ahem.

“the diamond sea”
daydream nation plays just that song for the whole damn cruise.

many artists i like have been saddled with people accusing them of being too derivative of an older act. interpol sounds too like joy division, cee-lo sounds too much like al green, lcd soundsystem sounds too much like new order, lcd soundsystem sounds too much like bowie, lcd soundsystem sounds too much like talking heads, etc. it really doesn’t bother me when influences are visible, because the artists are still using the styles and devices of their idols as tools to do something personal and new.

there’s nothing wrong with covers and homages working their way in there. a band i love, r.e.m., started out their performing career doing covers in athens frat houses. it helped them to build their muscles and define themselves, influences and all. when a band defines themselves as a “tribute”, however, and the highest goal becomes to be a facsimile of the past, a lot of the excitement and expression i look to music for is just sapped from it.

i confess it discourages me when this area has a venue acknowledged as one of the nation’s best in the norva, and the most consistent business that place does is in tributes. yes, there have been a number of great bands to pass through the norva, and occasionally a wonderful local showcase, but most of the time if you look at the marquee the biggest upcoming show will be a tribute. a night at the norva isn’t cheap, and most of the time there are great shows packed with local talent at the boot or the taphouse and a number of other places.

so why shell out the extra money to see some dudes pretending to be queen? because you know exactly what you’re getting, more or less. it won’t be shocking or surprising. you get the thrill of going out, but you can be sure not to have your expectations challenged. very much like getting the thrill of traveling to a beautiful island, but paying for the security blanket of a massive boat crammed full of consumer comforts and packaged excursions to protect you from the possibility of running into any scary poverty or locals who are not paid to cater to your every whim.

this gets more discouraging when i reflect on how many talented musicians i’ve seen and known here who have given up on the area, either by traveling to more supportive areas or putting performance aside. i’m not talking about people who didn’t have it together, either. i’m talking about charismatic, entertaining performers completely capable of pleasing an audience, but constantly running into the problem of not having enough people bothering to even show up and give them a chance. going to shows costs money and time, and there are plenty of legit excuses from parenthood to employment to a tight budget to make the decision not to go out. it gets kind of infuriating, though, when tribute shows prove that there is an audience out there with ample time and money, but they would sincerely rather not bother trying something new.

Fun blog.

“Into the Sea, Baby You And Me”, an arctic cruise from Maine to Newfoundland presided over by the Lovecats, Canada’s finest tribute to The Cure.

i was strongly tempted to call the tribute act “The LoveCanucks”, but that seemed to be tossing too much in there.