A HOB Report from Chanel --
I love Russell
Crowe's movies, and think he's a brilliant actor. When I heard
TOFOG were going to be playing in California, rather conveniently in
my hometown of San Diego, I bought a ticket to the show. I want
to clarify right now though that I bought the ticket to *hear
* his
music live, and *see * his *live
performance *. As much as I adore Russell Crowe and
the films he makes, I was more interested in the music the band make
rather than the spectacle of seeing the man live and in the flesh. I'm
young. I'm a music aficionado. I spend much of my spare
time going to see live shows. I have even photographed a few. So,
my priority was experiencing the music the band had to offer rather
than ogling the front man and cater walling at the fellow as some chose
to do.
I had done my research before going to the show. I jumped on iTunes,
listened to as many music samples as I could, even downloaded two albums. I
liked the music on both of the albums I downloaded, but wondered if the live
performance would be any good. In my opinion, live act is where it's
at. Maybe you can sound good on a CD, but it’s much harder to impress
an audience live. You have to actually play your instruments, and sing
reasonably well in addition to having good stage presence if you want to impress
anyone.
I went to the show with a couple of friends who were in the same boat of
wanting to experience his music rather than check him out and make sure he
was a real human being. We showed up just a few minutes before the band came on,
and situated ourselves just behind the sound control booth in front of a large
pillar. Though we were not close to the stage, it was much easier to
take in everything from that standing point. We could see the entire
stage, all the members, and most of the audience.
The band opened up with a group of songs that I would consider a bit slow,
but very personal. At first the group seemed a bit stiff, but as they
progressed through their set they proved that they were just warming up. Each
song they played they opened up a little more, and you could see each individual's
personality make a bright appearance through the fervor that they played
their instruments. They really got into it by the middle of the set,
and I was very impressed by the drummer whose name I do believe is DK (correct
me if I’m wrong). All eyes may have been on Crowe, but each musician
on stage brilliantly demonstrated their love for the music they were playing
as well as their level of musicianship. Such enthusiasm made it hard
not to watch them. That's what great live shows are all about! Enthusiasm
and character coupled with musicianship! I wish I was been better acquainted
with the names of the musicians so I could reference to them better. Unfortunately,
I only remember a few names after Crowe introduced them; even worse I don't
recall who played what! Oh dear oh dear!
Crowe is a lovely singer. Long before they played “Folsom
Prison” I had been thinking that his style of singing was very
reminiscent of Cash himself. He has a mellow baritone voice,
yet very clear and expressive. At first he seemed a bit
reserved on stage, but upon further examination I realized, that's
just his style. There were three things that seemed very apparent
to me after hearing his music. 1. He loves his family very
much and is loyal to those he cares about. 2. He's very
passionate in all that he does. 3. He respects people with
intelligence and class. All three are evident in every song he
sings, particularly those dealing with touchier subject matter such
as the song “Raewyn”.
Though I am not a big fan of lots of talking between songs, I respect that
Crowe felt the best way for people to understand a few of the songs was by
prefacing them with a story behind their creation. The first time he
tried this technique of prefacing it must have been three or four songs into
the set, and I'm sad to say there were a lot of rude people in the audience
who were laughing, giggling, and shouting things like "MAXIMUS" while
the man was trying to communicate. It made it difficult for those trying
to listen to him talk, and it obviously irritated Crowe. I think at one
point he said, "Oh do shut up" in a frank yet comical style to some
woman who was screaming something totally lame at him. Thumbs up to Crowe
for that one. If he hadn't done it, I was going to! The second
time he tried prefacing it was for a song called “Raewyn” in which
he talks about dealing with the deaths of his friend, uncle, and an in law. This
time round the audience came to a quiet hush/lull. There was a bit of
talking by the bar, but not nearly as bad as the first attempt. Still,
it was difficult to concentrate on everything that was being said. The
song, however, spoke for itself. In my opinion, none of his songs need
much prefacing or explanation. If one listens to the song, it speaks
for itself. Even the a cappella song “Mr. Harris” didn't
need much of a story, although it was welcomed by this concert go-er's ears!
All in all, I can say I truly enjoyed the evening! My favorite songs
from the show were the all audience rousing “Testify”, that silly
song involving San Diego and a mouth, “One Good Year”, “Mr.
Harris”, and the cover of “Folsom Prison”. The band was visually
engaging, and the musicianship was spot on. I truly appreciate bands that can *play
* their instruments. In this day and age with cookie cutter
emo/punk rock on the radio, with three chord songs, and bass lines with only
root notes, Russell Crowe and The Ordinary Fear of God was a welcome change. The
live performance was much better than the album recordings I’ve listened
to, which is a good thing! Whenever you walk away from a show saying, “Oh
that puts the album to shame” it’s definitely a compliment and
a sign of achievement. Live show is where it’s at! I'm really much more
of a heavy metal, hard rock fan. My favorite bands are Metallica, Mudvayne,
and Muse. Far cry from Crowe's style of music, but that doesn't mean
I can't enjoy it!
Also a welcome surprise; a handful of us waited for two hours outside the House
of Blues with the hope of seeing Russell Crowe. I hadn't bought any cd's
inside the venue as I already own two in mp3 format. Instead I brought
a drawing I did of Crowe's character from Gladiator--Maximus. It's the
ONLY drawing I have ever done in, of, or relating to Crowe, and I drew it six
years ago. I felt a bit sheepish about it as I thought he'd totally think
I was there to see him and didn't give a rat's ass about his music, which isn't
the case at all. Instead of giving me a hard time, he was actually quite
gracious, and when he realized I wanted him to autograph the thing for me,
he obliged quite respectfully, and even indulged me in a bad cell phone picture. Though
I thought the show was awesome, having that drawing autographed meant so much
more to me than a ticket or an album cover. I've done drawings of other
musicians as well, and had those autographed instead of album covers. It's
just more personal I guess. To draw something, show it to the person
you drew, see that they like it, and have them autograph it like they would
a photo.
In any case; cheers! I do recommend people go and see this band for their
MUSIC not to ogle the front man!!! I promise you won't be disappointed!
Kind Regards, Chanel
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