Posted on 12/27/2022 6:27:56 AM PST by DoodleBob
IN THE LAST few years, CJ Strock, a talent agent who worked with the later incarnation of the Allman Brothers Band, faced an unusual dilemma. As seen in catalog and merch sales, a market still existed for the Allmans, their quintessentially Southern rock & roll, and their improvisational live shows, but the band itself didn’t exist: They formally gave their last performances in 2014, and Gregg Allman died of liver cancer three years later.
With an eye toward introducing new fans to the band, Strock had an idea — essentially a new Allmans... Thus was born “The Allman Brothers Band Presents Trouble No More” — as it’s billed on concert tickets and posters — a multiracial, eight-piece ensemble that plays the band’s repertoire but, thanks to the approval of the Allman Brothers estate, isn’t just a tribute band...
...
Age, death, and retirement have taken their tolls in classic rock, leaving many heritage groups — the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Eagles, the Temptations, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan and ska legends the Skatalites among them — with only one or two founders in their lineups. In many of those cases, the audiences are still there, eager to hear the hits and see a legendary band onstage no matter who’s in the lineup: The Stones, Eagles, and Dead & Co. were in the top five grossing tours of 2021, pulling in a combined $225 million.
Johnny Van Zant, who took over the frontman role in Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1987, 10 years after the death of his older brother Ronnie, has witnessed that devotion firsthand. He says he’s watched fans bring the ashes of their loved ones to the front barriers near the lip of the stage at their shows.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...
I saw The Who at Bethel Woods (the site of Woodstock). They can still play, but they aren't jumping around like they used to. Once Pete and Rog are gone, The Who is done IMHO.
The devotion to Skynyrd is borderline DSM-5.
Well, there’s the Abba model of not using real people and playing recordings over the speakers.
“The devotion to Skynyrd is borderline DSM-5.”
My biggest problem with the current Skynyrd band is that all of their new music is a cheap imitation of the original.
I enjoyed rock concerts when I was ages 15 to 21, especially with all the brilliant innovation in the 60s. Then they got boring. And more boring. And all the music sounded alike and nothing ever changed.
I use Spotify to find and listen to innovative, comparatively unknown and young folk and Americana music. Often the bands have a few smaller “hits” but then their signature sound gets repetitive. But there is some amazing music that can be found.
Mick, Keith, and Ronnie have always rotated outside musicians on their tours, as have most of the other groups.
Yes, they sorely miss Charlie, but it’s not a shell of the original group, by a long shot. Still a great show.
Yep, many of these geriatric rockers (Kiss, Motley Crew, etc.) are just lip synching to backing tracks
A friend saw that same concert, said it was great.
Age, death, and retirement have taken their tolls in classic rock, leaving many heritage groups — the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Eagles, the Temptations, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steely Dan and ska legends the Skatalites among them — with only one or two founders in their lineups.
I'd also add the Beach Boys to this list.
I think it’s sad what has happened to music over the past few decades.
I understand that there is “good stuff out there”. But the concept of music trends sweeping the globe “British Invasion” or “Punk” or “New Wave” or even “Grunge” just seems like a thing of the past. No big trends. No huge bands. No huge concerts. It’s now a bit of a treasure hunt through the garage sale that internet music has become.
And, few people sit and really listen to music. They used to. Now, it’s a soundtrack to their lives. They have headphones at the gym, while shopping, while working. People don’t like to be alone and attentive. They need to be distracted by something while they do something else — often to avoid doing something else entirely. I don’t want to think about anything at all. Maroon 5 will do.
Some still do pretty well. Michael McDonald lost his high notes but is still fun to see with the Doobies. Donald Fagan doesn't sing that well but the concerts are still good as they get great back-ups. Rod Stewart still does a good show, as does Steve Miller and a few others I have seen recently.
I couldn’t name a single current rock band. It’s all rap, country or rhythm.
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At most a band has about 5 years of relevance before they become a nostalgia act. Most of these bands had about 3-4 great albums with the rest being meh, but that’s what they live on.
😂. Well, this septugenerian (sp) is playing a four hour ‘pre new year’ gig Friday night. We may even play some stuff folks remember. Keepv rockin’ and happy New Year. 🎸🔊🎤
It's possible to live on a single hit, which is amazing. Anyone with 3-4 great albums is a hall of famer.
We saw Foreigner in November, without Mick Jones. Similar model they described here. Longtime band members but no originals. They were fine, but at some point, none of these bands are those bands. I’m running out of concerts to be able to go to.
Holographs.
Journey found a new lead in Manila. That’s the future replace the dead and keep rockin. Hard to replace nagger and some others
As I rant from time to time, there IS great new music. I go to Bandcamp to find new music. What the Sony et al want us to think is good, sucks bigly. Bandcamp has a searchable front end where you can find quality, unsigned new music in whatever genre you want.
Going further, commerce works. Get off yer assez, go out to a bar/club, plunk down $10 for a cover charge and hear 4 bands play their guts out. Two bands will suck. One will be ok. But then you'll find that one band that blows your socks off, and renews your hope in youth and humanity...you just then buy their merch because capitalism.
All of, in some way, is a nod to what Zappa said in 1988:
Q: Do you think that's a reason why guitar is becoming less of a prominent instrument in pop today? Do you think other people are experiencing what you're experiencing?
FZ: Well, pop music is not the end of the world. There's a whole substructure of what they call pop music which is heavy metal, in which the guitar rules. And that's never going to change. That's a style that's probably going to be with us until hell freezes over, to use a rock and roll term. But if you're talking about Whitney Houston, that other kind of pop music, they try to keep those blasphemous elements out of it. There's nothing AOR or MOR about a fuzz-tone guitar. They try to make the orchestration on those songs as neutral and comfortable as possible. And I think the listening public is, to a certain extent, deceived by what is broadcast. Because what is broadcast is not necessarily an accurate indication of what people are writing or recording. Now, what usually goes on the radio is the most banal product that every record company can manage to put together. In the United States, radio truly is a cultural embarrassment. The only creative radio you can listen to is what they call shock radio, where people are talking and making things up. There's a little spark of creativity there. But most of the music that's broadcast is harmful to your mental health.
Good point. I certainly think that is the case. Some have had longer windows of relevance, such as The Who and Rolling Stones.
Have to Stones really made a good album since Exile?
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