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. joepepitone

    joepepitone Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Wow!! Ben Orr delivering the goods. That was awesome.
     
  2. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    I've never seen Nick Gilder live, but I'm so disappointed he wasn't a great live act. Hot Child in the City is a classic and I remember it being played on the school bus as I was being taken from the suburbs to the inner city school during the first year of integration.
     
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  3. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

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    Ben was a great singer and, much like Elliot Easton, I wonder if Ric reigned him in from being more of a showman. Ben even smiled and occasionally looked like he was having fun, from the YouTube videos I've seen.
     
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  4. zen archer

    zen archer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston Ma.usa
    Why was that a strange intro?
     
  5. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    In related news:
    I have tickets for a Kings of Leon show in a couple weeks. I hope we are not talking about them like we talk about the cars live. (some reports indicate that might be the case)
    (I like Cars albums >> than Kings of Leon)
     
  6. Oatsdad

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

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    My KOL experiences:

    -Saw them open for U2 multiple times in 2005. KOL were riding high on a huge wave of hype and IIRC, they didn't live up to it. Sloppy performances, not good - felt like they were oversold by critics and not worth the praise.

    -Saw them open twice (I think) for Pearl Jam in 2008 and they were much better. Tight, lively performance that made me reconsider my prior disdain.

    -Saw them headline at a large shed in 2010. This show fell in between the 2005 and 2008 concerts. They were certainly better than they were in 2005, but they didn't play as well as they did in 2008.

    Since that was 7 years ago, I have no idea if they've gotten better/worse or stayed the same, but I suspect they're probably a fairly competent live act.

    And even when they weren't very good in 2005, I don't recall them being boring like the Cars' reputation...
     
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  7. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
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    I'd rather love or hate a band rather than feeling bored by them.
     
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  8. BIGGER Dave

    BIGGER Dave Forum Resident

    I saw them once, at the Providence Civic Center, probably around '79 or '80. I remember their stage was very stripped down, with none of the familiar Marshall stacks you would see at the time. And the performance was pretty much as everyone else has said, boring. It was like, "here's your mark (points to an 'X' made of duct tape on the floor), and don't move off it!" I remember them sounding good and playing well, but just not much fun to watch.

    On a separate note, in the early 80's I attended Emerson College in Boston. One night, in my dormitory, people started yelling, "The Cars are here, they're in the lobby!" I stuck my head out of my dorm room, trying to understand what was happening. Other students started running towards the lobby, so I did too. Two members of The Cars were in the lobby picking up two female students for a date. By the time I got to the lobby, I saw four people walking out the door, two of my female classmates, David Robinson (The Cars drummer), and a forth person who I couldn't tell who he was (it was dark). Some people said it was Rick Ocasek however I didn't see his face so I can't say for sure. I hung around the lobby reading one of my text books, waiting for them to come back from their date, but after a few hours I gave up and went upstairs and went to bed. I guess those two female students got back to the dorm, eventually. That's my Cars story!
     
  9. kunstwork

    kunstwork Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    They didn't, the Cars opened on the 78 tour.
     
  10. 2141

    2141 Forum Resident

    I saw them in I think it was '83 or possibly '84 in Costa Mesa, CA. It's funny, your description fits my experience pretty closely. The Cars were kinda boring and I was kinda disappointed. That didn't happen to me at concerts very often, but this time it did.
     
  11. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    I saw them on this tour (not this venue), but their setlist looks like they played approx. 65 minutes. 9 songs = 35 minutes on the first album, and they played 15 songs. 65 minutes in my opinion is an unacceptable length of time for a headliner to play. The brevity only reinforced the already existing sense that perhaps they were as bored as we were.
     
  12. maxwell2323

    maxwell2323 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Thanks to the OP for this great post ! I need to revisit this forum more often.

    I LOVE the Cars. Two absolutely great initial albums – the rest were pretty decent. I have a (frequently changing) USB MP3 player in my car of my greatest hits of all time – a few of their hits have made appearances of course. I still have “It’s All I Can Do” on it. Such an underrated song – but it’s is just so them.

    I saw the Cars live only once unfortunately - Market Square Arena in Indy. I thought it was the late 70s, but since the Motel’s opened for them, it must have been early 80s? Maybe someone will know exactly when and what the most recent album was at that time. I remember that I had heard on the radio the Motels first big hit already so I kind of knew something about that band.

    I don’t recall being disappointed in the show – if I was I would remember. I do remember going with three other people – two from my part time job (one of which was a very attractive girl that I liked) and one other girl.

    I am one that just wants to hear great music performed live – close to the record. Yeah if you want to say “Hello Chicago” or throw t-shirts, or tell a quick twitter length story – that’s okay. I am a fan of Beatle tribute bands and I love to see this music performed live. Nothing is more annoying when some of them would take up valuable playing time by engaging in time consuming memorized banter, announcing and bragging about their costumes, or telling a 10 minute story of how Pete met Stu (yeah I’m looking at you THE FAB FOUR). – end of rant.

    The song Moving in Stereo and the actress Phoebe Cates will be married together in my memories. Just sayin.

    With regards to the discussions about pot and concerts – I will say that I have never smoked (don’t judge me). I recall telling that to another co-worker back during that time (early 80s) – and he told me that I was wrong. I said - what are you talking about? He said that you may not have smoked but you got high. I said what??? He said that if you have gone to a concert at Market Square Arena, and, unless you were holding your breath the entire time, you got high.

    Okay then.
     
  13. Galactus2

    Galactus2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Is being boring as a live act a cardinal sin? Think about it a minute.

    If you're bored with music at home or in the car, you can change it up. But if you've plunked down some hard-earned $ to see a band live, and you're bored, or they're boring, you're kind of stuck, right? And you're even more stuck if somebody else drove.

    For me, it's easier to forgive a bad album then it is to be a boring live act. Especially when you consider the expense and effort it can be to go see someone live.
     
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  14. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Nice post.
    I think the Motels hit in the US early 80's. (but I don't think they were a MTV band)
    I just learned as much about Beatle tribute bands as I did about the Cars in this thread.
    Reminds me of guys at school who "did not smoke pot" but their roommate did and their room was commonly filled with smoke.
     
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  15. wiseblood

    wiseblood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA, USA
    [​IMG]
     
  16. dgstrat

    dgstrat Senior Member

    Location:
    West Islip, NY

    Where are you located?
     
  17. Brian Kelly

    Brian Kelly 1964-73 rock's best decade

    I saw the Cars on that tour in Springfield Mass. Opening act was Bram Tchaikovsky. Decent enough show, but not great.
     
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  18. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    This review of one of their performances during the 2011 tour reflects my experience of them in 1979 with remarkable accuracy.

    In retrospect, the Spectrum did my father a disservice by not allowing him to bring in those Frescas, despite my mortification. The mixture of its old fashioned straight up saccharine sweetener with the contact cannabis high might have made my first concert experience memorable (OK, my second concert). Too bad The Cars' indifferent performance wasn't involving enough to blow away any lingering feelings of humiliation. My father's behavior was in no way their fault. Still, I still hold a slight grudge against them for failing to spirit me away from the mess the evening had become.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2017
  19. Cast Iron Shore

    Cast Iron Shore Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    I wonder how many people are willing to walk. I've walked out on my share of bad concerts, including ones that I paid $100 for (Roger Waters, Bob Dylan). But I'm also the kind of person who goes to movies alone so that I have the option of leaving without making the person who came with me cut short their experience.
     
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  20. Galactus2

    Galactus2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    There's something to be said for (at times) being a lone wolf.
     
  21. cgw

    cgw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Upstate NY
    I've never walked for that reason (or walked out of a movie - though my date wanted to walk out of some Shelley Long movie decades ago).
    I left once or twice because I was there to see the opening act (and was there alone).
    I have left a couple times to beat the traffic but only when either I was there to see the opening act or it was one of those inexpensive concerts where I was iffy about going in the first case. In the couple times I have done that, I have completely under estimated how long the band would play (had left to play) and ended up missing more than I really needed to.
     
  22. Oatsdad

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

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    There are many activities I don't like to do alone, but honestly, I prefer going to concerts solo.

    I'm not there for the social occasion - I'm there to see the show, and I focus on the concert better when I'm alone...
     
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  23. Chrisedge

    Chrisedge Forum Resident

    Location:
    The OC
    You saw them on the Panorama tour if the Motels opened...The Cars Setlist at Market Square Arena, Indianapolis
     
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  24. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    They still make Fresca. I drink it occasionally.

    I only saw The Cars at Live Aid.

    I don't have anything else to add.
     
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  25. thestereofan

    thestereofan Senior Member

    Location:
    San Jose
    The Cars at LIVE AID.... They look fine to me.

     
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