Johnny Marr

Had the good fortune to catch Johnny Marr on Tuesday night with some college buddies of mine at a very small local venue. If you’re not familiar with Marr’s work, he’s best known for having founded The Smiths in 1982, when he was just 18.  If you watch Jimmy Fallon, he was on the show last week. I’ve been to so many concerts over the years, it was refreshing to see a performance at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the high-priced arena / stadium shows that typify rock & roll tours these days.  This was a $20 General Admission show, and with no more than perhaps 200 people in the audience it was easy to be 10’ from Marr for the entire performance.  The band was amazingly tight, Marr’s guitar and vocals stellar.  At the end of the set, Marr said something to the effect of “screw waiting for the encore, let’s keep playing” and launched into a fierce version of the Sex Pistols’ classic “I Fought the Law.” Only problem was all the $3 PBRs caught up to me the next morning.








 

Looks cool, but God, I hate "Upstate Concert Hall". What a joke of a venue. I guess it's fitting that the only cool place to see bands in Clifton Park is a shitty strip mall, but I just feel sorry for the acts that have to go there when they see what they're working with. Also, the sight lines are no good, the beer is overpriced ($0.33 cents a can, those $3 PBRs are almost a 1000% markup), the vibe sucks, and I never seem to have a good time when I go there.

I miss Revolution Hall in Troy. Hell, I miss Saratoga Winners and E O'Dwyer's.

mattchuck2 wrote

Looks cool, but God, I hate "Upstate Concert Hall". What a joke of a venue. I guess it's fitting that the only cool place to see bands in Clifton Park is a shitty strip mall, but I just feel sorry for the acts that have to go there when they see what they're working with. Also, the sight lines are no good, the beer is overpriced ($0.33 cents a can, those $3 PBRs are almost a 1000% markup), the vibe sucks, and I never seem to have a good time when I go there.

I miss Revolution Hall in Troy. Hell, I miss Saratoga Winners and E O'Dwyer's.

Agreed. It's great if you're 6'6", but I'm not. When they first opened as Park West, they had tables in front of the stage, so I actually could see Johnny Winter. Mostly, I've just heard the bands I went to see. One odd memory -- seeing Collective Soul during a heat wave in 2001 when the AC was busted. Well over 100 degrees inside. Pretty gross and even more amazing that the band did not faint or get electrocuted during their set.

Revolution Hall was great. Good sight lines and acoustics and the bar was RIGHT THERE!

Very cool.

Love small venues.  One of the best 'concerts' I ever went to was when Third Eye Blind played The Chance in Poughkeepsie.  Pretty small shit bar with yes, shitty sight lines and whatnot....but what an intimate setting for a show.  Very cool.

Concert reviews in the OT!  Nice pics. Real camera?

mattchuck2 wrote

Looks cool, but God, I hate "Upstate Concert Hall".

I hear you Matt, but I really don't have a problem with it.  It is what it is.  Easy to get to, easy parking.  It's like going to Target to go shopping.  Roomy inside, though I've never been there when it's crowded. I do hate the name "Upstate Concert Hall."  To me it'll always be Northern Lights.  They don't get a ton of acts that interest me, but it's cool once every few years when they do.

mattchuck2 wrote

I miss Revolution Hall in Troy. Hell, I miss Saratoga Winners and E O'Dwyer's.

Yeah, Saratoga Winners was cool back in the day.  Too bad that guy who bought it torched it for the insurance cash.  I believe he's still in prison. Saw some good shows there: Dada, Spin Doctors, come to mind.  I had tickets to see Courtney Love.  Then about 10 days before the show Kurt Cobain blew his brains out and she cancelled the rest of her tour.  Bummer.

Harv, just cell phone pics.