle-aged Chapel Hill Dad type (semi-balding, paunchy, polo shirt, cargo shorts & Tevas) and his two kids, who looked to be in the 13-14 year old range. The dad was going nuts, fist-pumping, singing along, occasionally pogoing, clearly having a great time. The kids were kind of slumped there, sitting/standing perfectly still, trying as hard as they could to show absolutely NO INTEREST in what was going on. Was it an elaborate act, or are the kids today really immune to great music? I was 16 when I was introduced to, and fell hard for, X, and I don't remember it being a difficult process.

local506 AT gmail.com wrote:
Funny, I felt like eating my words about all reunions being above-par.
For me, I just couldn't get into X last night and contemplated leaving
mid-way through. From where I was standing, the sound was really bad
(which is rare for a Cradle show.) I moved back toward the bar where
the mix was better, but more space for distractions from the show.
When I finally decided to leave during the last encore, i found the
sweet-spot near the merch stand where it sounded great - had I been
standing there the entire time, i could foresee having a different
experience.

Of course, I was thinking...maybe reunions are only great the first
time. Again, loved X circa 2000 and definitely thought the Gang of
Four show in DC trumped the Cradle show six months later (though the
Cradle show was still really good!) But now glad I passed on the
second Pressure Boys show - as the first night is likely the best show
I've seen all year!

I did think X's song choice was great - played some of my favorite
album tracks like 'Some Other Time', 'Because I Do,' and 'The Have
Nots'.

Okay, I must not think bad thoughts...glenn
-- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --
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