Tuesday
Apr282015
M3 2015 Set Times Announced
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 12:01AM M3 Rock Festival goes down this weekend in Columbia, Maryland. That's a suburb of Baltimore and I hope everything in that city calms down immediately. If you're headed toward M3, I hope you have a great time. I was kind of bummed I wasn't going... and then Baltimore exploded last night and honestly I'm kind of glad I decided to skip the festival.
Reader Comments (35)
But seriously, though I've seen 'em play many times in bars since before they even had a record out, I've also watched 'em play the sheds and large clubs but, more importantly, didn't Guns open a number of arena shows back in the day?
So here are my thoughts (not facts, but opinions): Europe write and wrote better composed songs, had catchier hooks, and have--repeat, _have_--more consistent talent. L.A. Guns had a chance to punch slightly above Faster Pussycat.
They didn't. Blame it on any number of things. Just don't misunderstand. They are, now and forever, in the same league as Faster Pussycat. And I say that liking both bands.
But slagging Europe looks like poor form when you consider the noise they made in the US back in the day, and the consistent noise they still make in Europe (no pun intended) to this day.
Funny thing is, never really liked them then. But I can appreciate all the talent they have. Perspective tends to make one respect those things that they don't like because they can countenance others for doing so.
PS: Way to go with the "gayest" comment! Let your freak flag fly!!! Let me guess: your colors don't run? I wish I could give you an endless supply of band-aids, Bk. But, at this point, I am not sure you even have a foot left.
@ToddCarrick
I will be posting some pics and maybe vids of the bands/festivities.
I have a lot of their albums as I always found them extremely talented. Especially Joey Tempest. He is a great songwriter, great showman and if someone thinks he's a poseur, well I would argue that these "poseur" comments always seem to get thrown at the attractive guys. How come "uggo's" are never called poseurs? Yes, Kip Winger and Joey Tempest were extremely attractive and I'm sure they knew it. But I bet very few of the ladies complain about them and their poseur ways though.
That said, those two can get away with the "posuer" label because they had substance. Not just looks. As Gene Simmons said "There is actual cake under the icing."
Europe really is at the top of Cheeze Metal Mountain, right along side Night Ranger and REO Speedwagon, but superior to both because of their pomp and grandeur, something bands such as those sorely lack.
I also regard Europe as something I call "Receptionist Rock" (Sorry, Rita!) because of my memories of working in office buildings in NYC back in the day posing as an advertising executive (by day while at the same time fulfilling the duties of Metalboy! fighting crimes against Metal like Europe for example, by night), when I would always walk past a huge haired receptionist's desk and hear her boom box she had stashed under her desk softly playing Z-Rock 101 or whatever the hell it was transmitting "Carrie" into our poor defenseless psyches.
Yet, though I never would have admitted it at the time, I actually loved that song (and still do), primarily for the comedy of it all, but let's face it, also because of it's stature as one of The Greatest 80's Powerballads of All Time!
Now, HIM... I would have to put L.A. Guns a little higher up than Faster Pussycat on the 80's Glam Metal Chart. Why? Simply because of Tracii Guns who just blazes compared to Muscat or any of those other characters in Faster Pussycat.
And though I was never a receptionist, I can definitely relate to the big hair and boom box comments :)
My buddy later took my lead, and told my he found a guy in a Queensryche shirt and gave him, his tickets. fists bumps, all around!
toast of the town: warrant
runner up: dokken
honorable mention: quiet riot
thee commission has spoken.
tawny and eddie couldn't have been more nauseating...and I even paid attention and listened this time. bobbi was a deer in headlights.
Agree with you both, Rita and Metalboy! Some cheese is good cheese, and some cheese is just cheese-food. A lot of those classic slabs of Gouda from back in the day (think _White Lion_, _Kick Axe_, and so on) are so wonderful precisely because they are so cheesy.
And special note to you, Rita. You pointed out some really insightful issues re: what constitutes good v. bad, cheese v. classic, in music. And, gasp, you note that there are often unfair and constantly redrawn lines created regarding hot men and not men. The one person on this board who should have shown the courtesy to respond . . . couldn't. Nope. Just called you a "chic" (which I think was Nile Rogers's band back in the day). You, in turn, simply owned it and moved on. I wish I could (not the "chic" part). Speaking of which . . .
Bkallday, you honor me with your scare quotes. I feel all brand new inside. Since when did noting you were wandering into the deep end of the pool engender (that isn't a word you need to fear, by the way, even if it has the word "gender" in it) such animus? You proved it, Sir. Your. Colors. Don't. Run (even if you retreat to default responses quicker than the French give up military positions). If I didn't know any better, I would think you were a KIA dashboard computer (courtesy of The Crue) that gained a smidge of sentience . . . and then had someone spill their Budweiser (not the Czech version) on it accidentally.
And you then decided to place a nice cherry on top by discerning which sexes like which music. Good show, Bkallday. You always make me smile. I suppose, with each passing post, the only love we share--don't worry, it is about the music--is for _Slayer_. But you can't deny it. We share love.
But it is much harder (for me to "buy into it") when I'm not much "into it" (the music) to begin with, so as for my radar in those situations, I look to others for validation or dissention. And, In this case, I was looking over toward the friends and family that I brought to the show to guage their reaction as those who were with me had 1) never saw Dokken before and/or 2) don't even know any Dokken songs; whereas I know the songs and have seem Dokken several times before.
But, I figure, If they can enjoy it, so can I (try), if for whatever illusive reason they are enjoying it. I believe my role in their experience (as narcissistic as this might sound) is to help capture, help elevate, enjoy and ultimately, help them hold onto the joys of their excitement and experience.
By no means is Dokken an "over-the-top" performer, which I believe what 80's glam rock is, yet Don and Co. were able to definitively capture a warm, positive, uplifting mood from his M3 audience and even made this critic, a believer- if only by looking at my son's eyes and watching him play [respectable] air-guitar to a band and songs he never heard before. To me, that is a magical moment- forget Disney!
Side note, Him. I read your most recent comments about David Coverdale and that he should act, perhaps, like an elder statesman at this point in life and you've written similar things about bret michaels and dlr, among others. And, part of your argument is that some of their stage moves, may appear a bit pervy in this latter day and age. I get it. Really, I do. Just imagine, at M3, when bands like LAG, Kix or Warrant play and I try to help elevate my 13yo son into a hypnotic state of glam frenzy, which ain't no east task...trust me!. To the "average" viewer, it might look like a creepy, older white guy with a young, Hispanic pool boy (He was adopted and, therefore a different race) and the scene plays out.
But, what some people may not realize is that that he is diagnosed with Autism. And, when we adopted him 7 years ago, it was a very "rough-go" and, sometimes, still is. He was painfully introverted, very disconnected to others, had severe, regular emotional outburst and his senses (particularly touch and sound) were on highest-overload. I'm not writing a biopyschosocial assessment, but trying to let the reader understand the little boy who entered our life.
He was recommended for various services and psychotropic medication and his prognosis was, by many professional standards, bleak. One professional recommended that we take a slow, nurturing course with him. My wife does nurturing and slow...I do nurturing, but I don't do slow. Another well-meaning professional told me to be mindful and watchful of exposing him to loud noises. I rhetorically replied, 'Do you know where you're placing him?" She looked perplexed. Anyway, I just used the (my) standard [nurturing] rock-n-roll treatment.
fast forward to 2015: He no longer has an IEP (a PA school-based, Individual Service Plan), does not take medication, has been mainstreamed in every class over time, he secured honor roll several times, was "student-of-the-month" three times, wrestled (not very well) for 2 years (but gets an "A" for effort), plays the guitar exceptionally, acted in a school play wonderfully, and has found a close-knit group of nice friends, who think (get this), that "I'm cool".
Moreover, he no longer goes screaming, ranting and raving, lunatic-style, careening out of classroom because of his noise-overload. He doesn't break-down in crying outbursts when someone touches him and he has slowly, but continually come to realize the depth of his prior abuse and neglect He continues to understand the parameters of this autism and he has become a very resilient young man. Most over, he has brought so much joy to our lives
In the 80's, the PMRC wanted to vilify and ban our music. I wanted to embrace it, celebrate it, and endorse it for all of its value and worth. Our music has some healing powers. My son is living proof, which I hope to continue to let him embrace and celebrate.
Disney is later this summer!
I, too, have found that Dokken (limits and all) still has a way of connecting with fans. Songs are a wee bit (okay, sometimes a lot) slower. But he does have a way of making fans feel like they are seeing something special. And I can truly see how people who are less critical, with no background listening to Dokken, would be doubly pulled in by his presence on stage. To my untrained ear, he sounds better lately too. And I think his new bassist Boals does an incredibly job and supplies just the right amount of background oomph that they lost when Pilson decamped. Dokken's recent acoustic set in LA sounded, for the most part, pretty darn good.
JJ French recently did an interview that spoke to the lack of young talent, in terms of it being nurtured and developed, in rock these days. I know his views aren't always appreciated. But he noted that, growing up, rock was a young man's game (no offense to women). Some of what he said--and I would urge people to look the interview up--speaks to the problem with old rockers playing their youthful hits. It is a relatively recent phenomena and one that, at least in part, speaks to the changes in the business of music. I don't begrudge a band making money or deciding _not_ to retire. Their choice. But as I said on a more recent post, there are some jarring moments when an old man tries to adopt a young man's posture.
And, to be fair, it isn't just exclusive to one sex either. Take a look at recent shows by _Bitch_, the B-grade metal band from the 80s fronted by Betsy Weiss. They are painful to watch, no less because she is--like Coverdale--way past the point where the stage persona matches the music.
But the real magic of your post was talking about your kid. Great story and a wonderful testament to the power of music. Also a testament to you as a person and as a father.
I hope others here read your post in full, Fletch.