Monday, April 12, 2010

Netherfriends - Friends with Lofts plus a rant

I swear the song I am posting is related to this rant I am about to go on, just bear with me.
While at the Freelance Whales concert the other night, the band stopped to actually speak to the audience, however, I was unable to hear a word they said because the crowd around me burst into their own conversations that they were apparently dying to have. For me, one of the main draws of being at the concert is to experience a band in a new setting. You have seen their live videos on youtube, listened to their songs, and read about them online or in some review, now you actually get to see them in person and hear what they have to say about their songs. For me, the combination of all that is pretty exciting especially when in an intimate up close and personal type setting. Well, the Freelance Whales were trying to tell the crowd about this song they were about to cover but I couldn't catch the name of the song or the band and I am pretty sure the guy gave up saying whatever he was saying because the crowd in front of him was clearly drowning him out. Luckily their music was loud enough that people mostly had to stop talking during their songs. Now I get wanting to talk to the people you are at a concert with, yes I do talk at concerts, but go to the bar and get a drink and chat, or step back from the crowd so that you aren't shouting into each other's ears. I was right next to the stage in a crowd of maybe 75 people and the people around me were busy shouting at each other. I am still fully aggravated with the girls next to me who were talking about the  third ugly guy that Lisa slept with in one week when I was just trying to listen for the name of the song, especially because it turned out to be a really great song. Now I know all about Lisa's promiscuity which is the very last thing I wanted to hear at this concert.
At my first Tristan Prettyman concert, she brought up (in a very cute yet authoritative way) how idiotic it is to talk loudly during a concert that you paid to go see and I will always respect her for shushing her own crowd so effectively. Tristan made the lightbulb go off in people's heads, like "oh yeah, I am kinda loud and this is a concert, maybe I'll show some respect." I even felt kind of guilty because I was so excited to finally be seeing Ben Taylor and Tristan Prettyman at the same concert that A. I downed a few beers way too fast which led to B. I couldn't stop myself from telling my friends how happy each song made me (hey, at least I was talking about the music). So people, just keep your voices down when you are talking or if you really can't hold in loudly bashing your slutty friends go do it somewhere further away from where people are actually listening to the awesome music they paid money to see. Thank you.

Now here is where Netherfriends comes into play. The verdict is still out on this band, it is kind of lo-fi in a disorganized way, a little punk-ish with their vocals, and a lot of we are just getting in on the indie scene and we're seriously lacking a good producer kind of band. I think they should be close to coming out with an LP soon since their first EP was released last June, so I will hold off judgement until then. They are starting out on an ambitious tour of trying to play 50 songs in 50 states which I admire. And then on their blog they say this is why they are doing this 50/50 thing:
"I just want people to get off their computers and go do something. This is what this project is about. Sparking some college grads or drop outs to realize it takes a lot of bullshit to accomplish something. If you struggle to pay your rent... don't pay it. Stop drinking every night and save some money for once. The end result might takes year, but set a unique goal and do it."
 I know it just barely makes sense (i.e. don't pay your rent?) and there are serious grammatical issues, but their overall reason for doing crazy small shows and house band appearances all across America is admirable. So finally getting to my point, I really like the lyrics. And while I was busy being frustrated with the dumb cambridge girls next to me, these are the lyrics that instantly came to mind. Bam! Full Circle! 

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