Seth Adam
Live Review
Harper's Ferry Alston Mass
February 6th
Lots of people don't normally like simple pop songs. Lots of people don't normally like jam bands. Pop songs have no feeling, with rhyming words with no meaning, I have apples that need pealing ... Makes you want to touch the ceiling "What?" Jam bands don't sound good unless you're stoned, tired or on some type of something that you can get from your dentist. Seth Adam falls into both categories of pop and jam band. They are made up of a large group of musicians; two guitars, bass, keys, drums and Mandolin.
I've heard their recordings but had not seen them live until this night. I can say with great certainty that their recordings are much better then their live show. Harpers Ferry does great sound... wait.. No..... they do AMAZING sound. You could never blame bad music on the sound guy. With two guitars playing the exact same chords, and the plethora of other instruments doing something else, I felt like everything was this big wall of sound. Not in the GOOD Phil Specter kind of way but in that "we haven't really played together much so just play a bunch of things that don't go together" kind of way.
You can actually see one of their practices in your mind (see stoned/tired/dentist). Seth wandering around worrying more about if his hat matches his scarf then if the mandolin part sounds bad with the keyboard part. The mandolin player showing up late from his "other" band practice. The guitar player showing off his new guitar and really cool new pedal board. The drummer bragging how his glitter covered drums are all the rage in Prague.
Seth is most likely kept up at night wondering something, something very troubling. To cast off Seth's concerns, his scarf did match his hat. The entire band had good fashion sense. But I am uncomfortable when Seth reaches over in the middle of the song and unbuttons the guitar players shirt to reveal extra chest hair. Maybe it was a wardrobe malfunction.
All in all they put on a great show but not my kind of stuff. I could see their songs being played on the radio, one of those stations I don't listen to, one of those stations that gives away Back Street Boys concert tickets. Other people might go crazy for their music, but not me. If they were being played on my work radio I would not slit my wrists but I would wonder why my company started hiring 12 year old girls.
Their songs lacked variety and song after song sounded the same. Song after song I was lulled into a deeper sleep as I drank my beer. Song after song I wondered if I should buy a scarf. Song after song I thought maybe they were a great band. Who knows. They could be a great band, I could also be a giant walrus from Cincinnati, with a fabulous scarf.
Rating: 4.2
To see for yourself go to http://www.sethadam.com
9/9/08
Seth Adam
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6 comments:
man.......you truly are a putz....to say that Seth Adam is any kind of "jamband" makes you not only not qualified to do your job, but also makes down right stupid! Ever here of a small band called the Counting Crows? That's Seth's biggest influence...and it shows. Also, it's peeling, not pealing.....how do you even have a job w/ that kind of spelling grammar? WOW......moron.
Mr. Anonymous. Thank you for reading.
You say Seth sounds like the Counting Crows. They would be a pop jam band. So the comparison would be dead on.
I have a job cause people like you read the stuff I write and get upset.
Wow....I play in a "jamband"....the only band out there that can be considered both a jamband and a pop band would be Dave Matthews. But to a true player in the scene, that's pushin' it. Period. You say the Counting Crows is a pop jamband? No matter where they play, the songs DO NOT change. Therefore, they are a pop band. A jamband plays the songs differently each and every time they play them. Is your job to just write reviews of bands? I really hope not. If it is, then boy, oh boy, do I feel bad for whatever company you work for. They put there trust into someone to write a review, when he doesn't under stand differences in genre's of music. Sad.....
I understand the definition of Jam band and Counting Crows.
I think maybe you have been mislead about what the counting crows are, based on hearing Mr. Jones on the radio.
Please check out a few live videos of them on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HzTbqK0ReY
So, because they play a few of their songs differently from time to time makes them a jamband? A true "jamband" takes songs out.....plays them similarly, but changes the solo or plays a song into another...you know improvisation. Because the lead singer, Adam likes to indulge in some LSD from time to time, and desides to play a song differently doesn't really qualify them....maybe because you know so much, why don't you give him a jingle and ask him what he thinks. The only reason I would say Dave Matthews is, is only because of the fans...they have both true lovers of music, then they have the college kids. Ever listen to "Jam On" on Sirius? I listen to in on a fairly regular basis, and can honestly say, I have NEVER heard Counting Crows. Not that Jam On is the end all be all of the jamband scene, but I would say they have the programmers there that probably know what's up....at least a little more than you.
Thank you for the response. Now notice I called them a Pop Jam band and not a Jam band.
When Sirius starts a station called "pop jam on" I am sure you will hear the Counting Crows.
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