stage presence

Sound Off!

Apr 022012

This one goes to zero!

Rock Town Hall has a long and honored tradition of rock video analysis, with Townspeople often incorporating the distinctive technique of commenting on videos with the sound off. In honor of alexmagic‘s recent analysis of a video of Tom Jones performing with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, we are instituting a new feature, Sound Off!

The way a Sound Off! thread works is simple:

A video is posted for us to view with the sound off.
We comment on what we’re seeing with the sound off.
We most likely share in the sense of wonder that there’s much to learn about music with the sound off.

You will be entrusted to view the following video with the sound off. If we could disable the video’s sound we would, but something tells me the copyright holder of the video might object to that. Trust us, for the purposes of this thread the sound will get in the way. Beside, you may be viewing this at work, in which case coworkers will only be distbured by your giggles; you won’t have to worry about the artist’s music leaking into their cube.

After the jump, why don’t you turn the sound off and watch the following video!

Sound Off!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 162012

This one goes to zero!

The way a Sound Off! thread works is simple:

A video is posted for us to view with the sound off.
We comment on what we’re seeing with the sound off.
We most likely share in the sense of wonder that there’s much to learn about music with the sound off.

After the jump, why don’t you turn the sound off and watch the following video!

Stumbling In: The Best Artist You Just Happened to Catch in Concert

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Mar 092012

Here’s a topic I picked up from Facebook friend yesterday: Who’s the best artist (solo or band) you just happened to catch in concert? I’m talking about an artist you knew nothing about but simply stumbled into seeing as an opener, as a chance encounter on a night out with friends, or whatever?

My answer is The Embarrassment, a band I’d never heard of but saw as the first of 3 bands on a Public Image Ltd show in Chicago in 1981 or 1982. The Embarrassment were these nerdy guys with Oxford shirts, sweaters, and horn-rimmed glasses who put on a short set of incredibly high-energy, guitar-driven, fun (and funny) pop songs. They blew away the next band on the bill, The Effigies, and gave PiL (with John Lydon and Keith Levene playing half the set offstage, in the wings) a run for their money. In the early days of Nerd Rock, The Embarrassment delivered Nerd Rock at its finest!

A few years later I’d see Big Dipper for the first time and realize that the familiar-looking high-octane guitarist/singer from that band was Bill Goffrier, from The Embarrassment!

The Thick-Thighed Rock Squat (aka The Snuffaluffagus)

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Feb 222012

Rock Squat!

I’ve been sitting on this Rock Town Hall Glossary entry for some time. As the following video clip that alexmagic posted in a recent thread as evidence of Crazy Horse‘s complete lack of “schau” (Lach Schau?) demonstrates, maybe the definition is right in front of our eyes.

The Thick-Thighed Rock Squat, or Snuffaluffagus, as practiced by Neil Young and his mates in Crazy Horse; Shane Fontayne, that Lone Justice/post-E Street Band Springsteen guitarist; and countless middle-aged, weekend warrior bar band guitarists feeling a bit uncomfortable about the act of performing in front of people while sporting a youth-defying gut and ill-fitting jeans, is an awkward, self-conscious form of “hunkering down” during solos and other key instrumental sections.

In contrast to more self-absorbed rock guitarists’ glamorous windmills, leaps, scissor kicks, thrusts, and general crucifixations, the humble guitarist expresses thanks and praise to The Power & Glory of Rock ‘n Roll through the Rock Squat. In terms of Major League Baseball’s World Series final pitch celebrations it’s the difference between Tug McGraw‘s Reach for the Heavens Leap after through the final strike in the 1980 World Series and Brad Lidge‘s I Am Humbled by the Magnitude of This Occasion Drop to the Knees in 2008.

Dual Rock Squat!

The Rock Squat’s most endearing, emotionally charged, and manly formation is the Full-Band Rock Squat, which you can see Neil and hit mates entering on the cover of Year of the Horse. There’s nothing like seeing the Horse lumber around like mastadons! You can see how, in rock stage presence developmental history, the Full-Band Squat is a stone’s throw to Rock ‘n Roll Iwo Jima.

Science!

Posted by hrrundivbakshi

Feb 062012

Now that’s some cool stagecraft! What was the last great integration of technology or gadgetry you saw at a rock and roll show? Conversely, what was the worst deployment of technology in the service of Rock you ever witnessed on stage?

I look forward to your responses.

HVB

The Unclenching

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 192011

Here’s a clip I’ve been keeping watch for on YouTube for some time: Van Morrison and Sinead O’Connor with The Chieftans on Letterman. I never paid much attention to O’Connor during her hairless peak, but she’s more worth a few minutes of my time when she’s got hair on the top of her head. I like Morrison a lot, so the night I was watching Letterman and saw them come out together my index finger lifted from the remote control.

I’m not a great fan of “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You.” It’s like Morrison’s “Perfect Day” in the Lou Reed catalog: played to death, easy to digest, sentimental, overpraised, and musically not that gripping to my ears. In this performance, however, I loved watching the contrast of O’Connor trying to stick to the song’s script like a devout fangirl while the song’s author scats inappropriately and generally seems intent on throwing her off course. In the closing moments Van takes it to the limit, and we witness The Unclenching.

Winter Wonderland

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Dec 172011

I encourage you to watch this clip of Johnny Winter playing “Rock ‘n Roll Hootchie Koo.” Watch it all the way through. Pay close attention to Winter and the surrounding scene. Enjoy the wonder of it all. Share your feelings on some of the most wonderful moments.

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