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Re: this cancelled concert thingy!
The Peach beetle wrote:
>i mean, i dont wanna get up anyones nose or anything here, but it
>always kinda P's me off a bit when everything seems to be keyed
>towards an american audience and poor us over here kind of get
>negelcted a bit
Hey, slow down, slick...
In the three years I lived in Europe, I saw far more
concerts that all the other years of living over here put
together. Bands tour over there more often, though they're
shorter tours.
America is where European bands come to make money, not to
practice their art. No one can convince me that a band
feels that their music is given the best artistic
presentation at a place built for football games. I
remember seeing the Who at the Seattle Kingdome during the
'82 tour, and until I could thrash my way to the front, PDBT
appeared something like a flea on stage.
Conversely, I saw John Mayall in a place about the size of
my living room, Eric Clapton in a 5,000 seat concert hall,
and Van Morrison in a fucking opera house!
Next, let's talk about proximity. I lived in Frankfurt, and
thought of nothing to drive to Koln or even Munchen for a
good show, though I usually didn't have to, since most of
the bands stopped at most major European cities.
The closest place to me that the most recent Pink Floyd
"tour" included was Vancouver, B.C. (that's Canada) -- about
a six hour drive from here. Last time I was in Europe,
six hours would get you across several countries. U2
cancelled a show here in Portland, rescheduled it for the
TacomaDome (the WORST sounding dome on the West Coast), all
under the guise of "we'll be able to reach more people with
our music." Bullshit. Can you say "more tickets and
t-shirts.." ? But I won't get started on U2... I could go
for days about those buttheads...
Ticket prices are another thing, entirely. I recently spent
$33 US dollars a seat to see Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi's
Traffic show. The show was fabulous, but come on! Tickets
for the upcoming Eagles reunion are hovering in the $50-$60
range (you do the conversion to pounds). Keep in mind that
this is for a seat that REQUIRES binoculars and an oxygen
tank, and sounds like shit.
My thoughts to you are to be thankful for the accessibility
and quality of music you've got there on your side of the
sink. It's one of the things I miss most since I've moved
back here.
OK,
KLW