Re: Bjorn on Crack

[magik <magik1@optonline.net>]

Dave,

I want to jump in on this one. First of all, I saw all 5 shows on the recent
mini-tour and they were all fantastic shows! And I saw them many times on
Tour2K. And aside from a handful of songs, they've been playing the same basic
setlist. I don't think the problem lays there. Sure I wish they would throw in a
few different songs, but that is still acceptable. One of the problems is
getting too close to the band, or getting too close to your heroes.

At the first show of the 2K tour in Chicago, I was offered by a newly made
friend to go backstage and assist in interviewing PT. At first, I thought the
guy who made the offer was pulling my leg, but I found out later he was serious.
At the time, Pete was still my favorite member. I was totally a PT lifelong fan.
But, my first response was, no thanks, I really don't want to get too close to
my hero because you may end up seeing something you rather not know.

To give you more background, I work in the entertainment industry with the
transportation dept, in, NYC and work mostly on TV shows & movies. Major shows,
with the biggest stars in the world. Some of them are great and some are total
butt-holes. If you meet one of your favorite actors, and they turn out to be a
dick behind the scenes, you come away with a totally different opinion of your
hero.

Getting back to the Who. Seeing them so many times, remarkably in very close
seats, you start to see more of the personalities and how they interact. If you
only see them once, you may not notice it. But see them alot and it starts to
hit you that there's something going on, that you may or may not like. Then
there's going backstage, where you see more. More than maybe you want to know,
hard as it is to believe.

In addition, in Bjorn's case, he has other priorities at the moment, and his
passion for the Who, a nearly unequaled one, is divided with other things in his
personal life. That's something that happens to most of us during life. We grow
& change. And when one from your group of friends suddenly stops hanging out
with the crowd, there's usually an uproar in the group of friends. No matter
what his reasoning is.

Back to the Who again, I think they are the most mis-managed band in the world
and am amazed there is hardly any fan base in the UK for them. In Portsmouth &
Watford, very tiny venues, there were many locals that didn't even know they
were playing in their town. There was almost no mention in the papers or on TV
about it either. And the tix are in a very reasonable price range. Then they
come to the US and tickets are priced anywhere from approx, twice to ten times
as much, it makes you wonder why. If it's not the band, then it's their
management and greed is a word that comes to your mind.

So, there's always a danger of getting too close, knowing too much and then it
affecting your love or opinion of the band. I myself will not be going to too
many of these upcoming shows, probably only the ones on the weekend, nearby
where I live. My cup has not runneth over, but some of the behind the scenes
stuff are like ice cubes, that raises the liquid (the WHO Juice) close to the
edge. And I wouldn't want to get to that point, so in my case, I will take the
whole experience in small doses.

magik




irish dave wrote:

> wow - a backlash WITHIN the Who community.....
>
> this brings to mind something someone mentioned here last yr -
> going to EVERY show detracts from your enjoyment...takes the special quality
> away.there's no novelty..
> in saying that , went to both RAH and Watford and loved every minute of
> each.
> the one thought i had thru watford was HOW do they just keep on getting
> better??
>
> but that was my o/d within London - too expensive for me to travel to
> USA....
>
> from memory,bjorn - you followed a lot of shows last tour?
>
> a concert IS a show - there's going to be repetition and lack of spark.
> but if you only see them once,you dont notice this.
> if they avoided repetition and just took chances all the time,we MAY get the
> best performance ever,but for every show that came off,there'd be 3 that
> wouldn't
> we'd all love to see them decide on the spot to play something old off the
> cuff....but how often can that be done to a good effect?
>
> >From: Bjorn Ciggaar <ciggaar@warande.net>
> >Reply-To: thewho@igtc.com
> >To: thewho@igtc.com
> >Subject: RE: Bjorn on Crack
> >Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 14:45:03 +0100
> >
> >At 08:37 21-2-02 -0500, Kevin wrote:
> >
> > > >From: Bjorn Ciggaar <ciggaar@warande.net>
> > > >Subject: Re: The Who to Add 3rd & 4th MSG Shows
> > > >
> > > >BTW; I'm not going to follow the guys this tour... $550 for a decent
> > > >ticket? I can follow an entire JEB tour *INCLUDING* hotel prices for
> >that
> > > >kinda money. And besides, no hassle in getting up front, he's playing
> >small
> > >
> > > >places... And to be really honest (IMO); the music is better...
> > >
> > >Bjorn, put the crack pipe down and back away from the computer.
> > >I understand that it's your opinion, but really, "the music is better"???
> > >Come on.  There is no way JEB is better music than THE WHO.
> >
> >Are we arguing about taste? :-0
> >
> > >Ask yourself that again in a moment of clarity and honesty.
> > >If your financial reality prevents you from hittin' The Who, that's a
> > >completely respectable reason.  A decision that I completely respect and
> > >have had to make myself once.  But, you don't have to justify it in your
> > >mind by dismissing the band that just two years ago you were completely
> > >devoted to.
> > >I've seen The Who.  I know The Who.  And Bjorn, JEB is no Who.
> > >JEB is good, and does get you good access, but please.
> > >No comparison.......IMO.
> >
> >Indeed, in you opinion. I'm just comparing the WHO shows I've seen to the
> >JEB shows. Songs that just really hit me are "Love is a heart attack" and
> >"Shaking All Over".
> >Seeing The Who is something really special. But after the RAH shows, I
> >dunno... I prefer seeing the JEB play. Not only because of the money, but
> >also because of the music and fun.
> >Also; their "Sparks" rocked and made die-hard Who fans cry. When The Who
> >played it recently, most didn't even recognise it ("was it played or
> >not???".
> >
> >And above all, the JEB isn't in it for the money. It's die-hard rockers on
> >the road, just for the music.
> >
> >No comparison... IMO...
> >
> >Bjorn
> >---
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>
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