www.marilynbrant.com

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Rockin' Redux

So, a funny thing happened at the Nickelback concert on Saturday night. My fantabulous brother and I went to it and--just like all the shows we've gone to together before--it was fun, fascinating and a chance for two reasonably mature siblings to act like the kinda reckless teens we never were.

This concert also happened to be especially LOUD, owing to the fact that both opening acts, as well as Chad Kroeger and the guys, really didn't skimp on the whole amplification thing. They made no apology for the soaring decibel levels. In fact, Nickelback came prepared to, and I'm quoting directly here, "blow shit up." They were as good as their word. Nothing short of onstage fireworks would please those Canadian boys, and the crowd (most especially the very drunk forty-something couple behind us) yelled their appreciation at every possible opportunity.

My ears were ringing all night (or "all f*cking night," as Chad would've said), and even residually into the next day. I hadn't experienced this degree of hearing impairment since Def Leppard's "Pyromania" tour in 1984. But that was okay because I had a seriously great time. Even though I hadn't had anything more substantial to drink than a Diet Sprite at dinner. Even though I found it ceaselessly amusing that so many people--a number of them way older than my bro and I, BTW--were jumping up and down with "devil fingers" (index + pinky) in the air, in time to the beat of every tune, and I'd have to periodically mimic them. Even though I knew only half of the Nickelback songs (but the half I knew were awesome!), and I knew none of the songs by opening acts Saving Abel and Seether.

Well, I should say, all but one.

In an uncharacteristically slow set for Seether, the lead "vocalist" (and I use that term with some caution), along with the group's lead guitarist, performed a tune that made my brother say, "Hey, I know this one."

And I got all excited because for, like, an hour already I hadn't known the lyrics to anything. So, I listened more carefully and said, "OMG! I know it, too. It's...it's...'Careless Whisper'?! Can that be right?"

My brother and I stared at each other in shock as Seether guy belted out, "I'm never gonna dance again, guilty feelin', I got no rhythm..."

And I stopped giggling and pointing my devil fingers at the stage long enough to sing along.

Damn. 1984 was a good year. Or, alternately, "a good f*cking year."

And the joy of great music never loses it's allure, does it? No matter what decade...

18 comments:

Vesper said...

a chance for two reasonably mature siblings to act like the kinda reckless teens we never were :-) :-) :-)

I love your post, Marilyn! You've so wonderfully immersed me in the charged atmosphere of that concert! :-)

Pamala Knight said...

LOL! Marilyn you crack me up. I'm glad you had fun at Nickelback with your brother. I love Seether (Breakdown is one of my fave tunes by them) and I too, got a bad case of the giggles when I heard that Wham cover. I was like, WTH????

So glad you enjoyed yourself.

Anonymous said...

How fun, Marilyn! I'm glad you had such a blast! I love the Rockstar song by Nickelback! And love Saving Abel! Well, at least the two songs I know from them - Addicted and I think the other one is called Tattoo.

Your wonderful description has made me want to go to a concert! :) (Maybe with some earplugs. lol)

Hey, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Anonymous said...

I was at a Latin club the other night, salsa and merengue-ing the evening away, and lo and behold, what suddenly blasts through the speakers but a merengue rendition of Careless Whisper.

That song must officially be a 'golden oldie' now. Man do I feel old.

Marilyn Brant said...

Thanks so much, Vesper! Glad I could share the concert experience with you!

Pamala, I'm going to have to listen to Seether without all the booming feedback! I will definitely look up "Breakdown" on YouTube. The crowd went wild whenever a new song would start, so I was probably the only there who didn't know their big hits...

Robin, I LOVE "Rockstar" and I really liked Saving Abel, too! The lead singer was funny, personable and tried really hard to engage the crowd--tough for the very first act--but the audience was on their side. I'll add "Addicted" and "Tattoo" to my YouTube list!!

LOL, Nadine! It's EVERYWHERE! I read on Wikipedia that "Careless Whisper" was one of the most covered songs of the '80s, so I'm not surprised there's a merengue version. I'll have to listen to that one as well...

To everybody who's Irish (and everyone who's not :), a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Nancy J. Parra said...

Hi Marilyn, happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thanks for the great blog post. I have actually never been to a "concert"- unless you include seeing a very ailing "Flock of Seagulls" (1985)in a small bar on Guam...

Are you snickering yet? I was in the service- there was no cover-my husband acutally wore parachute pants... ;)

Maureen McGowan said...

LOL, Marilyn. Never knew you were a closet metal girl. ;-)

Marilyn Brant said...

"...a very ailing Flock of Seagulls..." LOL, Nancy!! You'll have to tell me more about that :). BTW, I didn't know you were in the service--is that where you and your husband met? How long were you in Guam??

Maureen, oh, yes...and I have a seriously dark and wild side that accompanies my metal-head-ness (? is that a word? it should be :-).

lainey bancroft said...

OMG! Flashback! I saw Def Leppard on the Pyromania tour!

Way f*ckin' cool. LOL

Glad you had a good time, Marilyn. I still love my music...'listen, hear Guns N Roses crooning Sweet Child o mine? =) but I'm not sure I'd be up to the racket and crowds of a concert anymore. :(

(((thanks for the surprise mail))) mentioned on the blog this morning. xo

Brett said...

I can totally picture you at that concert rockin' out with your brother, Marilyn! :) It's been a long time since I've been to a rock concert. I went to lots of folk concerts in my 30's, but I should go to a good, loud rock concert again sometime. Nothing quite compares!

And I know why you like Def Leppard....."Love bites! Love bleeds! It's bringin' me to my knees..." Remember the first time we listened closely to all of the lyrics in that song and realized how dark they were?? LOL!

Middle Ditch said...

That sounds like a great night out. I used to LOVE going to concerts but as you said, they can be too loud for my aging ears.

Marilyn Brant said...

Lainey~Pyromania was an awesome tour, wasn't it?! Ahh, happy memories... And, on a far less wild note, I'm so glad you liked the tea!

Brett~OMG, that's right! And, as I recall, we spent a LOT of time dissecting lyrics back then (or just rewriting them :).

Middle Ditch~Thanks! Yeah, I definitely do NOT have my 17-year-old ears anymore (or waistline, for that matter), but at least we all get so much smarter when we age, right?!

Morgan Mandel said...

Glad you had a good time. It's fun to let loose once in a while.

Be careful of your ears though, or you may regret it later. Performers usually wear ear plugs.
I bring some with when I go to a concert and I still can hear what's going on very well.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/morganmandel

Anonymous said...

You were at the Pyromania tour? Awesome! And I can't believe Seethe covered Wham!, haha. I love Wham! I was just listening to Young Guns (Go For It).

Marilyn Brant said...

Wise words, Morgan. I truly had no idea it'd be THAT loud or I'd have brought some kind of ear plugs. And, yeah, I could tell the band was wearing them when they'd show close-up shots on the screen.

Lindsey, oh yes...I AM that old!! So, we worked together and the whole time I didn't know you were a fellow Wham! fan?? We gotta talk :-). You saw the film "Music & Lyrics," right?

L.A. Mitchell said...

What a fun time, Marilyn. Now THAT takes steel ones for a group like Seether to cover George Michael.

BTW, I missed a hush-hush private KU concert here because I was in CO, so I'm glad *someone* rocked out:)

Anonymous said...

How funny -- I love the way you kept amending your phrasing as the singers would have.

I'm glad you had a good time!

Marilyn Brant said...

L.A.~Well, since I'm not one of those cool people who can actually ski (let alone do it on a slope in Colorado :), I must find less physically taxing activities to occupy my time. (Although I was REALLY jumping at that concert!) Sorry to hear about missing KU, though!! Would love to see him again, too...

Thanks, Caryn--It WAS fun! My brother could make any event a good one, though. :-)