DC ROCK CLUB
Long live rock, I need it every night

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Next up...

It seems a bit odd to me that the last "show" RC attended was last month, and was a "Potsy show." This means that I am about lap the rest of Rock Club by providing the next event. Granted, RC x 3/4 has seen the 1968 Elvis Comeback Special; another treat from 1968, The Doors in Europe, 1968; as well as the Kids Are Alright from the Who, in the intervening weeks. But those 3 "films" were actually viewed within the same week, I believe. So that should tell us something. What it tells me is that there is only so much entertainment to be had before you need a rest. That's where the term "hiatus" comes into play.

A word about the Elvis Comeback Special...if you've never seen it, it's tripfantastic. The dance sequences alone will make you wonder if someone has slipped something into your drink. Now, I love Elvis. I love what he stands for, and I love what he did for rock n roll. But I've given this a lot of thought recently, and I've concluded that Elvis was set up for failure. He was a pretty-boy who was set up to make a lot of people rich (including Elvis), but his limitations as an artist were quickly revealed, and it eventually led to him being a wasted, bloated, under-educated man laying dead on his bathroom tile. Look no further than the out takes from the Comeback Special, and tell me that he doesn't lack a basic talent for "live" performance. If you can't remember the words to Lawdy, Miss Clawdy (among others), are you really the King of Rock n Roll? He was great in the studio, but beyond that, he's really a prop, held up by good musicians on stage. I could write a thesis on this subject, there's so much evidence out there to support it. Look at one of his most memorable hits, "Blue Suede Shoes." Don't forget that Carl Perkins actually wrote and popularized this song before Elvis usurped it from Perkins following Perkins's near fatal car crash. There's so much more, but I've got other things to do than spell it all out for you. Bottom line, Elvis had good raw talent in the 1950s, made some great records throughout his career, but under close inspection he doesn't really live up to his super star position in music. He was a prop.

Moving on, I've looked about and have found it a challenge to identify anything of great quality for this week in Rock Club, but I did check out Midlake as was posted by Jimbromski below. If My Name is Earl star, and super skate boarder Jason Lee likes them, then I think we should check them out. So, next show: Wednesday, February 7th at the Rock & Roll Hotel.

3 comments:

Jimbromski said...

I'm up for Midlake but I was also ready to get my folk on for Vashti Bunyan, had the vote gone that way.

Jumbo Slice said...

I'm up for MidLake as well.

Anonymous said...

You write very well.