September 21, 2005

• 1-800-HAY-TARP, and other adventures in Central Washington.

  The Foreigner/REO Speedwagon/Styx concert was great!  We had such a good time. 

  First, I just have to say that the sound people for all the bands need
  to be flogged.  There was something wrong with the sound for every
  band.  That wasn't cool.

  They had an opening band.  (What kind of idiot schedules an opening band in addition to the THREE major acts that are scheduled to play?  Especially when the show started an HOUR
  late?!?!?! The opener was "Clever Bastard" out of Seattle.  They
  played 4 songs,. and the vocals were turned down way too low, so we
  could barely hear the singer, and thus I cannot tell you if they suck
  or are any good, or whatever.

  Foreigner was incredibly good - the guy they've got singing now is
  quite good.  And he was wearing a really cool jacket - white with
  black embroidery.  However, again with the sound guys.  They
  had the sound turned up WAY too loud.  As in I could not hear
  Hubby shouting (yes, literally shouting) into my ear during their
  set.  Not good.  However, they did cover "Misty Mountain" by
  Led Zep, since Jason Bonham plays the drums for the band.  And
  that was very cool.

  REO was not so good.  The sound balance was all wrong, and they
  sounded kind of flat.  Hubby said he's been to 8 REO concerts over
  the years, and that every time they play outdoors, the sound is wrong
  like that.  So, while it was good to see them, I was
  disappointed. 

  Styx, however, simply rocked the house.  Tommy Shaw has started
  cultivating that scruffy look again, and I really wanted to jump
  onstage and brush out his hair.  JY has cut his hair off.  It
  isn't quite shoulder length.  I was sad about that.  But
  these two guys - they just rock.  And the rest of the band was
  damn good, too.  They did one original song off their new album,
  and I wasn't impressed.  (Uninspired, repetitive.)  They also
  did a cover of "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles.  Apparently that
  is the first track on the new album.  Very interesting. 
  Still, it was good.

  Driving to the venue (The Gorge - it is so beautiful!) was
  entertaining.  Central Washington is basically just a huge farming
  area.  And they grow a LOT of hay.  And all the harvested hay
  is covered in tarps.  Which struck us as funny since down south
  the hay is simply left sitting out.  Apparently covering your hay
  in Central Washington is a very common thing, since we saw a company
  that specializes in hay tarps along the way.

  

  
  

  • 2:56 pm
  • 3 Comments