Steve Pick, who many St. Louisans will know as a longtime local music journalist, DJ and record-store employee, and who's also been a good friend to this site, writes in part:
Dean, I think you're right, though I suspect the cause may have to do with who is booking the music. I know the people who worked on the Riverfest [sic] series, and they are interested in a wide variety of musical genres, and aware of a wide variety of audiences. I suspect the current people are limited by their own areas of musical taste.Yes, when one compares the Riversplash series to Live on the Levee, there are clearly two different sensibilities at work, which raises a couple of points.
First, if Live on the Levee had not been promoted as a successor to Riversplash, my expectations probably would have been a lot lower - heck, I might not have even bothered to post on the subject. But since the current organizers explicitly made the comparison, I think it's fair to judge them by comparing their work to what has gone before. So far, the most significant thing that the two series seem to have in common is the riverfront location.
Second, since the folks who booked Riversplash did what seems to have been almost universally recognized as a good job, why weren't they retained to run the Live on the Levee series as well? If anyone out there knows, please share.
Next, to the fans of Los Lonely Boys who have come here via a link from an LLB fan message board: Welcome, please feel free to look around (and even put your feet up and stay a while if you want), and thank you for sharing your views in a positive, non-vitriolic way.
As I suggested in the original post, I actually like some of what I've heard from the brothers Garza, though I think their songwriting skills currently are not as advanced as their instrumental and vocal prowess. Still, I'll concede that they are capable of drawing a crowd and putting on an entertaining show.
But, as commenter Roo suggests, my point was not to disparage the musical quality of any of the acts mentioned, but rather that, taken as a whole, the proposed lineup for Live on the Levee doesn't reflect the diversity of St. Louis' population or our city's own musical culture and history. I'm not foolish enough to think that such a concert series will conform 100% to my own personal tastes, but to hold these shows in a city with a majority African-American population and not book any jazz, blues, soul, funk or hip-hop just seems wrong to me.
Finally, I like Roo's idea of a concert pairing an older bluesman with a younger hip-hop performer. Combining musicians from different genres that appeal to different age groups can be tricky, but it's the kind of creative thinking I wish the Live on the Levee organizers were doing.
Thanks to all who have commented so far, and please feel free to add more thoughts on the subject if you've got 'em.
UPDATE, 3/13/07, 10:30 p.m. - Since commenters on the previous Live on the Levee post now seem to be leaving messages without actually reading either the post or the linked article, things are getting pretty far off topic. So, I've shut down the comments there in hopes of getting any further discussion back on track here instead.
Los Lonely Boys fans, please note: I get that you like LLB a lot, even if I don't quite share your level of enthusiasm. And folks in St. Louis do know what they sound like - they've received plenty of radio airplay, have been on national television numerous times, and have performed here already a couple of times since their first album was released. Also, Live on the Levee is a free outdoor concert series, as in "free and open to the public," so LLB's ability to deliver value for the ticket dollar is not really relevant in this case.
If you have more comments actually relating to the subject at hand - the overall makeup of the Live on the Levee concert series lineup, and whether or not it reflects the racial diversity of our community and the musical interests of all St. Louisans - please feel free to make them here, in the comments section for this post.
However, if you're just going to post another drive-by message saying how great you think Los Lonely Boys are, and how St. Louis would love them if we just gave them a chance, save your keystrokes. That message has already been received and understood, and there's no need to pile on, OK? Thanks!
(Edited after posting to fix a couple of typos and clarify a sentence.)
1 comment:
Indeed, I enjoy some diversity in my music and don't feel I get it too much in St. Louis. For some reason we appear to be a void for many of the "smooth jazz/contemporary instrumental" artists. I do look forward to almost anything FREE, but if most of the bookings were just a "good deal" for the sponsor, that's a bummer. I visited a friend in Wisconsin for a "Jazz Festival" and never had seen anything like it. I knew all the artists and wonder why we rarely have anything like that here... Lineup: Jeff Lorber, Richard Elliot, Jeff Golub, Gerald Albright, and much more over 2 days. And to see names like this almost every month. It's just not fair... But what is. Some day! I do see more than I ever did now with this blog however. Thank you!
And someone educate the artists that The Pageant is a bar first, then a concert venue. I miss the old Westport Playhouse. UMSL has fantastic acoustics, so why do they book mostly plays and comedians? Sorry to get off topic... I just had to get that out. =)
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