Last year, I posted a blog entry on stupid5pin.net about why I hate free concerts after attending The Violent Femme’s performance at Buffalo’s Thursday at the Square. Last night, I took my first trip up to the Square since that article was written. I went to see one of my favorite local bands, klear, who were re-uniting with their original vocalist after nearly four years. They were opening up for Saliva, who are known for songs such as “Click-Click-Boom” and “Ladies and Gentlemen.”
I showed up early to the Square, because I wanted to be front and center to support my hometown boys. I get up to the front over by the guardrail, and I have some space on either side of me. So far, so good. The guys on my left are wrestling fans, which didn’t surprise me, since Saliva has been tied closely with World Wrestling Entertainment, providing the theme songs for WrestleMania X-8, WrestleMania 24, and their ECW program on Tuesday nights, not to mention a song for WWE Superstar Chris Jericho, and the current theme song of the WWE’s Batista. The guy on the other side of me was pretty cool, he complimented me on one of my tattoos. Along comes this lady, along with what was apparently her fiancee and a couple of other people. I could tell they wanted to squeeze in to the guardrail, but only the one woman succeeded. What she didn’t succeed at, however, was keeping her hands to herself. She kept inadvertantly touching my back, my sides, and my hand. If I didn’t know she was a fellow klear fan, I would have told her that if she couldn’t keep her hand to herself, she’d be going home without it. Credit where it’s due, once the show started, she managed to not touch me again.
The guys on my left, the wrestling fans who were there for Saliva, had nothing nice to say about klear. If you’re going to a show, if you don’t like the local opening band, hang back and let their fans enjoy their set without having to hear comments from the peanut gallery.
I did take off for a bit after klear’s set, stopping first to talk to returning frontman Fred Shafer, so that I could make sure I had the right information to update klear’s Wikipedia entry, and when I came back, I took my spot back by the tree that I had during the Femme’s show last year. I stood back and observed the crowd, who only responded when Saliva played one of their big radio (or commercial) hits. I’m sure the wrestling fans (yes, I know, I’m a wrestling fan too – but I was a fan of Saliva before they started doing wrestling music) were thrilled when they announced “Ladies and Gentlemen” with “this is the theme song for WRESTLEMANIA 23!” I really don’t have a complaint about the crowd for this one – it was what it should have been: a friendly crowd who were there to have fun, including this guy who came to me and said “Peace be with you,” which, despite all my rants about religion on this site, I thought was a kind gesture.
What did bug me about this show is the fact that Josey Scott didn’t seem to be trying very hard. I’d seen Saliva a couple of times before, and I know what Josey can pull off in live performances, but since the last time I saw him five or six years ago, I think he’s lost a step. Interestingly enough, it’s not that Josey can’t sing. For some reason, Josey’s rapping and screaming needed a little work.
While things weren’t that bad last night, I guess we’ll see what happens when I attend a free Joan Jett concert tonight and a free Candlebox concert next week.
Tags: Batista, Blog Entry, Chris Jericho, Click Click Boom, Comments From The Peanut Gallery, Fiancee, First Trip, Free Concerts, Going Home, Guardrail, Hometown Boys, Ladies And Gentlemen, Local Bands, One Woman, Saliva, Theme Songs, Vocalist, World Wrestling Entertainment, Wrestlemania, Wwe Superstar