Feeding the hungry - a very different kind of review

This was supposed to be a review of Adam Lambert's "The Original High Tour" stop in Connecticut but the experience resulted in something else..something I'm sure the editors at DigitalJournal, the only publication that will publish my writings on the Lambert subject (and that's only based on having an account not due to accepting a pitch), would care to have on their site as it would not be positive.

...well it's not all negative so let's get the good part over with first.  Starting with taking a wrong turn when arriving at Foxwoods Fox Tower and ending up in the valet parking line, panicking but then finding out there was no charge for the service...I started the night feeling a little special.  This is the first time I've been to this venue and on entering I discovered that I was right at the theater unlike experiences at Mohegan Sun where I ended up parked a mile walk from the arena.  At Foxwoods there was a cool little candy shop called Licks at the entrance I came in where I bought a present for my daughter who almost literally kicked my ass out the door to go to this show.  I got a bottle of water and decided I'd give the opener a shot and opted to go into the theater rather than eating dinner.
Glee alum, Alex Newell is one great singer.  He's also got wonderful stage presence and really had the audience connecting.  If I was in a different venue I might have been standing and dancing along but we'll discuss that point later.  Alex was very punctual and went on at 8:03 p.m.  His set was about 45 minutes so it should have been a 15 minute break for pit and drink stops.  Instead people probably could have gone and grabbed a sandwich but again, that goes in the negative side of this post.

The theater is very comfortable.  The ushers were very pleasant.  Definitely not the big, open, grungy space that is the arena at Mohegan Sun.

Adam's performance, albeit late starting, was impressive? I mean it's Adam.  He's voice is still phenomenal, he hits all the right notes and when singing has decent stage presence.  The set was a combination of old, new and covers.  I did like the new arrangement of Fever.  Nice way to erase the memory of the more trashy Glamnation version and closes the door on the former guitarist/bassist quite nicely.  I was disappointed that Nile Rogers was not home to play in on "Let's Dance".  Nothing will ever match his performance with Adam and Sam Sparro at Hammerstein Ballroom of that number.  The costume changes were kept to three and were pretty minimal on an Adam-scale.  We learned that Terrance Spencer can also sing as can the other dancer, Holly.  Choreo was more polished.  The band was tight.  The sound mix was good.

Then the show as over.  I had my car in less than 5 minutes and when I was back on Rte 2A heading home in less than 15 minutes, I was very glad I gave the valet a $10 tip.  I will definitely utilize their valet service every time I go there in the future.  I need to find this service at Mohegan and maybe avoid walking a mile and a half IF I ever go to a show there again.

Please understand that I am just comparing the two casino venues to each other due to their proximity to each other, the fact that they are both casino complexes and are both managed by the local native American tribes.  Probably the closest similar theaters to the Fox Tower theater in this area for a rock show would be either The Bushnell in Hartford or The Klein in Bridgeport.  The Meadows aka The Xfinity Theater at The Dodge Music Center in Hartford is an "indoor" venue in the cold weather...there are sliding doors across the back of the amphitheater that are closed.  But it does not have a balcony, has a concrete floor and a sound system more geared to the theater being open so that people on the lawn can also hear.  Oh and to do a rewind to the ticket purchase experience?  I cannot compare to Mohegan as I don't have the experience to make the comparison.  However, compared to Ticketmaster?  Much better.  I ended up in the Orchestra, 22 rows back right by the sound/light booth for $78 after taxes and fees (ticket was $65).

So let's start with the ticket price in the negative column.  I have paid far less for much better.  I have to say that I feel bad for the people who spent more than that for tickets to this show.  Why?

1. Foxwoods drew the short straw for location.  Mohegan Sun is right off 395.  2A is still 4 lanes wide at their exit.  But just past it, it goes down to 2 lanes and it is 7 miles on very windy, bumpy, not well lit state highway that passes through some very residential areas.  
2. The sound mix for Alex's set was really bad in spots.  One number in particular someone needed to pull the engineer's hand off the slide for the subwoofer.  TOO   MUCH   BASS.
3. Adam's habitual tardiness.  Mr. Lambert?  This is not cute.  It's not professional and when musicians who make a lot less money than you can be on time?  You need work on that.  Adam took the stage at 9:17.
4. Thanks to the review in the Boston Globe, it was known that Connecticut got the Reader's Digest version of the set list.  Songs like "Shady" and "Lay Me Down" were noticeably missing.  Also the encore was ONE SONG...Really?
5. The stage lighting was 1) seizure inducing (there were no signs outside the theater warning about this either) and 2) not all directed to the stage.  I was blinded by a blue filtered mover during "Mad World" and like I said..."I was in Row 22".  Yes, there is a big bank of white lights above the stage to light the crowd at the appropriate moments and they were used.  But movers, pars, etc should NOT be shining in the crowd.  
6. Although Adam's getting better at stage banter, he still needs to work on that.  I will give him cred for keeping it PG13 this time around.  I have no problem with musicians saying "Fuck!"...I am a pop punk fan but when people (inappropriately) bring 8 year olds to Adam's shows, then he needs to cool it on the sexual innuendos which I find are his go-tos when his confidence starts waning.
7. Did I just say that Adam Lambert...THE ADAM LAMBERT...lacks confidence?  Yes he does.  He spent a lot of years in theater with marks to hit, well-rehearsed choreography and directors doing what directors do...directing him.  Once he was on his own away from his tribe, who are pretty over-the-top (not in a bad way.  If you've followed me you know I'm pretty integrated in it) he was kind of lost when he realized that "middle America" didn't get it.  It's part of why he was the runner-up on Idol.  It's why Prince Poppycock and William Close didn't win AGT.  Part of how Adam has garnered this weird fanbase is because Idol viewers who stuck with him did so because they thought they were doing something taboo.  But back to this item - When Adam realized he didn't have a director and a dance captain and that his audience did not get it, he just went with it on whole sexy thing to cover the fact that he didn't really know how to deal with it.  I will say last night he did do a lot better and I could try to attribute it to Queen but he pulls the sex thing with those performances too. 
8. What I think has just become, at least to me, an annoying habit.  I would hope after 7 years he would have in-ears that fit properly but he still continues to fiddle with them throughout a set.  If it is a 'tell' then that says that he can't seem to get a sound tech who knows his mix preferences.  Again, they can't hire a competent tech?  I have hoped that he would have switched to stage wedges long ago.  
9. Adam's fans.  
1. Oh there are a few scattered in the crowd that are young, not overbearing or judgemental, who are not homophobic (yes they are trust me), LGBT, male but again last night it was a lot of women well over 40.  Yes...I do fit both demographics.  However, I don't come in wearing sequins, too much eye shadow, two pairs of false eyelashes, stripper heels, making sure everyone notices I'm in the front row and "spent good money to be here!",  blowing kisses to a guy who's young enough to be my kid and sporting a coiffure that went out of style with Jackie O.  I'm there for reasons that I have explained in many blogs before this.  
2. PLEASE STOP BITCHING ABOUT PEOPLE STANDING TO DANCE!!  Yes!  The theater has seats.  To quote Anna Matronic from Scissor Sisters...chairs have a lot of purposes but at a rock show they are NOT for sitting in.  Alex noted in his set...you SIT through a Broadway play/musical not a rock show. The only exception was Adam's performance at Cyndi Lauper's benefit at the Beacon.  THAT WAS a sit-down show...mainly because no one stood for anyone else's set including Jason Mraz.  If there was standing it should have been for Cyndi because she was the hostess.  Adam was her guest. 
3. IT WAS NOT A FUCKING RAVE!!! Leave your damned glow sticks, blinky bracelets and light up sneakers home.  All you do is blind the people behind you.  
10. An hour and 20 minute set counting the 2 minute waiting for the encore and only one opening act.  I was in my car at 10:55 heading home.  I won't buy a venue noise abatement curfew cuz this place is in the middle of nowhere and as far as a time thing,  it's a fucking casino so it's open 24-7.  I have been to shows in places that do have curfews but if not a noise restriction GMs tend to bend the rules if the show is going really well.  It's making money for them and the artist to do that.  People continue drinking and eating and buying merch.  As far as saving your voice?  I have a friend who I have seen at the end of a tour, missed zero performances even when sick as dog...if you're hungry you'll sing.

Which brings me to what really had me walking away feeling very ambivalent.  Let's go back to before I bought the ticket.  When I learned how much Warner Brothers was soaking for them.  I told a friend..."I bet you I can find TWO TICKETS for a better show for what I would pay for one nosebleed for Adam's.  I found those two tickets for the 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR OF DROPKICK MURPHYS at a small venue in NYC for $35 each....Ok so $10 less than one nosebleed for Adam but...there are TWO openers one of which is Tiger Army who are fantastic and the show is GA which means if I WANT to work my way up front and into the pit I can.  No!  I don't get into mosh pits.  Come on...I told you how old I am.  But if I wanted to...  Also, the bands park their buses right outside the venue and hang out inside so is there a chance I finally get to meet Tim (I interviewed by phone 3 years ago) and Scruffy?  Yeah.  All that for $35!  

Yes, I did buckle and buy a $65 ticket to see Adam.  But even at 6 p.m. last night I was still thinking about blowing it off and suffering from a bad case of buyer's remorse.  My dad offered to pay me back for my ticket if I stayed home.  

Back to the subject of being 'hungry-literally and figuratively.  Artists like Adam, well it's why a label will scoop up someone like that.  They can spin it to make themselves a fuck-ton of money.  In this case WBR knows that people won't think twice about dropping hundreds of dollars on tickets, meet and greets and merch based on the previous demographic of his fanbase.  Which makes up for the fuck-ton of money they spent on My Chemical Romance whose fanbase, along with being more appropriate in most cases, didn't have much disposable income.  But would I have paid more to see them than the $65 for TWO DAYS of Bamboozle in 2007 or $30 for the first leg of the Black Parade in Hartford before that?  You bet.  Hell! When Danger Days came out I road-tripped to NJ and DC for shows.  Their sets were generally 2 hours with 2-3 song encores, great stage banter and audience interaction.  I paid $25 for my MCR Shirts for The Cure t-shirt and full retail for all their music that I own.  I even street teamed for them. 

Sitting here listening to still my favorite pop-punk band, Motion City Soundtrack, even before ever interviewing them...watching them at my first Warped Tour in 2006,  at Bamboozle in 2007 and then meeting Justin and Josh at Webster Hall later that same year....these guys are hungry.  Sometimes literally.  But when I asked Justin in an interview in 2013 if he ever fears running out of lyrics he said "Sometimes and then the songs just start coming out again".   Point? He is passionate about creating and will keep doing it.  He, Josh, Jesse, Matthew, Tony and his replacement leave family and friends for months on end to tour.  In fact, Justin said that he gets kind of itchy if they stay off the road too long.  This band doesn't play arenas.  In fact, except for things like Warped Tour, they generally play to houses that hold no more than 3000 people where they give the crowd more than their money's worth.  They lay their hearts and souls on the stage and hope it's enough to encourage you to stop by the merch table so that they have gas and food money to get them to the next stop.  

Some bands can stash away enough money to buy a bus and a trailer.  The label does not take care of that for them.  Most drive old church vans of questionable mechanical integrity.  Props to the company BandWagon RVs for providing affordable, safe rentals for touring bands.  I see more and more of their vehicles every year at Warped Tour and I have a feeling that Kevin Lyman is very grateful to the company too as he has a few less worries about bands making it through the whole tour without vehicle failures.  

When fans bring food to shows, it's not something cute like "I made this for you cuz I'm you're biggest fan".  It's "I made this for you so you have a home-cooked food while you're out here".  Story...a Kill Hannah fan brought a full spaghetti dinner to them during their tour with Flyleaf and Sick Puppies in '07.  There was enough food for EVERYONE including the crew.  I read tweets after that night from all of them saying how wonderful it was to sit down "as a family" and share that meal.  I used to show up with big boxes full of socks, sharpies, hand lotion, chapstick, decks of cards, crossword puzzles, lots of snacks and homemade cookies for my road kids.  I know fans who slip TMs $20 for gas because they already have all the band's CDs and t-shirts.  

Besides a t-shirt and a great show we also get hugs, selfies, autographs, tears and laughter one on one without having to pay extra.  Most small venue shows, artists either hang in the crowd or at the merch table.  There really is no excuse for not meeting someone.  One of my favorite reoccurring Warped experiences is watching kids LITERALLY run into their favorite musician while running to the next stage or to grab a quick soda or hot dog before the next band.  The reactions are priceless.  I've seen and heard everything from squeaks, to shrieks to "Holy motherfucker!! It's YOU!!" And the musician stops, talks, hugs, takes a selfie, signs an autograph and this kid's whole $35 for the day was just paid back in a 2 minute moment.  I remember when I first started down the rabbit hole and was star-struck to the point of terrified.  It started with Casey and JT from Hawthorne Heights.  Who knew that a year after my first encounter with them that we'd be sharing laughs at The Webster one night and The Chance two nights after that.  I cried when I learned of Casey's death and I still share hugs with JT because of that every time I get to see him. 

So did I get my $65 worth last night?  Compared to the hundreds of shows I've been to the past 9 years?  Nope.  I only paid $32 to see MUSE at MSG and that show was soooo much more and they're not in the "hungry" category yet they put on a show like they were.   It's really sad that when you pay more for a pair of handmade shoes you get high quality heart & soul art for your feet that will last you for years but high price tags for music and fine art doesn't work that way at all.

Did last night finally close "that" chapter?  I think so.  Between shitty fans, management and label who have no interest in the type of interview I want to do and an artist that still needs to reconnect with that time he was hungry I leave with this.  Adam has a great voice and does deserve a recording contract.  I will be forever in his debt for the amazing friends I garnered from this part of my journey.  The "key" was the "key" to a lot of experiences and people I will treasure forever.  If some day I get to ask "those"questions (which I won't ever delete from my computer) I don't think it will be a formal interview.  But am I holding my breath?  Not any more. No more getting angry over it.  Time to mourn the loss and this time lock the door behind me on the journalism thing.  Time to get back to enjoying live music for music's sake.  Time to really immerse myself into the next two shows I have tickets for.  Sell more of my crafts to buy more tickets.  

You can post all the negative comments you like.  You can't hurt me any more.  Your words will only make my points.  I hope that someday you experience a truly hungry artist/band and they touch more than your libido.  I hope you get to meet one of them outside of an organized "photo op" and really talk to them to the point where they touch your heart.  I hope you genuinely want to feed them at that point.  Ultimately I wish you "moments" (to the person who always has that very special "hand squeeze" for me whenever we see each other....I can never thank you enough for our "moments").  And maybe...just maybe you'll get really lucky and be able to tell an artist you're old enough to be his mom and have his response be "Fucking no way!!" Thanks, Matt. I still wear that as a badge of honor. "Yes. Yes, I am old enough to be your mom" became my signature tag line in a whole lot of interviews after that.    :)  

Original High not so original

I know I will catch hell for this post but - girls...remember...art is subjective and for my pallet this is way too much artificial flavor, sweetner and color with a lot of additives that will leave your ears and your soul starving for some real nourishment.

For those who have not caught on, mainstream corporate music is not about promoting actual art.  In fact it is the exact opposite.  This is why people like Diane Warren, et al are millionaires.  They are paid to put out drek which is then foisted on the masses through terrestrial radio and other broadcast medium to which the people are led to believe is good...dare I say great?   No!  Ok there are a few actual artists that are occasionally given airtime to throw us off the scent.  Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift and Adele come to mind.  But for all his talent as a scout and a producer, even Pharrel kind of comes up short in the actual songwriting/composing category.  He writes a good hook.

So let's look at some more golden children of cookie cutter "music"...Max Martin and Shellback.  Adam Lambert should have known from his experience with them on FYE that they are not unique.  They have a limited repertoire that they just rehash.  Sure "Whadda Ya Want From Me" was a big hit.  RCA promoted the hell out of it as eye and ear wash after the performance of the title track on the American Music Awards.  Was it a great song?  Not at all.  In fact one of the best songs on that record was a bonus track. Thankfully Lambert included "Voodoo" on his Glamnation tour and gave the world a taste of what he and Sam Sparro could do when left alone in a studio.

To date Warner Brothers Records has released four tracks from Original High and for me they all fall flat.  This is cheap, glitzy club stuff with some Dollar Store glitter shaken on it.  The vocal effects are redundant.  The beats are boiler-plate and the melodies simplistic.  After a three year wait, hoping that Lambert would finally hit his stride and put out quality music...NOPE!  He's going for the fast buck on this one and Warner, I am disappointed.  From the label that gave My Chemical Romance it's huge push and now is turning Echosmith into the pop superheroes they should be...this is awful.

"Ghost Town", "Underground", "Another Lonely Night" and "Evil In The Night"?  Well let's start with two titles on the same record that repeat a word?  Now the lyrics?  They all tell the same story...so we're going to get this emo tour about broken hearts and unrequited love?  Adam...so not you!!!  How did you let them take you there? The echo effects, as stated previously, way overused and the cliche finger snaps and whistling?  Cheap parlor tricks.  These are just some child's venture into a goth arcade penny-candy store.  No meat. No potatoes.  Not even real dessert.  Dammit Adam!! Give me a good slice of cheesecake at least or some homemade ice cream with real fruit in it.  I used to say that Adam and his art were like this mysterious Asian meal full of all kinds of exotic flavors...sweet, ,spicy, savory all on the same plate in a restaurant decked out in red silk, brocade and gold leaf.  This?  This is something you'd get at that scary little Chinese kiosk in the mall food court because your broke and/or in a hurry.

I'm not going to lie.  My two favorite Adam Lambert songs will always be "Voodoo" and "Shady".  I have met both Sam and Nile and that trio was perfection, especially when they all finally came together on the stage of the Hammerstein Ballroom.  Sam is a brilliant song writer and arranger.  He doesn't have to overdress the track because its fashion is gorgeous in its natural beauty.  I don't think that he hasn't been signed or spun in the mainstream because he's gay but because he is so good. I had hoped and prayed for more of that.
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To anyone reading this who does not know me - I am probably too close to the situation to be objective.  I do know things and it breaks my heart to see this outcome.  I had high hopes for Adam.  I wanted to see funky and fresh, dark and mysterious, innovative electronica.  I don't mind dance and club music.  As you can see I am a huge fan of Sam's and Scissor Sisters and Glitch Mob (which my son constantly razzes me for).  I love pop music - William Beckett, Echosmith, We Are The In Crowd, The Ready Set, and even Bruno.  Pop punk - Paramore, Fall Out Boy and Motion City Soundtrack and whatever category you want to put Kill Hannah in.  If Adam had gone down any of these roads - No! He wouldn't be in the Billboard Top 10 for 20 weeks but he would maintain he integrity as a genuine artist and person.  To me, this record is a sellout and I'll only listen to it on Spotify.  This is $12 that will go for something else.  Sorry Adam.

Great pop music you won't hear on the radio-Sam Sparro

For my first recommendation I give you Sam Sparro.  Live, this man will send you out the door dancing, singing, and filled to the brim with all the joy that he can't contain.  He is a gentle soul with a fierce vision for his music.  He goes into his own studio, using his own instrumental and engineering talent and writes songs that make you feel.  For live performances he works with incredibly talented musicians and singers.  Personally I'm a huge fan of Vula who is this tiny vocal powerhouse.  Her textures and tones combined with Sam's are magical.  Plus the two of them just have so much fun together on stage.  Actually the whole band has a blast.  All of them are smiling the whole time.  Sam is infectious and the audience can't resist him.  They are all dancing by the end of the first song.

Before the new album "Return To Paradise", if you said Sam Sparro" most people would say, "Who?"  But you'd get a bit more recognition if you said "Black and Gold" from his self-titled debut album which was released on Universal Island in 2008.  Black and Gold became a club dance favorite.  "Sam Sparro" is very electronic and upbeat album for the most part.  One of the things I love about Sam is that he can tell a darker story but put it with a "happy" melody so people get a nice, easily digestible version of the message. It kind of seeps into the cracks and you come around later and see that there are things you need to process and become part of the solution.

In sophomore album "Return To Paradise" Sparro continues with that "joy infused" sound but also adds some funk to it.  As with most great new pop artists, he's been up against it in the U.S.  The album dropped in Europe months before its American release.  Two singles have been released; "Happiness" and "I Wish I Never Met You" which also included highly polished music videos.  Sam likes to play with his resemblance to 1940's and 50's matinee mobsters and heartthrobs in both videos.  There's definite nods to Ziegfield, Cagney, Selznick and Gable.

Sam has also had the opportunity to expand on the funk that has been running through him, working for a second time with fellow pop artist and friend Adam Lambert on his sophomore album resulting in the song "Shady".  Goofing around about improving the guitar line on the track they joked about tweeting funk legend Nile Rodgers to lay down some riffs.  The tweet was answered with a very enthusiastic response from Rodgers.  In the middle of the hectic schedule to master and release "Trespassing", Lambert jetted to NYC and spent a full day in Rodger's Manhattan studio overseeing the recording.  It would be eight months before all three musicians were able to come together on the same stage and perform the song live.  As one who was fortunate enough to be in the Hammerstein Ballroom that evening, trust me, it was THE BEST performance of that song to date.  The event also gave Sam some time to express his thoughts about working more with young people and the issues he and Lambert face in mainstream pop music due to their sexuality.  Both artists have been publicly out since before launching their music careers.

I've had the honor to not only interview Sam Sparro but to meet him.  He is one of the most intelligent, interesting, genuinely happy and humble people I know.  I've seen him perform for an audiences as small as about 75 to over 800.  He puts on a great show no matter who or how many he plays for.

For more on Sam Sparro visit http://samsparro.com/  and friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and add him to your Vevo playlist.  You can find Sam on Spotify and if you like what you hear you can purchase his music on iTunes and Amazon.  If he is touring in your area, definitely get out to one of his shows.  Trust me, you'll become a fan and an addict.