My Story of the Cars in Concert 1979

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Cast Iron Shore, Jul 15, 2017.

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  1. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    Definitely wouldn't have been as short as 45 minutes, or we would have noticed and I would have remembered that. I don't remember the exact time, though.
     
  2. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    A rare occasion with Ric onstage without his sunglasses. Of course he has them back on by the second song.
     
  3. BEAThoven

    BEAThoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I saw the Cars live at once was "The Brendan Byrne Arena" in East Rutherford, NJ back in, IIRC, 1982. They played "Shake it Up," so it must have been that tour...

    The show wasn't overly long, but in total, set+encores and all that, they were on definitely more than an hour... at least close to 90 minutes... it didn't go over two hours, that's for sure.

    At the time, I think there was some talk of the band being less "animated" that other big rock acts blowing through the arenas at the time, but I remember sort of expecting that... The Cars defintely didn't have the whole rock-star vibe going (a la Van Halen or whatever), and Ric Ocasek always had this quasi-Warhol persona, so we expected him to be cool and laconic in his shades making dry comments.

    I don't remember anyone in my teenage crew walking away disappointed. Back then, because fans didn't watch 150 Youtube videos of the band playing live before the band blew into their town and concert tickets weren't even double the price of the new LP we all just bought, the live music, more than the the "show," was still the prime expectation. Even though we had MTV by that time and could watch endless videos, rock bands still seemed a bit remote -- you just weren't "in touch" with the band as much as you can be now on a daily basis.

    The part of the show that definitely sticks out in my mind? That Ben Orr sang like a mutha-fo -- he sounded great!
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2017
  4. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    That's one thing I find consistent in their live YouTube performances. Ben Orr always put in 100% and seemed very happy to be there performing. Well, except that time when he appeared to be stoned out his mind with eyes heavily lidded, limping out Candy-O.
     
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  5. Terrapin Station

    Terrapin Station Master Guns

    Location:
    NYC Man/Joy-Z City
    Everyone I knew thought of them as a new wave band. They were in the category of Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Devo etc. as far as we were concerned, so we didn't expect them to act like Van Halen, KISS etc. live.
     
  6. Wombat Reynolds

    Wombat Reynolds Jimmy Page stole all my best riffs.

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    saw them at a stadium show in Atlanta. By far, the most boring band of the day. Just stood there and played. Nothing to watch really. No jams, no unexpected musical passages, everything just like the album. A big YAWN.
     
  7. sbeaupre

    sbeaupre Everything must go

    Location:
    Inner Horner
    I've seen many artists/bands, Dylan included, that are mostly stationary on stage and it doesn't seem to detract from the overall experience. I don't think it was a lack of pyrotechnics and choreography that made the band dull on stage, it was something else, something harder to pinpoint. They just didn't have it as a live act. Maybe it was the music (band persona) itself, as someone noted, the detachment and gloss of it all.
     
  8. zen archer

    zen archer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston Ma.usa
    In a review from Sweet Potato a music rag from the Boston area. The Cars at Boston garden March 16 1982 ( a show which I attended), the Cars played a total of 16 songs.
    I can't remember how long the show was , but I would guess around 70-80 minutes.
     
  9. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Ha! It was the '70's, a cloud of cannabis was present at EVERY concert! It was just The Thing To Do - go to a concert, smoke several joints. :laugh:

    It's hysterical that your dad got busted for Fresca. Thousands of teenagers and post-teenagers were probably packed to the tits with grass and speed but they bust you for diet soda. :rolleyes::laugh: I think Fresca at a Cars concert is strangely appropriate.

    It's too bad to hear that your first concert wasn't a good experience. I do remember hearing at the time that The Cars were a deadly dull live act and the whole "we don't engage the audience" thing was a sort of reaction to the kind of whoop-the-audience-up-sing-along-junk that other bands practiced.
     
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  10. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Sort of the Roy Orbison of New Wave - Ric.

    I wonder if any other band has had two lead singers with the last name that begins with 'O'.

    Perhaps an Irish band or five...
     
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  11. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    Merrill Osmond and Donny Osmond :)
     
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  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I agree that it muddies the waters that a couple of people have said the show was 45-50 minutes. It's tougher to get objective facts due to the length of time since the concert - there's not the documentation we'd have today...
     
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  13. notesfrom

    notesfrom Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC USA
    Well, there's your ultimate Cars/Osmonds connection.

    Double-O' lead singers.
     
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  14. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Do you mean the footage filmed for the DVD before he died?
     
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  15. jmpatrick

    jmpatrick Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit, MI
    They did?
     
  16. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    Yes, that was the last interview he ever did. Here is part of it. They talk about lots of interesting things, in part "lost songs" and covers they used to play before making it big. Notice how warm Ric seems, not detached at all, and especially caring toward Ben Orr. I'm not sure if it's in this section or not, but there are a couple of times when Ric reaches over and touches Ben in a familiar, caring way, almost as if comforting him. Very sad to see Ben in such a bad state.
    :
     
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  17. sbeaupre

    sbeaupre Everything must go

    Location:
    Inner Horner
    I don't recall being put off by the duration of the show. My memory is hazy at best, but I'd guess it was it in the 70+ minute range, which seemed reasonable at the time, given it was a club date. I also saw Elvis Costello at The Paradise, also '78 (?). I recall that being a really short set, but no one complained. Elvis was a force of nature.

    [Edit] Just found this, looks like the show was December, '77. This is from the early show, which came in under 45 minutes.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2017
  18. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    Reportedly, it was at this interview that Ben Orr and Ric Ocasek finally ended their estrangement and buried the hatchet, thankfully, as Ben wasn't around much longer after this. Part 4:
     
  19. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
    :cry:
     
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  20. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    70 minutes seems perfectly reasonable, especially as an opening act (I'm assuming they were the openers).
     
  21. sbeaupre

    sbeaupre Everything must go

    Location:
    Inner Horner
    They were headlining, it was a showcase for their first album.
     
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  22. shnaggletooth

    shnaggletooth Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ
    I miss Quirst.

    [​IMG]
     
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  23. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    I guess they had more hits than Elvis, but somehow it seems odd that Elvis wasn't the headliner. 70 minutes for a headliner is a little short, but I think it's long enough to at least not be an insult to the audience.
     
  24. sbeaupre

    sbeaupre Everything must go

    Location:
    Inner Horner
    Sorry, I wasn't clear. I saw The Cars and Elvis around the same time, same venue, but it was two separate shows.
     
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  25. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I don't know if I'd call them "stoner rock", but by 1982, everybody I knew was getting stoned, not just the "stoners."

    My stoner buddy in high school bought the Cars' debut album particularly for "Moving In Stereo" - we considered that to be a groundbreaking achievement in modern head music. :laugh:
     
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