Music is My Radar

As much as I shy away from live shows, for reasons I’ve discussed before, I might have to take advantage of this opportunity.

Of course, I’ve never had much luck with reunion shows - seeing two of my favorite bands from the 1990s slog their way through concerts in the 2000s was rather painful.  But at least Pavement hasn’t been gone from the scene as long as other bands, and shit - I think I’d be a fool to pass on this.

Atlanta road-trip anyone?  September 26 is a Sunday night, but I likely won’t have to teach the next day …

What could be more exciting than my return to blogging?  Nearly anything?  Yeah, pretty much.  But this is definitely something to celebrate.

I’ve long wished for a new music venue to arrive in Memphis.  It just seems criminal that our fair city, arguably the birthplace of rock music, the home of blues and soul and gospel and R&B, not to mention rockabilly, should be so overtly ignored by touring bands of all genres.  I am most peeved by the absence of some, hell, any, of my favorite indie rock/pop/electronic bands who visit the Bluff City, but the cool kids are not alone in passing us by.  This is why I am so excited about a new, 1500-seat, music venue arriving in Midtown.

Admittedly, I’m not really excited about the shows they have booked so far, but I will take what I can get.  Now of course, the issue is whether I will actually patronize this venue.  What do you think?

Naaaaaaaaaaaaah.

I’ve always found reunion concerts to be dubious.  The bands rarely have the energy they did in younger days (although they could hardly be blamed for that - aging happens) and the music is much less vital and relevant than it was when first released.  Case in point: I saw the Pixies on their reunion tour 2-3 years ago and it was rather boring.  The songs sounded great and the band played well together (no fights or faxes), but almost two decades after their first album and EP, we all know the Pixies.  They’ve been incorporated into our musical consciousness thoroughly - I’ve even heard the adjective “pixie-ish” used to describe bands that sound like them.  (You know - loud, soft, loud?)  Then again, that could’ve been because I was stuck behind a row of complete douchebags who sang and danced loudly and drunkenly to every song like they were watching a Village People show.  Jerks.

And don’t even get me started on the Urge Overkill reunion show I saw a few years ago.  Fucking embarassing.

That said, maybe Pavement will have better luck.  I likely won’t be there to find out first hand, given my intense dislike for crowds and people.  Thank God I have an interwebs so I can keep up with the world outside my house.

I’m giving up. I don’t think I’m ever going to go to another concert again. It’s not because of the incessant talking that accompanies nearly every show I’ve seen. (Why pay $20 to stand around and talk with your friends? Could you not do that elsewhere, say at another bar, without that pesky cover charge? Idiots.) It’s not because of a lack of bands playing in Memphis - although since I moved here I’ve often complained about a lack of Memphis appearances by touring bands, even though I’ve only been to two or three concerts here in that time.

No, the reason why I will likely never attend another show again (forgive the hyperbole) is that lately, there appears to be some physical or psychological barrier that prevents me from walking into a venue and seeing a band play. Even when I buy tickets and am very excited about a show, I always find a reason to stay home instead and waste my $20. Within the last month, I’ve passed on an already-purchased ticket to Yo La Tengo (one of my all-time favorite bands) and sold another ticket, to Band of Horses (a recent favorite), to a friend. What’s my problem? How can I bitch about the utter denial of Memphis by many of favorite bands and yet not be bothered to attend a show when one of them actually comes to town? How can I obsessively collect CDs by all manner of artists and yet have little interest in attending a show where that very same music will be played?

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