Aug 23 2008
Jam Bands
A few days ago, I watched a ZZ Top concert DVD. It was fairly entertaining. I was in high school in the 70′s and I saw their big concert with the live buffalo and longhorn steer. I don’t remember the details but I do remember enjoying that concert. They were quite entertaining to me at that time.
My tastes have changed. I enjoy live music, whether it is real or recorded, but I enjoy it most when I can tell that the band is improvising and having fun doing so. The ZZ Top video seemed sterile to me. Every action seemed rehearsed. It was fairly entertaining but not very entertaining.
Back in the olden days I saw a lot of bands, but I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd twice . The first time was cool but the second time was flat out boring, even for a 17 year old. The second show was flawless - too flawless. It was obvious to me that they just wanted to play and get off the stage. Even the “what song is it you wanna hear?” with fans yelling “free bird”, was routine, and boring.
Some time in the 90s, I saw the Grateful Dead. I had to be talked into it by a coworker. We went in not knowing anything about their music or “dead heads”. The show was a sea of hippies, old and young.
We got bored, and in the middle of (what I later learned was) ”space”, we walked out. I had no idea what I walked out on. It was my last chance to see Jerry Garcia live and alive, and I walked out. I left mostly because I didn’t care for the music and I felt uncomfortable standing there while everyone around me was smiling and dancing around.
I missed the point. That show was full of a bunch of young, smelly hippies and formerly young, smelly hippies and they were there to have fun. The band played for an hour and then took an unbearably long hour break, during which the fans engaged in a marshmallow fight. When they came back, they played a couple of songs and then went into this weird jam. The fans around me started doing a just as weird thing with their hands and bodies. That’s when we left.
Later in the 90s, I saw Phish. After the GD experience I went in with a different mindset. What I saw there was a bunch of kids, and a few old guys like me, that were there to have a good time. The party on the floor was just as important as the music on the stage.
I don’t indulge in mind altering substances, not even alcohol, but I know when it’s OK to relax and enjoy the sensations as the music flows from the stage. I don’t need help from drugs or alcohol to feel them. Besides, I don’t have to worry about driving home, peeing in a cup, or feeling crappy the next day.
Over the years I have collected several live recordings of Phish and the Grateful Dead. There is a clear advantage to being able to watch and listen to them at home – mostly that I don’t have to smell that smell (and I am not talking about body odor – well, maybe a little). They have spoiled my view of what a live show should be. A good live show is on the fly creativity with an audience full of happy people.
There aren’t many bands that can jam as well as Phish used to. They broke up 4 years ago and I still listen to them more than anyone else. Hopefully they have gotten their lives together and can get back on the road soon.
