Great music saves Yahoo! Tour
By Trond M. Vagen
Daily Forty-Niner
On an evening plagued by heavy rain and
fascist concert guards, Smash Mouth and Luscious Jackson rode in to save
the day on a chariot of happy music.
The Yahoo! Outloud Tour made only one stop
in Los Angeles, on a day most people didn't venture out of their houses
due to a rainfall of biblical proportions. Those who did stay
home didn't miss very much.
Headlining the tour was Smash Mouth with
Luscious Jackson as its opening act. This was the only part of the tour
that was worth the money.
The tour had more sponsors than a race
car driver's jacket, and the Hollywood Palladium was lined with booths
from sponsors showing off their merchandise.
The organizers found it necessary to inform
the public that doors opened at 6:30 p.m., so that people would have to
wait for the real music to start while being bombarded with free Doritos.
Luscious Jackson did a fair opening show,
but unfortunately not good enough to shake the image of a one-hit band.
That hit, "Naked Eye," was duly performed toward the middle of the band's
35-minute set, and although some of the other songs were good, none of
them enticed the audience in any manner.
An interlude of commercial sponsors giving
away free stuff and a noisy emcee in a ridiculous silver costume followed.
The half-full Palladium was filled with an unnerving silence as the audience
quietly bought refreshments or got more free bags of Doritos.
The organizers apparently felt the need
to turn on the lights between every set to make sure that every ounce of
a good concert experience was stripped from the spectator.
Smash Mouth was the only highlight of this
dreary day and used its extensive repertoire of happy music to finally
bring some life into the crowd.
A feisty "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby"
opened the act and with songs such as "All Star" and "Then The Morning
Comes," the audience woke up from the lull and a refreshing spirit settled
over the concert hall.
From this point on, the evening was no
longer about shameless promotion of merchandise; it had become a tribute
to live music.
That good vibe rung through the air and
touched people inside, forgiving in many people's hearts the ruthlessness
of the guards, who weren't going to let you in until they had thrown at
least half of your belongings away, and the two hours of horrible waiting
that had preceded the catalytic Smash Mouth act. |
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