ThinkSoJoE note: this here is another one of those “Lost articles,” so named because it was only available for a brief period on stupid5pin.net. Here it is in it’s entirety, written late last June following The Violent Femme’s performance at Buffalo’s Thursday at the Square concert series.
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Do not misconstrue this. I am 25 years old and I do not think that I’m “too old” to go to concerts. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do. That being said, I’ve grown to dislike free outdoor concerts. A lot of this article/column/whatever is based on my experience at a performance of The Violent Femmes at the Buffalo, NY summer concert series, “Thursday At The Square.”
First, the people. People will go to anything if they don’t have to pay for it. Today, I saw a gentleman that had to at least be in his 50s at an alternative rock concert, and he was mockingly pointing out to his wife the kids with multi-colored hair. “Oh, look at that one, he’s got blue hair! Hahaha!” Note to this guy – You’re at a Violent Femmes show, you are the odd one here, not them.
Another example, a couple of older ladies next to me, not quite as old as the gentleman making fun of the alt rock kids, but still older than most of the people there, were having a discussion. One lady asked the other, “so, do you like this band?”
“Eh, they’re alright.”
The problem here is, you can be sure that they weren’t the only ones. The place was swarming with people who didn’t care for the music and were only there because it was a free outdoor activity in downtown Buffalo.
Then there’s the lady behind me who, three songs into the Femmes’ set, was screaming “BLISTER IN THE SUN!!!” First and foremost, bands have these things called setlists. They have the names of the songs they will be performing during their set, listed in the order that they are going to play them. Somehow, I think after 20 years that The Violent Femmes didn’t all of a sudden accidentally leave their biggest hit off of it. Besides, it’s only 8PM, the band will be on until 9PM, and if they play “Blister In The Sun” now, most of these people would leave early. Actually, that may not have been a bad idea…
And then, there’s the tall people. If you’re 6′5″, please get out of the way of the 5′8″ guy behind you. This was my view of the majority of the Femmes’ set:
Tall bastard at the Square
Yeah. I could see. Really.
So, since the tall guy was in the way, I decided to look around at some of the fashion around the Square. Pretty much the usual summer look for the square people, but I did notice one disturbing trend. Those giant sunglasses that are apparently back in style for girls. A lot of them were wearing them. I thought that fad would’ve burnt out by now. They look absolutely ridiculous. I also saw an old guy with a mullet and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt. Give it up, Don Johnson. I doubt that look even worked for you in the 70’s.
Note to our female readers – wear underwear if you’re going to wear low rise jeans. Not that I mind seeing the ass crack of an attractive female, but I’m sure you don’t really want that kind of attention. Besides, with the advent of camera phones, those kind of things will inevitably end up on the internet:
Girl's ass crack at the Square
Speaking of asses, don’t be an asshole. While I’d prefer that you find a spot you’re happy with and stay there for the duration of the show like I do, I understand sometimes you’d like to move and get a better view of the show. Don’t be a dick about it. This one guy pushed his way past me without saying a word, which I really didn’t care about, but then did the same to the girl standing in front of me, who was standing up on a curb. She fell into me, so I kicked the guy in his ass to defend her honor! Yeah, because I’m a gentleman.
Other than all the idiots at the show that really shouldn’t have been there, it was a really good time. The Femmes put on a hell of a show and I hope to have the opportunity to see them again in the future. I think I’ll stand up front the next time – which will leave me the opportunity to write about chronic crowd surfers.
Tags: 50s, Alternative Rock, Array, Blister In The Sun, Blue Hair, Buffalo Ny, Colored Hair, Favorite Things, Free Concerts, Free Outdoor Concerts, Fun Kids, Gentleman, Music, Names, Odd, Older Ladies, One Lady, People, Rock Kids, Summer Concert Series, Three Songs, Violent Femmes