{"id":3380,"date":"2010-09-28T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2010-09-28T14:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=3380"},"modified":"2010-09-29T06:15:16","modified_gmt":"2010-09-29T14:15:16","slug":"muse-at-staples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2010\/09\/28\/muse-at-staples\/","title":{"rendered":"Muse At Staples"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE CLASHFINDER<\/span><\/p>\n

Harry Griffiths had flown home from China on a Russian airline and his bags had been lost.\u00c2\u00a0 His parents weren’t thrilled that he’d taken this option, but Harry had made it home safely, yet he now had to go shopping for clothes for his visit to Glastonbury, the following day, on the train, it’s a right of passage for British youth.<\/p>\n

As passionate about music as his father Richard, it was thrilling to discuss bands with Harry.\u00c2\u00a0 Although he was interested in the commercial success of his favorite acts, first and foremost he was interested in the sound, the music.<\/p>\n

I stumbled into the kitchen on a late summer morning and laid out on the table was a giant printout, a daunting collection of dates and times and musical acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry was studying it like a blueprint, analyzing…\u00c2\u00a0 They say the younger generation has a short attention span, that’s b.s., if they’re interested in something there’s no limit to the amount of time they’ll spend studying it.\u00c2\u00a0 Harry was studying his Glastonbury clashfinder.<\/p>\n

Huh?<\/p>\n

Yes, going to a festival like Glastonbury requires planning, you need to know when your favorite acts are performing, you have to make choices in advance, to ensure that you aren’t disappointed.<\/p>\n

Maybe they exist under a different moniker in the U.S., but I’d never experienced a clashfinder before, Harry started to explain it to me.<\/p>\n

He started pointing out bands and set times.<\/p>\n

He wanted to see the National, his favorite new act.<\/p>\n

He wanted to see the oldster, Ray Davies.<\/p>\n

And, of course, he had to see Muse, "the best live band in the world right now."<\/p>\n

\n
Glastonbury 2010 clashfinder<\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

STAPLES<\/span><\/p>\n

They say that Obama’s economic stimulus is a joke, but all I know is it’s really screwing up traffic in Los Angeles.\u00c2\u00a0 The 405 is a disaster.\u00c2\u00a0 And downtown, an enigma to most Angelenos, is a mess of open and closed ramps and streets. But time was not of the essence, I was going to the gig early, to have dinner with Tony DiCioccio, Q Prime’s touring guru.<\/p>\n

I probably would have gone to the show anyway, just to visit with my friends, but I’d been to see Muse half a decade earlier, at the Mayan, and they’d put on a stadium level show in the theatre.\u00c2\u00a0 It was clear that this band needed it.\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s the number one requirement for musical success, desire, it even eclipses talent.\u00c2\u00a0 How bad do you want to make it?\u00c2\u00a0 All I know is Muse had already made it in the U.K. and Europe, and they now wanted to make it over here.<\/p>\n

But usually, they worked over there.<\/p>\n

Then Stephenie Meyer said they were her favorite act and Muse was included in the "Twilight" soundtrack.\u00c2\u00a0 You might be rolling your eyes now, saying it’s all about placement, that’s how you break, but Muse had been working for years before Ms. Meyer discovered them, "Twilight" was a lucky break.\u00c2\u00a0 The key is to be in the game long enough to experience your lucky break.\u00c2\u00a0 Most people give up too soon.\u00c2\u00a0 Or expect it to come too early.\u00c2\u00a0 Success comes to those who wait.\u00c2\u00a0 And want it.<\/p>\n

Dialing Tony at the security checkpoint, I ended up running into Brian Murphy, who gave me Michael Rapino’s pass and escorted me down the ramp.\u00c2\u00a0 Rapino never showed, rumor had it he was out of town, but when we met in catering, Tony exchanged a new laminate for that of the vaunted one and we sat down for dinner.<\/p>\n

Well, at first, just me and Brian and his wife Judy Stakee, who’d first worked with Katy Perry.\u00c2\u00a0 Back when she sang songs instead of the beat-driven material that will have her playing clubs or small theatres at best.\u00c2\u00a0 Judy’s no longer at Warner Chappell, she’s coaching acts on her own, no longer under the auspices of the corporation, she’s going by her gut, and that’s the only way to succeed today.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Tony and I caught up, and then when he had to rise to take care of some old friends, Cliff Burnstein sat down.<\/p>\n

Cliff looks like a homeless person.\u00c2\u00a0 I know, because it takes one to know one.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re both lost in the sixties, when what went on in your brain was more important than your exterior.\u00c2\u00a0 Cliff always wears a t-shirt, his flowing white hair would make the uninitiated believe he’s a madman, but there’s not a clearer thinker about music and the industry today.<\/p>\n

Cliff has started a label.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s investing his own money.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, he’s still got acts on majors, but he can’t rely solely on them.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s got deals with Sleigh Bells and Ingrid Michaelson and…he’s as excited about music as he’s ever been. Not whining, just marching forward.<\/p>\n

And Cliff and his partner Peter Mensch are not about world domination, they’re not about empire, they’re about the music.\u00c2\u00a0 First and foremost, Cliff is a music fan, you should have seen him twirling to the tunes on the arena floor, eyes closed, arms in the air, like he’d been transported overnight from the Fillmore to here and was very happy about it.<\/p>\n

Yes, at about nine, the band went on.<\/p>\n

THE SHOW<\/span><\/p>\n

You want to deliver an experience that not only satiates the audience, but leaves it on a high, telling everybody about the show for not only days, but hopefully months thereafter, to the point where they’re going to drag their friends to the next gig.<\/p>\n

Yes, the music should be enough.<\/p>\n

But if you’re going to do production, it should be state of the art plus one, visuals the audience could not conceive of until they experience them.<\/p>\n

The three members of Muse were ensconced in these towers, built of hi-def video screens.\u00c2\u00a0 When the lights came on, they were atop platforms, in the middle, like they were playing on the fortieth floor of a hundred story building.<\/p>\n

How did they come up with this?\u00c2\u00a0 You were blown away!<\/p>\n

But one of the curtains was not blown away and tearing it down a guitar was knocked over, the band had to be lowered to the stage early, there was a glitch.\u00c2\u00a0 Not that the audience knew, but Cliff and Tony told me.\u00c2\u00a0 They said Matt was pissed.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why he vamped so long in the encore, to expend his anger.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t know, worked for me…\u00c2\u00a0 I like it when people embrace their emotions.<\/p>\n

And although the sound was modern, there were references to the past.\u00c2\u00a0 The extended Zeppelin riff at the end of one of the songs.\u00c2\u00a0 The instrumental version of "House Of The Rising Sun" that had the whole audience singing the words…\u00c2\u00a0 Who knew people this young had even heard the Animals’ arrangement!<\/p>\n

Yes, the audience was young.\u00c2\u00a0 Not Taylor Swift young, but no one hassled me as I walked backstage, they figured if a guy this old was in attendance, he had to be working.<\/p>\n

So, you can sit here and say Muse and its show are not a breakthrough.\u00c2\u00a0 But they are for the audience.<\/p>\n

But even more important is that Muse is not a household name.<\/p>\n

No, let me change that.\u00c2\u00a0 Muse is not a mainstream media staple.\u00c2\u00a0 We hear about Katy Perry every day, but it’s Muse that can sell out multiple arena dates.\u00c2\u00a0 As it once was and as it should be.\u00c2\u00a0 Music is an insider’s game.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not for everybody, it’s for those in the know.\u00c2\u00a0 There was a mainstream driven by MTV in the last century, now that’s kaput. Now it’s like the sixties and seventies all over again.\u00c2\u00a0 Your folks don’t know, but the little girls understand.<\/p>\n


IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST<\/span><\/p>\n

L.A. is not a late night town.\u00c2\u00a0 You say your goodbyes and move on, exiting the building when you figure traffic has died down enough to make it to the freeway without experiencing road rage.<\/p>\n

That is, of course, if you don’t leave early to avoid the teeming masses.\u00c2\u00a0 I saw Rick Rubin on the floor, but he was nowhere to be found after the show.<\/p>\n

But it was stunning who was.\u00c2\u00a0 And how long they stayed.<\/p>\n

David Foster?\u00c2\u00a0 What brings David Foster to see Muse?\u00c2\u00a0 I mean sure, he produced the Tubes and…<\/p>\n

Foster told me his favorite show ever was Yes.\u00c2\u00a0 The "Fragile" tour.<\/p>\n

People surprise you every day.<\/p>\n

And the new Warner team was there.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn’t connect with Rob Cavallo, but I had a long conversation with Lyor.\u00c2\u00a0 Who told me, yes, he was going to be in Los Angeles from Sunday through Thursday for three months making sure the new Warner got off on the right foot.\u00c2\u00a0 Lyor had just gotten in from Teddy Forstmann’s conference in Aspen.\u00c2\u00a0 He was thrilled with some of the speakers he heard, like the gentleman who had decoded Alzheimers.\u00c2\u00a0 And he played golf at 8,000 feet, which led to the story of playing Shinnecock with Roger Waters and hitting a hole-in-one.<\/p>\n

This was when Peter Paterno had joined the conversation, when we were discussing how far the ball traveled at that altitude.<\/p>\n

And Peter was busy talking to Tom Morello.<\/p>\n

And Rob McDermott was smiling despite no longer working with Linkin Park.<\/p>\n

Now you can talk shit about these people, but it’s always more interesting to hear the story from the horse’s mouth, those who are truly making the decisions.<\/p>\n

But maybe you don’t care.\u00c2\u00a0 And you don’t need to.\u00c2\u00a0 You no longer need to go through Lyor and Foster and even Cliff Burnstein in order to make it.\u00c2\u00a0 Live Nation only cares if you can sell tickets.\u00c2\u00a0 Press is interesting, but that doesn’t get everybody to lay down their hard-earned cash for a night on the town.\u00c2\u00a0 No, in order to achieve that, you need to touch souls, you need to change lives.<\/p>\n

And that’s what Muse does.<\/p>\n

Doesn’t matter if Muse touches you, if it changes your life, a zillion people have already drunk the kool-aid, they need to go to the show more than they need to go to school or work.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you instill that level of passion in your audience? Tweeting might help.\u00c2\u00a0 Lyor might invest in you.\u00c2\u00a0 Cliff can certainly give you guidance, assuming he’s willing to work with you.\u00c2\u00a0 But it truly comes down to the music.\u00c2\u00a0 Without it, you’ve got nothing.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like the solar system without the sun.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like a BMW without an engine.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like a flat screen with no cable access.\u00c2\u00a0 The music drives the enterprise. And that’s where you come in.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, you can buy insurance from Dr. Luke, but then everybody knows it’s not you, you’re reliant on hits, you’re Ke$ha.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to be Muse.\u00c2\u00a0 You want Harry Griffiths saying that you’re the best live band in the world right now.<\/p>\n

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THE CLASHFINDER Harry Griffiths had flown home from China on a Russian airline and his bags had been lost.\u00c2\u00a0 His parents weren’t thrilled that he’d taken this option, but Harry had made it home safely, yet he now had to go shopping for clothes for his visit to Glastonbury, the following day, on the train, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-shows","category-music-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-Sw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3380"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3389,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions\/3389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}