Aging Bodies, Aging Minds, Aging Bands

The inspiration for this piece of writing comes from a brief twitter chat I had with a dear “under-web ally” of mine (i.e. an online yet still underground co-defender of the Rock) @RockCyprus. Chatting about the recent Download 2013 line-up announcements, our conversation went something like this:

@Tzellofouska Rammstein & Maiden in one go? Surely, you don't wanna miss that! 

@RockCyprus It's been Maiden and Metallica from the 1st row in the last 2 years. Hard to beat that I'll have to have a break ;) [plus the prized possession of Kirk Hammett's guitar pick! ;)]

@Tzellofouska Metallica...Second most disappointing live band after Megadeth. And am a keen thrasher; just 20 yrs too late [ 90s vs 00s.... The price to pay for my age!]

@RockCyprus It's a big discussion, but surely Hetfield or Araya can never be 20 and alcoholics ever again ;) :D

And it went on for a few more tweets. Now, just to clarify, my aim is not to get into a discussion about disappointing live shows from [previously great yet still legendary] bands. I will only pose a few of my contemplations in the hope of initiating a healthy exchange of opinions.  

It all started with me seeing Metallica live for the first time. Then it happened again when I saw what Axl calls Guns N’ Roses nowadays. And it all happened for the third time when I saw Megadeth at this year’s Download. What a disappointment it was, I cannot emphasize enough! Performance-, passion-, stage presence-wise, you name it. 

At the time, I used to say to myself and others equally disappointed as me, that you wouldn’t expect these bands to perform to the same level as 20 years ago for example. It is of course a valid point. Or perhaps a good rationalisation of why I spent £60 on a gig that hasn’t changed me in the least. Because, you see, I only appreciate gigs that change my life, even a tiny bit at a time. I shall elaborate... 

Every band or artist has what I call a pre-defined persona. Meaning, they are known for specific elements of their live shows. Take Rammstein, for example, known for their extreme pyro shows complemented by heavy German rumblings [which I love by the way!]; or Iron Maiden with Eddie and an over-enthusiastic Mr. Dickinson; or Motörhead with their deafening decibels and a Lemmy; or even Kiss with their outdated yet oh-so-entertaining outfits; or Black Sabbath with a playful Ozzy and a quiet Iommi that communicates through the riffs. ALL bands have their pre-defined persona; from the time of their conception to today.

Now, when I go to a live show, I expect to see, feel, and experience that persona. I am easily satisfied though. Just having the opportunity to see legendary bands is an excitement on its own, considering most are at the end of the “road”. I surely don’t expect to see the SAME level of energy and passion as I see in videos of their earlier shows. Or should I?

Having been to so many gigs in the past decade alone means that I saw many of these “dinosaur” bands as people call them but not in their prime years. From this experience alone I realised that while there might be an expiration date on creativity for making good albums, passion is meant to stay put. Aging is not an excuse for a bad live for me anymore. 

If you can’t support that pre-defined persona of the band with the same level of passion anymore, just don’t bother touring; because then it shows that you are doing it purely for the cash. I’m sure Alice Cooper will retire once he’s not able to hold that boa on stage anymore. There were a few gigs that made an impact and changed me the way I wanted; Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Anthrax, Motörhead, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Kiss, Rammstein, and even the remaining of The Who! One can see that age is not the point here; some of these guys get a social security check at the end of each month! 

I would love, and I’m sure I’ll have more opportunities, to see Metallica or Megadeth again so that I prove myself wrong. But in the meantime, yawning at a gig, where one of your favourites is performing, is not a very good sign. Either love what you do or quit while you can. Performing is just another job you have to enjoy doing in order to survive in this business. I will repeat: there is no such thing as aging bodies; just aging minds.

You may follow @RockCyprus  on twitter for updates on upcoming shows in Cyprus. Otherwise, just follow him anyway because he's got some great tweets!

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Image Credit:

http://www.last.fm/

http://www.collapseboard.com/

http://tzellofouska.blogspot.co.uk/

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Gigs, Cameras, and Weird Smells

Filming at gigs. I know, I know... Annoying, right? And probably illegal!

Some will argue that taking pictures and video-recording at gigs and festivals are the definition of "uncoolness".

Hey asshole you are blocking my view

You are standing there in the crowd, at a hotspot you guarded for two hours in advance, waiting for the curtain to fall. Everybody around you becomes restless as the allowed 15 minute window of opportunity for bands to show up before everybody starts to swear (obviously not applicable to Guns N' Roses), is coming to an end. Then it happens. Just seconds before the opening drum beat, the clicking noises and the blinding flashes, torture to your senses. Hands are in the air in various arrangements, some forming fists, the sign of the horns, and others clicking away relentlessly. Point is, you cannot see beyond hands holding cameras, so you may as well count on your sense of hearing (whatever's left from it!).

The a-live experience

Between the smell of sweat (especially if good old nature and genetics have not been kind to you and you are lucky enough to be of, what I call, "armpit-level height"), blood, and the odd fart, the experience of being part of such a large mass and the live on-stage performance can be a natural high - without the drugs. You ought to enjoy what you see and hear because lets face it, you probably paid a respectable amount of money to be there.

Talent unfolding

Guitar solos, unbelievable drumming, out of this world vocals, outrageous outfits, pyros, laser lights, moving stages.... I could go on for a while here. Most acts sing and play their hearts out for our, the fans', own pleasure (and money of course). Naturally, clapping  and cheering should not be replaced by clicking.

Despite all the above, not all have the money to buy all the brilliantly filmed yet significantly over-priced DVDs companies produce. I am, personally, not satisfied by just living the experience and from time to time I like to watch my well-organised collection of videos. Who wouldn't want to have a personally-filmed video collection of the late legend RJ Dio? [sigh] And lets face it. Most of the legends we now see live on stage (be it the "last" tour or reunion) will either be to old to rock or dead by the time my biological clock ticks! I want my children to have something from my "era" which signifies the hand over of the "Metal flag" from the godfathers and godmothers of Rock N' Roll to the newbies. 

Weeeeell, you've probably realised that I am one of those annoying people you see at gigs filming their hearts out! Before you start sending hate-mail though, I ought to say; I have been to many gigs in the past where I have not filmed nor photographed a single movement coming from the stage area. I have been part of wild masses (thanks to the Greeks!) where I was knocked to the ground by over-enthusiastic fans, and had my fair share of "wholesome" gig experiences. 

During my 10 or more years of experiences like these, I managed to develop a set of internal rules (i.e. never actually put in a list until now) for practising two interests at the same time, photography/filming and gig-going with minimal intrusion and maximum enjoyment! Here it is:

1. Choose your spot

As I wouldn't want to be the one sworn at for blocking the view and due to my limitations in the height domain I usually choose seating at gigs. Therefore, I can just rest the camera on my knees and film away freely without loosing the feeling in my hands and subsequently skipping the trendiness of what it has recently become the listening to Heavy Metal, meaning "a youth gone wild", with their ridiculous yelling and screaming.  

2. Know what to record

I would not recommend filming the whole gig as it is tiring and you end up loosing the meaning of the whole thing. The key is to film your favourite songs and skip the mainstream ones, unless only those ones are indeed your favourites in which case you are probably part of the "youth gone wild" described above.

3. Delegate where appropriate

A technique that works wonders is to delegate the responsibility of the filming to your partner or a friend who are not particularly into this kind of music but go along with you as a favour! Then you are free to go as wild as you want or can. [Special thanks to my special person are in order here]

4. Do it properly

If you are going to film, do it properly. That means buying a good camera, managing to hide it successfully through the security checks, and recording good quality videos. Nobody wants to watch  a shaky amateur video on YouTube! You will experience the odd Parkinson's-like shake, bums of people walking in front of you etc but at least the picture and sound should be clear. And lets not forget: record whole songs not just intros or choruses!

5. Do it for fun

If you are doing it to just show off to your friends, you are a dumb-ass! [Sorry, but you are] Do it because you enjoy it or if you are emotionally tied to collecting souvenirs of your experiences.

In this era of digital revolution, filming at gigs cannot be avoided or even banished altogether despite various attempts by promoters. If you are like me and you still want to do it, learn to respect the others around you. And don't forget, a gig or a festival is a collective experience, so don't immerse yourself in your filming otherwise you will indeed loose the whole point, be it smelly armpits, beer showers, screams to the point of hear-loss, pushing, grabbing and all the good stuff that come with it! That is  the point anyway.

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Image credits:

http://www.metalsucks.net/

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