i only saw one song (Good Vibrations) as that's all the BBC showed. but thank god for that!

it was one of the worst things i've EVER heard. beyond abysmal, cheesy, working mens club cabaret bullshit

the man looks like my grandmother sitting at the ironing board. its not funny (

He was very good at Glastonbury last week, though

True. It was embarrasing. His voice is shot and his performance....no words.

it wasn't just him, it was the whole band. it was so cabaret. like something you'd find on stage at a holiday camp on a weekend

shocking

no, the absolute worst was Motley Crue. That was so spinal tap, it wasn't even funny anymore.

Mathijs

i'm really disaponted the BBC didn't show the Crue

i was looking forward to laughing my arse off at Vince's falling face lift

Brian Wilson is so strange. That man went throught depression for 40 years and sings "Good Vibrations" while acting like a spastic. I had to look away.

He was brilliant in Bristol last week, and according to reliable sources, even better in Liverpool.

By the way, both Bristol and Liverpool are UK cities, for all you glockenspiel loving Europeans on this site.

Motley Crue - way beyond tragic

I'm a necessary talent behind ev'ry rock and roll band
I'm sharp...

CTV here in Canada has broadcast the concerts since 4 am (pacific time). They showed most of the Canadian show and I saw Motley perform. It did seem very Tappish, although that's their style! Deep Purple also performed in Barrie and I was a bit disappointed by them. Ian Gillan's voice isn't like it used to be and he definitely needs a haircut.
Motley's current reunion tour is drawing huge crowds in North America, though, and their Vancouver show at the end of this month is sold out and they're swinging through Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto again, having played these cities earlier this year.
I saw Robbie Williams singing We Will Rock You. I still don't understand how he could be so huge in Europe. He's virtually unknown in North America.

DGA35 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I
> still don't understand how he could be so huge in
> Europe. He's virtually unknown in North America.



the two dont have to be linked. One region isnt the last word in good taste or culture.

Personally, the appeal of what passes for rock music in America in the last decade passes me by completely


He's huge because hes very marketable, has a certain charm to a certain type of audience and because hes a bloody good entertainer (although I dont care for his style of music)

DGA35 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Motley's current reunion tour is drawing huge
> crowds in North America, though, and their
> Vancouver show at the end of this month is sold
> out and they're swinging through Calgary, Edmonton
> and Toronto again, having played these cities
> earlier this year.

Well, you can't be American and have good taste at the same time I guess. I did notice that the recent flow of American bands are not to my taste. While in London great bands were playing, new and old (if you think R&R is dead, you're wrong!), in Philly all I saw was rappers shouting "put you hands up in the air" 240 times per song, or bombastic power rock bands (except for the scissor sistors, I really liked that!). What's happening in the US? Is rap now so big that no one else bothers to make good music anymore>

Mathijs

The Scissor Sisters performed in London.
It's a nice band with fun music. It sounds like an updated version of Elton John.

the thing with Robbie Williams is its all very British.

its not my cup of tea personally but he taps into the British (mainly English) sense of irony/humour. i'm not surprised the americans don't get it.


i supose its as baffling to americans as it is for us to see how big AOR is over there. Styx, Kansas, Foreigner, Journey etc etc

they wouldn't fill a 3000 capacity theater here if all 4 played on the same bill

ditto the country oiks


america might speak our language but we are very different countries

It's true, it seems rap/hip-hop type bands rule the charts in the US these days.

As far as the Styx/Journey type bands, I think they're on the whole nostalgia rebound. They were all huge in the 70's and early 80's in North America. Country music seems to have taken over the mainstream Seger/Springsteen/ Mellencamp style music that dominated in the 80's and 90's. I personally can't get into any country music.

I was looking at the recent Billboard Boxscores and I saw Kylie Minogue drew huge crowds on a recent British tour. She kind of fits in with Robbie Williams, huge overseas but not very popular in North America.

yeah we love Kylie over here. again maybe its because we see a bit of fun in it rather than take it seriously ?

she's still Charlene from Neighbours to us lot

DGA35 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's true, it seems rap/hip-hop type bands rule
> the charts in the US these days.
>
> As far as the Styx/Journey type bands, I think
> they're on the whole nostalgia rebound. They were
> all huge in the 70's and early 80's in North
> America. Country music seems to have taken over
> the mainstream Seger/Springsteen/ Mellencamp style
> music that dominated in the 80's and 90's. I
> personally can't get into any country music.

The thing is though that what 'country' music has been hugely successful in recent years is a watered down version of it. I fail to see what Garth Brooks and Shania Twain have to do with country music but that plus all that Toby keith crap is what passes for country music to many people these days. Theres a lot of great rootsy, credible country music out there played by people like Steve earle, Lucinda williams and the like who really are carrying the torch passed on by the true greats of the past like Johnny Cash etc but who arent seen as 'mainstream' for various reasons (political ones in some cases, such as Earle's)
>
> I was looking at the recent Billboard Boxscores
> and I saw Kylie Minogue drew huge crowds on a
> recent British tour. She kind of fits in with
> Robbie Williams, huge overseas but not very
> popular in North America.


she has a cute bum and a cheeky smile. And I guess, as far as the ladies (and some boys) are concerned, so has Robbie. Thats all you need!

Its apples and oranges. It may surprise a lot of Americans to know that the Grateful Dead couldnt have got themselves arrested in the UK. it just NEVER 'translated'. I think they were a lot bigger on the continent though but still nowhere near what they were at home.

Mathijs Wrote:
-----------------------------------------------------
>
> Well, you can't be American and have good taste at
> the same time I guess.

Oh, yes, we can. We had the good taste to send Europe
the worst R&R/pop bands we have. Besides, you deserve it. Green Day a R&R band?
They're from goddamn Berkeley! Hardly the source for R&R music.

>> What's happening in the US? Is rap now so big that no one else bothers to make good music anymore>

Well, where have you been? It's been that for way for years.
Rap/R&B has been the dominent force for quite a while.
When I worked for a music distribution company, I sold very little
R&R records. The only R&R act that was a consistent seller was Led Zeppelin.
They sold very few Stones records. The only one that sold the most was Hot Rocks.
There were plenty of bands (roots, alt/country) I hoped would take off, but didn't.
They're out here, you just have to look for them.
Unfortunatly, they don't sell. No matter how much Ryan Adams, the Jayhawks,
even Los Lobos, those types of bands that are really good are, they just don't
sell enough to make a really big impact. Hopefully, satellite radio
and internet radio will change that, but we'll see. I'm going to be in
Austin and Houston next week, and I'll know I'll see more great bands in
two blocks than all of California or NYC put together that probably won't get
any airplay, etc...Sad, but true.

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> and I saw Kylie Minogue drew huge crowds on a
> recent British tour. She kind of fits in with
> Robbie Williams, huge overseas but not very
> popular in North America.


>she has a cute bum and a cheeky smile.


I may be American, but I definitely get Kylie. (I just can't get you out of my mind)

So far as US vs UK tastes, remember that the US is a large market. Thus you get a lot more crap. 70s Nostalgia, hair bands, "pop" country, etc. And....the Grateful Dead...........ugghh!

That said, there is definitely some UK stuff I never got:

Suede
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Oasis/Blur/Pulp
The Happy Mondays
The Doves
Rick Astley
Bobby Gillespie (forget the band name)
Julian Cope

I have always liked the Smiths! Oh well, to each his(her) own!

Karl


PS You're wrong Gazza, Kylie has a cute smile and a cheeky bum! :-)




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-07-04 08:56 by KSIE.

It wasn't good. Awful IMO. And so was Roxy Music for that matter.

JumpingKentFlash

I want to see him next time he is around. I don´t know much about him or his work, but
if you listen to Good Vibrations or Help Me Rhonda you you must admit: he is a genius. GV is 3 songs in one, fantastic new techniques etc. That man was even ahead of The Brutals!

And did anyone notice his gorgeous blonde background girl? Who is she?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-07-04 17:46 by TooTough.

You should definitely go and see Brian Wilson if he is in your town.
I saw him twice and it was twice a wonderful performance.
Ofcourse it's because he has a great band, but just seeing Mr. Brian Wilson is an experience. The guy is a genius.

It wasn't great what he did on Live8, also Roxy Music wasn't great... but both acts are definitely worth checking out on tour.

The blonde is Taylor Mills, I believe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-07-04 18:32 by BowieStone.

Brian reminds me of Michigan J. Frog, the Warner Brothers cartoon character who sings for one guy, but as soon as the guy tries to convince anyone the frog can sing, the frog just goes "ribbit." Not that Brian is a great singer if you see him in concert, but he has a penchant for giving disastrously bad performances when the whole world is watching, such as this or the Queen's jubilee concert. He's really much better if he's in a smaller, friendlier "room" than a crowd of several hundred thousand and several million watching on TV. His show is a lot of fun, but it helps if you are a fan of his music. If you don't see the big whoop about his old Beach Boys records and the genius behind them, you wouldn't much care for his show even if he were a little more, er, conventional.

considering what he's been through and the fact that he could barely bring himself to go near a stage for 35 years, its a minor miracle that he is able to do so. To do a show like that in front of millions of people live around the world is a pretty nerve wracking experience for anyone, let alone someone that emotionally fragile.

I think the guy deserves to be cut some slack. He's had a serious psychological illness for decades and deserves a bit of respect and not mockery because he exhibits a 'zombie' like expression at times.

His set at Glastonbury was shown on TV a week earlier and it went down a storm. I guess he can have good days and bad days like many artists do. Everyone I know who's gone to see the live shows he's done over the last couple of years have come away saying how good they were.

saw brian a few years back truley fabulous,you can not judge on one song on the tele,his live show is spell binding,as far as lack of movement-the man had a stroke about 15 years ago how bout some slack.

john scialfa

Saw BW on the Smile tour and it was great. However the man is quite clearly ill and it is a miracle he functions at all. He stares off in to the distance and the keyboard is obviously a prop for him to hide behind. He also gets the audience to sing row your boat but it comes over as a way for him to feel that he is in control of the crowd and not the other way round.

His backing band are brilliant and if you think it sounds like cabaret ...what are the Beach Boys doing now? We had singles with the Fat Boys and Status Quo and now it is one original member on the chicken in a basket circuit.

Gazza Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> considering what he's been through and the fact
> that he could barely bring himself to go near a
> stage for 35 years, its a minor miracle that he is
> able to do so.
>
> I think the guy deserves to be cut some slack.
> He's had a serious psychological illness for
> decades and deserves a bit of respect and not
> mockery because he exhibits a 'zombie' like
> expression at times.
>
> His set at Glastonbury was shown on TV a week
> earlier and it went down a storm. I guess he can
> have good days and bad days like many artists do.
> Everyone I know who's gone to see the live shows
> he's done over the last couple of years have come
> away saying how good they were.


Gazza, I couldn't agree with you more. The guy has been through absolute hell for years and years, and he admits he still hears voices in his head that want to kill him. That's not funny or a reason to laugh. That's tragic...

I have seen him twice and everyone i have spoken to that has seen him is always totally blown away. I agree with the post (i forget who) earlier that said you need to appreciate and be aware of the beach boys music, brian's current state, and you have to have some sort of love and affection for at least the music, and then his concerts have the ability to move you to tears.



_____________________________________________________

What's your favourite flavour?...........Cherry Red!!