Post by penny74 on Mar 10, 2006 17:22:18 GMT -5
Posted by: Wendyc122
So now after a decent night's sleep, with images of Marty in my head, here's my Mohegan Sun report:
I saw LH at Avery Fisher on Monday, and CBGB's on Tuesday. Mohegan Sun dwarfs both places; it's a very modern sports arena, along the lines of Madison Square Garden although about half the size. I'd say it was 1/3 full when Marty hit the stage, but at least the fans could stand and so the ones up front on the floor could show him some love. But the vast majority of people there were INXS fans, and while I KNOW this will sound SNARKY, they were there to see a band that they were into in their youth. All I will say about the INXS portion of the show is that it wasn't fresh and new, unlike Our Boy Marty and LH.
Anyway, LH started with Ultrasound, and did most of the other songs we love (actually, we love all of them, but they did the blockbusters). Marty looked spectacular as usual. On top of being gorgeous, his uncanny sense of style never ceases to amaze me. This time he was wearing white pants, black shirt, grey and black vest, leather jacket, long skinny grey sparkly scarf, aviator shades, and of course the bracelets. He ran around, climbed over the seats, and unlike Avery Fisher, the spotlight was able to follow him around the room. That man has more energy than six other people put together. The show ended with a shirtless (sigh) Marty doing This Town. It was fantastic.
As usual it was all over too fast. I have a few pictures, but in a room like that you can't see them really well. I'm worried that the days of seeing them in small venues and being able to hang with them, even if just for a minute or two, after the show are over. All of us obviously wish them the best and want them to go as far as they want to, but we will lose something really wonderful in the process. The meet & greet (finally!) sums up what I mean:
The hotel had set up a table right by where the merchandise was being sold, and Marty announced that there would be a meet & greet at 9:30, once INXS left the stage. All us Hammerheads (Hi guys! Great to see you again last night!) mad a mad dash to get on line outside the arena. You could hear INXS doing their encore in the background. Suddenly the doors of the elevator about ten feet from the table opened and ... THERE HE WAS. Since he's taller than everyone else, you could see that beautiful blonde hair as soon as the doors opened. He had put all of his clothes on (grrrrr) including the aviator shades. He was stunning. I wish I had gotten a shot of it, but the security was everywhere, blocking our view as they sat down. They were not allowing any pictures, not only with the band, but even of the table where they were sitting.
And then the signing assembly line started. I was near the front of the line and was whisked through so fast I don't remember anything other than babbling incoherently while they signed. Marty kept the shades on, which was very frustrating, since it is the eye contact with him that has so much power. He took them off a few minutes later and started smiling a little more. But to be honest, I really, really hope he and the rest of the band aren't getting burned out by all this handling. The more recent pictures of him with his fans don't show the full-tilt boogie, happy Marty from the beginning of the tour. I really hope he enjoys what has been happening to him.
And I don't know if I am speaking for other fans, but I harbor a fantasy of telling all of them how much they have rekindled my interest in music and more importantly, in going to live shows. Of course, it's pretty obvious I won't be able to do that in person, so I am going to do it here. Maybe this message will reach them somehow.
I'm not a kid. I've been going to live rock concerts since 1965, when I saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. I then discovered the Yardbirds (who also recorded on Epic, btw) who showed me what energy, power and inventiveness rock music could have. Considering their lead guitarists were Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page, that isn't suprising. Anyway, I was very lucky to grow up in an era of so much incredible music and of artists who set the standards for what live performing is all about. That tradition has stayed intact for over 40 years.
Every once in a while someone comes along who pushes things in a new direction, who creates something totally unique, or who simply raises the bar of how great a live performance can be and sets a new standard for everyone who follows. Often they wind up being distilled into one name: Mick. Hendrix. Janis. Prince. Bowie. Bruce. Bono. For all of them, seeing them live is more than just a regurgitation of the recorded music. They bring something to the stage that can make going to a concert a transcendant experience.
Marty is The Next One. He has IT, whatever IT is.
I am so grateful that I got a chance to see them at CBGB's, even though the club was "smaller, dirtier, darker, and smellier" than Marty expected! (Actually, I've been in worse ones ... and for those of you who were there, can you imagine what it would have been like if the city hadn't banned indoor smoking?) But I think it's going to be a really short time before LH are filling arenas like Mohegan Sun by themselves. And while something wonderful will be gained, something equally wonderful will be lost. I just hope they enjoy the ride, because it's going to be long, and it's going to be wild.
So now after a decent night's sleep, with images of Marty in my head, here's my Mohegan Sun report:
I saw LH at Avery Fisher on Monday, and CBGB's on Tuesday. Mohegan Sun dwarfs both places; it's a very modern sports arena, along the lines of Madison Square Garden although about half the size. I'd say it was 1/3 full when Marty hit the stage, but at least the fans could stand and so the ones up front on the floor could show him some love. But the vast majority of people there were INXS fans, and while I KNOW this will sound SNARKY, they were there to see a band that they were into in their youth. All I will say about the INXS portion of the show is that it wasn't fresh and new, unlike Our Boy Marty and LH.
Anyway, LH started with Ultrasound, and did most of the other songs we love (actually, we love all of them, but they did the blockbusters). Marty looked spectacular as usual. On top of being gorgeous, his uncanny sense of style never ceases to amaze me. This time he was wearing white pants, black shirt, grey and black vest, leather jacket, long skinny grey sparkly scarf, aviator shades, and of course the bracelets. He ran around, climbed over the seats, and unlike Avery Fisher, the spotlight was able to follow him around the room. That man has more energy than six other people put together. The show ended with a shirtless (sigh) Marty doing This Town. It was fantastic.
As usual it was all over too fast. I have a few pictures, but in a room like that you can't see them really well. I'm worried that the days of seeing them in small venues and being able to hang with them, even if just for a minute or two, after the show are over. All of us obviously wish them the best and want them to go as far as they want to, but we will lose something really wonderful in the process. The meet & greet (finally!) sums up what I mean:
The hotel had set up a table right by where the merchandise was being sold, and Marty announced that there would be a meet & greet at 9:30, once INXS left the stage. All us Hammerheads (Hi guys! Great to see you again last night!) mad a mad dash to get on line outside the arena. You could hear INXS doing their encore in the background. Suddenly the doors of the elevator about ten feet from the table opened and ... THERE HE WAS. Since he's taller than everyone else, you could see that beautiful blonde hair as soon as the doors opened. He had put all of his clothes on (grrrrr) including the aviator shades. He was stunning. I wish I had gotten a shot of it, but the security was everywhere, blocking our view as they sat down. They were not allowing any pictures, not only with the band, but even of the table where they were sitting.
And then the signing assembly line started. I was near the front of the line and was whisked through so fast I don't remember anything other than babbling incoherently while they signed. Marty kept the shades on, which was very frustrating, since it is the eye contact with him that has so much power. He took them off a few minutes later and started smiling a little more. But to be honest, I really, really hope he and the rest of the band aren't getting burned out by all this handling. The more recent pictures of him with his fans don't show the full-tilt boogie, happy Marty from the beginning of the tour. I really hope he enjoys what has been happening to him.
And I don't know if I am speaking for other fans, but I harbor a fantasy of telling all of them how much they have rekindled my interest in music and more importantly, in going to live shows. Of course, it's pretty obvious I won't be able to do that in person, so I am going to do it here. Maybe this message will reach them somehow.
I'm not a kid. I've been going to live rock concerts since 1965, when I saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. I then discovered the Yardbirds (who also recorded on Epic, btw) who showed me what energy, power and inventiveness rock music could have. Considering their lead guitarists were Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page, that isn't suprising. Anyway, I was very lucky to grow up in an era of so much incredible music and of artists who set the standards for what live performing is all about. That tradition has stayed intact for over 40 years.
Every once in a while someone comes along who pushes things in a new direction, who creates something totally unique, or who simply raises the bar of how great a live performance can be and sets a new standard for everyone who follows. Often they wind up being distilled into one name: Mick. Hendrix. Janis. Prince. Bowie. Bruce. Bono. For all of them, seeing them live is more than just a regurgitation of the recorded music. They bring something to the stage that can make going to a concert a transcendant experience.
Marty is The Next One. He has IT, whatever IT is.
I am so grateful that I got a chance to see them at CBGB's, even though the club was "smaller, dirtier, darker, and smellier" than Marty expected! (Actually, I've been in worse ones ... and for those of you who were there, can you imagine what it would have been like if the city hadn't banned indoor smoking?) But I think it's going to be a really short time before LH are filling arenas like Mohegan Sun by themselves. And while something wonderful will be gained, something equally wonderful will be lost. I just hope they enjoy the ride, because it's going to be long, and it's going to be wild.
