Thursday, August 18, 2016
Monday, August 1, 2016
Good Beer and So-So Music
This past weekend found us at the Munger Potato Festival in the booming metropolis of Munger, MI.
It was a good time despite the constant drizzle of rain. Our main objective was to take in the figure 8 and the demolition derby.
Much to my surprise they had All Day IPA in addition to Bud Lite-Beer Water. So, the beer was good for a change. We had a great time watching the figure 8 and derby, getting sprayed by chunks of mud and smelling the rich fuel being burned and the roar of the engines.
After the derby we made our way over to the Beer tent to listen to some music and drink some more beer. Again I was amazed, All Day IPA and Oberon on draft....WOW.
The band was Steve Armstrong and the 25 Cent Beer Band. The band was very good for what it was. "pop-country"......Steve has a great voice and stage presence, and the band is good...especially the lead guitar player.
As I sat there listening to the songs...they all started to sound similar. While Steve has a great voice and do most of the covers with ease....after a while, the songs began to meld into one another. The only thing that changed was the lead lick and the actual words. The rhythm and beat seemed to carry from one song to the next.
Thinking about where the state of country music is today versus that of yesterday and what George Jones called real country music, there were three or four key elements missing. The steel guitar, the fiddle, emotion and feeling put forth by the words being sung.
Steve is a great singer with a great voice, but I don't think he's achieved artist status yet. He sang a song that he wrote about his divorce and how his ex took his favorite truck.....I know a typical country song.....but even then the emotional commitment wasn't there....he ground it out like all the other pop covers he did.
I did enjoy the band for what it was....pop country cover band......but hey at least the beer was good and it was cold.
It was a good time despite the constant drizzle of rain. Our main objective was to take in the figure 8 and the demolition derby.
Much to my surprise they had All Day IPA in addition to Bud Lite-Beer Water. So, the beer was good for a change. We had a great time watching the figure 8 and derby, getting sprayed by chunks of mud and smelling the rich fuel being burned and the roar of the engines.
After the derby we made our way over to the Beer tent to listen to some music and drink some more beer. Again I was amazed, All Day IPA and Oberon on draft....WOW.
The band was Steve Armstrong and the 25 Cent Beer Band. The band was very good for what it was. "pop-country"......Steve has a great voice and stage presence, and the band is good...especially the lead guitar player.
As I sat there listening to the songs...they all started to sound similar. While Steve has a great voice and do most of the covers with ease....after a while, the songs began to meld into one another. The only thing that changed was the lead lick and the actual words. The rhythm and beat seemed to carry from one song to the next.
Thinking about where the state of country music is today versus that of yesterday and what George Jones called real country music, there were three or four key elements missing. The steel guitar, the fiddle, emotion and feeling put forth by the words being sung.
Steve is a great singer with a great voice, but I don't think he's achieved artist status yet. He sang a song that he wrote about his divorce and how his ex took his favorite truck.....I know a typical country song.....but even then the emotional commitment wasn't there....he ground it out like all the other pop covers he did.
I did enjoy the band for what it was....pop country cover band......but hey at least the beer was good and it was cold.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)