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Post by HallowsEve on May 24, 2003 3:09:00 GMT
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Post by HallowsEve on May 24, 2003 3:45:52 GMT
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Post by PokerKitten on May 24, 2003 10:45:57 GMT
I like that first one A LOT! Lol! *faints* Seems James has been hitting bum notes a lot lately, even though folks said when he first got the earpiece thingie he improved no end.. seems he is having trouble with it now. Aw, bless  When he played solo - and I have only been able to see and hear individual songs, not whole gigs - he didn't seem to have a note hitting problem.. he used to sometimes get into a tangle with his guitar but he has a good voice. So maybe the band thing makes it a lot harder.... and way bigger audiences making a ruccus too. Irish - who supplied some fantastic pics for the main site a coupla gigs back, and whose guest book Steve has signed  - has a great report up at Marsters Mobsters. She was taking pics for Calahan and so got to go backstage after... and hung out with James for HOURS!! Bitca! Lol! I'm not sure if you have to be a member to access the Mobsters board but I'll put up the link anyhoo. spuffyonline.com/mm/viewtopic.php?t=380 |
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Post by PokerKitten on May 24, 2003 13:49:59 GMT
Nice one from ariane5 at Forums4Fans:
here's my gotr report from SF:
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” George Carlin.
Well, damn if that isn’t the truth, and I had quite a few breathtaking moments last night.
First of all, the Great American Music hall is a small venue. Built in the 1900s, with intricately carved moldings on just about every surface, small stage and dance floor, it is intimate, and does the sound flow there. It is in the Tenderloin district, one of the more dangerous and seedy areas of San Francisco. And the concert was on Thursday night. Perhaps for those reasons, the house was not full.
Three bands played : Calahan, Ghost of the Robot and Slight.
I sat with some new friends on the side and took the time to write a little about what I was feeling before seeing James for the first time in person. I was on a personal mission to make sure he was still breathing after ‘Chosen’.
Will I fly?
Moth to flame
Surrender to light
Slow anticipation
Dance
Touch fire, burn
Sing
Turn to ash
Moth to flame
So that’s what I wrote just before he came on.
I’m a singer. Singing is the most difficult art. Everything you are is exposed when you let your voice out. It’s raw and deeply emotional. So you do that and try to maintain control at the same time. A balance. And some are better at one than the other. A song, sung with perfect control, without the underlying depth of emotion and vulnerabilty, is a sterile experience for me. Enough said about that. I’m not going to comment further on the music, what they played and how they played, there’s tons of stuff out there on the net.
What I want to say is, it really wouldn’t matter what James sang, the man was so alive. He gave everything. He glowed. I’ve never seen such a fire. And sure enough, moth to flame, I rose from my seat, mesmerized, and gently nudged my way through the crowd until I was about 10 or so people back from the stage. Still too far away for my taste. Did I mention he glowed? And smiled and laughed and acted out, and flirted, waved, winked, joked, jumped up and down, made serious tongue movements all through the set (don’t think he can keep it in his mouth – but I’m not complaining ;-) He sang his heart out.
And for those who don’t want him (Spike) to be a human on Angel, don’t say it before you see James with some healthy color in his face. Looks like he’s been out in the sun. And his hair, bleach job grown out about a half inch, soft and wavy, pale gold, not the stark white, slicked back blond. Did I mention how happy he looked and that he glowed?
James was raw and emotional. Very. I found myself dancing. I had to move just watching him. And laugh. And sing. And jump up and down. The crowd loved him. We loved him. Forgave him his lost notes, for the beautiful fire in his heart. Took my breath away. He warmed us all. He sang his heart out for us.
In the end, he was inspirational. The man, bless his sweet heart, is having fun. Fearless. Living a dream, tasting a bit of that golden nectar before the darkness falls. And for that, he has my very deepest respect for trying. For not giving up. Touch the fire, James. Rock on ;-)
After their set ended, I went outside to smoke and chatted to some of the others who were waiting to see if he’d come out. We saw the other band members but not James. I was thinking I should just go home and get some sleep, but I decided to go back in and get some water before I left. James had asked, several times at the end of the gotr set, for everyone to please stay and listen to the next band. So I felt a little guilty about leaving. Hey, James asked ;-) So I decided to stay. The house had pretty much cleared out after Ghost of the Robot played. I think there were only 50 or so people listening to the last band – ‘Slight’ (www.slightmusic.com). I got my drink and moved next to the stage to listen. They were great. David Ramos, the lead singer, who is songwriter, lyricist and arranger was breathtaking. I stayed through their set and the encores. Loved their song ‘Changing’. I remembered, thank god, at one point, how to whistle –my voice was giving out from all the shouting and singing along.
So thank you James and David, last night you both gave me many moments that took my breath away. Life is short. I had fun.
Oh, and I posted the link to the live report yesterday, on the unofficial gotr site thread. ;D
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Post by PokerKitten on May 24, 2003 15:04:59 GMT
Well, in the interests of balance.... there is a hard-hitting report fo this gig at GOTR International forums (and can I just moan and say that place has always hated me.... the technology, not the people!... and they have changed the board yet again but it still doesn't want to know. Just had to re-register, and it will not keep me logged in. Oh and I can't link to the thread so I am copying and pasting, so there!  ) From jello for president: i am sorry to be the one to spoil the facade and derangement of lovely delusions of many a people here but... the BEST SHOW EVER ? you have got to be kidding me ! anyone who thought last night's show was a good thing is seriously suffering from a severely warped perception of what a 'good show' is. i am sorry but someone needs to be honest here, and i guess i'm gonna have to be the one to do it. so here it is :
. OMG ! could it have gotten any worse than that ? jesus, i'd be horrified to see how. that had to be THE WORST I HAVE EVER SEEN ANY BAND PLAY IN CONCERT IN MY LIFE !!! put away the pleasant and polite formalities, people, and fess up to the truth of the matter. last night was a complete and total embarrassment. a disgrace. a great, big whopping flop of a show !
. i really don't think our boys could have had a harder time of it than they did with last night's show. if i didn't know better, i would have seriously thought that these guys sucked royally ! fortunately, i do know better than to think that for even a second. the S.F. crowd, on the other hand... may not be quite so wise to the 'real' sound of the boys and the talent that lies there-in, and after last night's unbecoming exhibit, i'm quite sure, they'll never find out. the S.F. crowd is probably the most critical crowd there is, and are quite possibly the hardest crowd to please that exists. and, wouldn't you know it, that had to be the gig the guys had what was (i'd suspect) the most off night they have ever had. i feel so bad for it all.
. obviously, there was something majorily wrong the sound monitors or something (either that or they've taken up doing drugs. which is a possibility i'd preffer to not dare consider). not to mention a slew of recurring streams of (might i add - unintentional) carrier-frequency feedback to add to the mess.
one thing for sure... that is definately the last show held anywhere other than at The Crest in Sacramento that i will ever attend. i couldn't bare to see them go through another show where they were portrayed as sounding as badly as they were last night. they sounded awesome at The Crest... both times. the quality of their music at both of those 2 shows was quite apparant and they displayed their impressive, awesome abilities superbly there. doing well to show that all the flattery that the crowd laid on them was, without a doubt, well-deserved. and it's even more apparant in the likes of their album and the singles. but last night's show, on the other hand, presented an overwhelming lack of the ability to adequately exhibit their incredible talent. i hate to be so cruel about it 'cause i know it's not their fault it went that way. sometimes, things just go bad for you and you just have a bad night. and they may have not even known it was going that way at the time (as my brother was understanding enough to point out - amidst the taunting and teasing of me, that is - "you can't hear yourself worth a damn when you're up there sometimes. it's impossible. you can't hear yourself or anyone else and you have no idea what you sound like or what you're even doing"), nor is it certain they could have done anything about it if they had known.
even still, i was hoping they could've left a much better impression than they did on those of the crowd who had previously never heard them before. but instead they received just the opposite reaction. as i overheard one attendee saying midway through their performance, "i'm starting think this band gets by solely on his looks" (referring to... well... i'm pretty sure she meant the obvious), and i honestly couldn't blame her for thinking that. it's easy to see how anyone other than us (who already know how damn good these guys really are) could think they were pretty damn lame with the way things turned out for them last night. i so hope that this show was the worst they will ever see because if it fared any worse than that... forget the underwear, people would be throwing tomatos. plus... at least then the worst would be over with.
however... i don't want anyone (the boys especially) to think that i am at all saying that they suck in any way. or that they are even capable of sucking as bad as may have seemed last night. so i've come to the conclusion that the tragedy which was last night's performance is entirely my fault - seeing as how i am 'Murphey Incarnate' and all (that is, i am the mortal, living embodyment of that entity which governs the universal constant otherwise known as "Murphey's Law").
because i wanted so badly for the one and only show i could drag my brother to see to go so incredibly well that i might actually, for the first time in my life, be able to turn him on to some good music (not an easy feat what with the vast expanse of musical talents he is accustomed to and i don't know how he could be familiar with the multitudes of the number of bands he is cognizant of...), rather than the other way around... of course it had to go just the opposite way toward the exceedingly distasterous end of the spectrum... of course !! only for me, only because i was so certain they would have an awesome show, it being in S.F. and all, and because i was really expecting my brother to find that he was impressed with them by the end ofthe night. it's the story of my life, it really is. when things matter the most to me... they go the worst. and what mattered most to me last night was my desire to share one of mankind's most beautiful creations - that of talented, unique, inspirational music - with the one person who is single-handedly responsible for bringing 96% of all that i know of that very same beautiful thing to me in my life. so i am here to openly state that i take full blame for the utter disaster of last night's embarrassing show and i appologize to the boys from the deepest part of my heart for inducing it...
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Sali
Mitch Brand
Posts: 272
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Post by Sali on May 24, 2003 18:17:04 GMT
Bloody hell...two very emotional reports from two totally different perspectives...riveting.
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When he played solo - and I have only been able to see and hear individual songs, not whole gigs - he didn't seem to have a note hitting problem.. he used to sometimes get into a tangle with his guitar but he has a good voice. So maybe the band thing makes it a lot harder.... and way bigger audiences making a ruccus too.
