Roxy Music Live - S/D

to emsworth above: The last great big venue shows I remember seeing were in the early 00s. Prince (Musicology tour, twice) was excellent and Yes (30th or 35th anniversary with the classic lineup) were outstanding.

xp i always thought it was cool that Zev Katz threw in a little quotation from ‘Lover’ at the end of ‘Oh Yeah’ - it’s one of my very fave Roxy songs so to hear it acknowledged (I’m assuming it was intentional)

(non-xp the stones were another band who i saw around then and seemed to be in good mid-career form - and playing some interesting stuff like Can’t You Hear Me Knockin and Stray Cat Blues

i say mid-career form but at the time i was of the mind, “see all these veteran acts now cos they can’t possibly keep doing this much longer” - now 20 years later they’re mostly still doing it with diminishing returns - and some sad losses - so that little early 2000s period does look sweet)

(a caveat, I saw Neil Young again 10-12 years later on the Psychedelic Pill tour and he was even better than 2001!)

The Who’s 1999-2000 tours were an unexpected peak for them. Entwistle and Townshend were on fire — I’ve shown videos of Townshend solos from these shows to casual Who fans who all said, “When did he start playing like that?!” — and Zak Starkey really drove the band. Daltrey struggled with range occasionally, but longtime fans who’d seen them throughout the years called their ‘99-‘00 shows better than any since ‘76…or ‘71. The setlists were unpredictable, with a number of songs that hadn’t been played in years (or decades — “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” “The Kids Are Alright,” and in 1999 their last “Happy Jack”). They didn’t take advantage of this momentum to make a studio record, so in that sense it was a missed opportunity, but fortunately the tours were well-documented. It was arguably the last-best time to have seen them.

Yeah, someone was sharing their 9/11 tribute show, and I forgot that not only was Entwistle still with them, they were playing as a fierce five piece.

Anyway, I finally bought my Roxy tickets. About $80 each with fees on Seatgeek, in an area currently greyed out on Ticketmaster (that until a week or so ago had plenty of tickets for $85, plus fees). Hopefully we get upgraded!

Caveat: I wouldn't have called Bowie a legacy act in 2002-2004.

No, but it was something of a comeback tour. Two well-received more or less "return to form" albums (produced by Visconti, no less) and once again playing the hits. The tour I saw him on before that was opening for Moby, iirc.

In some ways there were a lot of parallels with Prince's "Musicology" tour, a comeback tour from an act that never really went away.

I could have seen Bowie at one of those two shows...was opening for Moby the outdoor show (maybe Moby's Area festival) where it was like half or mostly empty? I remember reading about that from Greg Kot and it sounded shameful - like Bowie deserved more and he still gave it his all.

Anyway, one of my biggest regrets ever was not going. To save "money" because concerts were supposed to be too much of a luxury. Ugh.

yeah I regret not going to that tour since he did Low in entirety. but it was at a shitty venue and I didn't care to see Moby and probably didn't have the money. I'm really glad I went to the Reality tour. it was at the high school theater! Unbelievable.

I was at the Miami show in 2004 when the roadie fell to his death.

Project canceled.

Yeah, it was the Area show. (I may have even been there with Kot, lol). Bowie didn't do Low in its entirety, but he did play a couple of deep cuts from it - "Breaking Glass," "A New Career in a New Town." I could have sworn he did "Sound and Vision," too, but maybe not. The 2003 show at Madison Square Garden I saw had more "hits," iirc, including stuff like "Under Pressure" and "All the Young Dudes."

I'm really glad I went to the MSG show: acoustics were not bad at all; St Vincent, as many of you have said, has what it takes to command that space (despite its problems, no performer can deny that to play there, even as opener, means something more than arenas elsewhere); the band, particularly Thompson, who didn't make the RRHoF gig cuz of arthritis, sounded quite good, and Ferry's ruminative croak and the key changes thus necessitated didn't bother me at all, unlike 2018 at the Beacon… I saw quite a lot people under 40 who were dressed up and psyched…

1. In the first couple of rows, like 20 or so guys (probly all guys) were visible throwing fists and shouting the lyrics back at the band during the post-"then you blew my mind" crescendo of "Dream Home Heartache," like it was, I dunno, Slayer or Rush or some much nerdier or aggro rock band than this one…

2. I don't understand the affection for "Editions of You," which seems a first, inferior draft of "All I Want is you," but I do understand the affection for the very shitty "Oh Yeah," superior only to "Cry Cry Cry" and transparently an instance of Ferry thinking to himself "The americans will love this song about driving in cars and listening to a song on the radio." One song each from Country life and Siren, and none AT ALL from Stranded = not as good a show as I'd want. The 2001 Theatre at MSG show had lots from those trhee, but I got too fucked up to properly enjoy it.

I'm not an "Oh Yeah" fan either.

My confession is that I don't particularly like "Dream Home/Heartache," relative to the other stuff from that era. I think the broad affection for all the later stuff in general is why they can't make more room for Country Life through Siren, even though, ironically, that stuff is pretty muscular and imo better suited to an arena than "Avalon."

Those albums broke Roxy in America; they should honor them.

Caveat: I wouldn't have called Bowie a legacy act in 2002-2004.

I wouldn't now - in hindsight he's clearly on the upward trajectory towards regaining his full creative powers on Blackstar - but think he maybe was to most of the audience at that time - and he is embracing the legacy himself (was this something to do with needing to keep Bowie Bonds viable - I think maybe it was lol) - after the creatively searching 90s (including "retiring" the back catalogue in 1990), Glastonbury 2000 seemed to pretty intentionally signal "the David Bowie you like is back"... and then yeah, as someone mentioned, the reunion with Visconti, PR deliberately linking Low with Heathen, etc -I like Heathen and Reality a lot, and the material from those LPs was a very strong component of the Reality tour shows I saw - but the setlists were very carefully constructed on the basis that "we understand that you can only hear two songs you don't know before you need to hear Fame or Under Pressure" - with a carefully judged handful of deep cuts for the faithful - kind of exactly the kind of canny playing to his strengths I was talking about - it was actually a masterclass in structuring a big show like that IMO

anyway sorry for Roxy derail!

Good post!

As a fan who adored 1. Outside, liked much of Earthling, and watched him regain his American cred in the late '90s, Heathen and Reality played like culminations, especially the latter, which at the time I liked more for being the loosey-goosey relaxed album Tonight wasn't.

Pardon the chart talk, but it is curious that Country Life was their US breakthrough (#37) despite having no charting single, whereas Siren did have a big hit on it but the album charted lower than Country Life.

I never thought much of "Oh Yeah," but if I think about it as a throwaway, it's a very pleasant throwaway, the kind of thing that would've been nice as a soundtrack contribution.

And I f-ing LOVE "Editions of You," that was a highlight of the show.

I also with regards the show visuals, I kinda loved that final image of a drive-in full of cars, and they're all watching the road passing by, on the big-screen, in grain black & white like a European arthouse movie in the '50s (whereas the cars and drive-in are all in color and evoking American '50s culture).

*in grainy black & white

"Oh Yeah" was my least-favourite song they performed at their 2001 concert, but I remember thinking that they made it fit in with songs I preferred. They made a case for it belonging in the set.

I saw St. Vincent in 2014 and was impressed; I wonder if opening for another, older act at this point is humbling (if probably pretty lucrative). The stage business that people are describing sounds like "acting out".

it is curious that Country Life was their US breakthrough

It's a pretty deadpan joke - "country life, get it, here's a forest".

Pardon the chart talk, but it is curious that Country Life was their US breakthrough (#37) despite having no charting single, whereas Siren did have a big hit on it but the album charted lower than Country Life.

― Josefa, Thursday, September 15, 2022 4:57 PM (thirty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Chart Geek Me noticed it too when I discovered Roxy. The latter even sports their only top 40 hit in America.

It's payola.

1. In the first couple of rows, like 20 or so guys (probly all guys) were visible throwing fists and shouting the lyrics back at the band during the post-"then you blew my mind" crescendo of "Dream Home Heartache," like it was, I dunno, Slayer or Rush or some much nerdier or aggro rock band than this one…

I was in the 10th row, and at least where I was, it was definitely not all guys throwing fists at the end section of “Heartache.” The audience-unison “but you blew my mind” is Roxy’s equivalent to “it’s only teenage wasteland!”

And I f-ing LOVE "Editions of You," that was a highlight of the show.

Seconded. The studio version is easily one of my favorites of theirs, and one of the keyboardists really had fun with the synth solo.

Those albums broke Roxy in America; they should honor them.

I think the setlist was designed around what Ferry is currently most comfortable and capable of singing more than anything else. The Avalon songs aren’t nearly as demanding on his voice — especially in terms of exertion and projection — as pretty much anything from Stranded (except maybe “Sunset,” which would’ve been wonderful to hear).

he probably could've pulled off "amazona"

I've seen him three times and the moment when he runs/walks/hobbles to his Farfisa for his solo remains a thrill.

I have to say I love Oh Yeah. Just owning the schmaltz of it. Heard it in a supermarket once and was surprised. I didn’t realize it was that popular, never hear anything other than Love is the Drug in any kind of mainstream context, and it just sounded really good in that supermarket.

just listened to "oh yeah" for the first time in a while and i liked it more than i remembered, like if the pina colada song were good or something

i was happy to hear "same old scene" though, that song kicks ass

“Same Old Scene” my absolute favorite, transcendent even with Ferry singing some of it lower.

I listened to The Complete Studio Recordings yesterday and Flesh + Blood was surprisingly better than I remembered - lightweight but very pleasant stuff. ("Over You" is pretty amazing, it sounds like it was made for teen movies that would soon flood the '80s.)

Manifesto was pretty disappointing though. I enjoyed listening to the singles in isolation on the bonus discs, especially "Angel Eyes" which was completely re-done.

The remaining six are all great.

I like the best songs on Manifesto a lot especially the title track. Trash and the rock version of Angel Eyes which I only heard years after knowing the single version. But the rest is their most spotty for sure.

STILL FALLS THE RAIN

Manifesto is the only post-hiatus album I’ve heard, and yeah, it’s pretty disappointing, especially given Thompson’s involvement. The lack of Paul on the remaining two records is why I’ve never given them a fair shot, though I do like the Avalon hits. But the general agitated quality of the first six records (I’m counting Viva!) is missing completely from the later ones. It feels like a different band; not an awful band or anything, just one too far removed from what I loved about them.

STILL FALLS THE RAIN

Welp Siren, Manifesto, and Avalon all worked for me as their idea of the new mainstream, para-everything else that was going on there, and with a mid70s-as-hell toward and into early 80s, w/o seeming too trendy, just increasingly smoov,catchy, romantically pessimistic to new-married hopeful, reasonably committed to being good in the late night hotel bar-to-supermarket-to-drugstore. Not the creative peaks, but ageing or aging gracefully

Manifesto's the only Roxy album that exists in its own space. It has nothing much to do with its successors: it's Roxy's attempt at an L.A. studio rock album with disco overtones -- say, Ned Doheny or Nicolette Larson.

Part of what makes "Dance Away" work like hell is how it sounds like Player or Doobie Brothers but those dissonances -- the bass part, Manzanera's guitar parts -- keep interfering.

I could say a lot in defence of Manifesto, but one thing that pleases me is that Ferry is writing break-up songs with a sense of humour rather than the usual brooding. It's like the dark clouds of The Bride Stripped Bare have receded for awhile.

Dow OTM re: Manifesto as their idea of the new mainstream. The title track is one of their best lp openers, and all of side one is great.

Did Pell Mell cop Rhyming Guitars from the chorus?

i've always thought Manifesto was stronger than Flesh & Blood - which is pretty strong for a band's weakest LP - just lose the covers etc

maybe they couldn't get the F&B track listing to work but spare a thought for 'Lover' - surely one of the best songs ever squandered on a b-side (and the Miami Vice soundtrack LP) - really nails the perfectly languid drift of their late sound (which feels like it has roots in the middle section of If There Is Something?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQA-oIbjbr4

F&B, their weakest album, is interesting: I can hear on tracks like "Rain Rain Rain" Ferry figuring out how to use synths (its loping quasi-reggae rhythm anticipates where Brit electrofunk would go by at least four years). Maybe their greatest run of singles ("Over You," "Same Old Scene," "Oh Yeah" [ugh]) but weakest album tracks.

I've always thought of "Flesh + Blood" as essentially a transitional Ferry solo album. His previous solo albums more or less reflected the sound and weirdness of Roxy (whose members always featured), and then along comes "The Bride Stripped Bare," which is the first solo Ferry with all session dudes, setting the stage for slickness to come. You get to "Manifesto," then particularly "Flesh + Blood," and that plus "Avalon" is basically the template for the all session dude era Ferry to come. Which is cool, because after a decade of doing new wave before there was a new wave ("Over You" is basically Roxy hearing the Cars doing Roxy and saying hold my martini), Ferry skips ahead once again to the '80s and makes everyone else play catch-up.

(I mean, "Flesh + Blood" *is* 1980, but unlike a lot of records from the time it actually sounds like that decade and not a remnant of the '70s.)

#1 twice in the UK at the dawn of the Blitz era

Yeah the high points on F+B are amazing but otherwise it's their only half-assed album (TWO covers!).