5/31/24 Bonnie Raitt at the Warner Theater in DC

Quote
RisingStone

Quote
TheBluesHadaBaby
So, I wouldn't dawdle on that Glasgow show

The ticket was an instant sell-out in Britain, too. And also venue upgrade happened in some tour-stops. In Glasgow, the SWG3 Galvanizers (capacity: 1,250) on the tour’s initial itinerary was changed to the O2 Academy (capacity: 2,500) due to a phenomenal demand.

I have already secured a ticket.

The concert was clearly the biggest deal of this year for a lot of local young people. It was quite something to be present for; not only is Chappell Roan a legitimate phenomenon, but the energy and excitement in her audiences is something that, really, only the young possess.

So why do I not find youtubes of the May 23rd show? Because "kids' these days" important new memories they want to share only with each other, meaning not on platforms over-40s use. The fact that tiktok is designed to be addictive from its velocity, and worsens already micro-sized attention spans doesn't matter. Wherever the real adults don't go is the point, so it's there that in 8, 12, 20 second blasts they'll post their interests and passions.

Very short montage, Chappell Roan's biggest show to date. Girls just wanna have fun.
[www.tiktok.com]

One to see: view and pan from the bridge above Brown's Island. The song is "Casual."
[www.tiktok.com]

Chappell instructs the crowd on the "Hot To Go!" moves. The 21st century's "YMCA" has arrived.
[www.tiktok.com]

Most of the crowd already knew it. The problem was not enough room to do the dance's side (the "T's") and forward arm movements
[www.tiktok.com]

"Pink Pony Club" closes shows.
[www.tiktok.com]
Lyrics the crowd is singing is a mother-daughter dialogue:
GOD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? You're a pink pony girl, and you dance at the club!
OH MAMA, I'M JUST HAVING FUN. On stage in high heels, is where I belong.

"PPC" also on Reddit
[www.reddit.com]

A Richmonder back home still buzzing from the show
[www.tiktok.com]

After the show the currently fastest-rising performer in the country posted
[www.tiktok.com]

Stereogum review of the Richmond show.
"Chappell Roan is a Star"
May 24, 2024
[www.stereogum.com]

Seemingly Chapell is a force to be reckoned with, rapidly establishing herself as a new icon (but for whom?).

Last week, I saw an 85-year-old Judy Collins. Favor to a friend who's always loved her, had never seen her before, and had obviously left things a bit late. I had never seen her before either, not even when she toured with Stephen Stills a few years ago.

Orlando, Lucky Dips

Quote
tatters
Last week, I saw an 85-year-old Judy Collins. Favor to a friend who's always loved her, had never seen her before, and had obviously left things a bit late. I had never seen her before either, not even when she toured with Stephen Stills a few years ago.

I too have seen her only once and it was recently: last autumn. Her voice is still what I'd call good, but of course not like at her peak, that would be impossible at 84.

Somrething else that impressed me is how sharp she remains. Her performance style is cool, how she narrates between songs, telling us how she came to record them, or just about her life, from arriving in Greenwich Village (a year before Mr. Zimmerman showed up), on through her career. While the stories I know are practiced, they still flowed almost as though conversationally.

At our show she sang Imagine... for the first time live. Just, well... imagine: the first time live, at 84!

I like graphic arts and enjoy good LP cover art... which, to my eyes, is something that actually is surprisingly rare. By sheer happenstance a few months before I became aware Judy Collins would be playing nearby, while going through a used LP bin I came across two of hers that I thought were especially great-looking: Judith (1975) and Hard Times for Lovers (1979). They were in good shape, cost very little, and I picked them up. (Otherwise the only music of hers I have is a late 1990s retrospective compilation on cd.)

I brought the LPs to the concert, and she signed both. One of the two I asked her to sign on both sides, both photographs being so striking. Those of you who know what the front and back of Hard Times for Lovers look like -- yep, that one. She graciously autographed both sides. Now my dilemma is which side to display at any given time? So I alternate them.

Bruce Springsteen today...oh, wait...

Quote
RisingStone
Seemingly Chapell is a force to be reckoned with, rapidly establishing herself as a new icon (but for whom?).

There definitely are Chappell Roan fans who would rather keep her as their secret, her concerts intimate and her tickets cheap. I saw one post on social media, "Oh no! Everybody! The straights are discovering her!"

Yeah, we are . I'm not young, not female, and not "queer" (their & Chappell's term, not mine). So I definitely do not fit the profile of those who found and glommed onto her first. Sorry 'bout that. But good is just good; there was no way that after Sep. 2023 she'd remain little-known.

I am still fascinated trying to sort it all out, though. I'm not a pop fan. I disliked "Thriller" when it first came out and still do today. Ditto all things Madonna. Gaga? Meh. So what's different about this intentionally glam, campy, drag-adjacent performer and her dancey debut album?

For those with a sufficiently long perspective, it strikes me that if you could blend together Cyndi Lauper at her peak (She's So Unusual), Alanis Morrisette at hers (Jagged Little Pill), and Katy Perry at hers (Teenage Dream), you'd be in the neighborhood of Chappell Roan in The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. "Midwest Princess," though, being much better than either "She's So Unusual" or "Teenage Dream."


Casual. April 15, 2024 in one of Coachella's tents.
[youtu.be]

To watch tiktoks one might conclude that Pink Pony Club and Casual must be by far the best things on the album. Not so.

What those songs do have are probably the two most popular sing-along choruses. Pink Pony Club's makes it sound like the song is pretty, bouncy fluff. Bubblegum, Chappell has described its sound. But the whole song deserves a close listen, there's a well-done poignancy in the lyrics and their storyline. Similarly, while Casual's chorus is becoming widely known for its sexual bluntness, the whole song is also well-written, about a "situationship" -- a girl just getting used as a side piece while craving a real relationship.

But move on beyond those most-vidded two songs. The "Midwest Princess" songs I'm liking as much as or more than Pink Pony Club and Casual are

* Red Wine Supernova
The first 6 min. of this MTV Push are the song, and about the song (lol, she had only a twin bed until 25 yrs old, so entertaining was a challenge until just last year.)
[youtu.be]
* Femininomenon
* My Kink is Karma
* Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl
* Naked in Manhattan
* Guilty Pleasure (there's yodeling!)

* Okay, include Hot To Go! as well. It's silly fun, but good silly fun. And like every other song on the album it has at least one couplet that is so sharp and vivid it makes you want to remember it. (But you lose track of them, there are so many as you progress song to song.)

Most of the above include EDM beats... something I usually dislike. But it's all in the execution. ("Did you hear me, play A F*CKING BEEEEEAT!!!) Oh, and there's also 1980s style synth, and it too is actually good!

I'm usually also not a fan of pop ballads, but hers I've found to be more than worth listening to. California, Kaleidoscope, Picture You (more yodeling! (this time during orgasm!)) and Coffee are denser and richer than what I, at least, have heard in other pop princess' ballads. (Admittedly, those others are a pretty small sample.)

On "Midwest Princess" virtually every song's lyrics, dynamics, and shifts feel smartly crafted and are effective. (Elton John keeps very enthusiastically endorsing these songs; Chappell was on his show again on Sunday.) They're what the legions of competing queens and princesses of pop out there seem to be aspiring to, but rarely attain even on individual songs, much less through entire albums. (I think; again, not an expert.)

In Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Albums of 2023 the magazine puts Rodrigo's "GUTS" as #2 and Roan's "Midwest Princess" #12. I don't know what the year's best albums were -- and neither does Rolling Stone. But between those two women and those two rankings, if anything I'd reverse them. Of "Midwest Princess"'s 14 songs, there isn't a single track that doesn't rate being there, something that nearly never happens, and wasn't the case on "GUTS." For all "Midwest Princess"'s bounce, fake eyelashes and glitter, there is still no filler.

It is a true, old-school "album," as well. It has a coherence, of themes repeated and intertwined, and there is a story being told. One interviewer observed to Chappell that it should be done as a musical. It's like "Jagged Little Pill" again in that way... and I'd bet money it does get adapted for the stage

Speaking of Alanis, in the universe of solo female singer-songwriters' debut or breakout albums, so far I'm thinking of "Midwest Princess" as up there with my two favorites, which are "Exile in Guyville" and "Jagged Little Pill." (In the 1990s I saw Alanis open for Liz.) And it's very different from but, IMO, easily better than Adele's "19." As for Adele's masterpiece and breakout album, "21," ...mmmm, okay, no. But "Midwest Princess" stands apart for containing more joy and just sheer fun than any of "Guyville," "Pill," or "21." It's a new, future iconic album that almost compels you to dance to it.

TheBluesHadaBaby —

You are so into Chappell, aren’t you?
I’ll see if she deserves all the hype surrounding her in the coming September.

I’m counting the days.

Quote
RisingStone
TheBluesHadaBaby —

You are so into Chappell, aren’t you? ...

Wha?... it shows?

I can get caught up in a great new record. When Fully Finished Outtakes arrived almost nothing else got played for probably two weeks. Same with Live at El Mocambo.

That's been the story with this one as well. I've listened to it alot and attentively.

I think many of us have been mere mostly-puzzled onlookers when for decades now Beyonces, Biebers, Kanyes, Katys, Taylors, Kendricks, Arianas, et al, ascended and become what music news seems to be all about. We remember way back to when the cover of Rolling Stone actually (well, frequently) meant something. Now only to trend on tiktok matters in music media.

So I do recognize that my reaction is boosted by all that, on top of having just bobbed in an ocean of young people over-the-top crazy passionate about their surging new musical lodestar.

To stumble on one of these in the very long line of very popular puzzlers, who I (IMHO) view as deserving of acclaim, is, let's say, more than refreshing. It's spirit-lifting.

(Also, I do write long-form, in pretty much everything. As folks here are all too aware and have patiently tolerated. (Thanks, bv.))

But I will calm down. Concert buzz lasts only so long.

Edit:

As I expected, Richmond's record for being Chappell Roan as headliner's largest crowd to date was very short-lived. If, that is, a festival crowd qualifies. The best I can drag out of the secretive, dismissive concert promotion system here in Richmond is that our crowd Thursday May 23rd was between 5000 and 6000. Buffalo may have topped it the very next night with 6000. But her afternoon set at the Boston Calling Music Festival Sunday May 26th totally crushed both of those.

Yesterday a person posted, "This drone shot of her set from this weekend’s Boston Calling is truly insane..."
[www.instagram.com]
"... In years of going to/seeing local coverage of the festival (I didn’t go this year), I don’t think I’ve ever seen the crowd stretch this far back while still being this densely packed for anyone except the headliners, and even then I’m sure she’d have at least half of them beat."

Someone else added:
"...the only day that sold out at Boston Calling was due to an act playing in the afternoon that has a rabid fanbase. ... She [i.e. Chappell] is in position to sell out TD Garden level arenas right now, I am sure of that."

Quote
RisingStone
...In Glasgow, the SWG3 Galvanizers (capacity: 1,250) on the tour’s initial itinerary was changed to the O2 Academy (capacity: 2,500)...

Glasgow's gonna need a bigger boat.

****
I'm down in Virginia
with your Cousin Lou



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024-05-28 23:04 by TheBluesHadaBaby.

Next couple of weeks...
no Stones for me, but:

Corb Lund
AC/DC
The Eagles
Rod Stewart
Dale Watson
Steel Panther



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-05-29 20:11 by ErwinH.

Quote
TheBluesHadaBaby

Quote
tatters
Last week, I saw an 85-year-old Judy Collins. Favor to a friend who's always loved her, had never seen her before, and had obviously left things a bit late. I had never seen her before either, not even when she toured with Stephen Stills a few years ago.

I too have seen her only once and it was recently: last autumn. Her voice is still what I'd call good, but of course not like at her peak, that would be impossible at 84.

Somrething else that impressed me is how sharp she remains. Her performance style is cool, how she narrates between songs, telling us how she came to record them, or just about her life, from arriving in Greenwich Village (a year before Mr. Zimmerman showed up), on through her career. While the stories I know are practiced, they still flowed almost as though conversationally.

At our show she sang Imagine... for the first time live. Just, well... imagine: the first time live, at 84!

I like graphic arts and enjoy good LP cover art... which, to my eyes, is something that actually is surprisingly rare. By sheer happenstance a few months before I became aware Judy Collins would be playing nearby, while going through a used LP bin I came across two of hers that I thought were especially great-looking: Judith (1975) and Hard Times for Lovers (1979). They were in good shape, cost very little, and I picked them up. (Otherwise the only music of hers I have is a late 1990s retrospective compilation on cd.)

I brought the LPs to the concert, and she signed both. One of the two I asked her to sign on both sides, both photographs being so striking. Those of you who know what the front and back of Hard Times for Lovers look like -- yep, that one. She graciously autographed both sides. Now my dilemma is which side to display at any given time? So I alternate them.

The stories she tells about her contemporaries are remarkable, I think mainly because there's not too many other performers still active today who have been around as long as she has. Peter Yarrow, telling her to keep her schedule open just in case things don't work out with Mary. Richard Farina, who died in 1966, playing on one of her albums. The one that really boggled my mind was headlining a show with 13-year-old Arlo Guthrie as her opening act. Arlo Gutherie is 76 years old now.

Pixies/Modest Mouse/Cat Power last night.

Next, Stones Friday in Atlanta!

The Rolling Stones, Philly!

Tomorrow night (June 5th) - Joss Stone, in Norfolk

With better seats and for less $ than in DC last summer... naturally, DC being the(?) highest per capita income metro areas in the country.

****
I'm down in Virginia
with your Cousin Lou

Rolling Stones July 5 BC Place Stadium

Bergenfest Bergen Norway
Pearl Jam Dublin Ireland
Pearl Jam Manchester UK
Nick Mason London England
Collie Buddz London England
Rolling Stones Los Angeles X2
Rolling Stones Santa Clara
Rolling Stones Missouri

Metallica - Helsinki, Kopenhagen, Warsaw, Madrid
Pearl Jam - Dublin, Manchester, London
Rammstein -Dublin,
Pet Shop Boys - London
Bruce Springsteen - London 2x
Grace Jones - London

Blondie (Halifax) tomorrow
Foo fighters (Manchester) Thu 13th
Green day (Milan) Sunday 17th
Green day (Manchester) Fri 21st
Taylor swift (London) sun 23rd
Pearl jam (Manchester) Tue 25th
The National (Manchester) July 4th
AC/DC (London) July 7th
Springsteen (Stockholm) July 15th

Busy month….

Also good to see a few of us IORR types at pearl jam in Manchester- high hopes for this, last time pj played a new arena in northern England (Leeds 2014) it was legendary - 3.5 hours and 40 min over the curfew with the full house lights on

JJ Grey
Mavis Staples
Jerry Douglas

ZZ Top, at Musikfest (August)

Quote
umakmehrd
Rolling Stones July 5 BC Place Stadium

Yes, less than a month away!!

Beth Gibbons (support: Bill Ryder-Jones)

Gibbons has just released the debut solo album.
Never seen Portishead in person. They rarely played live after 2014. Hopefully this will be something more than the ‘next best thing’.

Fontaines DC

Baroness. June 18
Cypress Hill (w/ Nashville Symphony). June 22

Quote
Lil' Brian
Fontaines DC

You're in for a treat.

Quote
TheBluesHadaBaby

Quote
Lil' Brian
Fontaines DC

You're in for a treat.

And a new record, "Romance", on August 23rd too.

Camera Obscura at the Wiltern tonight, just purchased off the secondary for $7.28

Quote
RisingStone
Beth Gibbons (support: Bill Ryder-Jones)

Gibbons has just released the debut solo album.
Never seen Portishead in person. They rarely played live after 2014. Hopefully this will be something more than the ‘next best thing’.

Saw her two weeks ago in Zürich, it was absolutely great (great musicians) and she did the whole new album. Only very short show, just over one hour. Enjoy it!

sjouke



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-06-12 10:31 by Sjouke.