200 pages into Deathly Hallows and I still haven't checked out any spoiler sites (though I did take some peaks at future chapters). While I'm at a good stopping point, I wanted to share my experience of seeing one of the best shows I've ever seen . . . and it was this past Friday night.
New Jersey's finest the Wrens came back to Denton on another one of their weekend tours. Due to job and family commitments, the band has been doing these kinds of mini-tours for quite a few years now. Because of the responses found with Denton audiences, they always put it on their schedule. Winding down another tour, they hit up Hailey's on Friday.
Though I've never heard any of their records before, it felt like I had been listening to these guys for years. Moody interludes weaved with pumping songs sounds like a formula done way too many times, but if it's done right, it doesn't matter. These guys played well and were incredibly sincere about every note they played, lyric sung and in-between song banter said. I wouldn't go so far and say they played like it was their final show, but it was close enough. Hopefully a new record will come out later in the year or next year.
What was also inspiring was how well these guys have aged. If you only looked at the band members instead of listening to their music, you'd think they were more apt for the county fair/wedding circuit. The drummer looks like a PE couch and one of the guitarists looks like he could be in the current line-up of Chicago. Nevertheless, when they played, they weren't trying to recapture their youth or pretend to be someone they weren't. They were themselves.
In a time when I wonder if how many music "fans" are really just serial downloaders with no real allegiance to bands that aren't talked about on MP3 blogs, I wasn't seeing this at the show. The place wasn't packed to the gills, but it was well attended by people of all ages. Heck, Jason and I might have been the only few up front who weren't singing along. When fifty members of the audience came up on stage to bang on the floor with drumsticks or bare hands, it was about creating a moment that you definitely couldn't have at home listening by yourself. Like the show as a whole, it was a purely tribal moment. And a fantastic one at that.
New Jersey's finest the Wrens came back to Denton on another one of their weekend tours. Due to job and family commitments, the band has been doing these kinds of mini-tours for quite a few years now. Because of the responses found with Denton audiences, they always put it on their schedule. Winding down another tour, they hit up Hailey's on Friday.
Though I've never heard any of their records before, it felt like I had been listening to these guys for years. Moody interludes weaved with pumping songs sounds like a formula done way too many times, but if it's done right, it doesn't matter. These guys played well and were incredibly sincere about every note they played, lyric sung and in-between song banter said. I wouldn't go so far and say they played like it was their final show, but it was close enough. Hopefully a new record will come out later in the year or next year.
What was also inspiring was how well these guys have aged. If you only looked at the band members instead of listening to their music, you'd think they were more apt for the county fair/wedding circuit. The drummer looks like a PE couch and one of the guitarists looks like he could be in the current line-up of Chicago. Nevertheless, when they played, they weren't trying to recapture their youth or pretend to be someone they weren't. They were themselves.
In a time when I wonder if how many music "fans" are really just serial downloaders with no real allegiance to bands that aren't talked about on MP3 blogs, I wasn't seeing this at the show. The place wasn't packed to the gills, but it was well attended by people of all ages. Heck, Jason and I might have been the only few up front who weren't singing along. When fifty members of the audience came up on stage to bang on the floor with drumsticks or bare hands, it was about creating a moment that you definitely couldn't have at home listening by yourself. Like the show as a whole, it was a purely tribal moment. And a fantastic one at that.
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sorry so random - saw your blog listing on dfw blogs, thought i would stop in and say hello.