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From | Marty Rudnick <mrudnick@marturo.com> |
Subject | Re: The New Cars -- A Performance Recap |
Date | Mon, 23 Jan 2006 17:38:33 -0800 |
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But...that name's already been taken. No...wait...that's Carpeteria.
Nevermind.
Marty
Michael Bennett wrote:
>I have no doubt this line up can make some great music
>-- I just wish they'd call themselves Cartopia.
>
>Mike Bennett
>
>--- Kerry Kompost <kerry_kompost@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Via the wonders of the internet, I received - via
>>Kasim Sultan's mailing list - an invite to a
>>"mystery
>>show" in Burbank which transpired this past
>>weekend.
>>My girlfriend, Nipper Seaturtle, and I opted to
>>attend
>>the Sunday evening performance as the Friday show
>>was
>>likely to be a real packed-to-the-rafters,
>>star-studded, Hollywood event. I figured the Sunday
>>show might be a little more low-key, perhaps
>>offering
>>a better chance to hang with the band (I've never
>>met
>>Todd but I'd love to; perhaps one of these days).
>>
>>Unfortunately, we missed the first song (and, for
>>the
>>record, I believe the setlist was the same for both
>>shows, which I believe has already been posted), but
>>we eventually made our way to Studio Eleven and
>>found
>>ourselves in the midst of a hundred and fifty or so
>>people (I'm terrible at guessing audience sizes). It
>>was a full-blown set with lights, crew, you name it.
>>I
>>felt a tangible sense of electricity buzzing in the
>>air (most likely due to the high winds and low
>>humidity we're currently experiencing in Sunny
>>Southern, but I'd like to think otherwise).
>>
>>I have been a fan of The Cars since the debut album
>>blasted like a hurricane through my teenaged world;
>>that first record was nothing less than a
>>revelation.
>>Before The Cars, my friends and I were listening to
>>Rush, Frampton, ELP, KISS, Pink Floyd, Styx,
>>Supertramp; you know, classic '70's arena rock. The
>>Cars ushered in an era of new sounds, new
>>approaches,
>>or so it seemed to those of us growing up far off
>>the
>>beaten track in then-rural Colchester, Vermont. In
>>our
>>world, after The Cars came Joe Jackson, The Knack,
>>Elvis Costello, Pretenders, The Police, all those
>>quirky new wave bands; the Cars ushered in an
>>entirely
>>new scene, and none of us were ever the quite the
>>same.
>>
>>Much later in life - in fact, about seven years ago
>>-
>>I discovered Todd Rundgren largely via Auditeer Pat
>>Bueltimer. Years ago, I had sent Pat one of my demo
>>albums, and he suggested I check out Nazz and Todd's
>>solo stuff, which I soon did, courtesy of an
>>excellent
>>TR mix tape that Pat so thoughtfully provided. I was
>>familiar with "I Saw the Light" and I especially
>>LOVED
>>"We Gotta Get You a Woman" as a youngster, but I was
>>totally ignorant of the vast majority of TR's
>>extensive catalog. From the opening piano chords of
>>"Take the Hand", well, I was smitten, beguiled,
>>enchanted, blown away. I've been a TR geek ever
>>since.
>>
>>
>>Nipper, on the other flipper, finds the music of The
>>Cars to be bland, a-melodic, and somewhat boring.
>>She
>>experienced the Punk Explosion(tm) firsthand, and I
>>believe she's always considered The Cars to be
>>Johnny-come-lately's. She's also been a hardcore
>>Todd
>>fan since Day One, so, you know, she's definitely
>>biased.
>>
>>I can see her point (there, just under the cascading
>>blonde fall she sometimes wears). I mean,
>>melodically
>>speaking, there's really no comparing Todd to The
>>Cars. Part of the whole point of The Cars was to
>>cloak
>>the music in a sort of cold, futuristic vibe, which
>>necessitated a somewhat flat vocal approach. As
>>such,
>>there aren't a lot of the soaring vocal melodies
>>that
>>are a hallmark of TR's body of work. I see no
>>problem
>>with either approach, frankly; hey, whatever works.
>>
>>I was pretty much blown away by how seamlessly TR
>>fit
>>into The Cars mold. Nipper kept saying that his
>>voice
>>was under-utilized, and it was, no question about
>>it;
>>if TR had been wailing serious Philly-soul vocals
>>over
>>those squarewave analog riffs, I'm not sure the
>>blend
>>would be palatable (unlike his work with Utopia,
>>where
>>the blend of future-past is nothing if not
>>astonishing). That said, TR fit the music perfectly
>>-
>>I thought it was a match made in heaven. Whoever
>>suggested the pairing deserves serious kudos.
>>
>>I won't go into detail over the performance other
>>than
>>to say that the band was fantastic, loose-yet-tight,
>>relaxed, and obviously having fun. A highlight for
>>me
>>was Elliot Easton's and Rundgren's harmony guitar
>>solo
>>on "I Saw the Light"; that was an extremely cool
>>moment. Easton was a monster, nailing his
>>quasi-countrified solos note-for-note (I'd have
>>loved
>>to hear a little more spontaneity, honestly), and
>>Prairie Prince drove the bus with taste and a
>>seriously deep groove. Kasim, well, what can you
>>say?
>>The dude is a world-class vocalist and bassist, and
>>he
>>had his moments; his harmony vocals were
>>pop-perfection. Greg Hawks pretty much just did that
>>thing he does, and flawlessly at that (great
>>old-skool
>>analog sounds!). If I could've changed one minor
>>thing, it would've been that TR play more freaking
>>lead guitar -- however, that said, The Cars are
>>Easton's territory and TR respectfully allowed him
>>the
>>six-string spotlight. Total respect, how cool is
>>that?
>>
>>The crowd was alive and into the performance,
>>quieting
>>down between songs as Los Angeles audiences tend to
>>do. During one quiet moment, TR said something like
>>"....and then a pall came over the crowd." Nipper
>>yelled back "You mean Paul McCartney?" which
>>prompted
>>titters of scattered laughter from the crowd. I
>>swear,
>>Winona Ryder was standing next to us; it turned out
>>not to be her, but, still, this woman was a
>>dead-ringer. We hung out with her and her boyfriend
>>for a while, making new friends in the process,
>>everyone enjoying the music.
>>
>>After the show, it was a bit of a Star Search
>>situation; we ran into Weird Al and his girlfriend
>>(we'd met him a couple of times prior at They Might
>>Be
>>Giants shows). It was a cool moment for me to be
>>able
>>to tell him that I deeply enjoyed his Frank Zappa
>>homage "Genius in France", and he seemed truly
>>grateful for the compliment. Shortly thereafter,
>>Kasim
>>came out and we got to chat him up for a few
>>moments.
>>I asked him who had written the new tune "But Not
>>Tonight" and he said it was basically a band
>>composition, and that there were plenty more in the
>>works. Kasim said he liked my shirt, which was kind
>>of
>>funny, because Nipper is a Power Thrift Shopper and
>>she has my eternal gratitude for dressing me like a
>>rockstar (LOL). I offered Kasim the shirt off my
>>back
>>but he graciously declined. We got to hang out with
>>Prairie Prince, who we were introduced to via my
>>friend Victor (of The Quarter After and The
>>Blondes),
>>and he was a blast to talk to; so many great
>>stories!
>>Nipper told him of our plan to one day assemble a
>>crack band for the sole purpose of playing The
>>Tubes'
>>"Remote Control" in a live setting; Prairie handed
>>her
>>his card and said "Call me when you put this
>>together." I'm not sure if he was kidding or not,
>>but
>>it was pretty insane. Prairie introduced us to a
>>gentleman whose name escapes me now, but who had
>>worked with Yes during the fantastic Trevor Rabin
>>years. I got a chance to gush like an idiot to this
>>guy over my Brokeback Mountain-esque obsession with
>>all things Trevor Rabin. Fanboy! Later, Greg Hawkes
>>took a moment to thank us for coming, and expressed
>>unbridled excitement about the band and upcoming
>>tour.
>>
>>
>>
>=== message truncated ===
>
>
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