Whenever, If Ever

Here's a recap of what I've been up to with the Observer.

I wasn't planning on going to the Jeff Tweedy show at the Majestic, but when my editor asked if anyone was interested in going, I signed up. I had trepidation about seeing a show filled with random yelling from the crowd and random musings from Jeff. Luckily, the show was great with very little of that. You can read the full review here.

I don't consider myself a huge fan of The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, but I was impressed when I saw them live back in February. So when their publicist asked me if I was interested in interviewing them, I was open for it. I talked with main member Derrick on Tuesday and the interview went live on Friday.

And while I was excited to see Deafheaven again, I came away from the show disappointed. How the hell this happened, I explain in the first few paragraphs in my review.

Stuck On You

Living in Dallas, I'm well aware of some great musical acts that only come to the biggest cities in America. If I could deal with the crowded living found in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, then I could see even more bands that come around only once in a lifetime. But I love living in Dallas, and I've never thought about getting on a plane to see a band. (I have done a roadtrip and it was worth it.)

When a band like Failure reunites, I'd expect them to only play a handful of shows, mainly tied in with festivals like Coachella or Lollapalooza. I don't begrudge the bands who do this; the money's way too good.

Failure did do a special one-off show earlier this year in Los Angeles, but they decided to mount a national tour. Seeing Dallas on the itinerary, I jumped at the chance to do anything I could with press coverage. That resulted in a show preview, an interview with Greg Edwards, and a live show review. That's a lot of Failure, but being a Failure fan and knowing quite a few fans, this was huge.

I keep thinking of a wonderful quote by Keith Phipps:

Like so much of life, music is best appreciated while it’s happening, and without the bittersweet tug of missed chances and things that might have been.

As someone who missed his fair share of shows, I completely concur with what Keith wrote. I've seen many shows that I never thought I'd see and cherish their memories forever. While I decided to skip Pavement on their Brighten the Corners tour, I saw At the Drive-In twice, Hum and Swervedriver, and whole bunch of other shows that I'm glad I didn't skip.

My attitude is, if I really think I should go, I should go, because there's no guarantee a band will come back. No matter how healthy a band might be, a band can break up at any time. If there's little or nothing to be lost in seeing this show (even if it's sleep), I should go.

Still thinking about Failure's excellent set last night, I'm quite happy I went. As much as they hope to keep working together, I will always have the memory of finally seeing them. (I would definitely be up for seeing them again.)