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Jack White Plays for 50 Minutes at 1st Radio City Show: Angry Hipsters Throw Hissy Fits

September 30, 2012

in concerts, music, nyc

Uh oh. Sounds like the sh*t went down. On the first night of his two night stand at Radio City Music Hall, Jack White and his band played a 50 minute set, at the end of which they left the stage…and did not return. After about 30 minutes of trying to get an encore, the announcer came on stage and told the show-goers that the gig was over and that they should leave. That is when people started freaking out, chanting “F*ck you, Jack!” and “We like Meg better anyway!”

Needless to say, the angry masses took to Twitter with their protests, typing out all types of snarky swipes (some more eloquent than others) and venting their boiling, uncontainable rage for the GALL of Jack White to only play a 50 minute set. Has everyone completely lost their minds and forgotten that a normal White Stripes set could be just over one hour?

I too would be disappointed that the show had not been longer, but people, since when was it a rule that a performer come back to the stage if he doesn’t want to? Last time I checked it was a free country.

This quote gives you a little hint as to why he did not come back:

Which I would interpret in Jack-speak to mean “This crowd is horrible and sitting there with their arms folded, seemingly not enjoying anything and/or using their cell phones even though we’ve asked them not to.”

Later someone else tweeted that he heard that Jack was not happy with the sound at the venue and didn’t want to continue. I would guess that’s it could have been a combination of both.

As White Stripes fans know — Jack has a long history of calling fans out on bad behavior/vibes. (Remember when he called a bunch of guys at a White Stripes Roseland show “frat f*ckers”? Classic. Or how about when he berated the crowd at Bowery Ballroom in 2002 for being “too cool for school”?)

But honestly folks, if you were in his shoes, and you were unhappy with either the crowd or the sound, would you really feel obligated to go out there and but on a brave face in the midst of crappy conditions? I know people are disappointed, but what they have to understand is that Jack does not do this at EVERY show — when I saw him play at the Wiltern in LA a few months back, he was in a great mood and the show was really really awesome.

And seriously, we all know that the second night of a Jack White show is always better than the first. NEVER GO TO THE FIRST SHOW (if you can only go to one). Have we ALL forgotten the lessons that we’ve learned over the years? It was only a few months ago that Jack did something very special the second night of his two-night series at Roseland. How soon we forget…

I know I’m sounding like I’m blaming the “victims” but really, you are not victims if you have enough discretionary income to blow some mildly mad stacks on a fancy concert. News flash: you are angry privileged people. Get over it.

Well, tomorrow night will be interesting. Hopefully everyone will be in better spirits. Including the crowd.
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Tagged as: jack white, radio city music hall

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Keane Encores Again and Again at Radio City

May 28, 2009

in britrock, concerts, music, photographs, video

Longtime readers will remember that my mom loves Keane. So who else could I take to the Keane show at Radio City tonight but my mommy dearest? The show, with its long set, and multiple (two) encores clocked it at nearly one hour and a half long—that’s 90 minutes of sheer happiness for my mom.

I’ll admit, there’s a bit of a twinge of teenage angst that goes along with bringing Mom to a concert—especially when my mom starts to dance along to the music (“Mom! You’re embarrassing me in front of all my friends!,” I mentally shout.)—but as a whole it’s a fun time taking my mom to see one of her favorite bands (aka Keane or Coldplay).

For me, one of the best part of going to see a show with my mom is that unlike my regular concert companions, who like me go to shows on a weekly basis and are completely jaded/spoiled by it all, my mom is genuinely excited about nearly everything involving the concert. Her reaction reminds me a lot of what I was like as a teenager going to see Alanis Morissette at Jones Beach, or say Duncan Sheik at a Virgin Megastore Instore.

Mom gets really pumped up about going, often calling me up the night before to say that she “just can’t wait” for the show and that she’s been listening to the new album non-stop. And when she gets there she’s super interested in buying some of the merch so she can show it off to all her friends at work the next day. And forget about when the actual concert starts—Mom is literally jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

keane_radiocity
Crappy cellphone photo: There’s a band on stage, I swear.

So to say the least, my mom really really really enjoyed Keane’s performance tonight—and I’ll admit, I enjoyed quite a bit of it myself. As I’ve noted before, Keane fans are particularly excited about being at the show, as displayed by the eruption of thunderous cheers and applause that sprung up as soon as the lights went down and the band took the stage.
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Tagged as: keane, matt kearney, radio city music hall

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I’M SO OVER IT ALL

August 16, 2002

in concerts, music, nyc bands, the strokes, white stripes

The Strokes/White Stripes Radio City. OOooooooooy. So so tired. So tired. ::cries::

Go look at Beck or something.

No more rock ‘n’ roll. Please. No more. I’m over it. I need a rest. No more. Death. Death. Die. Dead. All I want is a Travis concert, right now. Yanni looks tempting.

Tagged as: radio city music hall

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