Do Your Song!

I spent my Memorial Day weekend down in North Carolina at le Monde du Nord enjoying a relaxing vacation on the shores of Lake Norman. When the sun was out, I was out on the boat taking in the good weather and laughing at people when they got bounced from their inflatable tube seating. When the sun was in, I challenged friends to be foes in a couple rousing rounds of William and Mary Duels (or WMD, for short.) And when the sun went down, (sorry, no Chesney joke here) we hit the mean streets of Charlotte. And we went to rock.

(Nordworld? My French is terrible.)

Going to rock is a simple premise, really. One must look forward to the rock. One must be excited for the rock. One need not have rocked before. A love for music is essential for the rock. Both riffs and beats are ingredients for the rock. If funnel cake is purchased, sharing it with friends enhances the rock. Oh, and most importantly, if you have come to receive the rock, someone else better be well-equipped to bring the rock.

It wasn’t that the 12 of us spent good money for the rock, either. Free rock always allows more to enjoy, and the city of Charlotte, Nord Carolina was presenting us with such an opportunity. Along the main drag lay a festival of massive proportions. Apparently, NASCAR was behind it all. Part of race weekend in this sport is to make it a full party atmosphere, and this is not limited to the raceway itself. The hosting city puts on a three day “Speed Street” where fans, non-fans, and those who just like to rock can come Thursday through Saturday night to hear music, eat carnival food (can you say giant tukey leg?), watch movies on big screens, and be bombarded by NASCAR’s corporate sponsors. (Helloooooo, Nextel!)

As for that music part, they do their best to bring in a varied array of acts to perform for the pit row faithful. Unfortunately, two acts I would have liked to see, Jo Dee Messina and Three Doors Down, played on the prior night. But we were there Saturday, which surely means that they’d save the biggest name for last, right?

At 10 PM, the options numbered three. To our left – Three Days Grace. Not a bad band, but a distant third in this heat. To our right – the Charlie Daniels Band. In Carolina country, they were the overwhelming crowd favorite, but we chose to decline. Not because of they were an insufficient option, but because they were neighbored by some monsters of Rock.

“Race Fans, put your hands together for….STYX!”

Now I haven’t listened to a Styx album since I got off the phone with Woodward and Bernstein, but I remember a few tunes, no doubt. So when I saw Styx was on the docket for Saturday night, I was certainly ready to rock. This band of six guys may not be their full original line-up, but they’re pretty close. Styx is still churning out the records, too, which must mean somebody’s buying them. (And it can’t be their mothers, since they’d be 187 by now.)

But this wasn’t an audience of hardcore Styx fans. It was an audience of hardcore NASCAR fans. In order for this to be a good show for Styx, not playing to their dedicated fan base, they must adapt to the venue and to the gig. NASCAR (and its many sponsors) paid good money to get them here, so they would be wise to follow the rules of Post-Spotlight Rock. Your day may have come and gone, rockers of yore, but with these guidelines, we still welcome your rock.

1. New Stuff = BAD. If you’re still around like Styx, your musicianship must still be at a very high level. I understand that you’ve gotten better with time and probably have master more complex instrumentation. You probably even wrote some new songs in the process. It’s just a shame the those who have come to rock don’t want to hear them. Come on! You guys are Styx!

2. Old Stuff = GOOD. We came to hear your old stuff, the stuff you’ve played a thousand times by now! And doing a new record of covers of other people’s old stuff doesn’t count. We want Come Sail Away! Do it! Do your song! Where’s the high-pitched melody? And the antemic chorus?

Needless to say, we heard no “Come Sail Away” At least when I saw a Huey Lewis (AND the News!) show in 2000, he indulged us.

3. No medleys. If you do decide to play old stuff, Monsters of Rock, do not string your many hits into a 12-minute compilation song. Because at Minute 7 when the guitarist goes to the special mike to utter “Domo Arigato,” I’m expecting another 5 minutes and 24 seconds of Rock. Not a clever transition to “Lady” or some other song paling in comparison.

No thank you very much, Sir, Mr. Roboto.