jaunthie | Let's do the time warp again

Last night I had the chance to go with

monkeybard to the Blue Oyster Cult concert. Yes, you read that right: Blue Oyster Cult. Monkeybard has been a fan for ages, and I also go into them in high school. And no, that wasn't quite as long ago as that statement might suggest. ;-) Anyway, the band played at a casino venue, and monkeybard got a pair of tickets for her birthday. I was very lucky and she chose me to go along with her - yay! So off we went. A few observations:

The band completely kicked ass. Given that their first album came out in 1972, and that the three original members have been playing longer than I've been alive, that's not as much of a surprise as you might think. It did make me wonder how they'd managed to stay alive and functional for so long, though, when so many other bands succumbed to drugs/alcohol/ennui/etcetera. Part of it may simply be luck; some of it is certainly talent (of the three remaining original members, the lead singer, the lead guitarist, and the lead keyboardist all perform on multiple instruments (the lead guitarist does some of the lead vocals and swaps out on keys with the keyboardist, who plays guitar as well; the lead singer also plays lead guitar on some tracks; and all three of them sing backup vocals when they're not doing the lead, so they have plenty of opportunity to keep themselves out of musical ruts and keep from getting bored), and certainly part of it is that they so obviously enjoy the performance aspect of the job. You could tell that they all really enjoyed playing, and they're all good enough musicians to jam as the moment takes them. They're also good enough to have picked superb replacements for the bassist and the drummer. The drummer was the only one who didn't sing, but boy could he play drums and jam with the band! As for the bassist, he's the only one I've ever seen/heard better than Mero-San. Granted, it's been a few years since the last time I had a chance to hear him play, and I'm sure he's continued to improve - and he was absolutely amazing back then. But this guy probably could have wiped the floor with Mero-San - and that's really saying something. I wish Mero-San could have seen him - really active bass lines, indefagitable stage presence, good backing vocals, the whole package. Among other things, during his long (and very exciting) bass solo during Godzilla, he quoted Van Halen's Eruption extensively. On a five-string bass. You do the math. So anyhow, yes, the band was fantastic, and played songs from albums ranging from their first to their most recent, plus some (I think) other stuff not on any album. Wow.

Casino crowds are just as scary in some ways as you might think. Between the people deliberately (?) playing to bad cliches (the middle-aged rocker wannabes, the trailer-trash out for a night in their finery, the headbangers still stuck in 1995, the pathetic stoners), the sad compulsive gamblers sitting in front of the endless slots, and the insane amount of stale tobacco smoke everywhere, it was an interesting study in sociology, to say the least. But the sound was excellent, the lighting setup highly professional, and the crowd control very adept. And most of the people there to see the band were great, and having a great time.

People who spend a goodly portion of the concert yakking on their cell phones suck. People who do this while using a cell phone whose antenna strobes while it's in use suck even more. And people who do this and then light up the stalest, skankiest-smelling joint it has ever been my misfortune to smell suck beyond words. And yes, this guy was sitting right in front of me. I moved.

What is it with middle-aged guys playing air guitar at a concert? Okay, this might date me a little, but I sure as heck don't remember anyone trying to play air guitar at Soundgarden or Goodness or Lollapalooza... Granted, at some of those shows at least I was too busy trying to stay upright and paying attention to the band to really scan the crowd for air-guitarists, but I think if they'd been there, I'd have noticed.

Casinos that only have slot machines that take tickets are freaky weird. What's the point of a slot machine if you can't use it to get rid of your spare change?

Anyhow, I had a wonderful time. Thanks again to monkeybard for the ticket!