Tuesday, October 31, 2006

The Good Weekend...(2)

LIVE.

Ed’s a bit of a hippie these days but I still think he’s hot. And even though we cringed inside when he asked us to come together and spread a psychic love energy, [This is Africa Ed (you reminded usJ, Jo-han-nesburg ) you have to be careful how you spread that love] the guitar riff into Lakini’s Juice was a saving grace, the electric spasm reaching into the gut and ribbing it, unlike anything else.

Some of the worth-mentionings on the setlist (which, according to Ed of Hotness, was thrown out and Live played by gut, mood and heart. The band spanned their discography and served up some true classics): All Over You, Dolphin’s Cry, Lightning Crashes, They Stood Up For Love, Run To The Water, Beauty Of Grey, Shit Towne, I Alone, Iris, Selling The Drama.

The lyrics that stuck like sticky stuff into the next morning:
“The stillness in your eyes convinces me that I don’t know a thing”
“We spend all of our lives, going out of our minds, looking back to our births, forward to our demise”

(Electric Spaghetti goes cryptic)…They ended with Dance With You. I knew before we even got there, before the rain turned us to sponge and dampened our tickets, that I would think of him when that played. A favourite, he knew the lyrics, and in that febrile merger of voices, I wondered if his was there too. After Insignificant, it was difficult to listen to Live without slipping into fugues of karmic-questioning. But you make a certain peace by revisiting that which pulled you to pieces, and while I can not say that the dents have been completely panelbeated, the engine’s still good.

Queen Lestat thought the last song was a schmaltzy way to end. True to her vampiric mien, those paranormal eyes pulled me out of a crowd of thousands. Well, sure, there weren’t that many brownish people around, but all she had to go on was a blogger profile pic, impressive QL.

My favourite Live anecdote to tell is the one on how I got the lyrics to Dolphins Cry a little wrong. I would swear that Ed was saying “These crazy folks arouse me, you wrap your legs around me,” until I saw what was written on the album inset, “This crazy fog surrounds me, you wrap your legs around me”. Now, I’m not unusually gutter-minded, but I think my version fits the context better, even though Ed may not willingly admit to having a kinky edge.

Now, the quality of a concert is directly proportional to the hoarseness of throat the next day. I still sound like a tween whose voice just broke, and I believe that’s a damn good indication that Ed and the boys rocked.

8 comments:

Muhammad said...

Wow.. the whole weekend I had their stuff blasting through Durban Streets (even though it's looked down upon so close after Ramadaan).. wouldn't suffice to actually being there :)

Glad you enjoyed it :) Like the way you described the guitar riff.. WOW :)

Peace,

M.

Junaid said...

this was a really cool post. especially for those of us who missed the concert.
so...crazy folks arouse you, huh? oh well, to each his own. I'm not gonna judge u ;-)

Anonymous said...

hehe...
there u are :p

lol at the 'crazy folks arouse me'

...and one of my favourites:

'Sofia, I need ya
Like a junkie needs a vein
And I wanna feel ya, Sofia
Fallin' down on me like rain'

_x

M Junaid said...

and while I can not say that the dents have been completely panelbeated, the engine’s still good.

this line sounds strangely familiar, Live arent bad, but give me lifehouse anyday- i'm addicted to their song 'everything', and while a certain close friend might just brush it off as a link to my new found love of smallville, its not :)

J said...

Lakini's Juice reminds me of the time I fell in love with Rock. :) I think I was in the 9 to 12 age group when I heard it :) It still rocks, even now...my sis and I do the 'Compilation of our Lives' song list from to time, and Lakini's Juice always comes in somewhere...after some Take That and Metallica, lol. Hey, you cannot deny the power of Until It Sleeps and It Only Takes A Minute on one treffers met oemf! album...;)

zee said...

im still laughing about the QL and u incident...say why did u leav that bit out????????

Oh yes she told me....;)

Bilal said...

Lol-cryptisms:P

Anonymous said...

Live were average. A few amazing songs punctuated by mediocrity, come to think of it, i always did struggle to listen to a whole Live album even though i own three.

listen to Jimi Hendrix for rifts he was the king, the bench mark.
he struggled to balance genius and pathos... but he was a revoltionary, not some small town American hick.

Yes i am sore, i want some of my R200 back, but i am starved of live music.

Profane. Profound. What's your poison?