Re: So who would you like to see next?

Now that The Replacements are reuniting for a few gigs, who would you like to see do the reunion thing next? Or is the whole idea just abhorrent to you, or simply not worth considering?

Does this mean that there are still a few groups left that have not reunited?



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Quote

Does this mean that there are still a few groups left that have not reunited?

Husker.
Du.

And it ain't never gonna happen.

The original Modern Lovers. Jerry Harrison actually said it was going to happen a few years ago, but nothing ever came of it.

Agreed on Husker Du. And I've said on here before that I'd fly just about anywhere in the country to see a Rapeman reunion, which also seems rather unlikely. Seeing the Jam would be cool too.

I'll second the Jam.

Uncle Tupelo, Husker Du, The Smiths and the Jam

Uncle Tupelo and Husker Du, though neither will ever happen. Actually, I think the latter is more likely than the former, and it's not very likely.

I notice a lot of folks mentioned the Jam. Seems like I read recently that all three members are more-or-less on speaking terms, so that's not an outside possibility. They could probably do a British tour and make their retirement money. I'd be surprised if they made it over here, though.

Quote

The original Modern Lovers. Jerry Harrison actually said it was going to happen a few years ago, but nothing ever came of it.

Whoah! That would rule. And how 'bout a Talking Heads reunion? I grow faint just thinking about it, but again, never gonna happen.

Drive Like Jehu.

I'll second the DLJ motion. Hot Snakes were great (in 2002 and 2012), but I would really have loved to see Drive Like Jehu circa Yank Crime.

I'd cross the street to avoid a Talking Heads reunion, personally. For me, David Byrne ceased to exist in 1981. I love that quote from Penn Jillette: "When did David Byrne turn into Alan Alda? Seems like one night I went to sleep and he was cool, and when I woke up, he was an asshole." Bingo. Of course, the blistering irony is that Penn Jillette also underwent assholification sometime around 1993…



Post Edited (06-26-13 09:10)

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the blistering irony is that Penn Jillette also underwent assholification sometime around 1993…

What happened in 1993?

David Byrne's an asshole? I admit the Heads' quality level started dropping after "Remain in Light", and Byrne's becoming a "good" singer meant that he has lost a lot of character in his vocals, but he still seems to be a pretty decent chap. Actually, from what I've read about the CBGB days, he was a pretty spazzy immature guy, writing vindicitve songs like "No Compassion." His recent book "How Music Works" was pretty interesting, covering his eventual maturity, tho he admits he fucked-up the Heads breakup, so that might be considered a bit asshole-y. Par for the course for rock bands breaking up, tho, really.

Fugazi and the Dead Kennedys.

The reality of it is that so many bands are reuniting and touring that it was hard to think ones that haven't.

Heff wrote:

> Fugazi and the Dead Kennedys.
>
> The reality of it is that so many bands are reuniting and
> touring that it was hard to think ones that haven't.
>

Are you being sarcastic about Fugazi and DK? Sorry, Poe's Law.

Anyways, I think reunions are lame. Its a free country but I am not clamoring to see any. Dino Jr is an exception to the rule though, Husker Du might be too.

This might sound ridiculous, but a bit of maturity might breathe new life into their songs, and I mean it from a musical perspective. The lyrics and songwriting were far beyond their early years but their production has always been rather immature (which created a dissonance that was perfect.) I think those songs would wear a sonic update well.

Ultravox w/ John Foxx and Robin Simon. But that won't happen since the Cross, Cann, and Currie are currently reunited w/ Midge.

What are the odds (slim, I'm sure) that Foxx and Simon (who's now in Visage) would join with the current lineup and do a career-spanning set?

"What are the odds (slim, I'm sure) that Foxx and Simon (who's now in Visage) would join with the current lineup and do a career-spanning set?"

Foxx. . . not going to work.

Simon, perhaps.

IMO

From the March issue of Classic Pop magazine:

Q: What are your feelings (and response) to our readers who'd love to see a reformation of the original Ultravox line-up, for live renditions of the early albums?

Foxx: Incredulity.

Jeez-ow. I totally didn't think of Foxx-Vox. Possibly because his current work is so good. But yeah, it'll never happen! Not with the Zombie Ultravox out there selling tickets. By the way, Simon's playing on the new Visage album is a feast for the ears! The best dose of his playing since Foxx's "The Garden" in 1981! I'm way into "Hearts + Knives" right now. It's possibly my favorite Visage album now.



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> Fugazi and the Dead Kennedys.

From everything I've read, there's little reason to think that Fugazi won't eventually reunite.

As for the DKs, I think the animosity between Jello and his former bandmates rivals that of the former Smiths.

psyched to see riotfest but yet haven't committed

heat
dust
parking
portapotties
frat boys
the part of the state we snobbishly call "west kansas"

helluva lineup though



particular live loves:
BR
YLT
Rancid
PE
GBV
Stooges

and would love to check:
M&K
BC
Kitten
AM!
TWDY
ATE


Every time I saw the Mats in I snuck in. Hate to singe my perfect record.

Flag is the original Nervous Breakdown lineup...that only ever released 5 minutes of music!

A couple of the worst bands I ever saw live:
Superchunk
Naked Raygun
Dismemberment Plan

Also, does anything stand out in that lineup?
WHY THE FUCK is Blink 182 a headliner?!!

There are more bands being booked and scuttlebutt is there will be some surprising indie/small/young bands



Post Edited (07-20-13 09:26)

I'd like to check out Wovenhand. Don't know what they're like live, but like their CDs.

The one time I saw Blink-182, it was like seeing two bands at once. There was the band that played the songs -- truthfully, not bad. Then there were the two assholes on guitar and bass who talked to the crowd between songs. Hoppus and Delonge have been compared to a couple of junior-high kids who just learned to cuss, but in person, they really aren't that sophisticted. Whenever the one band stopped playing the music, I'd feel myself starting to cringe, knowing that those two foul-mouthed jerks would be at it again in a few seconds ...

Still, if I were still in CO, I'd be going to this fair. Overall, this is a pretty cool lineup ... despite Blink's presence near the top of the bill.

In other concert news ... yes, I'm flying back to CO in October to see Hawkwind.

Delvin wrote:

> In other concert news ... yes, I'm flying back to CO in October
> to see Hawkwind.
>

Alright - you've convinced me to go. Hawkwind's website promises that there will "a full light show, cosmic space dancers and psychedelic projections and is sure to be a far out experience." so how can I resist that?

As for the other reunions suggested above ...

Hüsker Dü? I'd probably think twice about buying a ticket, simply because that 1987 show I saw was so glorious. It'd be hard not to compare then to now.

Talking Heads? I saw them on the Stop Making Sense tour, so yeah, I'd have some hesitation there, too. (On the other hand, I paid to see The Cars in 2011, and I knew from experience that they're a pretty dull live act. I just really wanted to see them again, though.)

As for the bands I've never seen ... The Jam? Oh man, I'd be there in a minute.

Ultravox, with Ure? You bet, I'd buy a ticket. With Foxx and Simon? That'd be too amazing to contemplate.

Fugazi? I'd absolutely go. Same with The Modern Lovers.

I don't know DLJ or Tupelo well enough to say, so I guess my musical education is lacking.

And I guess a Smiths reunion is okay with me ... if they must.

Well, Delvin, you put your finger on it: I've seen reunion shows that weren't bad - they were perfectly acceptable - but the glorious anarchy of the young Meat Puppets, and Thelonious Monster, was missing from their reunion shows I saw few years ago. They were professional 'play song/stop/chat/play next song' shows. In the '80s/early '90s you had no idea what the fuck was gonna happen - would they finish the song? Would they throw themselves into an unplanned goofy cover? Would they destroy a song and/or their instruments with feedback/noise/screwing around? Would they throw things at the crowd (and would the crowd thrown things at them) etc etc.

Not sorry I saw those reunions, but they also weren't particularly memorable.

On the other hand, since Devo never did any of those things in their tightly choreographed shows, their reunion was great!

This reminds me of the time I saw Rocket From the Tombs on their reunion tour a few years ago. I was expecting it to be tight and professional, not quite going-through-the-motions but nothing truly extraordinary. I just wanted to hear those songs played by the original guys who wrote 'em (except for the late Peter Laughner, of course).

They started to play "What Love is" and some idiot in the crowd through a cup of something that hit David Thomas, who was wearing a very nice suit. The band stopped the show cold and left the stage. They came back a few minutes later, said they weren't gonna play unless they felt safe and stayed on when the crowd seemed to agree. But the band stayed pissed off and that gave them the fire in the belly to turn this from a solid run through the "hits" to an actual rock & roll show, with energy pouring off the stage. Not to mention a fair amount of lingering antagonism - when somebody called out "Punk rock!" Cheetah Chrome said "We're not a punk band, we're a real band." It was one of the most exciting shows I've ever seen.

I've since learned that there was a lot of tension between the bandmembers themselves on that tour, at least according to Cheetah's autobio.

Anyway, I can understand not wanting to have one's memory tarnished by a half-assed reunion. Seeing the Pixies on their 2004 "where the hell is my paycheck?" tour pretty much destroyed whatever fandom I had left for them. But I've taken chances on reunion shows and been surprised as well. And sometimes it leads to more. The True Believers enjoyed playing together so much at the Brent Grulke tribute show last year (and they were great, despite - hell, maybe because of - being underrehearsed) they've stayed together, despite the members' busy solo careers, and are writing new music.

Fab, so, that aligns with Rollins' opinion in his recent column:

In the summer months, you can count on bands that have been gone for years who will reassemble and go onto stages all over the world playing "vintage music." Perhaps they are on a Proustian mission to recapture that which has been lost. I read the interviews where the musicians claim that now they can really play this music. I don't doubt them, but therein lies the problem. Musicians should not play Music. Music should play musicians.

Bands that think they have a handle on Music are no longer battling the beast. They think they have mastered Music. They have not.

Music cannot be mastered. What they think is control and mastery is not only hubris but even worse, it is Music's great indifference. Simply put, Music no longer plays them. Music has moved on to more worthy combatants.

I disagree with the sentiment (and so apparently does Rollins with his recent essay on the Stooges). He's also stated that he'll never again play Rollins Band/Black Flag because it would be embarrassing and had denounced both currently touring versions of those bands. So, some double-std.

It's not like Dukowski or Morris could have a show on Showtime, their own publishng imprint, a role on Sons of Anarchy, etc. They are taking advantage of presented opportunity and, more importantly, taking a paying gig.

My points:
*If you self-assess and realize the most fun you had playing was when you had your successful 80s/90s albums then play them! Nobody tells orchestras to knock off the Bach or Tchaichovsky dinosaur shite. (Hey you covering that Billie Holliday bullcrap! Don't you know how old that shite is?!)
*Rarely does a good LP come together. It takes the right combo of heads/players and if you want to check to see if that magic is still there, do it
*If you need money in order to survive in such a difficult and disrespected career as "musician", then take the gig that results in the most punters, particularly if the music was enjoyable to play. Does anybody dis the shop owner who decides his life was better back when he was the comptroller?
*Nothing wrong with pleasing your fans. The spread of enjoyment is always needed on planet
*Wrangling the music is fine but playing your stuff slickly is also fine. It depends on many other factors. It's interesting stuff when bands who really didn't have a handle on their classic material come back 20 years later with a better approach/discipline


(cite:
[blogs.laweekly.com])

-----------------------------------\
Blink182 - I'm sure I have defended them on this very board. Still agree with Delvin' assessment though.

Meat Pups - have seen a dozen times (more?). Kirkwood not missable guitarist; top 10 all time. Quit job if nec.

Pixies - First time I saw them I think there was only the first EP out. Brought by a friend. Didn't get it. At all. If I recall, I thought they were British and a poor man's Gang of Four (whom I don't like much). They seemed like over-simplified math rock with all that single-string basic guitar work and plain drumming. For me, a light-switch band.

Ultravox/Ure still one of best things ever seen. Prob already told the after-party groupie story. Would like to see them do this this new dark stuff, which is freaky and deep material, on this tour with Simple Minds (with whom I only like 1 album but I love love love that one, though they sorta stunk when I saw them).

OP - The list of bands I'd like to see is too cumbersome.

I think it was Hetson who told me I really should check out Rancid. Seeing them made me a total fan. They leave their hearts on the stage.

There are several bands for that riotfest that I don't listen to at home but like live. The chick (former dude) from Against Me is intense/natural frontperson. AFI were great 10 (?) years ago anyway. PE still best rap/all time.

BR/GBV/YLT favorites of all time. BR is punch,powerful, loud. GBV is a party. YLT are psychedelic and multi-moods. Lineup certainly better than the 90s lollapaloozas.



Post Edited (07-20-13 09:34)

I saw the Pixies on that big reunion tour. But I was a latecomer to their music in the first place, so I went with modest expectations. I enjoyed their show thoroughly.

I didn't get to see Bauhaus back in the day either. The show I saw on the 2005 reunion tour was outstanding. Sound quality, stage presence, energy, engagement with the audience and with each other onstage -- it was all there, and it was all I could've hoped for.

The Devo show I saw last year was terrific! Not a letdown at all.

The two times I've seen Blondie, in the past few years, they simply couldn't have measured up to the night I saw them on the Parallel Lines tour. But I still was glad to see them.

I enjoyed seeing The Cars in 2011. They were just as great onstage as they'd been on the Shake It Up tour. In other words, they showed up, dressed well, and looked as if they'd shaved.

Josef K
The Jam
The 'Du
Wet Taxis
Material
The Fire Engines

Seeing Aitch's mention of Material here (and the fact that I just picked up that cool Celluloid records comp CD) makes me want to add Massacre to the list.

How fun would that have been to see Laswell, Maher, and Frith back in the day? Probably less fun to see them do it as 60-somethings, but still....

television
stranglers
pere ubu
split enz
at the drive in
white stripes
pil
spacemen 3
flamin groovies

Flamin Groovies played here this year as part of the Hoodoo Gurus Dig It Up gigs (along with B.O.C and Peter Case). You might get your wish.

Holy Toledo! Thank goodness for my Discogs.com feed. Did anyone else know that B-Movie have reunited? I always liked this band after hearing their flexi track "Remembrance Day" on a Flexipop disc. They had a good sound; sort of "Ultravox Junior" but doing much better work these days as evidenced here:

[soundcloud.com]

I'll have to buy their stuff. Paul Statham has been a busy guy after the band broke up [Peter Murphy, Peach/Peach Union, the recent Dark Flowers "Radioland" album guest starring Jim Kerr and Murphy, to say nothing of the pop stuff he's written for Dido and Kylie that couldn't have hurt his bottom line]. Vocalist Steve Hovington has been under the radar, but even he had a new solo album this year ["Coming Of Age"] in addition to the B-movie EP ["Distant Skies'] and album ["The Age Of Illusion"] also of this year! [take that, Zappa and Fripp!] The band lineup on the new material includes Hovington, Statham, Rick Holliday and Graham Boffey. Only Martin Winter from the original lineup is not here.



Post Edited (07-06-13 14:37)

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Rollins should know, He kept playing and doing stand up well past his expiration date. To me, after Hard Volume, it was all awkward. It didn't feel right anymore. Some might say his whole solo career was shenanigans.
All his show biz stuff is fine though. I don't begrudge him a career. Not everybody can be an Ian Mackaye and keep it low key.

Actually the Flamin' Groovies are playing here in SF on Wednesday at the Chapel (don't know who's in the current lineup though).

Most of the bands I could mention have already been mentioned (e.g. Husker Du), already reformed (e.g. MBV, RFTC), or have too many holes (i.e. deaths) in their lineup to make a reunion a possibility (e.g. Ramones, Sleepers, Coil, Throbbing-still-kicking-myself-for-not-catching-them-a-few-years-ago-Gristle).

Maybe Soft Cell (if they can come up with something better than their 2002 release), Units, Big Black (not holding my breath...) or one of the "vintage" Fall lineups.

- Can!

With or without Mooney and/or Suzuki. The four Germans would be good enough. And I don't think they hate each other either, so it could happen. EDIT: wiki sez "Michael Karoli died of cancer on 17 November 2001." Ah, damn. Didn't remember that. Guess that news was lost on me in all the post 9/11 craziness. Well, so much for that idea...

- "Metal Box"-era PiL. Not that lame Levene/Wobble thing from last year. Don't know why those two hate Johnny so much, but for whatever reason, very low odds on this reunion.

- Roxy Music with Eno? Ha!



Post Edited (07-09-13 18:20)