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Post by nosferatu on Jan 28, 2023 17:27:13 GMT -5
DM’d you
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 7, 2022 12:43:00 GMT -5
Well, all over for another year, how was it for you? I thought both gigs at the electric ballroom were fantastic (did night 2 have the edge on night 1?!) and the moth club was incredible, must be the smallest venue they've played in years. Both new songs debuted on Sunday night sounded great, roll on 2023. When Stations kicked in on Sat night the place exploded. Energy levels didn't dip once. That new song Bloodbath (working title) is a total ripper Blood, Bath and Beyond (full working title I think!) Absolute tune. Very much not in the generally “softer” mould of the new material, perhaps a bit more like Thin Lizzy or, dare I even type this, maybe… Saxon?!
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 4, 2022 12:48:58 GMT -5
There are plans afoot on Facebook for meets at the Black Heart on Friday from 4 ish, Tapping The Admiral on Saturday and The Cock Tavern on Sunday. Feel free to join in! Thanks for the heads up on this. Just coming here to see if anyone was meeting up anywhere before the show tonight. As an American who came over by himself, I obviously know no one here so it'll be nice to meet some THS fans prior to the gig. Cheers. Hey charlemagne, can confirm there are friendly faces in The Black Heart right now. I have a stay positive lapel pin.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 2, 2022 7:44:37 GMT -5
Beautiful!
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Post by nosferatu on Feb 19, 2022 17:40:46 GMT -5
Yeah his new record is very very good isn’t it. Direct.
I like that he repeats “nearly killed me” a few times… I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat listening to that hoping one of them would be an “almost killed me” just to complete the bromance.
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Post by nosferatu on Jan 25, 2022 9:23:56 GMT -5
Still very conflicted about going or not. Of course, it's something different coming from abroad to watch the shows, but the restrictions both in Norway and UK are heading towards it being totally OK. I guess it comes down to a feeling of wheter it is socially acceptable doing it, in some way or another. I went to my first proper rock'n'roll show since The Weekender 2020 on Saturday, and even if it was a seated event, it felt amazing. A Norwegian band called Fangst, if any of you are interested. Their song Hjertet on Spotify is really, really good, even if you don't get the lyrics. I would have no problem socialising with overseas travellers in London, especially seeing as the band is flying from the US!
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Post by nosferatu on Jan 25, 2022 9:22:00 GMT -5
Totally agree that this should happen. The ticket sales support it, the lack of restrictions support it. I’m boosted, had it at least once already so at this point I really don’t care about getting embroiled in sweat and wet confetti for the first time in forever.
It does make you wonder though, with all these other cancellations like Band of Horses whether/when the bigger bands who are actually touring from town to town or country to country start employing understudies.
I for one will put myself forward for Bobby.
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Post by nosferatu on Jan 8, 2022 14:18:59 GMT -5
I think I’m ultimately cautiously optimistic, but would understand if there are one or two too many variables for them to commit to it.
There are bands cancelling U.K. wide tours they have had booked in for January and February in droves, and the basis for this appears to be the uncertainty of moving from place to place, with different audiences every night rather than the events themselves, insofar as they can’t guarantee they and their tech will get to the end of the tour, and maybe would have to cancel half way through.
This event is slightly different, in that it is primarily a single location show, and it should be relatively straightforward to maintain a THS bubble band-wise, and also theoretically the fans are entering into a moral contract that, in order to go, sadly some risk is attached and in my view it is up to the individual to decide how comfortable they are with that. Also, everyone attending currently has to provide proof of vaccination or a negative LFT, so in theory everyone attending should be negative or resistant enough which reduces the risk associated with the event somewhat.
I don’t profess to know how risk-taking the band are and how averse they need to be with this new variant, but I don’t really see how the actual event of itself is any different to the London March 2020, Brooklyn Bowl or Fifth Ave dates, where the Alpha and Delta variants were flying about. Without wanting to be controversial, if anything it may even be slightly safer, given the vaccine passport arrangements for entry. I think there’s an obvious issue with the band leaving, getting into the UK and getting back again which will have financial and health risks associated with it… so ultimately it’s as much a financial gamble as a health one in some ways.
It would be awful if they got here and someone in the band tested positive wouldn’t it. Perhaps it depends on the nature of their insurance policy? They would be in a terrible position if they flew out here and weren’t able to do it.
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 7, 2021 20:06:10 GMT -5
Also, it sounds like “Gold” by John Stewart (1979), which coincidentally has the line “he sings rock n roll in the shower”. Just a curio I guess. Has Stevie Nicks on BVs.
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Post by nosferatu on Dec 3, 2021 21:34:53 GMT -5
A House should have been huge. They could have been legends in their own time; they could have sold a lot of records; they could have enjoyed it as well. They could have been a lot of things.
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Post by nosferatu on Nov 11, 2021 10:28:58 GMT -5
This is a little bit beside the point, but I'm stilling trying to wrap my head around all the references to photography/photo shoots in the ODP lyrics. Hanover Camera is a decent starting point, simply because "camera" is in the title. Who's being photographed/filmed? Why? And where? * There's all the stuff about the lighting made it look like she was captured/a hostage in Hanover Camera * The hand over the lens * The lens cap in Riptown ("The lens cap was losted so they stretched out the shoot") *...then revealing that this might be about shooting movies, not taking photographs ("The director's distracted, he's losing his light/ the actors are wrapped up in robes for the night). As I said, I don't know what to make of this. There's plenty of throwbacks to the rest of the catalog here. Holly seemingly going to California to do porn, the whole metaphor of actors/making movies (Slapped Actress, but also Sketchy Metal, Eureka, Spectres and probably others I forgot), Mary's "moving pictures" in The Swish, Both Crosses etc. But that's all connected to, yes, moving pictures - films, video, movies. I guess everything about the lens cap, the lighting and the "hostage" thing in Hanover Camera This rang a bell somewhere in my head, and I remembered I used to teach a course on the moving image at the college I worked at - one of the set texts was a brilliant documentary called "Visions of Light", which was made by the BFI and basically focuses on the role of the cinematographer, and the development of that role across the decades. They interviewed Nestor Almendros, who was DOP on "Days Of Heaven", which is shot almost entirely during "magic hour", which is basically a 20 minute window where the light is very soft and lends the film its feel - hence the lines about the director (in "real life", the oft-elusive maverick Terrence Malick) being distracted. Another big mention is there is a famous scene in "Days of Heaven" featuring a swarm of locusts... pretty sure we've mentioned the significance of that before.
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Post by nosferatu on Oct 28, 2021 11:30:28 GMT -5
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Post by nosferatu on Oct 17, 2021 4:44:14 GMT -5
In for Friday and Saturday, didn’t receive any email warning about any sort of sale whatsoever so feeling pretty lucky I even got those to be honest. Interesting that you can have an e-ticket for Friday but not Saturday and Saturday is more expensive than Friday! Weird as.
If, in the unlikely event anyone can get me a ticket for Moth club, please hook me up. Training it down from new location in Cumbria so would make the weekend a nice long one.
Went to the Oslo show in ‘19, skipped the Sunday in ‘18 and didn’t do any of it in ‘20… have to say Oslo was up there with my least favourite Hold Steady shows ever, there were a couple of absolute Nathan Barley dickheads live streaming it jumping around being total bros and it’s surprising how in a smaller venue a very small number of people that are there for the ticket rather than the event can suck the atmosphere out of the room so I hope the Sunday isn’t like that usually if I get to go.
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Post by nosferatu on May 11, 2021 15:01:37 GMT -5
In play. It’s Dangerous sounds like Bandwagonesque era Teenage Fanclub
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 24, 2021 3:38:16 GMT -5
Fun little fact about "Dayton's," from Parade Days. I was listening to an 2019 interview with Craig on the "Working Songwriter" podcast, and he was talking about the phenomenon of "camping out" for tickets to shows back in the 80s/90s. He specifically mentioned that he and friend of his camped out outside Dayton's in a mall to buy REM tickets. That’s a really neat link - probably covered already but aside from Blaine, Minnesota, there are Northtown malls in loads of places, including Dayton and Spokane.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 24, 2021 3:33:56 GMT -5
Yeah, you must be right about this, but I can't see it either. I got His visits, they only take five or six minutes [LID] but other than that, nothing. This made me think of your drug slang post on Alright Alright, Skeptic. Here's a link for anyone who hasn't read it. "Fives" and "six" are both amphetamine, and we've seen Craig use this terminology in LDoL, Viceburgh, and 212 Margarita, but it's interesting that they're used in conjunction in those other three songs. There still could be more to that relationship, but this is what came to mind. Ooh, good spot! Also to throw it in there, the “plethora of poker chips” and “chips ahoy” could be another thread... leads me to “pickle chips” yet another “p” turning up, with “popcorn and potato chips”, “wipe that chip off your shoulder”.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 23, 2021 9:35:33 GMT -5
See what I mean? But I'm really glad that you're here...the part of the song that I can't quite wrap my head around, even using my own more vague, unconnected, narrative is the meaning of "To make with someone powerless". I can't figure out who it is that is powerless--unless it's just "powerless" in the sense of being subject to one's addictions. I don't want to get too exclusive about this, both because it's Craig and double meanings happen, and because I've been wrong before. But yes, my take is that the "powerless" person is the one who's addicted, needs drugs, and has no money. The times that we were powerless were times that I remember best. When it first came on it felt just like a blanket. (compare "first it feels like a prick and then it hits you like a jumbo jet [FB]) Once we had a little bit we pretty much just wasted it. (a little bit of drugs: see Jeep Beep Suite, and theholdsteady.proboards.com/post/121262/thread) Traded in our tickets for drinks and little trinkets. That scene back in the city was the opposite of freedom. We were always so damn broke. It was this whole dependent fallacy [Esther] Or a reference in the “powered up”/“100,000 watts of power” /‘power/wealth/mental health’ canon. Could also be a reference to someone not into God? Oh man, Midnight Hauler reference! this is new territory for me. The thing is, that the Ballad Of The Midnight Hauler too is a song about drugs: He was a TNT trucker and he missed the turn And he probably should've died, he was badly burned [BMH] TNT='fentanyl/derivatives' (ONDCP web.archive.org/web/20041127224823/http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/pdf/street_terms.pdf ; DEA ndews.umd.edu/sites/ndews.umd.edu/files/dea-drug-slang-terms-and-code-words-july2018.pdf), and compare: she says it's bad to get burned she says it's great gettin high [PRock] And then: "So this one goes out to Denver Dick He's feeling all frustrated up on I-76" And he set the needle down on "It's Time For Me To Fly" Some say rumor, some say legend He's usually been seen with some wild women He's slow to get around, but he's still a pretty speedy guy [BMH] "Denver"=rocky mountain High. "I-76"=runs one way downhill from Denver. Denver Dick is coming down ... "And he set the needle down on 'It's Time For Me To Fly'"= he applied the needle to a vein and got ready to "fly." "a pretty speedy guy": the guy uses speed. I still think that when Craig says "power/wealth/mental health" he's just using double meaning to put a respectable front on some very dark content. Couldn’t agree more! Also in reference to the above $90 thing, my instinct says there’s something in the Chips Ahoy! $900, and the relationship between the numbers 5 and 6, like in Chips Ahoy! and Denver Haircut (horses/races, hours/planets) that would lead me to the right reference but I just can’t make it stick.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 22, 2021 5:34:28 GMT -5
See what I mean? But I'm really glad that you're here...the part of the song that I can't quite wrap my head around, even using my own more vague, unconnected, narrative is the meaning of "To make with someone powerless". I can't figure out who it is that is powerless--unless it's just "powerless" in the sense of being subject to one's addictions. Or a reference in the “powered up”/“100,000 watts of power” /‘power/wealth/mental health’ canon. Could also be a reference to someone not into God?
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 13, 2021 16:24:21 GMT -5
“You can’t stay 17 forever”
Opening scene in American Graffiti... of course it’s set in Modesto isn’t it. Had to be.
Oh, and for good measure Mackenzie Phillips plays the 12 year old girl in John’s car!
All this from a spontaneous decision to watch it last night. When you start looking........
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 11, 2021 15:40:31 GMT -5
Oh man, you did, I forgot about that (that was when you said about the "blockbuster summer," right?)! I never saw the movie, so I made a mental bookmark to go watch it, and then spaced it. Gotta go check that out. I'll preface this by saying that I don't think I've read nosferatu's blockbuster summer/ Event Horizon post and I haven't seen Event Horizon or the movie I'm about to suggest. I'm not exactly qualified to speak on all this but I'll throw it out there anyway. I did some quick digging around on movies with wormholes and stumbled upon Stargate. Here's a link to the Wiki Fandom I read about it. A few things jumped out to me: 1. It involves a wormhole 2. It came out in 1994, the year that the blockbuster summer takes place, according to Skeptic's Here Goes timeline 3. It involves a woman with an amulet that brings good luck 4. There is a ring with an inscription that was originally translated as "door to heaven" That sounds promising. Might have to do a Stargate/ Event Horizon double-feature this weekend. (Also props to anyone who can follow that whole Wiki summary. The plot seems ridiculously complicated — not sure how they fit that all in two hours, haha.) Great catch! Yeah, the event horizon suggestion was literally just the first thing that came into my head when I first heard that song, that film would make more sense!
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 11, 2021 15:38:27 GMT -5
A while back I suggested Event Horizon? Oh man, you did, I forgot about that (that was when you said about the "blockbuster summer," right?)! I never saw the movie, so I made a mental bookmark to go watch it, and then spaced it. Gotta go check that out. Yeah! I’ve not seen the film for years though. I know we all like these things so here’s another wildly metatextual one... Chariots of Fire (1981 - A blockbuster from the summer following the release of Rush’s “Moving Pictures”). Reason? The phrase “Chariot of Fire” comes from William Blake’s (see: CSTLN) poem “And Did Those Feet In Ancient Time” (better known as the hymn “Jerusalem”), whose theme is directly related to the Book of Revelation which concerns the Second Coming.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 11, 2021 10:41:55 GMT -5
I'm making a Letterbox'd list of movies referenced in Hold Steady lyrics. Check it out.Letterbox'd is great for movie lovers and completists, if you're not familiar with it. List is short right now but I wanted to throw it out for collaboration. What are all of the movies Craig directly references? Top of my head I have: Opening Night Breaking Away Days of Heaven North Dallas Forty and Revenge of the Nerds Star Wars (tusken raiders) Drop Dead Fred Great initiative. A couple more off the top of my head: 1) The Outsiders (1983): www.imdb.com/title/tt0086066/ Diane Lane kept me sane through the spring I was flirting with her films ... Shepard [ABlues] Shepard is the name of the gang leader character; Diane Lane played Cherry. 2) Taxi Driver (1976): www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak3ma7wtE_0&ab_channel=AcademyAwardClips then it all became like an action/adventure looking in the mirror, reaching for your holster [RfLB] Is there consensus on what movie they're watching in The Ambassador? Third act takes place in a wormhole, etc... I've wondered that for a long time! would love to know if it can be fit to a real movie. A while back I suggested Event Horizon?
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 10, 2021 5:02:31 GMT -5
I get what you're saying. I imagine that some of what you're describing is due to the difference between playing a small number of shows per season, versus doing a tour. With more shows, you have more freedom to be a little weird some nights, mix things up, etc. Whereas these were our only live THS option for (at least) the first half of '21, so they wanna "play the hits" so to speak, not only in terms of song selection but the kind of theatrics you're describing as well. There were a few unexpected musical moves -- pauses being held extra long, or the arrangements of a few of the older songs that got a retreatment -- and that little stuff makes me super happy to hear that they're still finding new life in old songs, even if the banter is canned. Yeah that all makes total sense. As I say it’s not really a criticism, just more of an observation. I know since they’ve moved to this entity-preserving phase of the band, they have to make it work for them, and the energy put into that makes me very grateful. Don’t Let Me Explode was a musical highlight as was We Can Get Together... I followed them around for a few dates on the first couple of U.K. tours and every night was different, they were in a different mood etc. They had the pressure of converting every crowd for a few more years still, maybe until around 2010-11, but since then their crowds are made up of broadly the same core fans with a few tagalongs and newbies sprinkled in so - although to an extent it already felt like it - they’re becoming more and more like “church” with these expected set pieces and overall format. They’re nowadays kind of like the preacher that pitches their marquee outside town for a few days and has rapturous sermons, that they come back and do the same thing is no bad thing I guess but also I couldn’t help but be hyper aware of feeling that apart from some of the choices in the set that I’d seen this show before.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 9, 2021 5:44:54 GMT -5
Are you sure they were manually blocked by the moderators? Zoom calls have a max of 300 people and it was full on Saturday at least. Maybe they just joined too late and couldn't get in? Yeah I couldn’t get into the zoom call on Saturday either, didn’t bother me at all but horses for courses.
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Post by nosferatu on Mar 9, 2021 3:46:49 GMT -5
I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the shows back in December a bit more, but these were really excellent. The integration of the horn steady is very last waltz and that really really works. It’s always difficult to criticise them especially when they’ve not really been able to get together properly due to the pandemic I guess but there’s a handful of things I’ve got small issues with. They didn’t really detract from how much I enjoyed the shows but they definitely played on my mind a bit watching. No shade intended!
The one thing about this line up and version of the band that is inevitable is that in becoming much better at playing together they’re sort of becoming a bit predictable. Like I remember a couple of years ago the first time I saw Tad and Steve raising a toast with their guitars I thought it was the coolest little trick for the London show, then they do it every time. Fine, that’s cool. Then I remember seeing the “break it up! Break it up!” bit in DJs, which I though was a spontaneous bit of improv... oh wait, they now do it every time too (still think it’s funny as fuck mind) I remember first seeing Craig and Tad concentrate on the ending of Hornets! Hornets! and hi-five... yup that makes it in there each time... the end of Constructive into Hot Soft Light... whoa! They didn’t do it night 1! All I’m saying is they gotta watch out and catch this early enough it doesn’t become stale, one of the greatest strengths of a THS show is that you’re all watching something together that can’t be repeated, and a bit of that sparkle does dull sometimes when you see these familiar bits over and over. I do wonder whether it’s part of becoming more streamlined, I mentioned in another thread how I’ve seen Jason Isbell do exactly the same “I’m gonna wander over to the keyboards while I’m playing a solo” in the same song every time I’ve seen him and it bugs me, it’s like this “we are playing a show and this is how the show goes” attitude which doesn’t sit well with my expectations.
I also recognise that these little set pieces are probably becoming expected highlights for some people and favourite little in-jokes and stuff are always cool but I’d be interested to hear if anyone else had the same experience?
Also... I know Craig has always stumbled over words, but did he do that much much more than usual or do I just never notice because there are 2000 people singing his lyrics anyway?
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