Beltmann Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I thought that Trace was a freaking masterpiece.I think a lot of people around here love Trace, too (including myself). I might be in the minority, but I think Okemah, while different in sound, is just as strong. In fact, these days I'm much more likely to give Okemah a spin than Trace. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Regarding Jay's onstage demeanor - I think we may get back to the old argument of Art/Entertainment. As long as the music sounds great I personally don't give a shit what is going on with crowd interaction, gestures etc. Of course, I spent 15 years of my life going all over the place to see Garcia stare at the floor for most of the night. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Regarding Jay's onstage demeanor - I think we may get back to the old argument of Art/Entertainment. As long as the music sounds great I personally don't give a shit what is going on with crowd interaction, gestures etc. Of course, I spent 15 years of my life going all over the place to see Garcia stare at the floor for most of the night. me too they never really said a word either. which is good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 me too they never really said a word either. which is good.Yep. JG said something to the effect that to be onstage with the adoring throngs looking up at you comes perilously close to fascism. That's why he was REAL concerned about not preaching from the stage...with the Dead's crowd, especially, there were too many folks out there with a head full of snakes that might misinterpret you know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I donno.....it isn't that Jay does badly in concert, I think he thinks everything is fine and certainly I don't have to see him again if I don't care to. It isn't that we are comparing Jeff and Jay anymore, really that isn't the issue. I saw two acts this week that really love performing and relating to the audience (Waco Brothers and Robbie Fulks). They were goddam fun to see and Robbie got called back last night for three encores (one planned and two not) and the Wacos got called back for two (one planned and one not). I guess I am tired of seeing acts like Jay that figure you should take him or leave him and he doesn't have to say a thing while performing. (He did say a couple sentences at the Vic when I saw him, far more than I had seen him say before.) The Vic show was enjoyable, but I was ready for it to be over and didn't care if he did a fake encore or not. Everyone has different styles of performing. Dylan doesn't have to say anything. He also doesn't have to sing the songs they way they were written originally. Both things can be irritating in concert and thus I would not necessarily go see him again. Then again unlike Jay Farrar who didn't change the face of popular music, Dylan can do just about anything he damn well pleases (not unlike Jerry Garcia I suppose.) Jerry could fill arenas just by showing up, as does Dylan; their position in the music world is somewhat different than Jay's. The rest of the music world, those still playing clubs, like Fulks and others, have to put out for their paycheck. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Well said, Lou. In the case of the GD (and Dylan too) by the time I got to see those guys the event itself had somehow already eclipsed the actual concert. I'm not sure exactly when this happened but it was already in place by '81 for sure. FWIW the Dan Hicks show I saw this month was outstanding, both musically and in terms of presentation. Hicks might be the best I've ever seen with the between song banter. Just the epitome of cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Speed Racer Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 do you realize his job is to get up and perform for hundreds/thousands of people? if he was an introvert and this wasn't necesarily an interesting concept to him, maybe he should reconsider his job? People go pay money to see these shows, the least he could do is act interested in the music he's made. plenty of rock stars do it, he could at least try. Job. Exactly. But it's not his whole job - he's got to write/produce/prep/sell himself as well. Like everybody else, it appears that Jay shows less enthusiasm for what might be his least favorite part of the job. Should that be at all surprising? I'm an introvert, like Jay. I hate making phone calls at work. I'll stare at the phone for 10 minutes, pick it up, have a conversation like there's a gun to my head, and wince when I hang up. But without phone calls, the rest of my job wouldn't really work - do-able, but I wouldn't be very successful. Similarly, live shows are the money maker for Jay's deal, and so he does it. Should we really rail the man for not showing enthusiasm for all parts of his job? If his shows are so lackluster, save $40, put on the record, and couple it with some ambient noise for 'crowd effect.' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 You do realize you have a Bob Dylan picture in your avatar don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Job. Exactly. But it's not his whole job - he's got to write/produce/prep/sell himself as well. Like everybody else, it appears that Jay shows less enthusiasm for what might be his least favorite part of the job. Should that be at all surprising? I'm an introvert, like Jay. I hate making phone calls at work. I'll stare at the phone for 10 minutes, pick it up, have a conversation like there's a gun to my head, and wince when I hang up. But without phone calls, the rest of my job wouldn't really work - do-able, but I wouldn't be very successful. Similarly, live shows are the money maker for Jay's deal, and so he does it. Should we really rail the man for not showing enthusiasm for all parts of his job? If his shows are so lackluster, save $40, put on the record, and couple it with some ambient noise for 'crowd effect.' You don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
giraffo Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Take the man in your avatar, for instance. Been to a Dylan show lately? If we want to talk about showing more interest, the conversation should start with Mr. D. I hate recent Dylan material and shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IRememberDBoon Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I hate recent Dylan material and shows. you hate his recent albums??? whats to HATE? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NationalDust Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Jay should start wearing cute country hats and running in place during Chickamagua Hilarious mental image. That's the LAST thing he would ever do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doug Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Did anyone here see the recent Son Volt shows in which Centro-matic's Will Johnson filled in on drums? I would've loved to have seen that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lamradio Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 like Jeff Tweedy. Ha.. Exactly.. I have always said that you can't have more than one brilliant songwriter in one band.. It just doesn't work.. All though there have been rare exceptions.. In my opinion, when UT split, it's obvious where the better half of the song writing force went. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
giraffo Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 you hate his recent albums??? whats to HATE? his delivery, his ghosting himself, his rehashing of the same style of music he used in his "golden era" to cash in on his identity, there are plenty of things, I suppose, those are a few. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
camaroheadus Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 if you require meaningless banter during a live show to enjoy it, then you will not enjoy seeing son volt. jay goes out, rips through 4 or 5 songs, asks everyone how they are doing and then rips through about twenty more. jay's vocals may not be up to some peoples standards (not my opinion), but they play as tight as any band out there. i saw them twice last year and was absolutely blown away each time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 His guitar solos should be more than enough to get you up off your ass. Or blow you out of your chair. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Ha.. Exactly.. I have always said that you can't have more than one brilliant songwriter in one band.. It just doesn't work.. worked pretty good for the Beatles Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lamradio Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 worked pretty good for the Beatles Yeah, that's one of the exceptions I was talking about.. The Beatles were just "the perfect band".. They WERE Rock N Roll But there have been many cases where a band was torn apart because another member discovers his/her writing ability.. Or two songwriters have always had conflicting ideas, and it just gets to be too much and the band falls apart.. Or a member leaves.. Hmm.. sounds kind of familiar for Wilco as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
froggie Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 [quote name='JUDE Quote Link to post Share on other sites
caliber66 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Sure, it is the same song over and over again.That might have been a valid argument after the third Son Volt album. The two solo albums and the two most recent SV albums have shown some development of of theme and style, I think. Then again, "Straightface" would have been pretty out of place on either of the first two. Piano, horns and Jet Pilot? Nothing like anything heard from Jay before. Space Junk? It's no Krautrock, but it sure ain't "Windfall" or "Punch Drunk." And does it really matter who sells out the Vic faster? How long would it take Daughtry? How sad is it that that's the best current pop culture reference I can come up with? I donno.....it isn't that Jay does badly in concert, I think he thinks everything is fine and certainly I don't have to see him again if I don't care to. It isn't that we are comparing Jeff and Jay anymore, really that isn't the issue. I saw two acts this week that really love performing and relating to the audience (Waco Brothers and Robbie Fulks). They were goddam fun to see and Robbie got called back last night for three encores (one planned and two not) and the Wacos got called back for two (one planned and one not). I guess I am tired of seeing acts like Jay that figure you should take him or leave him and he doesn't have to say a thing while performing. (He did say a couple sentences at the Vic when I saw him, far more than I had seen him say before.) The Vic show was enjoyable, but I was ready for it to be over and didn't care if he did a fake encore or not.Sorry to go back and quote you twice, Lou, but does it really matter that Jay isn't Sammy Davis Jr.? I wouldn't go to a Jay Farrar show and expect him to work the crowd any more than I would go to a Wilco show and expect to see Jeff bite the head off a bat. Kurt Cobain played entire concerts with his back to the crowd. Doesn't make the music rock any less. It's not disrespect, it's introversion. Again, not trying to pick on you, Lou, but I had a lot of time in the car today, and I listened to all five Son Volt albums (as well as some Clash and, uh, Carl Orff), and thought about this thread. Suum quique. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I suppose the deal is don't expect the sort of deal you get with Jeff, with Jay. I shall refrain from telling the story of when I met him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I suppose the deal is don't expect the sort of deal you get with Jeff, with Jay. I shall refrain from telling the story of when I met him. I met Jay twice once he was nice once not so nice. I asked if I can get a picture with him and he said I don't do pictures... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Analogman Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Exactly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seeyatonite Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I think i have all the music Jay and Jeff released. I have seen them both many times. I love them both, but I do think Jay is a better song writer, and Jeff is a far better performer.While Jay might be a little more animated live, some times Jeff is downright goofy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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