The Tubes Free Show

[the winter tree]

Is that Jonathan Mover from GTR drumming in the last video above?

[SteveSly]

Is that Jonathan Mover from GTR drumming in the last video above?

I believe it is. I know he has toured with The Tubes.

[TheLoony]

Yeah, that desert wind is a bitch. It comes off the mountains and there's nothing to stop it. Brutal. It's not always hot in the desert, contrary to popular opinion.

Ok, back on topic. Watching Winterland '75. Loved What Do You Want From Life(I believe that was the title) and Ghost Riders In The Sky? With Fee as a cowboy? That's damned funny. Also the free ski vacation skit, that was great with the Campbells soup can ala Warhol and the Master Charge card. Nice commentary going on with these guys and it's like a old version of South Park, just not a cartoon, not as vulgar and a bit more subtle. Ok, not exactly like South park at all, but you get the point.

They are pretty good musicians also. They remind me of the Kinks in their artsy phase. I'll have to look and see if there are any full shows from them in that era, I'm curious. I'd like to see Ray drink a sixer for Alcohol.

I'll try and take a camera in, although pics are useless, mostly, from a concert as there's no context. Everyone else has one, just because I don't have a stupid phone is no reason I shouldn't be able to bring a camera.

I missed it and have no idea who played, but at one of the county buildings downtown, or near it, has free jazz concerts for the five weeks of May. I delivered a pie there a couple weeks ago and just found this out. Really nice grassy area, BYOB and all that, laying out on blankets. Looked really cool but that was the last week they were doing it. The dude told me they were name acts, some guitar player, but couldn't remember his name. Quite the event and I was jealous I was working.

So much for staying on topic.

Anyway, I may dislike this town but there are a few nice benefits and free music is one of them. Not some cheesy band at a club but real bands in a real setting. The heat may be at Sepp Blatter levels but it's still free. Did I mention chicks in bikinis?

Ghost Riders In The Sky. I never saw that coming.

[TheLoony]

Um, Liberty Valance? And what's with all the animal fornication? Damn, I can only hope to see something this cool tonight.

[Jerjo]

Wait, you got cold in Colorado? Colorado? Dude, we consider anything that happens down there a mild winter. We've got all kinds of folks up here for the oil boom, a lot from the deep south. They freak out during the winter. I've seen macho roughnecks fresh off a drilling rig, bundled up like we do to little kids at recess, stagger into a business and there's a grandmother that's lived here all her life, wearing a jacket that's open and no stocking cap saying, "ten below, it's warming up."

[TheLoony]

Once in Colorado I was sitting a bus stop all bundled up like you describe. I see this chick across the street wearing, basically, lingerie and a windbreaker. My balls were bluer than blue and she's wearing next to nothing.

Then again, I knew a guy from Buffalo who said it was colder here. Go figure.

[trurl]

In Colorado it's a dry cold.

[TheLoony]

Here, it's a dry heat. Somewhat like fire.

Unlike tonight. It rained on me while I was waiting for my complication to be resolved. So slightly cooler, around 90, with high humidity. I was still sweating buckets.

Worth it. I would have paid to see them. Really good band with lots of humor, in a good way. Lots of energy from the old guys. I see now why Fee isn't as animated as Quay Lude with the stilts or big boots, whatever.

What Do You Want From Life? is totally my favorite tune from them, from what little I've heard. Killer guitar solo in I Don't Want To Wait Anymore, I believe the tune was. Another cool one was Life Is Pain, supposedly from a upcoming album due to be released in 2068 when they get it together. I wonder if that was a joke or it really is a newer tune.

They even took a few minutes to do a free meet and greet afterwards. Quite cool of them.

[jlneudorf]

In Colorado it's a dry cold.

As it is in Saskatchewan but when it hits -35 degrees celcius it makes no difference. Its also windy which further adds to the misery. It's just frigging cold. God, I hate the winters here. Nice summers though

Regards,
Jon

[jlneudorf]

Glad you enjoyed the show. Very cool band. How were The Motels and Smithereens?

Regards,
Jon

[trurl]

In Denver at atl east you don't have that wind blowing off the lake crap you get in places like Chicago and Buffalo. I always found winter there very peasant for the most part. But yeah, cold is cold.

[TheLoony]

Glad you enjoyed the show. Very cool band. How were The Motels and Smithereens?

Regards,
Jon

I missed The Smithereens trying to find a parking spot. Like I said, I had "complications" before hand. I had to meet a friend, briefly, before the show and he was on his way home so I stopped at the park right next to his house. It promptly started raining buckets and I got soaked before I could get back to the truck. As soon as I got in the truck, it stopped. Desert weather, I tells ya. So I was wet the whole night and I had mostly dried off by the time I got downtown. I kept trying to wipe the sweat off and soon my shirt was drenched all over, again.

Totally worth it. It's frikkin' Rock and Roll, no pain no gain, eh?

The Motels were ok but their sound was marred. The guitar was almost gone, even when soloing, and after a couple tunes they turned the whole band down and it really was disappointing. Made it sound like a slightly loud radio being played far off in the distance. But, Martha is really cool and can still sing quite well. She muffed it at the end of Only The Lonely, I'm unsure why, possibly someone in the crowd made her laugh, but she made a joke before she caught her composure and did that last high note.

Years ago one idiot friend of mine made a interesting statement that if the drummer sucks then the whole band sucks. I've noticed, with many a band that I've only recently come to enjoy, that drummers really are the backbone even if they aren't doing the Peart/Portnoy play everything and more style(thus named the kitchen sink approach to drumming). Both last night were really excellent timekeepers and still were able to show off at times. Just enough to let me know there is much more than what they show.

I've always sort of known this but it's a lesson that really took years to understand properly. Look at the dude from Ben Folds Five, he's absolutely amazing yet I don't know if I would have known that very much from just listening. I had to see the band(video, not actual live unfortunately) to get it. Most anyone these days can sound good in the studio but to play it live that's the key and both guys last night were a treat to watch. Guys that make it look simple, like they are barely working at it make me want to puke but I can learn from them and hopefully apply some of that style and whatever to when I play.

Which hopefully won't be too far in the distance. I recently picked up a 5-piece Tama Swingstar. Needs some pieces parts and cymbals and stands, also a place to play as I have no room, but whatever.

I learned a couple years ago when I was putzing around with this friend who played guitar and had some drums. We learned a few tunes and Maiden's Phantom of the Opera killed me. Trying to play that like Nicko does made me realize he's way better than I ever thought he was. I may have no formal training but I almost can learn things and somewhat replicate them. Getting older I try and learn from anyone and there seems to be no shortage of drummers playing music I'm largely unfamiliar with and styles I'm not great at playing yet I can still learn from them. Supposedly one is to learn and get wiser as they get older, so I'm trying that approach.

Anyway, I forgot the camera but plenty of folks were filming so there should be clips up in a day or two. I'd like to try and understand Fee's rant in What Do You Want From Life? He was going so fast I couldn't make it all out. There were a few digs at Las Vegas, which is totally understandable but as a whole I pretty much missed what he was saying. They also should have been the headliner as they really brought it and were much more exciting than The Motels who are kinda mellow. I wouldn't be surprised if the old guys said they wanted to play at that time slot as it's not so late.

All in all, another experience like all concerts. A damned good one even if I was wetter than Michael Phelps after a meet.

Two more upcoming free shows are Kansas w/ B.O.C. and Y & T. I so hope I can see both as I've never done Y & T and really would like to see Kansas once more before they go the way of the Dodo.Which means, including the Rush show on a Saturday, that's three days of work I need to try and trade. Might happen, might not.

Crikey, I can really rant.

[TheLoony]

In Denver at atl east you don't have that wind blowing off the lake crap you get in places like Chicago and Buffalo. I always found winter there very peasant for the most part. But yeah, cold is cold.

No joke, I knew a guy from Buffalo that had move here and he said it was colder here. He moved back but he also had three d.u.i's in two years or so - Las Vegas can have that effect on some as the alcohol flows freely 24/7/365. But that is what he said that, when the wind kicked up, it was worse than Buffalo.

I'm almost sure he was full of it but the dry cold here is different than a humid cold. I remember being in North Carolina when it was around freezing temps and barely feeling cold. Felt like it was around fifty or sixty to me and they were worried about covering the trees and such to protect them from freezing. I'm a wimp with the cold so go figure.

Gotta love derails. A thread about music turns into a thread about weather. I'm not joking, I totally dig how things just have a life of their own.

[trurl]

Well, I'm talking about Denver... they do say that deserts get colder than shit. BTW it's very true about drummers. You can have a great band but if the drummer sucks, you're stuffed.

[TheLoony]

That's why I keep harping on sounds that I don't understand(notice me recent threads) and why I'm still, after all these years, trying to figure out how it all works. I don't know if I can be recorded in a studio. I don't know if I'm good enough.

But, I can fake it enough to sound like a real drummer in a live situation. Still, my old guitar player does have a studio and someday I'm a gonna get in there and see if I can actually be a real musician.

I just don't know if I can cut it but I'll find out someday and until then I'll pick PE's brains as you guys really know your shit. Seriously, I'm so damned curious to find out if I can do it in a studio as it will reveal all limitations I have. I might be better than I think I am or much worse. I don't care as I'm not trying to be a rick star I just want to play and I'm so eager to see what happens, either way.

If the drummer is crap, so are the rest. So either everyone I've played with are fools or I've got something. Maybe just a little, but I just have to know.