From the 2008 Calgary Stampede, it’s:
The Saturday Morning “Nobody-Asked-Me-To, But-Here-I-Go-Anyway” concert review – Sugarland, with special guest Miranda Lambert.
(or, Why I Will Never Be A Professional Concert Reviewer…)
Before I get crackin’ with today’s faux review, let me just take a minute or two to share with anyone out there still trying to pick bacon out of their teeth how I feel about music critics.
Personally, I think the time has come to impose a mandatory retirement age of say, 25 for concert reviewers and music critics. Considering the age that newspapers seem to be hiring now, that would still give the average critic a good 10 years or so to have imparted his or her opinion on their family members or relatives. Because truth be told, fans simply don’t give a hoot what they have to say, and after age 25 it is painfully obvious that they are so jaded, they need to enter the next phase of their career – writing personal journal entries about how no one appreciates real music anymore, whatever they deem real music to be.
I say, when you can fill an arena or stadium with 16,000 fans to hear you read your reviews, then I’ll give a crap about what you have to say.
End of sermon…
Anyhow, last night we braved the sea of Stampede partiers to attend the Sugarland concert at the Saddledome. Couldn’t help but notice how diverse the crowd was – young, old, male, female – this group has mainstream appeal. And they can certainly fill an arena with people that are there to listen to what they do.
Miranda Lambert opened the show with a spirited effort. Despite all the hype about her and her show, she pretty much lived up to our expectations. Loads of smoke, no fire. Of her half-dozen hits, we only like one or two at the most, and her performance did nothing to show us another side we may not have been aware of beforehand.
We watched Nashville Star the year she was among the hopeful contenders, and agreed when she was voted off. Much the same all these years later… However, she had a very attractive guitar for one song…
Sugarland, on the other hand, brought the house down!! These guys have more hits than you can possibly play in one evening, but they did a great job trying. Jennifer Nettles has vocal abilities that are downright spooky. Power to spare, and when they performed their monster hit “Stay”, she was able to seamlessly arc from a whisper (so as to hear the crowd singing along), to crescendo (that’s a fancy word for loud). Goose pimples, man…
Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you’re a fan. Then, you’re there to appreciate what you already know you enjoy, and get surprised, which Sugarland managed to do, especially with an encore of “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.
Indeed…
Chow for now!!
The Saturday Morning “Nobody-Asked-Me-To, But-Here-I-Go-Anyway” concert review – Sugarland, with special guest Miranda Lambert.
(or, Why I Will Never Be A Professional Concert Reviewer…)
Before I get crackin’ with today’s faux review, let me just take a minute or two to share with anyone out there still trying to pick bacon out of their teeth how I feel about music critics.
Personally, I think the time has come to impose a mandatory retirement age of say, 25 for concert reviewers and music critics. Considering the age that newspapers seem to be hiring now, that would still give the average critic a good 10 years or so to have imparted his or her opinion on their family members or relatives. Because truth be told, fans simply don’t give a hoot what they have to say, and after age 25 it is painfully obvious that they are so jaded, they need to enter the next phase of their career – writing personal journal entries about how no one appreciates real music anymore, whatever they deem real music to be.
I say, when you can fill an arena or stadium with 16,000 fans to hear you read your reviews, then I’ll give a crap about what you have to say.
End of sermon…
Anyhow, last night we braved the sea of Stampede partiers to attend the Sugarland concert at the Saddledome. Couldn’t help but notice how diverse the crowd was – young, old, male, female – this group has mainstream appeal. And they can certainly fill an arena with people that are there to listen to what they do.
Miranda Lambert opened the show with a spirited effort. Despite all the hype about her and her show, she pretty much lived up to our expectations. Loads of smoke, no fire. Of her half-dozen hits, we only like one or two at the most, and her performance did nothing to show us another side we may not have been aware of beforehand.
We watched Nashville Star the year she was among the hopeful contenders, and agreed when she was voted off. Much the same all these years later… However, she had a very attractive guitar for one song…
Sugarland, on the other hand, brought the house down!! These guys have more hits than you can possibly play in one evening, but they did a great job trying. Jennifer Nettles has vocal abilities that are downright spooky. Power to spare, and when they performed their monster hit “Stay”, she was able to seamlessly arc from a whisper (so as to hear the crowd singing along), to crescendo (that’s a fancy word for loud). Goose pimples, man…
Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you’re a fan. Then, you’re there to appreciate what you already know you enjoy, and get surprised, which Sugarland managed to do, especially with an encore of “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.
Indeed…
Chow for now!!
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