on 12/12/03 1:41 PM, mwisckol@ocregister.com at mwisckol@ocregister.com wrote:
finally, i dug waits' stage set up at the wiltern, skip. minimalist, but very effective -- and deliberate. those overhead lights gave it a fresh, stark look. and that box waits stood on -- when he stomped, dust came flying up like he was on somebody's old porch. ... given waits' rootsy, stripped-down vibe, seemed appropriate.... i won't take issue with the rest of your critique, except to say that as a longtime waits fan and non-pro musician, i enjoyed the show very much. hardly the best i've seen waits do, but very enjoyable.
martin
The stripped down vibe -- while completely appropriate -- shouldn;t have cost so much per ticket. The way I see it, it didn't cost much to do the show. The astronomical ticket price couple with the fact that the band wasn't well-rehearsed pissed me off. I saw Steely Dan last month for $42, and there was NO stage set-up to speak of, but the band was absolutely dead-on. Spotless execution, and everyone knew the music cold. While I'll grant you that Fagen ain;t exactly Wilson Pickett -- or Tom Waits -- I really felt like I got my money's worth. You knew those guys weren't going onstage until the band could play the music underwater and blindfolded if they had to. THAT's how you put on a big-venue show. skip h