BOC: at Utica, should [i] care? [LONG]

[Ted Jackson]

On 25 Nov 2002, at 9:50, Scruton, Jason wrote:

> hi,
> Glad we can agree to disagree. and a good rippin to boot.
>
Nothin' personal dude.  I respect your opinions and support your
airing them here.  Who wants to read a stream of unquestioning
idolatry like the 'other' BÖC list?

> > you can't hear him, then he's feeding back, and then he sounds like
> > shit because he's playing through a make of amp you don't like!
> I actually had no objection to the amp type.
> Crate was the only name i read on more than one piece o equip.
> from where I was in the crowd, and simply used it for
> descriptive purposes of conveying the 'wankery.'
>
All you gear fans out there:  Looks like BD was using the new uber
Crate amps, the larger Blue Voodoo model [although these were
covered in red tolex]

> I guess I just don't like songs with solos that are too long and dont
> move the tune anywhere. extending last days of may in the middle
> always hit me as being too much soloing, and loses the atmosphere of
> the piece. or something like that.

I'd normally agree with ya on this.  I do like the rendition on the
DVD, just because the playing is so good on it.  Even Allen plays a
nice, tasteful solo on it.  A long solo on this song is okay as long as
it doesn't ramble, and as long as it keeps building, which the DVD
version does accomplish...

Seein' allen actually solo for any
> length on the DVD made it interesting because with the exception of
> that weird lil blues thing they did a few years back before In Thee, I
> didnt really get as sense of how well he could play.

I"'ve been going back listening to the remasters, and it's surprising
how much lead Allen does on those early discs.  Did you notice
how much guitar Allen played Sat. night?  Even before Al got up
there, Allen was playing mainly guitar, exc. Buck's Boogie...

> > But it's okay for you to holler like an idiot at a tBS gig
> > with 5 people in the hall, right?
> Yes, if it's actually for the band on stage.
> my beef with the guys behind me was that they knew he'd be showing up
> in the set so they could have just waited.

Just yankin' yer chain, bud!  I had to relocate several times to get
singing/shouting fans out of my ears.  You buy a ticket to a tBS gig,
you yell your ass off with my blessing!  Look at it this way:  a bunch
of hollering fans is better than an empty club, or worse, no show at
all!

 They reminded me of Homer
> watching Bachman turner overdrive, yelling to the band "Taking care of
> business" and telling the group what part of the song to play next.
>
ROTFLMAO!

> on that note, i was a bit surprised how long Al was on stage. 4 songs
> is a heckuva lot.
>
Agreed.  Too much already.  He didn't detract, IMO, as much as
add unneeded length to already-long songs.  One song, say, LDoM,
would have been fine with me...

> > That's because they didn't have a strobe.  IMHO, thy shouldn't even
> > do the song unless they've got a strobe effect for it.
> huh. I didnt even notice the strobelessnes of the song...
> the place seemed like it should have 'em, given the twirly things on
> the ceiling.
>
Yeah, they did have those disco-twirly thing-a-ma-jigs, but not a
righteous strobe effect.  BD didn't shred up the solo on that tune to
my liking either.  Seemed to cut it short...

> > After ripping you throughout this post, I have to say I WAS TOO! But
> > for different reasons.  My biggest problem was the setlist:
> Heh.ya gotta like that.
> All you would have to do was add "Before the kiss a redcap" and you
> had the same kind of show, more or less, that they were playing in the
> mid 90s...

Yes, and they managed to cup some good stuff that's been pretty
regularly included.  Harvest Moon belongs in the setlist from here on.
If the diehard Reaper fans don't like it, too bad.  Also, why Dance on
Stilts instead of Old Gods Return?  Seems an easy choice, unless
they actually thing it's time to branch out...

> > Hey, BÖC got Joe
> > Bonamassa up for a song a couple years ago in New Hartford [Joe B's
> > hometown] and no one objected, and he was nowhere near as good a fit
> > as Al was.
> Didnt they cover "Slow Down" with Joe?
>
Yes, not even a BÖC tune.  Joe is a great player, but he didn't
belong there.  I doubt BD would be stepping up on stage at a Joe B
gig, though it wouldn't surprise me to see him jam with moe.
sometime, if they can handle getting their asses kicked!

> > was okay.  In fact, hearing it made me want to get my band to
> > tackle it in future...
> Was the piano solo audible from where you were?
>
One or two notes maybe!

> > The band seemed to be
> > having a ball with young Al up there on stage.  His grasp of the
> > material was impressive.
> I may or may not have it right but I thought that when they brought Al
> up there,eric said something about how he didn't know the song... he
> seemed to be watching Lanier's fretboard for guidance at the
> beginning, at least.
>
I think it was EB who was pissed at Al's being there, and BD and
Allen were fine with it.  It wasn't a really great crowd either, so it's
possible BÖC didn't make a lot of bucks on this gig.  Not sure what
kind of guarantee they get for a gig like that.  Seemed like the band
was a bit out of sorts, really, like they weren't firing on all 8.
Nothing I could put my finger on, it just didn't feel like a ripping gig...

> I guess my problem was they just didnt kick my ass like they used to,
> or at least in this showing.  That, more than anything, took me by
> surprise at the show.

Agree with you here.  Everything seemed just a bit off, a bit out of
synch.  Can't tell you why, it just was.  Maybe a combination of
equip. problems, small crowd, moe. fans in the house, who knows?
Really a gig that's a 4-hour drive from home should be a no-brainer
for BÖC--they should have kicked ass...

 In the past, the rabidity of my enjoyment of the
> oyster boys was comparable to a show by the Brain Surgeons. the
> formers reliance on the same songs for YEARS in the set just strikes
> me as odd, since they play them so often. But hey, if they like the
> tunes, more power to the oyster boys.
>
I assume they do that because the fans really like the tunes.  Most
old geezers have a problem being nostalgia acts, and some, like
BÖC, seem to embrace it a bit too easily.  I'd be happy as hell if
they'd occasionally put a real shakeup on the set list, but I guess
we have to wait til next gig...

theo