As a rock fan, you tend to geek out over your favorite bands. This happens at all stages of fandom from the pre-adolescent who first "gets it" to the lifer who still checks out the new stuff well into middle age and beyond. Somewhere in the middle some of your old favorites long thought gone begin reforming. Sometimes it's a quick cash-in, sometimes it's genuine. Sometimes the music is good, sometimes not so much. Either way, the initial announcement sends the fan into a geeked-out state of excitement that he feels he must share with everyone, and then defend when everybody else wonders why the hell he cares and why would he want those guys to come back in the first place. That's where I am, so here we go.
The original line-up of MR. BIG has reunited.
Okay, everyone who snickered and sang an off key satirical version of To Be With You can cram it up their cram-hole. As with many other bands of their era, Mr. Big was unfairly labeled as a "band for chicks" and lumped in with hair bands because of that song. The reality is that that song only represents one side of the band, and it was never intended as a single. Some DJ in Nebraska started playing it and one thing led to another, next thing you know it's a number one.
Anyone who was paying attention knew what Mr. Big was really about...well crafted, diverse songs performed by first rate musicians. Each album contained many different styles from what
I refer to as riff-o-rama rock songs (Addicted To That Rush, Colorado Bulldog, Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy), bluesy/groove based songs (Alive And Kickin', Price You Gotta Pay, Jane Doe), interesting covers (30 Days In The Hole, Mr. Big), unique pop rockers (Green tinted Sixties Mind, Take Cover), and, yeah okay, their fair share of ballads. When compared to most bands who only do one, maybe two styles of songs that's a treasure trove of material. It wasn't all great, but it was always interesting and fun to listen to.
As for the musicianship, all ya really gotta do is listen past the surface. Paul Gilbert is widely considered a guitar virtuoso, although an under rated one. Beyond being technically proficient he plays with a lot of melody and feel, far more than your average shredder. Pat Torpey is a solid time keeper, able to pound out a steady 4/4 as well as a nice groove. Anyone who toured with both Robert Plant and Belinda Carslile has to be versatile and knowledgeable don'tcha think? Eric Martin's vocals were always set apart from most lead singers, as he has a raspy, blues/soul based voice that is highly effective when applied to hard rock music and quite affecting on the ballads. Sure, he kinda looked like a girl at one stage but with the subsequent hair cut that's been fixed. Mostly. And last but about as far removed from least as you can get is Billy Sheehan on the bass. Ask just about anybody and they'll tell you about his technical abilities. I think he does get a little carried away sometimes in his instrumental recordings, but put him the context of a real honest to goodness rock band filled with people of the same caliber and the man's gold. Apart from playing bass solos in songs (ones that are actually listenable and make sense at that), Billy put lots of cool little licks into the back round of songs to reward the discriminating listener. Put that all together and they could rival any band of the time, and a lot of today's bands too.
From 1989-1997 that was the case and then Gilbert left the band due to personal and creative conflicts. The guys soldiered on for two releases with Ritchie Kotzen on guitar. His style seemed to fit pretty well, but the overall guitar tone was lacking the bite of Paul Gilbert, and the material didn't have the same fire. There were some good moments to be sure, but as is usually the case in these situations, it just wasn't the same.
Over the years, the individual members worked on and off with each other, including billy and Paul's involvement in the Who tribute "The Amazing Journey" also featuring Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy and Extreme's Gary Cherone. After different members playing together on and off for a while, someone involved with the Rocklahoma Festival tried to scam the band members into reuniting at their event. Didn't happen, but it did get everyone thinking, and now the band is back.
Time will tell if they can keep this all together, or if it will all go up in smoke. So far, only a tour of Asia has been confirmed, with almost all dates selling out-The Budokan tickets were gone in fifteen minutes!-and a live DVD is to be recorded from the Budokan show. A tour of Europe and the U.S. is said to be in the works. New material is possible, but the guys are taking things one step at a time.
So that's my current geek out moment, complete with my reasons for liking the band and a brief history lesson to catch everyone up. Of course I don't expect everyone else to be as excited as I am about this news as Mr. Big's popularity in this country was short lived due to the whole grunge thing and the fact that the band was so misunderstood. But for those of us who did follow the band and have kept a soft spot for them, this is great news and we're all pretty excited about things right about now. I'm going to dig out some of my live imports (told you I was a fan), and listen to them loudly in my car for the next few days. If you've got some old Mr. Big stuff lying around, or you have a reliable download service, I'd encourage taking a listen. It might just hold up, or at least be refreshing to hear again.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
This is Cracker Blues-Logan Style
So here's an update on the last blog.
On Friday night Valerie and I left Tessa with her grandparents and had a date. The plan was to go out to eat and then see the band Cracker at Blueberry Hill. For dinner we decided to go to the Timber Creek Grill, one of our favorite spots here in our part of town. They are advertised as a bar and grill, but it's probably more bar. The decor is all cabin like, which we love as it reminds us of the Smoky Mountains. The bar is located dead center with tables around the sides. It does tend to get a little smoke filled sometimes which is why we don't bring the girl. Menu wise the selection is limited, but it's really good. There are sandwiches, chicken, fish, and even steaks and pork chops to go along with your standard appetizer bar food. A unique place, and recommended if you're in the O'Fallon area.
After dinner we took the 50 min. drive to Blueberry Hill (a cool bar recommended if you're in the U. City area) to catch the Cracker show. I've always been kind of a casual fan of the band, I really liked their first two releases but have just kind of checked in periodically since then. Cracker are yet another band I like that fly just under the radar for most folks. If you're unfamiliar I would suggest checking out their debut self titled CD, also the Greatest Hits
Redux or the new record Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey which has Patterson Hood on it. Anyhoo, in a move much unlike me I didn't buy tickets in advance and the show sold out. Good for the band, good for the club, bad for me. I really don't know why I didn't pick them up, I'm usually one of those guys who has tickets 3 weeks before a show at minimum.
So I was a little bummed out, but decided to try and save the evening. We walked down to the Tivoli theater but nothing was playing that interested us. After a brief stop at Vintage Vinyl (a cool record store and recommended if you still purchase hard media), we drove to the Creve
Coeur cinema to see if we could catch a late show there. Turns out we could, and at 10:45 we saw X-Men Origins:Wolverine.
My review: I liked it. There are a lot of haters on the web, but then there always are, and most of them probably think comics are real, so whatever. The bottom line is it entertained me. The flaws were not in what was on screen so much as what was off. I'll try not to throw out any spoilers here, so bear with me. Since we all know a lot of Wolverine's story, what with the claws and all, I believe they spent too much time on that stuff. The most interesting part was the relationship between Logan and his brother Victor, but I don't think it was explored enough. Apparently they were in every war ever for centuries and that merely takes up the credit sequence. Coulda used a little more of that stuff and the childhood years. Also, at one point Logan is taken in by an old couple he just met. I'd like to know exactly why, and a little more of their story too. The old man kept mentioning his son, so was the son dead, did Logan look like him or something, or are the couple just too nice, what's the deal? Also, why does every comic movie have to go one step too far and challenge my suspension of disbelief? I mean, I can buy into a lot but the location of the island was stupid. I'm not a fan of X-Men comics (though I really like the movies) but I hope it wasn't lifted directly from the source. Also, the segments during and following the end credits aren't worth staying around for.
Still, having said that, the action was good, the acting was good for the style movie, and I thought most of the effects were pretty good. So if you want a fun movie and a good way to kill an hour or two you should see it. If you expect too much or are looking for the next Dark Knight you might want to wait for cable or see something else. Or maybe just put down the comics and go outside for a while. Trust me, natural light won't hurt you. Much.
So that was my Friday. Saturday I went to work, today the lawnmower officially died, and now, as usually happens after blogging I am off to bed.
On Friday night Valerie and I left Tessa with her grandparents and had a date. The plan was to go out to eat and then see the band Cracker at Blueberry Hill. For dinner we decided to go to the Timber Creek Grill, one of our favorite spots here in our part of town. They are advertised as a bar and grill, but it's probably more bar. The decor is all cabin like, which we love as it reminds us of the Smoky Mountains. The bar is located dead center with tables around the sides. It does tend to get a little smoke filled sometimes which is why we don't bring the girl. Menu wise the selection is limited, but it's really good. There are sandwiches, chicken, fish, and even steaks and pork chops to go along with your standard appetizer bar food. A unique place, and recommended if you're in the O'Fallon area.
After dinner we took the 50 min. drive to Blueberry Hill (a cool bar recommended if you're in the U. City area) to catch the Cracker show. I've always been kind of a casual fan of the band, I really liked their first two releases but have just kind of checked in periodically since then. Cracker are yet another band I like that fly just under the radar for most folks. If you're unfamiliar I would suggest checking out their debut self titled CD, also the Greatest Hits
Redux or the new record Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey which has Patterson Hood on it. Anyhoo, in a move much unlike me I didn't buy tickets in advance and the show sold out. Good for the band, good for the club, bad for me. I really don't know why I didn't pick them up, I'm usually one of those guys who has tickets 3 weeks before a show at minimum.
So I was a little bummed out, but decided to try and save the evening. We walked down to the Tivoli theater but nothing was playing that interested us. After a brief stop at Vintage Vinyl (a cool record store and recommended if you still purchase hard media), we drove to the Creve
Coeur cinema to see if we could catch a late show there. Turns out we could, and at 10:45 we saw X-Men Origins:Wolverine.
My review: I liked it. There are a lot of haters on the web, but then there always are, and most of them probably think comics are real, so whatever. The bottom line is it entertained me. The flaws were not in what was on screen so much as what was off. I'll try not to throw out any spoilers here, so bear with me. Since we all know a lot of Wolverine's story, what with the claws and all, I believe they spent too much time on that stuff. The most interesting part was the relationship between Logan and his brother Victor, but I don't think it was explored enough. Apparently they were in every war ever for centuries and that merely takes up the credit sequence. Coulda used a little more of that stuff and the childhood years. Also, at one point Logan is taken in by an old couple he just met. I'd like to know exactly why, and a little more of their story too. The old man kept mentioning his son, so was the son dead, did Logan look like him or something, or are the couple just too nice, what's the deal? Also, why does every comic movie have to go one step too far and challenge my suspension of disbelief? I mean, I can buy into a lot but the location of the island was stupid. I'm not a fan of X-Men comics (though I really like the movies) but I hope it wasn't lifted directly from the source. Also, the segments during and following the end credits aren't worth staying around for.
Still, having said that, the action was good, the acting was good for the style movie, and I thought most of the effects were pretty good. So if you want a fun movie and a good way to kill an hour or two you should see it. If you expect too much or are looking for the next Dark Knight you might want to wait for cable or see something else. Or maybe just put down the comics and go outside for a while. Trust me, natural light won't hurt you. Much.
So that was my Friday. Saturday I went to work, today the lawnmower officially died, and now, as usually happens after blogging I am off to bed.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Oh, Right! I Have A Blog.
Can't believe it's been so long since I wrote anything on this blog. So here's some of the stuff I meant to write about in abbreviated form.
As far as the yard goes, I've convinced McBride (the builder) to come and regrade my yard, even though my warranties have all expired. The only trouble is it's rained just about every other day and the yard has been too wet to do any work. Frustrating, but somewhat understandable. Next week is supposed to be all dry so hopefully things will happen then.
I also filled in the holes under my porch and thus got rid of the rabbits that were in my yard. Or I buried them alive. Either way, problem solved. Unless there's such a thing as zombie rabbits...
nah, probably not.
On April 15th Tessa turned one year old. Yay! Of course we had the big family celebration and a good time was had by all, especially those of us who were trying to figure out how to make the talking caterpillar alphabet toy curse. Cousin Cory won the prize on that one. Gosh parenting is fun! Anyway, my girl was cute as ever and is just getting more and more amazing every day. I just have to remember not to teach her to curse.
And, last but not least, Mother's Day was last week. Valerie got two helpful books, one about paper crafts, seeing as how she makes her own cards for every occasion and does so well I might add. So she can get some fun ideas from that one. She also received a companion book to the T.V. series "Semi-Homemade" on the Food Network. She's a fan of the show and has mentioned wanting to try some of those recipes. Which, of course means new dinners for me, so that one's a win-win. Seriously, Valerie is a great mother and I'm happy to honor her on Mother's Day, and every other day too. Especially the next few years, 'cause once Tessa goes to school it's all macaroni cards and questionable flowers picked from a garden down the street. Gosh parenting is fun!
Okay, so that's all the important stuff. I've got some other ideas, but I'll do those posts later on. Going to bed now as I've got a late night tomorrow (Valerie and I are going out to eat and then to see Cracker as long as it's not a sold out show) and I've got work on Saturday.
For all who read, thanks for your patience with my irregularity. Also, thanks for waiting for these posts. Sorry, bad joke, even for me. G'night.
As far as the yard goes, I've convinced McBride (the builder) to come and regrade my yard, even though my warranties have all expired. The only trouble is it's rained just about every other day and the yard has been too wet to do any work. Frustrating, but somewhat understandable. Next week is supposed to be all dry so hopefully things will happen then.
I also filled in the holes under my porch and thus got rid of the rabbits that were in my yard. Or I buried them alive. Either way, problem solved. Unless there's such a thing as zombie rabbits...
nah, probably not.
On April 15th Tessa turned one year old. Yay! Of course we had the big family celebration and a good time was had by all, especially those of us who were trying to figure out how to make the talking caterpillar alphabet toy curse. Cousin Cory won the prize on that one. Gosh parenting is fun! Anyway, my girl was cute as ever and is just getting more and more amazing every day. I just have to remember not to teach her to curse.
And, last but not least, Mother's Day was last week. Valerie got two helpful books, one about paper crafts, seeing as how she makes her own cards for every occasion and does so well I might add. So she can get some fun ideas from that one. She also received a companion book to the T.V. series "Semi-Homemade" on the Food Network. She's a fan of the show and has mentioned wanting to try some of those recipes. Which, of course means new dinners for me, so that one's a win-win. Seriously, Valerie is a great mother and I'm happy to honor her on Mother's Day, and every other day too. Especially the next few years, 'cause once Tessa goes to school it's all macaroni cards and questionable flowers picked from a garden down the street. Gosh parenting is fun!
Okay, so that's all the important stuff. I've got some other ideas, but I'll do those posts later on. Going to bed now as I've got a late night tomorrow (Valerie and I are going out to eat and then to see Cracker as long as it's not a sold out show) and I've got work on Saturday.
For all who read, thanks for your patience with my irregularity. Also, thanks for waiting for these posts. Sorry, bad joke, even for me. G'night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)