everything was better before

are things always better the first time around?

the reason i ask is that i caught the stereo total show last night here in austin, since i didn’t manage to make it out to see them last week in sf (having just come back from austin that day). i remember seeing them last year and they were really a lot of fun. totally outrageous and adorable nerd rock/punk/electro/disco/rockabilly show.

they were still a lot of fun last night, but honestly, i don’t really know what was going on. they were either doing some elaborate act where they kept fucking up and starting over songs and pretended to be fighting with each other, or they were actually fucking up and starting over songs and actually fighting with each other. it was just a little weird and not quite the fun time it was last time.

but then i began to wonder: is that just nostalgia talking? or is the novelty of the act, or any act, just better the first time around?

likewise, we saw the pixies this past memorial day, and while the show was good, it wasn’t as great back in the day. they clearly looked older and tamer, and then i had the realization: THIS IS THE REUNION TOUR. this is like when the rolling stones get back together for the upteenth time. or when the eagles do it. or black sabbath.

all the kids roll their eyes and say, “who wants to see these old fuckers play, anyway?”

of course, it’s you. it’s me. we’re the old fuckers who want to see the old fuckers from our youth. that’s called nostalgia, chippy. that’s what we used to mock back in the day.

maybe the pixies aren’t that good an example. they’ve never really been that fantastic a live band anyway, since their performances are not unlike their “here comes my man” video where they stand there and just open their mouth when it’s their turn to sing a lyric. but instead of just mocking the lipsyncing that bands do in videos, it ends up being sort of like their live show: the music kicks ass, but they don’t.

i do have to admit that i got shivers hearing gigantic live, though.

maybe i shouldn’t feel so bad about it. it’s not like i’m going to see the men at work reunion tour or anything.

Posted at June 3, 2005 3:44 PM