Friday, October 21, 2005
Finding the Collective
I got an email a while ago, describing a recent U2 concert in Milwaukee in which during the opening act, an enraged father answered the singer's question of how the show was going so far by yelling: "No F-Bombs!"
Apparently the singer responded by saying, "This is a rock show."
This, to me, is just one of potentially thousands of examples of a trend most Milwaukeeans would like to ignore: this is a bad town for concerts. Every time I see a show here, I'm always struck by the overwhelming crowd attitude of "Here we are now, entertain us."
I went to a U2 show a few years ago here when I overheard some dumbass in back of me state: "They better play ____, ____ and ____ or . . ." And his statement sort of petered out like that. Or what? Or you'll leave? Or you'll take it up with Bono after the show? What?
God forbid a band play whatever the fuck they want to play, not what the audience expects.
Then there was the time at the CSNY concert where we had to sit down because the old fuckers behind us could only stand during the first song. Once song 2 started, time to rest! Then there was the time Tom Petty played a new song and people complained. Then there was the time at the Neil Young show when a woman complained about Neil until security booted her. Then there was the Pearl Jam show where someone complained how Ed sang a verse of "Why Go".
The mix of young, urban liberals and middle-aged, redneck trash usually doesn't combine any similarities. Leave it to Milwaukee to bring the two groups together with their collective smugness.
Apparently the singer responded by saying, "This is a rock show."
This, to me, is just one of potentially thousands of examples of a trend most Milwaukeeans would like to ignore: this is a bad town for concerts. Every time I see a show here, I'm always struck by the overwhelming crowd attitude of "Here we are now, entertain us."
I went to a U2 show a few years ago here when I overheard some dumbass in back of me state: "They better play ____, ____ and ____ or . . ." And his statement sort of petered out like that. Or what? Or you'll leave? Or you'll take it up with Bono after the show? What?
God forbid a band play whatever the fuck they want to play, not what the audience expects.
Then there was the time at the CSNY concert where we had to sit down because the old fuckers behind us could only stand during the first song. Once song 2 started, time to rest! Then there was the time Tom Petty played a new song and people complained. Then there was the time at the Neil Young show when a woman complained about Neil until security booted her. Then there was the Pearl Jam show where someone complained how Ed sang a verse of "Why Go".
The mix of young, urban liberals and middle-aged, redneck trash usually doesn't combine any similarities. Leave it to Milwaukee to bring the two groups together with their collective smugness.
