Vegas, and 5 1/2 hrs is too much... (1 Viewer)

[nervas]

So I just got back from Vegas, watching a band celebrate yesterday's date. I'm sure you can figure out what band was celebrating yesterday's date. Just didn't want to put their name on here(so google could pick it up), or have this become a discussion about them. What I did want to say is that they played for over 5 hours! Started at 7:30pm sharp, and didn't finish until after 1am, they played 60 fng songs! Yes, I'll admit, I've been a fan of theirs for the last 19 years. I went on a whim(a female friend sent a text Tues evening, asking if I'd go with her.) Anyway after watching a band perform for over 5 hours, I have to ask, is their any band anyone would really want to see perform for that long? I mean, before this experience I would have said, ABSOLUTELY, maybe the White Stripes, Bright Eyes, The Beatles, Zeppelin? I don't know, I thought I would have answered yes, without hesitation. At 1am last night, I thought, wow, maybe I'd never want to experience something like this ever again. I can't count the number of rows that had people sleeping, or nodding off in their seats. It was fun, but seriously 3 hours into it, I thought, shit, enough already!

 

[mjp]

I remember seeing a six hour concert back in the 70s, but there were six bands. And even with six bands it was too long. It was more like an endurance test than a concert. By the end everyone in the audience was just exhausted and angry.

There is no one I would sit through for 5 1/2 hours. You can bring Bob Marley, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix back from the dead to jam (maaaaan) and I don't want to see that shit for 5 1/2 hours. You must be out of your fucking mind. Ha.

Longest set I've seen by one band is probably Led Zeppelin in 1977, or Peter Tosh in 1980 or 81.

Tosh's set was long because the audience wouldn't let him leave. He did two long encores, then left the stage. They turned on the house lights, started tearing down the equipment, but the audience just continued to stand there and clap and cheer and carry on. That went on for - no exaggeration - 15 minutes, and no one left. Tosh had to come back out and play a few more songs. Most of the musicians had already changed their clothes. I had never seen anything quite like it.

Led Zeppelin just went on too damn long. They could have cut out the sitting-on-stools acoustic yawner in the middle of the show and just rocked out for 90 minutes and everyone would have been happy. But it just went on too long with the fucking solos and mandolins and shit. But when they got down to business and just kicked ass, it was something else. Punk rock!

But seriously man -- that band, for 5 1/2 hours? Wow. Did you at least get to go out to dinner at some point and then come back for the last two hours of the show? ;)

And now, finally, I will stop typing so it doesn't take 5 1/2 hours to read this post.

 

[bospress.net]

I saw Tool once at the 9:30 club and Maynard walked off the stage about 45 minutes in and they all followed. Great, great set, but way too short. I'm not sure what his deal was. i had seen them before and they usually played for at least twice as long.

Wasn't it Van Morrison that recently walked off stage after one song?

Bill

 

[nervas]

There is no one I would sit through for 5 1/2 hours. You can bring Bob Marley, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix back from the dead to jam (maaaaan) and I don't want to see that shit for 5 1/2 hours. You must be out of your fucking mind. Ha.

Yes, I hear ya for sure. I'm not kidding, at about 11:15pm, the singer said, "Ok, we're in the home stretch!" So I figured, sweet, maybe 4,5, 10 songs at max? Well, they played for another 2 hours! I may have left early, if the person I was with didn't insist on staying. Though, we did argue afterwards when I refused to take a tram overfilled with drunk fans! Hey I wanted to walk and stop at Baja Fresh, or to take the short cab ride back to the hotel we were staying at. I won, we took a cab, but yeah, I'm not sure I really won anything of any value yesterday.

Bill, Mr. Bungle(which had Mike Patton of Faith No More as a vocalist) used to come out, open their set with the theme song, then mock argue that they had artistic differences and walk off stage. At the time, I think it was to poke fun at Axl Rose and his stage tantrums. I was at a show, where they were gone for so long, half the club actually left. Most times they'd come back after a few minutes, but at times they'd leave for 40 minutes.

 

[bospress.net]

Mr. Bungles first album was great insane carnival hardcore, but i could never get into the second one.
Bill

 

[hoochmonkey9]

I had no idea that the Band That Shall Not Be Named had been around that long.

I went to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1990, and sat in a field on a blanket for 2 days. it was great, I'll never forget it, but I'll never do it again.

I'm too old for it, I suppose.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Wasn't it Van Morrison that recently walked off stage after one song?

Someone in the audience must have had a beer and distracted him. :rolleyes:

 

[nervas]

I had no idea that the Band That Shall Not Be Named had been around that long.

their first release came out in like 1990... I guess being around that long gave them enough of a catalogue to play for 5 1/2 hours. I agree, maybe I'm too old. I'm still tired, and that was 2 days ago!

 

[Mark73]

5 1/2 hours is insane. I saw EA80 play 2 hours, with a break for them and the audience after the first hour. The concept worked out fine, first they played long , slow, melancholic songs and in the second half more aggressive, fast, short hardcore.

How can you pay attention for 5 1/2 hours, even if it's one of your favourite bands? and actually enjoy it?

 

[mjp]

Wasn't it Van Morrison that recently walked off stage after one song?

Larry David (eh, okay, not a band, but a comedian) once walked out onto a stage in New York, looked over the audience, said, "No, I don't think so," and walked off.

That kind of thing might suck for the audience, but it's talked about forever, and to me, it's performing (and myth-making) genius.

I went to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1990, and sat in a field on a blanket for 2 days. it was great, I'll never forget it, but I'll never do it again.

Yeah, that's different though. You can sleep, walk around, get rained on...when you're stuck in a hockey arena, things start to get a little claustrophobic after the first 4 or 5 hours, and the people who are way too high (and there are a lot of them in those hockey arenas) start to get desperate and weird.

The Beatles had the right idea; play for 25 or 30 minutes, take all the money, go to the next city, repeat.

 

[hoochmonkey9]

true enough, but I've been to a couple concerts that felt like 5 1/2 hours long.

 

[nervas]

Yeah, that's different though. You can sleep, walk around, get rained on...when you're stuck in a hockey arena, things start to get a little claustrophobic after the first 4 or 5 hours, and the people who are way too high (and there are a lot of them in those hockey arenas) start to get desperate and weird.

That is exactly what happened to me, but closer to the end of the first hour. I actually started feeling way claustrophobic and was even looking at the quickest way out, to go get some air in the lobby. The high and drunk fans, which was almost the whole place, started showing their desperation by trying to create mosh pits within the seats? As for security? I'm not sure I even saw any, but for two vegas cops walking around the lobby.

So yeah, it was an experience, but pretty certain I won't ever do something like that again.

 

[jordan]

most of the punk bands i've seen rarely play for more than an hour, so anything longer than that usually seems excessive to me. nomeansno played for two hours when i saw them, and i was pretty tired by the end (but they didn't go on until midnight, and i had been standing since i got to the club at 10PM, so that was part of it). i do think six hours is excessive, though. and also, am i the only one that can't figure out what band this is? i promise i won't say that they suck really hard, and you can always g00gl3pr00f their name.

 

[d gray]

i couldn't figure out who it was either - i googled vegas concert and the date and found out two things - the name of the band and that i've never heard of them before.

it made me feel old

 

[nervas]

I did try google proofing subliminally throwing their name in there by naming the attached picture. With further google proofiness, the band is called threeeleven.

 

[roni]

from what I've heared, The BOSS used to give 4+ hour-concerts in the 70s.

 

[ROC]

Rock fans are pussies.

Feldmans second string quartet goes for five and a half to six hours.

It's a real wrist opener.

 

[jordan]

that band sucks!

 

[nervas]

no, no, no, Jordan, they rock!

 

[Mark73]

If they are Threeeleven, they should give 33 hours concerts.

 

[Gerard K H Love]

Rock fans are pussies.
Feldmans second string quartet goes for five and a half to six hours.
It's a real wrist opener.

I worked the dispensary at a Feldmans festival and there were some many over doses I couldn't count them all. There was no fights but lots of unprotected sex.

 

[ROC]

If you take those 2 sentences to a vet you can have them put down. You know... to ease the suffering.