Sigur Ros and Amina at The Joint
Last night, I went to see my first concert in Vegas: Sigur Ros, who played at The Joint (part of the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel). This is my 4th or maybe 5th time seeing them and they were great as always, as was their backup band Amina, an all-girl string quartet. You can't go wrong when eight Icelandic folkenminstrels are on strange.
Kottke mentioned that when he saw them in NYC, the audience was completely captivated to the point of utter silence. This was not to be in Vegas, especially since The Joint has a bar in the back of the venue. In addition to the constant chatter, there was a girl from Houston in front of us gyrating her hands in the air as interpretive dance and frequently standing up to take photos. Then, during the encore, one of the two guys who waited until the end of the show to kick out the people in their seats in the row in front of us started howling in high octaves mocking Jonsi, the lead singer known for his high-pitched vocal range (doorframe would appreciate this). Once he was kicked out, the other guy shoved several cigarettes in his mouth (since that's legal out here) and lit them until they caught on fire, apparently to annoy the concertgoers around him. He then being kicked out as well, we were finally able to enjoy the last song.
I was also annoyed to find out the next day that the band was selling t-shirts during the concert for $1, in protest of the cut the venue demanded, apparently the highest on the tour by far. Another missed opportunity. (photo courtesy of the_girl)
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i don't understand. 2 guys in front of you during the show. at the end of the show 2 other guys kicked them out of their seats and the replacements started acting like dicks? How did the dicks have the authority to boot the original sitters? And how did you know the gyrater was from houston?
they were the rightful owners of the seats, they just decided not to claim them until the encore -- who knows why. and i know the gyrater was from houston because she begged the mocking crooner, "please, please, shut up. i flew from houston for this concert."
aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
I still hate that song.
aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.
I've dealt with venues taking a cut of the merch sales. It's a pain in the butt, but they pretty much all do it. Usually the percent is around 20%. Did you happen to catch what percent the Hard Rock was taking?
Oh, just followed the link. 30% house commission plus a 10% gaming tax plus a 7% sales tax makes it pointless to sell shirts there. Good for the band.
That would have been a very frustrating way to experience the concert. We were lucky, the venue they play in Toronto is an old concert hall, usually reserved for concert pianists (Glen Gould played there), so people tend to show a bit of respect.
(thanks for choosing my photo!)