Swindled!
January 1, 2014
I promised long ago I would never write about a bad band. It's not worth it. I'm invited to a lot of events to see and hear somebody's 'act.' I try to maintain a sense of decorum and objectivity about what I'm witnessing, or mostly what I've paid my own money to see. This is the entertainment business. People are suitably entertained with entertainment forms that might not entertain me. I'm rankled when something is advertised as bluegrass and I come to find out what I'm witnessing has nothing to do with bluegrass. So call me Hard Core. I witnessed a band last night (they shall go un-named) at a place (which shall go un-named) because it wouldn't be fair to either the band or the venue to bring my sophomoric attempt at music criticism down upon either of them. The only thing I could think about while watching this debacle last night was Justice Potter Stewart's famous comment about trying to define pornography: "I know it when I see it." What I was watching and listening to didn't come anywhere near to the easiest definition of what constitutes bluegrass music. There were people up on stage with the right instruments but I've witnessed better musicianship (far better!) at local jams and house parties. The group played one song the whole set that came a tad close to being a "bluegrass" song. If I gave you the title, then people would figure out who the band is. I won't give the title of the song. I had enough and felt forced to get up and leave. It was too embarrassing. I had two distinct feelings rising up in my gullet: It was a slap in the face of bluegrass music and someone got suckered into paying these people to perform in public. A lot of other people got up and left, too, so I didn't feel so badly about voting with my feet. Maybe they were bluegrass fans like me, or maybe like me, they weren't being entertained with this spectacle. Another reason I had to leave is because for the first time in my life since I've been going to bluegrass live performances I felt like booing these people. I could see our local headlines on New Year's Day: "Crazed Vietnam Veteran Goes Berserk at Bad Bluegrass Performance!" Here's the part that really angered me: out of all the great local players I know who need to be on a stage sharing their gifts with the rest of the world and need the money, these inept, non-entertainer, non-musicians took their place and got the bread.
Ed. Thank you. I totally understand what you're saying and I'm glad somebody did say it! I've seen way too many people playing what they call "bluegrass" and it's no where near the right ballpark. It frustrates me! Besides some people may see it and not know better, and decide "I don't like bluegrass" without having heard bluegrass. People can play anything they want...but don't tell me it's bluegrass! And I too wish that the bad groups would leave more jobs for the good ones. Keep writing!
ReplyDeleteDave Bageant
Thanks, Dave. That's the sorrow. Somebody paid these people and the audience and the people who hired them got swindled, while there is so much more talent out there in the talent pool that really needs (and deserves) the money.
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