BOC/Covers debate

[C.E. Anderson]

> I wonder how much pressure we, as fans, put upon bands to repeat
> themselves.

        Well, think of the hue and cry that went up from Metallica
fans when the "black album" came out.  I thought all the moaning of
"sell out" was a bit silly, but it gives an example of the sort of
things fans can get up to when they perceive their fave group
doing things they don't like.

> Sometimes bands repeat themselves
> because we demand it of them.

        I could live without hearing "Reaper" in _every_ concert ;)
though doubtless many could not, for the reasons you describe.

> I haven't seen BOC
> live in a few years, but I would wholeheartedly want to see 'new'
> songs in their set nowadays, rather than 'Born to be Wild' for the
> thirtieth time.  I've seen the group so many times (though not often
> lately) that I would welcome such experimentation.  Besides, how much
> new ground can a band break before they wind up back where they
> started.  That happens whenever a band keeps trying to re-invent
> itself...

        Well, I whole-heartedly agree.  I mean, I don't mind seeing
the same, or nearly the same, set once or twice--even though my mind
naturally gravitates towards a Grateful Dead sort of "we'll play what
we like and figure it out as we go ethic".  But I must confess I've
skipped a BOC show at least once because I knew it'd be basically the
same thing I'd seen before.  Now, if they were going to play Great
Sun Jester I might try to go just for that (not that I have much
opportunity to pick and choose in the UK!).
        But if I knew they were going to play a couple of well-hewn
classics, along with some gems from the closet and a major dose of
new material ... well, _that_ would be worth seeing!  Even the lamer of
the new numbers don't suck!

Cheers,
Carl