Fiction Plane: Love 'em or hate 'em?
Posted: 16 Jul 2007 02:15Hey folks, the 'I am OMEGAMAN' thread derailed into an FP conversation some of you might find interesting. Check it out...I'm also copyin' and pastin' what I said in response to 3/4's post. He has the right to his opinion, obviously, but here's mine.
[quote]I went to their midnight gig at Coyote's in Louisville last night and loved it. I think FP is terrific. Here's why.
1.) It takes total balls to confront the expectations of the concertgoing public on this. Instead of the neutrality that most folks would grant Joe Public upon seeing him play for the first time, Joe Sumner immediately gets held to the standard of his daddy's five octave vocal range and mad bass-playing skillz. Not to mention Pete and Seton, who are immediately relegated to Joe's Supporting Player roles, instead of being judged on their merits.
Every time I've seen FP, they have worked their asses off. These guys are not phoning it in. In addition to the opening sets they're playing every night, they're also playing smaller shows in clubs and doing in-stores...I saw Joe carrying his guitars and amps out to the bus himself last night. A small thing, sure, but not what you'd expect out of a kid who most self-styled musical critics would consider rock royalty.
2.) I got a chance to talk to the fellas at the Best Buy VIP tent in St. Louis and asked them about their influences. I was impressed by the width and depth as expressed by Seton in particular...they seem to be actual scholars, not aping whichever band is the flavor of the month. Plus they're more interested in indie rock as opposed to stadium bands, which is something I personally would find more compelling than would some people.
3.) I suppose the lyrical depth is a matter of opinion. I think the stuff's pretty good. What would you have them discuss within the parameters of a 2-minute verse-chorus-verse song structure? Partly it's hard to tell what they're saying given the volume level and distortion, but we're hearing about tortured love, drinking, aimlessness, etc.
4.) I don't think they sound like The Police, particularly. I will cop to a sneaking feeling that Pete has been taking instruction from The Master, but I'm hearing a lot more bands like Gorillaz and Bloc Party in their mix than Police-like timing or arrangements. Joe can hardly help sounding like his dad to some extent, but I think he's found his own voice, lyrically speaking.
Seton can play like a mother, but you need to see them in a smaller club to get the full experience. They're really letting loose at the club shows, far more than I would imagine they're allowed to do during the arena gigs.
Sure, the songs aren't 100% polished, but I think the album after next will be a masterpiece. I'm expecting great things out of these guys. If Joe can manage not to kill himself jumping off that amplifier (he took a tumble after an extra-high launch last night, I noticed...)[/quote]
[quote]I went to their midnight gig at Coyote's in Louisville last night and loved it. I think FP is terrific. Here's why.
1.) It takes total balls to confront the expectations of the concertgoing public on this. Instead of the neutrality that most folks would grant Joe Public upon seeing him play for the first time, Joe Sumner immediately gets held to the standard of his daddy's five octave vocal range and mad bass-playing skillz. Not to mention Pete and Seton, who are immediately relegated to Joe's Supporting Player roles, instead of being judged on their merits.
Every time I've seen FP, they have worked their asses off. These guys are not phoning it in. In addition to the opening sets they're playing every night, they're also playing smaller shows in clubs and doing in-stores...I saw Joe carrying his guitars and amps out to the bus himself last night. A small thing, sure, but not what you'd expect out of a kid who most self-styled musical critics would consider rock royalty.
2.) I got a chance to talk to the fellas at the Best Buy VIP tent in St. Louis and asked them about their influences. I was impressed by the width and depth as expressed by Seton in particular...they seem to be actual scholars, not aping whichever band is the flavor of the month. Plus they're more interested in indie rock as opposed to stadium bands, which is something I personally would find more compelling than would some people.
3.) I suppose the lyrical depth is a matter of opinion. I think the stuff's pretty good. What would you have them discuss within the parameters of a 2-minute verse-chorus-verse song structure? Partly it's hard to tell what they're saying given the volume level and distortion, but we're hearing about tortured love, drinking, aimlessness, etc.
4.) I don't think they sound like The Police, particularly. I will cop to a sneaking feeling that Pete has been taking instruction from The Master, but I'm hearing a lot more bands like Gorillaz and Bloc Party in their mix than Police-like timing or arrangements. Joe can hardly help sounding like his dad to some extent, but I think he's found his own voice, lyrically speaking.
Seton can play like a mother, but you need to see them in a smaller club to get the full experience. They're really letting loose at the club shows, far more than I would imagine they're allowed to do during the arena gigs.
Sure, the songs aren't 100% polished, but I think the album after next will be a masterpiece. I'm expecting great things out of these guys. If Joe can manage not to kill himself jumping off that amplifier (he took a tumble after an extra-high launch last night, I noticed...)[/quote]
). Think Joe sounds just like Sting; first time I heard Two Sisters on the radio I thought it was a new Sting release. It's not a bad thing.
!
