Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Jersey Boys on Sub Pop

Discussing with my friend Jasmine if there is anything at Sub Pop we'd like to listen to. When did Sub Pop become an adult contemporary label? Srsly. I was wondering if that comment was justified, until I came across a 7" released last month of J Mascis doing an Edie Brickell cover. I can't talk too much shit, so many of my favorite bands right now are definitely AAA (that's Adult Album Alternative for those of you who could care less about industry jargon).

So we saw Jersey Boys at the Forrest Theater in Philadelphia tonight. The minute I looked at the price on my ticket I started thinking about why professional theater is so valued when live music is not. The same fucking show every night, the same songs, the same story, the same staging. I'm sure the price is partially set by unions, but the fact that people were willing to buy every seat but the view obstructed? How many rock shows do I go to with an obstructed view? I'm 5' so I've just given up...wishlist item, platform mary janes . 

Anyway, the audience looked like the audience you see on a PBS folk reunion concert. Lots of people in their 60s mouthing the words. I'm sure it was intentional to make the music seem timeless, but I could not put together a timeline of when the events were occurring. It was good to put together "this is the catalog of the Four Seasons and these are the significant events in their career" but it's always sad to see the exploitative side of the music industry shown.

I never thought that Sean Tollefson was influenced by Frankie Valli until tonight.








No comments: