[ Warning: This video contains bright flashes. ]
Judas Priest was not a group I worked with in my roughly 21 years of working in entrainment. (Only 3 of those years working with people who were at one time famous.) I would have loved it if I had worked with more metal shows. However, that was not the lane the company I worked for was in. They were more classic rock. The closest I ever got was working with ZZ-Top.
However, this song was in my head again this morning even though I had initially intended to have this song as yesterday’s SotD, it just didn’t happen.
For each of these articles I want to talk something music related, even if it is not a group I have worked with and when doing research about Judas Priest I discovered that like ZZ Top, they liked to have over-the top shows. At the time we hired ZZ Top the band wanted 5 lighting rigs suspended from the ceiling, our room had only three. It’s not uncommon for a group to toss our a contract with the absolute most they they want and then have the people that hire them go through it all just so they can strike out the lines that won’t work. Then, of course it’s up to the band’s manager to then decide if it is something that they band wants to fill in. Since we were not a big venue, but we were on the way, we were able to get a lot of fill-in tour dates.
Despite the reduced gear, ZZ Top still rocked the paint off of the walls and I was so glad to have seen what has been one of my favorite groups.
Also in my research though I discovered that Painkiller was something of a comeback song for Judas Priest and it made me think about people who only want to hear the songs they are used to hearing and those who want to hear new material. I’ve seen audiences go completely silent and practically glare at bands who dare play something new and original. Even to the point of not even appauding a perfectly god song when it was over.
I have never understood this. Okay, sure, you would rather be trancing out to the stuff you first learn to sing while you were still in diapers, but come on, I can’t seriously believe that you want to hear the same dozen songs until you’re in your 80’s.
If you do, okay, but we’re not on the same planet and you’re totally not being fair to artists.
I’ve played a lot of instruments and have worked with a few musicians and other artists. I’ve thought about how hard it is to keep doing the same songs over and over again. Sure, do it enough and you go on autopilot. You look at them and you might think they’re really in and digging the song like you are, and meanwhile they’re up there composing hate mail to their manager because the green room smells like turtle farts or something.
I’ll jive along to the songs I listen to all the time but I do go to the new songs channels on occasion and I do like when bands bring out the new and untested material. No, you’re not required to like it but at least don’t give them grief for it. Artists are always experimenting, learning new things, playing with old motifs and changing overtime. That is part of being an artist. If you want to hear the same songs over, just buy the CD, hit the “this only artist” channels on your streaming up and leave the live shows for those of us who like variety, spontaneity and hearing what’s new. Seeing a live performance isn’t just about the music, it’s about the experience.
The first professional entertainer show I ever worked was Jackson Brown. People got mad at him because he didn’t play enough music. He liked to talk to the audience, and that’s part of the show too. Performers are people too. Sometimes we just need to talk, the music just isn’t flowing, or whatever. Still, I wouldn’t have complained. Might I have been disappointed? Sure, maybe! I’ve been to a lot of shows where people just talked too. When I went to see Cher, if she suddenly decided to grab a chair and talk to the audience for 10 minutes, I would have still been glad that I had paid $70 for the nose-bleed seats.
Performers, even famous performers are people too.
