I try to make a few concerts each year. Usually it is the cheap free concerts at Santa Cruz each summer on the beach but some choice artists recently swung through the Bay Area.
ROGER WATERS
THE ORACLE in OAKLAND
DECEMBER, 2010
(Photo by R.J. White)
While the planning started last summer, December saw the arrival of Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd, putting on the recreation of The Wall in all its theatrical glory. A friend of mine saw Waters tour with the Dark Side of the Moon theme and said it was one of the best concerts he had ever seen. Big words considering that, while still respected, we had both moved on and left our rocker band roots back in the 1980s. Waters didn't disappoint with The Wall. The music is still as powerful as it was back in 1979/1980 but modern twists are given to the messages like war and the current war's casualties to using state-of-the-art tech to project images onto the bricks run from a computer. This wasn't a cheap show to see by any means but you saw where the money went in this one with the construction of a giant wall on stage to its eventual crumble only to be gathered and reassemble in another city on the tour. If you can pony up the dinero, this is well worth seeing and is really the melding of a rock concert and a broadway show.
OMD
THE FOX THEATER in OAKLAND
MARCH, 2011
(Photo by R.J. White)
When I left my rockers days behind in the early 1980s, I got swept up in all those new bands on MTV that were coming out of the UK. One that didn't get much video play but some local airplay was a band from Liverpool called Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD for short for us Americans. Quite the quirky name. They were inspired by Bowie and Kraftwerk as were most of those early synthesizer bands. And while the average American wrote them off long ago as "that band from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack with one or two hits", they were a bigger band around the globe and had far moodier songs tucked away in the back of their albums than the pop hits push to the front. In the early days of synth groups, these bands took a lot of heat for their "canned" music and for being "cold". Untrue. These other lads from Liverpool managed to wring a lot of emotion out of those old synths. And while other UK synth bands might have lost a little of their luster over the years, this band has still topped my list as my favorite band.
(Photo by R.J. White)
In truth, I'm still a big 80s synth fan and this was the one concert I was waiting for. I had seen OMD for the first time back in 1985 at the Kabuki Club in Japan Town. I was armed with a new driver's license, my sister's car, and it marked my first solo trip driving to San Francisco at night. I arrived late that night after a quick shopping spree for records in Berkeley. So much so that I forgot where I parked the car (rule #1) in my mad rush to the club and had the cops help drive me around looking for it at 1:30am after thinking my sister's car had been stolen. Nothing worse than calling your sister at 1:30am and saying, "Don't freak out but what is your license plate number?"
OMD concert #2 went even worse as the much fabled Depeche Mode 1988 Music for the Masses tour had OMD as the opening band at the Shoreline in Mountain View. A couple co-workers and I drove to the venue, only to get lost, then late, then arriving in time to hear OMD playing their last song while I was in the parking lot.
OMD concerts #3 went much better. By 1991, most of the original band had a falling out with the lead singer who valiantly soldiered ahead with some other new band members for three more albums (two being very excellent). So while the whole band as I knew it wasn't there, the venue at the DNA Lounge was the perfect little club to have an intimate concert with your favorite band.
And then 20 years went by. The band officially broke up in the mid to late 1990s except for the odd best of, remix, or b-sides CD. The music industry had changed and the former members went on to help other bands behind the scenes. Eventually, old wounds were healed and the band was able to pull together their original line up to test the waters with a few special shows in Europe. It went well. Next was more touring in the UK. The old fans responded well to the return of their native sons. OMD tested the waters again by putting out a CD of new material in 2010 which was well received and managed to skate that line between pleasing old fans with the old sound and experimenting with new directions and sounds without sounding like many of today's generic synth pop bands all aping Mode and Camouflage. But OMD fans around the globe were clamoring for a tour as well. Pretty risky in today's financial climate and would anyone remember them in the States?
It turns out North America did. At least the hardcore fans as smaller venues were chosen for a one-month tour of America and Toronto. The Bay Area's turn was this past weekend where the original venue in San Francisco was bumped for the larger and classier music hall at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Admittedly, the band said it played it safe with a line up of some new songs and the classics from their past. Exploring new options to help finance a non-UK tour, the band offer some upper tier pricing incentives since, naturally, their fans from the 1980s were now grown and making some money. One of the options was a sack full of swag and a chance to hear the sound check. Option #2 was the same but, for more money, you would get a meet & greet with the band afterwards where they would allow photos and signings. Naturally, being my favorite band and a once in a lifetime opportunity, I jumped on the Meet & Greet!!
It was a great evening. The band was gracious and thankful that the old fans remembered them. They still sounded great, got the theater dancing, and I had a wonderful time talking to other hardcore fans who were even bigger fans than me. One lady had just seen them twice in LA, and once in Chicago. Another had been to every concert on the North American tour. Other fans had driven from LA and Sacramento. One guy on business from Houston managed to work in the concert with his schedule. Chatting in line with other fans made the evening a blast and, to top it off, besides meeting the band, I managed to get to the front of the stage for a great experience of seeing the band up close.
The new songs worked well with the old. Partly because songs like "Sister Marie Says" was an older song pulled years ago because it sounded too much like their other hit "Enola Gay". But even new song "History of Modern Part I" had that classic OMD sound and, IMO, is the best song on the new album, The History of Modern. Other highlights for me were seeing the band whip into "Radiowaves" from the album Dazzle Ships, their more experimental album that almost derailed their career (as the band jokes) even though that was the album that hooked this fan back in 1983. But the best of the best for me that night were the two songs joined at the hip; "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" from Architecture and Morality, a highmark in their career and the album that made you learn how to properly spell the word "architecture". Do yourself a favor and look for the "Maid of Orleans" song from the Fox Theater on YouTube (someone booted it) and you'll get an inkling of just how powerful the song is live. The strobe effect doesn't work as well on video but, live and in the front row, it was hypnotizing.
In all, the perfect evening!
The new songs worked well with the old. Partly because songs like "Sister Marie Says" was an older song pulled years ago because it sounded too much like their other hit "Enola Gay". But even new song "History of Modern Part I" had that classic OMD sound and, IMO, is the best song on the new album, The History of Modern. Other highlights for me were seeing the band whip into "Radiowaves" from the album Dazzle Ships, their more experimental album that almost derailed their career (as the band jokes) even though that was the album that hooked this fan back in 1983. But the best of the best for me that night were the two songs joined at the hip; "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" from Architecture and Morality, a highmark in their career and the album that made you learn how to properly spell the word "architecture". Do yourself a favor and look for the "Maid of Orleans" song from the Fox Theater on YouTube (someone booted it) and you'll get an inkling of just how powerful the song is live. The strobe effect doesn't work as well on video but, live and in the front row, it was hypnotizing.
In all, the perfect evening!
RÖYKSOPP
THE REGENCY BALLROOM in SAN FRANCISCO
MARCH, 2011
(Bad cellphone photo by R.R. Werner)
Who, you say? It's okay. I understand. My tastes tend to run to the obscure and Norwegian band Röyksopp isn't even a blip in the American music scene dominated by American Idol divas, auto tune wannabes, and fallen teen pop singers. The closest dent they've made in the American consciousness is supplying the music to one of those caveman Geico commercials about five years ago (the one with the airport people mover). But they are a little bigger in Europe, having managed to crack the muzak at the Subway sandwich shop I was at back in Zürich in 2008. And for those hip to modern electronic music, they are fast becoming one of the bigger acts. Their music has popped up in other strange places like in the soundtrack for the Doctor Who Confidential for David Tennant's "Planet of the Dead" (UK only. The hipper music in the UK version was replaced with some generic stuff for Region 1). I stumbled on them at one of those Tower Records listening stations ten years ago and managed to give them some airplay on my old DJ internet show but most Americans still remain oblivious to them with Lady Gaga being the cutoff point of how bizarre they'll go with their musical tastes.
Still, I was fortunate that a few of my friends locally knew of them and, two days after our OMD perfect night, we got the other side of the electronic coin. Certainly, they were very good and also appreciative of the packed room. But while OMD pinged on those old nostalgic strings of how synth use to be, Röyksopp plays with the current movement. Old traditional instruments like the bass and electric guitar are still in use but the beats and the melodies all come from the latest batch of tech they had on stage. The occasional female female singer would come on stage for a song here and there (I think there were at least two, my friend thinks there was only one).
The venue was packed as people were ready to dance. But would they get that chance? Röyksopp's new album Senior is the chill out response to their previous high energy album Junior. If the band was in support of their new album, it might just be a mellow evening. Fortunately, the crowd got their dance music as the band's bigger songs were featured prominently. And while the music was loud, it sounded great. The quirky costumes worn by the band throughout the show didn't always work for me but this wasn't a slick highly financed show and the costumes just served to point out the quirkiness of the group.
I read one recent review of the show that claims there was only one female singer who was mimicking the style of the other female singers used in the studio tracks. If so, well done. I was fooled. The same review claims the band opened with the song "Epie" but it sure sounded like a remix of my favorite track "Happy Up Here", which, thankfully, was played later in the show. There was even an impressive cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" that the band is fond of doing live.
In all, I liked this show but it was a different beast than the OMD one. Being only a couple days apart, I can't help comparing the two. For OMD, it was a night of nostalgia, classics, and an evening with the synth pioneers of old, which makes the old boys sound like past their prime and ready for the glue factory when, in fact, they are still creating new music, sound vibrant, and plan on getting more experimental on their next album. For Röyksopp, they are the synth pioneers of today. Their work sounds a cut above many other synth bands farting around on their Rolands that puts them on top and yet they fly under the radar enough that they can still experiment with styles from more pop to ambient to whatever without the fear of pissing off a record exec who wants hits. It is an interesting place to be, creatively, and we shall see if these songs hold up in 30 years like OMD's work. I think they just might.
Still, I was fortunate that a few of my friends locally knew of them and, two days after our OMD perfect night, we got the other side of the electronic coin. Certainly, they were very good and also appreciative of the packed room. But while OMD pinged on those old nostalgic strings of how synth use to be, Röyksopp plays with the current movement. Old traditional instruments like the bass and electric guitar are still in use but the beats and the melodies all come from the latest batch of tech they had on stage. The occasional female female singer would come on stage for a song here and there (I think there were at least two, my friend thinks there was only one).
The venue was packed as people were ready to dance. But would they get that chance? Röyksopp's new album Senior is the chill out response to their previous high energy album Junior. If the band was in support of their new album, it might just be a mellow evening. Fortunately, the crowd got their dance music as the band's bigger songs were featured prominently. And while the music was loud, it sounded great. The quirky costumes worn by the band throughout the show didn't always work for me but this wasn't a slick highly financed show and the costumes just served to point out the quirkiness of the group.
I read one recent review of the show that claims there was only one female singer who was mimicking the style of the other female singers used in the studio tracks. If so, well done. I was fooled. The same review claims the band opened with the song "Epie" but it sure sounded like a remix of my favorite track "Happy Up Here", which, thankfully, was played later in the show. There was even an impressive cover of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" that the band is fond of doing live.
In all, I liked this show but it was a different beast than the OMD one. Being only a couple days apart, I can't help comparing the two. For OMD, it was a night of nostalgia, classics, and an evening with the synth pioneers of old, which makes the old boys sound like past their prime and ready for the glue factory when, in fact, they are still creating new music, sound vibrant, and plan on getting more experimental on their next album. For Röyksopp, they are the synth pioneers of today. Their work sounds a cut above many other synth bands farting around on their Rolands that puts them on top and yet they fly under the radar enough that they can still experiment with styles from more pop to ambient to whatever without the fear of pissing off a record exec who wants hits. It is an interesting place to be, creatively, and we shall see if these songs hold up in 30 years like OMD's work. I think they just might.
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