Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Arachno-capitalist]

Everyone knows everyone in Iceland. I am not kidding

Well the entire nation went into catastrophic bankruptcy so Id imagine they are all looking for the people who owe each other money.
(PS Greece is next)

[JorgeFabregas]

Iceland has a population of ~300,000. That's like a mid-sized American city. Reykjavík has a population of ~100,00, so that's like a large American suburb or Green Bay, WI.

[jay-ell]

I have decided. Instead of going to either the game or the tribute concert, we are instead going to see MC Frontalot at the end of the month. I'm also going to the spa (tonight in fact), but we wanted to do something together, as well.

Nerdcore WILL rise up, bitches.

And I think I'm going to direct my in-laws towards the knitting books, if they ask. They haven't yet, tho, so I might escape this year without a gift, which would be ideal.

[greenkoolayd]

i didnt get you  a gift, but im glad you were born.

[wombat]

Once I saw a Janis Joplin tribute band.  It kinda worked because "Janis" was in her middle to late thirties, way older than the real Janis when she died, and was a little bit out of shape.  Of course she didn't have quite the voice of Janis either.  I imagined that this was what had become of Janis Joplin by the late 70s, her days of headlining festivals far behind her, fat and over the hill playing in a seedy club, for the couple of hundred people that hadn't forgotten about her, a good 10-15 years before her all star revival ala Chuck Berry or Roy Orbison.  So it worked for me, because I was able to create that scenario in my mind and believe that this was what it might be like to experience that.

This is why Paul has a better life than anyone.

[Lister]

Amazon gift cards are my go-to suggestion for anyone who doesn't know what to get me.  I can ALWAYS find something to spend $10 on at Amazon.  Home Depot cards are also nice since you're in the remodeling mode.

And yeah, I admit this takes the "art" out of giving a gift, but if you're being asked what you want, people don't know what they want to give you in the first place.

As for tributes... I saw a show called The Rat Pack, which was basically Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. impersonators trying to recreate an old Vegas show.  For the first act I was picking apart differences ("Frank" looked a lot more like Gene Kelly, "Dean" was about a foot too tall, etc), but then "Sammy" hit a home run with a perfect, soulful "Candyman" and I loved everything from then on.

In the end, it was a live performance of good songs done in the style of the singers that made them famous, but the performers were still having fun themselves, and improvising.  Even though I knew it was fake scotch they were drinking, it felt almost like I'd been able to see the real thing, and so I guess that has some value on its own.

[miles]

Even though I knew it was fake scotch they were drinking

The Saddest Thing.

[jay-ell]

And in a surprise last-minute odd-man rush, my MIL got me the box of the Dr. Who specials that aren't available on Netflix yet, right off my wishlist. She gave it to me tonight. I know what my plans for the evening are.

[linnea]

I have only seen one tribute band, which was Aussie Pink Floyd. My boyfriend at the time was a huuuuge Floyd fan and was heartbroken that he was too young to ever see them live. It was a pretty decent show, but I can't imagine going to see them of my own volition. It would have been amazing to see Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd back in their prime, in some enormous arena full of screaming fans. Sitting in a relatively tame audience of perhaps 1800 people in a theatre doesn't really compare.

[littlefallsmets]

As an alternate to the coverband thing, I would suggest doing a planetarium laser show with the original band's music.

And, also, do a lot of drugs.

[miles]

Sometimes it's just NICE to hear your favourite songs played as they originally were by people who are musically competent in a live setting. I could listen to The Queen Is Dead all day long and enjoy it but would I rather do that or go see The Smyths (yes really) the once, where I can dance like crazy with like minded people to brilliant songs that are played with energy and feeling I would never get out of even the best CD recording without any self-indulgent 'let's make this song OURS' crap thrown it, it's played just as I love it. Smiths-y.

I AM THE RESURRECTION

So I saw a Smiths cover band on Saturday night called Louder Than Bombs, based in LA. The owner of this pub in Salt Lake flew them in to celebrate his 40th (see, I'm on topic, birthday wishes to him!). All of the band members were Hispanic, which makes sense because Morrissey has a big Hispanic following in Southern Cal. They opened, of course, with The First of the Gang to Die (though I don't see many Hispanics in that Mancunian crowd). I went with one friend who is also a huge Smiths fan, and three other friends who had basically no idea about them. One of them asked if they were the band that did I Wanna Be Your Dog, and then wondered if the Smiths were also Hispanic. The opening lines to that song remind me that Morrissey is still the best modern lyricist in rock, well into last decade anyway:

You have never been in love,
Until you've seen the stars,
reflect in the resevoirs

And you have never been in love,
Until you've seen the dawn rise,
behind the home for the blind

Even if his co-songwriters often suck these days.

Anyway, great time, would see again, and only a $5 cover. Setlist was very similar to a contemporary Morrissey setlist, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

I think I'm in the position of most of the music I enjoy a lot of bands who aren't accessible for me live, so I have to rely on cover bands for some, Smiths being the first example that came to mind.

Don't give up hope, man!

[Nabubrush]

As for tributes... I saw a show called The Rat Pack, which was basically Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. impersonators trying to recreate an old Vegas show.  For the first act I was picking apart differences ("Frank" looked a lot more like Gene Kelly, "Dean" was about a foot too tall, etc), but then "Sammy" hit a home run with a perfect, soulful "Candyman" and I loved everything from then on.

In the end, it was a live performance of good songs done in the style of the singers that made them famous, but the performers were still having fun themselves, and improvising.  Even though I knew it was fake scotch they were drinking, it felt almost like I'd been able to see the real thing, and so I guess that has some value on its own.

I saw this with my sweetie, here in Portland. I really enjoyed it, and so did she. However, she won't entertain the idea of seeing a regular tribute band. The last one we saw was Mistress of Reality, and all-female Sabbath tribute band. I may have discussed this here before. The guitarist had recently quit the band, so some guy was filling in, kind of defeating one of the main draws. He had an SG on stage, but did not play it. So two strikes against them.

One time I saw an ad for a Motley Crue tribute band, playing with a Poison tribute band, and playing with LA Guns. That's gotta sting, when you have to tour with two tribute bands.

Also, there used to be a local tribute band called the Misfats, but I don't think they exist anymore.

[littlefallsmets]

Ah, my all-Italian GNR coverband "Appetite for Lasagna" that never happened.

I mean, it never would'a been legal to do the Appetite cover with the Garfield characters as our poster anyway.

le sigh

[pmcd9]

Someone create that image, stat.  You get a can sMets.

I've been seeing some tribute bands lately.  Saw that Janis tribute again and her voice was great.  She really does a good job of sounding like her.

I also saw a really good Black Sabbath tribute.  The singer looked a lot like Ozzy too.

Then I went to the Texas Celebrity Impersonators Festival.  All I can say is Yikes!!!

[Carlos del Vaca]

Ah, my all-Italian GNR coverband "Appetite for Lasagna" that never happened.

That's pretty good.  My dream project was a D-tuned acoustic group.  All doin' Soundgarden and Helmet covers on acoustic guitar, with a stripped-down drumkit like the Femmes or American Analog Set.