Mudwrestling for Jack

My music got dissed today. As did my favorite “now” Rock Star. The Rock Star happens to make the music that got disrespected so I’m triply offended. Here is the comment from a forum member I’ll call TTNo:

ugh. I can’t stand Jack White, I can’t stand the White Stripes or anything he’s done that others call music. Hype and fadism make me want to puke.

That’s too bad, I think he’s the real deal. True musical mind combined with the balls to perform all out for us. He’s one of those musicians, like Jimmy Page, who wears his heart on his sleeve in terms of putting his musical loves and influences out there for everyone to see. I love his music, have both Raconteurs albums and The White Stripes. And a bunch of d/l’s (blushing smiley). He may be the next big thing right now. But I’ve a feeling that he is going to remain the big thing for a very long time. I’m of the mind that I want my rock stars to be Rock Stars, not regular guys. He definitely fits the bill.

To me, hype and fadism are what surrounds performers like James Blunt, John Mayer, Coldplay, etc. Catchy, pop-y tunes, that appeal to the least common denominator. They don’t challenge the listener to actually listen and appreciate all that’s going on in one of their songs. It’s backround music. It doesn’t make me want to puke, though it does make me want to take a nap.

My favorite band and musician of all time is Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page. The Raconteurs get a lot of comparison to LZ. These snippets from reviews of The Raconteurs Shows give you a clue why.

The band was firing on all cylinders and it seemed as if Brendan’s guitar was having a dialogue with Jack’s guitar throughout the night as if they were interlocked with ESP. Andrew Youssef

This is straight-ahead archetypal, mostly blues-based riff rock, with the occasional heady twist, played with real soul. White’s guitar playing is as possessed as ever. -Victor

That song showed Beatles influences, while “Top Yourself,” with White at the keyboards, was a nod to Led Zeppelin, and “Salute Your Solution” had echos of the Rolling Stones.

In the five months since they blasted a packed Neumo’s early in the tour, the Raconteurs have become a powerful, well-oiled machine — like a Bradley tank or heavy-duty bulldozer.

Jack White and Brendon Benson were incredibly in sync in their vocals and guitar duos Friday night at the WaMu Theater, and the other three guys onstage — bassist “Little” Jack Lawrence, drummer Patrick Keeler and guest keyboardist/fiddler Mark Watrous — were right in gear with them.
~snip~
That chest-thumping sound made the Raconteurs’ beautiful racket a visceral experience, drawing you in even deeper to their dark, Gothic tales, their wailing, stomping blues and messy, woeful love songs.

Their ragged glory shone brightest in an extended “Keep It Clean,” featuring White and Benson’s finest vocal harmonies and sharpest guitar interchanges, and an “Intimate Secretary” that showcased White’s amazing, highly original guitar mastery. – Patrick McDonald

Okay, I’ll stop quoting reviews. But what these reviewers are saying about the Raconteurs, are exactly the reasons why Led Zeppelin was so great. Band members sharing ESP, riff-rock played with real soul by “possessed” musicians. And last but not least messy, wailing, and visceral. They are also about performance, which I miss from so many current acts. I’m not saying that Jack White and Brendan Benson are aping Page and Plant, although they do have a certain chemistry. Or that White and Benson have the sexual charisma of their predecessors. But they give a great show.

My one complaint, which I heard from other reviewers as well, is that they don’t vary their shows and set lists. Both White and Benson have had musical careers prior to The Raconteurs. They are both muso-geeks. Why aren’t they expanding their horizons by throwing in songs from their past? Their own and covers. That is something Led Zeppelin did perfectly. Their covers of Train Kept A Rolling, As Long As Long As I Have You, Killing Floor, and others add a dimension to their performances that keep you coming back for more. Then there are the Zeppelin medleys. If you are a collector of Led Zeppelin concerts you will know what I’m talking about. I’ll just give you one. On September 24, 1971, LZ performed in Tokyo. Whole Lotta Love got expanded to 28 minutes by excerpts from: Boogie Chillun, Cocaine Blues, Rave On, Your Time Is Gonna Come, I’m A Man, The Hunter, Hello Mary Lou, Pretty Woman, and How Many More Times. The scope of it is breathtaking, as I’m sure it was for them to perform it. Our Jack has been spending time with our James, maybe a little of that magic will rub off.

In conclusion, not that Jack and Brendan will listen to me, I love this band, the music, the musicians. Embrace your inner Zep and mix it up a bit more for your fans. We will love you all the more for it. As for TTNo, I hereby challenge you to a mudwrestling match for the honor of Jack White.

Live And In Person

On Sunday,  Peromyscus blogged on a piece I had found interesting, the Sunday Times article on the state of music by Simon Jenkins. Peromyscus spoke to the author’s assertion that rather than the disconnect afforded by the Internet, people were craving congregation. Do use the link I provided to check out L. Hopwood’s thoughts, it’s what I thought when I read first read the Jenkins article, Hopwood just beat me to it.  My thoughts that Peromyscus did not address were about what Jenkins said regarding cd sales falling and live music attendance increasing.  Recorded music is heading in the direction of becoming the promotion for the live event and that being how artists are going to be making their living. I can truly see that being the direction music will be heading in. Album/cd sales are down 10%, conversely, live event attendance is up 13%, despite ticket prices. Something will have to do something about the costs of attending events. Jenkins thinks people will pay whatever they have to but ticket prices prohibit a lot of people from attending concerts. I can’t imagine anyone, particularly the artist, would want live music to only be available to the elite who can afford it (yes I realize I’m a naive idealist, but please leave me that way). They’re also going to have to do something about ticket resellers. It wasn’t the Ahmet Ertugun Fund making £7,425 a ticket for O2, the tickets originally sold for £125. Who got the change? Seatwave, Viagogo, and eBay, are mentioned as top resellers of live event tickets. What was the profit distribution for them? Couldn’t find the answer by googling. *Edit 7/8/8 - Consumer Reports Article on ticket resellers, still don’t know who kept the £7300, fans? Doubtful. Ahmet Ertegun Fund? Ditto. Evil Entity? Absolutely.

Should my wildest dreams come true, and Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones rejoin musical forces and tour, I hereby promise them that I will attend whichever concert proves to be closest to my base. I also promise to purchase their recording should they issue one, and not download it (unless that is the mode of distribution).

Dave, Jimmy, Taylor and John after the Wembley gig 6/7/08

Warm Fuzzies

The strangest things make me feel sentimental, I once teared up listening to Anarchy In The UK while driving, had to pull over to finish listening to it. Recent posts in a couple of my favorite blogs got me feeling warm and fuzzy all over. In Peromyscus, Lyle Hopwood posted video of Communication Breakdown filmed on Led Zeppelin’s last night at Earls Court and a quick history of why this particular version was so meaningful. If you just watch it, it’s good. Communication Breakdownis a fun, punky song, one of my favorites, that typifies Led Zeppelin’s beginnings. Maybe you’ve seen the Royal Albert Hall concert version or the Danish TV performance on the 2003 DVD, they are young and energized and play the song with pride and show off just a little bit. Peromyscus sets the stage beautifully, giving you the back story of Earls Court and telling you just how meaningful this performance is.

They’ve just done a whole week, three and a half hours each night. This is the very last song of the run; an extra encore they didn’t play on the other nights – this, with with the other extra encore, Heartbreaker, is pushing the show to three and three quarter hours.The crowd’s insane. Plant knows his voice has gone and it doesn’t matter. Bonham “collapses” at the end (I’m sure it’s a joke)…It’s amazing. It’s an event – there’s more going on here than can ever be captured on tape. But you can still see it. There’s always some of that magic fairy dust left, even in a 425 pixel wide YouTube window.

In 1975, Led Zeppelin has seen everything and done everything, but still have that glimmer of magic fairy dust at Earls Court.

The other warm fuzzy I had this week was courtesy of Youdopia featuring a performance by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It, done for the Sun Records tribute called Good Rockin’ Tonight.  Recorded in 2001, Jimmy and Robert strum and sing their way respectively through a great old Rockabilly tune. No dragons winding up Jimmy Pages thighs, and Robert doesn’t sport the bare midriff, but their pleasure in making music shines through. And I believe I saw some magic fairy dust floating about here and there.