|
Okay... here
goes... this comes straight from my notebook:
"I suppose
it's unfair to judge on character off-stage, right? But
I totally can't help myself. Rob McCuen is a
self-absorbed ass. Upon walking in McAuliffe's Saturday
night, it was obvious who the band guys were. This one,
however, with the dark rimmed, tinted glasses, white denim
jacket and arrogance to spare had to be Rob McCuen." And it
was. Loud and obnoxious, and extremely distracting, I knew
right away I wouldn't go see this band again simply on
character, the clincher being when Rob's drink needed
refilling. As opposed to going where the waitress was more
apt to see him, he set his drink on the bar and stood
directly in my view of Trolley, who I rather enjoyed
watching. Rob was fidgety and danced in his little area in
front of me. At one point, he did turn and say hello (not
realizing I had been writing negative comments about
him in my book)... Between Trolley songs, he yelled out
condescending comments which they took in great stride, but
I wouldn't have been so kind. Eventually, he got his drink
filled and went away, with he and his fellow band members
still screaming at Trolley between songs, every 4th or 5th
word being "fuck" or some other derogatory comment.
When Rob
& his 2 "Ruins" were finally allowed to take the
stage, they played some pretty decent hard hitting tunes,
some of which I'd heard on WMSE (and part of the reason I
wanted to see them in the first place). Rob plays drums and
is on lead vocals, with the other Ruins on guitar and bass.
But apparently there was some problem with the sound system,
and after each song, Rob complained he couldn't hear his
vocals. We heard them fine, but ... Then, as if Rob wasn't
enough, we got to watch the skinny, young-looking, bleach
blonde, tattooed bass player pathetically play the role of
the "punk" by yelling out "God Dammit!" and, at one point,
kicking over some bar stools and making a mess. whoa... So
"punk." Ha. He was an idiot and
laughable. The guitar player also liked to play the role of
rocker, rough and angry, and again using the word
"fuck" a lot. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a puritan.
In fact, I agree with comic Billy Connolly when he
says "People say profanity comes from lack of vocabulary.
That's not true. I know at least a 127 words and I still
prefer 'fuck'…" But in this case, it was rather
monotonous and unoriginal.
They ended
their set early because of the sound problems, much to my
relief. I was told "it's all part of the act," by either a
friend of the band or a fan. I said "well, it's an act I
won't be catching again." While talking at the bar
after the show, however... a congenial and upbeat Rob McCuen
came up and asked me "So, who you writin' for?"
I said, "Oh, I just like to write." He
actually ended up in a bit of a chat with my friend, who
bought a CD from him (and says it's not that bad). They
chatted about car racing and a few other things that I have
no clue about. He wasn't as obnoxious, in fact very friendly
and animated, but (and I'm sure that it doesn't matter to
him OR the Ruins) he won't have my $ heading his way
any time soon.
When
I wasn't being annoyed by Mr. McCuen, I was
happy to get a chance to watch Trolley perform. They
were fun to watch. Very 60's pop feel, ala early Beatles or
Kinks perhaps, maybe even a little surf (*gasp*) thrown in.
They had a nice look (jackets/ties), good sound, upbeat
feel, and the lead singer was really fun to watch with his
stage mannerisms. Little subtle moves that just kind of make
you smile. I ended up with a Trolley CD from a friend, but
haven't listened to it much since the show. The music isn't
really something I'd go out of my way to catch on the
weekends, but it was nice to catch them. And they were pure
class when dealing with Rob & Co.
**NOTE:
Rob McCuen & the Ruins are playing with the
Danglers in Rockford, IL this week. Interesting
pairing...
|