So last night we went to see the Violent Femmes at Flames Central here in Calgary. LJ bought the tickets when I was at home and I wasn't opposed to the purchase, but perhaps not hugely excited either. Anyway, some of our pals were going too and the evening started off well enough with hotdogs and ciders at R & A's. Tummies full we trotted downtown. None of us had been to Flames Central before, though the others had been to its previous incarnation as The Palace. What a cool venue - it reminded me of the Olympia or Gaiety theatres in Dublin or Brixton Academy in London with the balconies and all that old theatre style - though I'm not sure about the huge flaming C's and hockey stuff everywhere. I know, I know, LJ gave me hell for that. It's just that the effect is a bit like being in a casino or something with lights and screens everywhere. And I'm not a casino person. I am an old-theatre person. I was caught between feeling that it was really cool and sort of wishing that it had been restored to some kind of former glory.
Anyway, the opening act were shite. I'm not even sure what they were called. The singer said it was their third show together but tightness between the band wasn't the problem (though the tightness of one dude's trousers might have been). It was just that they were boring as all hell, and they went on and on and on. I didn't even get too angry at LJ when he yelled 'practice at home'. Anyway, eventually the VF's came out. And well. I'm a casual gal myself and don't get dolled up all that often, but they could have made a smidge of an effort. It was fun to hear all those old songs again but I was left with an overriding sense of meh afterwards. Two main reasons - one that I really got the impression that this was a band playing for the money and not for the creative exercise of making music and performing or connecting with fans or pushing any kinds of limits or anything. Apparantly they
don't even like eachother and it kind of showed. The other thing was the crowd. I guess I've become used to the metal crowd (what with all the shows LJ drags me to as well as my own history as a rocker) and last night made me realise how much I like the metal crowd. It's usually a good mix of ages, lots of old rockers, young punk, metal, emo kids, goths, people with body art of various forms, black clothing... I feel comfortable there for some reason. Last night's crowd was more fratty, there were some old rockers and punks and some young ones too. But...it just felt a touch too conservative for me. And I feel like an asshole for being so judgemental. Gah. But there you have it. A fun night, but perhaps not so much my scene.
Apart from Storm & the Balls later this month we are VERY excited to see Clutch in Calgary in August. If you haven't heard these guys check
their MySpace - they are FAB!!!
