Concert review

[BigTallG]

So, I went to see Evanescence, Chevelle and Finger Eleven the other night. My girlfriend won tickets, third row, sidestage, and they had a flying PA, so there were no obstructions, we were about 25 feet from the stage. Decent show, I guess, but I kept thinking, "WHAT happened to "rock" music??????" Does EVERY band out there nowadays tune their guitars down and play three chords? Finger Eleven was pretty good, Chevelle's sound was HORRIBLE...they're a 3-piece band, and their soundman had the low end CRANKED, all I could hear was distorted, full step de-tuned bass, and kick drum.....Evanescence was OK, but Amy Lee is the entire band. She could have any 4 shmoes behind her playing the ludicrously simple guitar riffs, although the drummer was good....very proficient, but he was seriously lacking in emotion and showmanship. When I wasn't looking directly at him and just listening, I thought he was pretty damn good, but to watch him play, he was VERY stiff and completely emotionless, almost with a look of "Is it over yet?" on his face, whereas the drummer in Chevelle looked like he was "into it", and the guy in Finger Eleven was a blast to watch, he played the crowd, and looked like he was having the best time of his life. I guess my point is, the drummer in a headlining band at a rock show should have some showmanship. Now, don't get me wrong....Amy Lee is a great singer, and she plays piano as well (which I didn't know before), and she is a great "frontman". All in all, a decent night out, I suppose, especially for free.....the face value of the tickets was 45 bucks a piece, and like I said, my girlfriend won the tickets. Bottom line....I'm glad I didn't shell out 90 bucks for us to go see this, but for gas money (and 5 bucks for a 16-ounce cup of beer, times 2), it was good.

[hellsbells58]

WHAT happened to "rock" music??????" Does EVERY band out there nowadays tune their guitars down and play three chords?

Yeah, Pop Rock of today is horrid. Same Chord Progressions, Lack-lustre solos, lyrical garbage, over-simplistic drumming.

their soundman had the low end CRANKED, all I could hear was distorted, full step de-tuned bass, and kick drum

Like they say, a good sound tech is worth his weight in gold.

I thought he was pretty damn good, but to watch him play, he was VERY stiff and completely emotionless

I think people come to shows 50% for the music and the other 50% to be entertained. Like you could play the songs perfectly and you'd impress people, but they'd leave feeling as though they were missing out on something. That's why our band does our best to get into the music we play, moshing out hard and having our singers jump around and work the audience. Once the audience gets into it, everyone starts to have a more entertaining night.

HB58

[Roaddebris]

BTG, I'm with you on the drop tuning and lack of musicianship. It seems they go hand in hand. C'mon kids. Let the bassist do his job and if you don't have a real lead guitarist, stay home.

As far as sound men go, I think they hire most of these guys from the school for the deaf.

[CyberComa]

I like the new Finger Eleven single that's all over the radio these days, I think it's called 'Paralized'. It's got some fun drum parts to it. So, Amy Lee sounded pretty good singing live?

[BigTallG]

BTG, I'm with you on the drop tuning and lack of musicianship. It seems they go hand in hand. C'mon kids. Let the bassist do his job and if you don't have a real lead guitarist, stay home.

As far as sound men go, I think they hire most of these guys from the school for the deaf.

Well, drop-tuning isn't a bad thing, in my opinion....bands like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden pretty much pioneered it...BUT...they still PLAYED....different, odd tunings can give a song a real kick in the pants, I think...one of my faves, Soundgarden's "Burden In My Hand"...guitars are tuned to an open C....my point, I guess, is that EVERYBODY is doing it now, and they aren't capable of utilizing a drop tuning to its full potential, rather, they play simple bar chords, and that gets REALLY old after a couple songs.




CC.....Amy Lee is a great vocalist, no doubt....I just think that "rock" music these days is...well, pathetic (with a few exceptions, of course).