Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
The question after Soul Asylum’s gig Wednesday night at Metro wasn’t, “How were they?” but rather, “Why did they play there?” Longtime fans were treated to a solid, if unspectacular, 95-minute set from the formidable Minneapolis-based rock group. But it wasn’t that long ago that the band seemed destined for a brighter future and was sharing headlining status at outdoor festival shows.
As U2 comes to Chicago this weekend, the band finds itself in an unusual position: insisting that a tour that has sold 2 million tickets isn’t a failure.
For the first time Saturday night, James Iha and D’Arcy weren’t the center of attention. The Smashing Pumpkins musicians, acting as emcees, stood together at the mike, preparing to welcome the evening’s headliner at Metro. Before they could finish their introduction, however, the Frogs walked onstage, dressed in their typically flamboyant costumes.
The Smashing Pumpkins will head to Europe on Wednesday for a two-week tour of festival shows. But before they pack their bags, bassist D’Arcy and guitarist James Iha – half of the Chicago-based group – will co-host a Saturday night showcase for Scratchie Records, the label they helped create.
Michael Brandmeier learned early on that if you want to make it in the music business, you need to adapt to survive. As a student at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, he joined a band called the Changes, which was heavy on cover versions of ballads.
It was a surreal sight Saturday at the New World Music Theatre. By 4:30 p.m. – three hours after the Revelations of Alternative Rhythms (R.O.A.R.) Festival started – there were only 150 people inside the Tinley Park enormodome. This is a venue that seats 30,000 fans. On the plus side, there were no lines for the restrooms or concessions. But the event felt more like a backyard barbecue than a big-time rock show.
Trace Adkins isn’t your average country music star. The 6-foot-6 baritone has hosted a cooking special. Granted, it was a cowboy cook-off, but still … He also was a guest voice on “King of the Hill” and acted in the sitcom “Yes, Dear.” And, oh yes, he released two albums in the last year — “Trace Adkins, Greatest Hits Collection, Volume 1” (Capitol) and “Comin’ On Strong” (Capitol) — and headed into the studio this week to record another.
If some of the teenage fans at Q101’s Jamboree 97 were a little distracted Sunday at the New World Music Theatre, it was understandable. Rather than basking in the sun at the first major outdoor concert of the summer, the kids huddled under blankets as if they were at a football game or, more often than not, shivered in their summer shorts and T-shirts. (The cruelest joke was that many had more clothes in their cars, but they weren’t allowed to leave the venue to get them.)
In Great Britain, Oasis isnt just any band–it is the band. To get a perspective of how popular they are in their homeland, check this out: The five-man group from Manchester performed two nights at Englands Knebworth Park to more than 250,000 people. It was the largest audience for any single band in Britain.
The most coveted item at rock shows isn’t a pair of decent earplugs. It’s the backstage pass. We want those round (or square, or triangular) stick-on adhesive passes that are our entree into rock ‘n’ roll nirvana for the same reason we want Porsches, 15-carat diamond engagement rings and brainy significant others who are dead ringers for supermodels. We covet what we can’t have.