The Post-Rockist

In this era of band reunions, I find it necessary to examine the validity of long-running or reunited acts to determine whether they’re still actual artists with points of view or if they’re simply cashing in on former glory. I’ve seen three such bands this summer, starting with Steely Dan on the opening night of Milwaukee’s Summerfest, and additionally seeing the double bill of Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult at Riverfest in Beloit, Wisconsin. I felt somewhat out of place at both shows, amidst a crowd whose mean age is closer to that of my parents than my own, but an old and inactive crowd is much easier to ignore than a rowdy room of young whippersnappers and I was able to concentrate on the performances, which varied wildly in not only quality but also the performers’ apparent goals.

Cheap Trick’s performance was probably the most typical nostalgia act, but also the most immediately satisfying. The four members from the band’s heyday were all present and all pushing 60, but that didn’t stop them from ripping through an hour or so of hits, plus a couple songs from their 2006 album Rockford. But for the most part, they stuck to their most recognizable songs and performed them with the vigor you expect from a bunch of old guys. Not that anyone really needed them to look or act like a hungry young group of dudes - Cheap Trick has paid their dues, had their hits, and are now basking in the glory of being able to play a packed show anywhere, including Beloit, Wisconsin (population 35,775). And yup, they played awesome rock staples “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender,” and “Dream Police,” as well as their sole number one hit, the flaccid ballad “The Flame” from 1988. The whole thing was still a blast, though, and guitarist Rick Nielsen was eccentric as ever, switching guitars for nearly every song (his five-necked monstrosity was thankfully one of the many he included) and showering the first several rows in guitar picks. I think that Cheap Trick are often overlooked and they should be respected as the great songwriters they are - their string of ’70s albums is remarkably consistent and without a time machine set to 1978 Budokan, this is pretty much as good as it’s going to get for Trick fans nowadays.

I’m far less familiar with Blue Oyster Cult, who opened for Cheap Trick. I know their hits of course, but their live show really didn’t inspire me to go buy their records and delve into the album tracks. They’re playing the nostalgia card, too, but in a totally different way: instead of playing a nice career-spanning cross-section like Cheap Trick did, they figured they’d stretch their hits out with lengthy solo sections to test the audience’s patience. “Godzilla” was especially extended with a dreadful bass solo and acceptable drum solo (but who really likes drum solos anyway?) to the point where I was surprised that it was the same song when they played the chorus again, probably ten minutes after the solo break started. “Burnin’ For You” was thankfully spared this treatment and remained a taut pop song with that slick dual-guitar lead riff. They ended, naturally, with “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” featuring a roadie banging the cowbell behind a stack of amps and losing his timing several times. The set had a handful of uppercase Rock moments that were enjoyable, but I was definitely ready for the show to end a couple songs before it did.

Far away at the other end of the spectrum is the mystery of Steely Dan. The only members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, who recorded a string of wonderful, essential LPs in the ’70s, then broke up after 1980’s Gaucho. They reformed in the ’90s for a couple tours and eventually became a proper band again in 2000, for a couple new albums, a Grammy for Album of the Year, and a return to regular touring. The difference between Steely Dan and those other two bands is that Fagen and Becker don’t give a fuck about you wanting to hear their hits. They ignored many of their most recognizable songs (they didn’t play “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Do It Again,” or “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”) and extended solo sections on album cuts like “Chain Lightning” and “Godwhacker.” The arrangements turned even the rockingest tunes like “Bodhisattva” into long jams with solos from multiple instrumentalists. Despite the virtuoso performances from nearly every member of their band, the extended arrangements got tedious, and I found myself wishing for shorter versions so they could play a larger number of songs. Listening to Steely Dan’s albums chronologically reveals a quite obvious transition from fairly complex melodic rock to an equally complex, much jazzier, smoother category, and it seems now that the Dan wants to abandon the rock as much as possible and emphasize less-smooth jazz as their primary genre. The bottom line is that Steely Dan is still an actual artistic entity, growing and changing and not just phoning it in, which is respectable but would likely disappoint casual fans.

So do any of these shows sound worthwhile to you, dear readers? I think both Cheap Trick and Steely Dan are worth seeing even now, but that might just be because I’ve been obsessed with both bands for a year or two and liked hearing those songs I love so dearly performed live. The answer to the titular question is, quite anticlimactically, “sometimes.” If you’re really into an old band that’s still touring, I imagine you’ll probably enjoy seeing them live, even if they are mere shadows of their former rockin’ selves.

-Posted by Andrew