Summer tour schedules are all starting to get announced, and there are certain bands that inevitably stop in Connecticut. When the itinerary for the Def Leppard/Journey tour showed up in my inbox today, for example, there was no question it would include a stop at either Oakdale (or Floundering Automaker Theatre or whatever it's called now) or Mohegan Sun. Bingo -- Mohegan Sun, June 28.
In fact, it's rare to find a classic-rock act that ISN'T stopping in Connecticut. Huey Lewis? Check. Rick Springfield? Check. Blue Oyster Cult? Yep. Chicago, again? Aw yeah. Vanilla Fudge featuring special guest Blue Cheer? Well, not yet, but give it time.
What happens, though, when those bands either retire (ha!) or actually die? What will we listen to? Who will we go see in concert? How will we SURVIVE? Oh, right -- we'll actually have to make some room culturally for all the smart, talented younger bands laboring in the shadows of nostalgia.
Or we could start doing that now. Anyone? Anyone?
People may enjoy the music they grew up with, but people should at least have the option of stumbling into something they haven't heard before....The problem with this area is that there really is no choice left anymore....You're choices are limited to the same 20 hip-hop, country, classic soft rock or pop songs. What this area needs more than anything is an "adult-alternative type" radio station that would have the guts to play "classic rock, R&B, jazz and reggae" artists, with "alternative history" artists and new artists that actually go more than 1 song deep on a record. Imagine what would it be like to hear a set of say Wilco, followed by the Allmans, Bob Mould, Foo Fighters, Matisyahu, the Stones, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Cash, Ryan Adams, Miles Davis, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, Franz Ferdinand, Talking Heads, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Moby, New Order, The Killers, Ray Lamontagne, Interpol, White Stripes, U2 and even your beloved Centro-Matic! and so on......THAT is the kind of radio I would like to hear.....
Posted by: Andy | March 29, 2006 at 08:50 PM
Eric,get over it.How many times are you going to write about this.People enjoy the music they grew up with and the people that grew up with this music now have the money to spend on expensive concert tickets.Therefore the promoters book them.It would be nice if some of these people also were into smart,talented younger bands but it ain't gonna happen.Besides which i think the well has sort of run dry on Rock and Roll.It isn't complicated or difficult music and groups like The Arctic Monkeys aren't doing anything The Ramones or even the early Who did.So please keep writing about any smart young bands you can find but let people have their nostalgia if they want it.
Posted by: Jon | March 29, 2006 at 07:13 PM