Video interviews for music blogs and bird poop

Email to K. Maletsky:

"just watched your videos from midwest mayhem. bravo! it was almost uncomfortable to watch people try to find some words to talk, which makes me think that this is a really good method to explore. it's so funny because i was going to try something similar at the ballet on thursday evening. i hope you do more of this!"

These films of fans at a concert are kind of strange. Everyone looks surprised that a music critic would be asking for their opinion. Or maybe, everyone is just surprised to be asked for an opinion? Whatever the case, I thought the experimentation of video was interesting. It's something I've been wanting to try. I don't know where the critic's voice is (well, it's there...I hear Kiernan), but I like the idea of using something else to document the show. Could it be done critically? I love that film was used here, at a rock concert. Because these venues are so much more about the environment and everyone else...it's not just about the band. It's about everything. I think it's important that a critic try to capture that. I've been wondering about the point of a one-off ballet performance. But what about music shows, where a lot of bands play the same set list over and over again? And most of the live, played music gets compared to the mastered recordings. That seems backwards. Why not focus on something else?

Alt-weeklies are interesting places to look for strange bits of criticism. I actually thought the RiverFront Times' coverage of last years' Kings of Leon concert was a great example of looking outside of the performance.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2010/07/kings_of_leon_cancels_st_louis_show_pigeon_bird_shit_july_23_2010_jared_followill_missouri_heat.php

The band canceled because apparently a pigeon pooped on the lead singer's head after performing three songs. And the article that came out of the performance, I think qualifies as a review. It talks about what happened and really investigates the story too. Turns out, a year later, the pigeon episode was actually, well, a load of crap. The RFT revisited the performance and fiasco after more information surfaced this year. Even though the performance in St. Louis happened more than a year before, I'd still consider this piece of writing the review:

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/rftmusic/2011/08/kings_of_leon_pigeon_gate_dallas.php