Stoners, stereotypes, and other Monday night disappointments.
Through my brother Rick and our friend Ufuk, we have been introduced to the British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse in the last couple of months. When I found out that she would be playing at the Tempodrome - a five-minute walk from our place - I bought Dave and I a couple of tickets. For those of you who don't know Amy, her most famous song is called 'Rehab,' as she has struggled with addiction and bulimia. This made for an interesting conversation between Rick, Ufuk, Dave and I during the summer, about whether an artist has to be tortured to write meaningful lyrics. But we didn't expect we'd get such a firsthand experience with Amy's problems tonight.
The opening act came on punctually at 8:00 and sang a set of songs, then the lights went up as the roadies prepared the stage. While we waited...and waited and waited and waited. At first I got irritated, then I started to realize that maybe there was a real problem as the girl from Leeds sitting next to us started a chat with Dave. The crowd grew restless, alternately cheering and jeering as they waited. About 10:00 the lights finally came down, and the band came out - two backup singers, a keyboard player, a drummer, a bass, a sax, and a trumpet player. Then out came Amy - tiny, waiflike, and clearly stoned. Her first motion was to scratch at the top of her dress, then tug at the bottom of her hem, followed by a series of stumbles, yawns, and conspicuous nose pinches. We couldn't figure out what she had done, but she was clearly not in a normal state of mind.
As she started to sing, the British girl next to us leaned over and yelled, 'Germans don't dance!' as she pointed down to the people standing in front of the stage. I thought, these people have an even better view of what to us is clearly obvious - Amy is in terrible shape and is going to get off stage as quickly as possible. She sang a set that lasted about 40 minutes, and Dave and I were back inside our apartment well before 11:00. What a disappointment.
Through my brother Rick and our friend Ufuk, we have been introduced to the British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse in the last couple of months. When I found out that she would be playing at the Tempodrome - a five-minute walk from our place - I bought Dave and I a couple of tickets. For those of you who don't know Amy, her most famous song is called 'Rehab,' as she has struggled with addiction and bulimia. This made for an interesting conversation between Rick, Ufuk, Dave and I during the summer, about whether an artist has to be tortured to write meaningful lyrics. But we didn't expect we'd get such a firsthand experience with Amy's problems tonight.
The opening act came on punctually at 8:00 and sang a set of songs, then the lights went up as the roadies prepared the stage. While we waited...and waited and waited and waited. At first I got irritated, then I started to realize that maybe there was a real problem as the girl from Leeds sitting next to us started a chat with Dave. The crowd grew restless, alternately cheering and jeering as they waited. About 10:00 the lights finally came down, and the band came out - two backup singers, a keyboard player, a drummer, a bass, a sax, and a trumpet player. Then out came Amy - tiny, waiflike, and clearly stoned. Her first motion was to scratch at the top of her dress, then tug at the bottom of her hem, followed by a series of stumbles, yawns, and conspicuous nose pinches. We couldn't figure out what she had done, but she was clearly not in a normal state of mind.
As she started to sing, the British girl next to us leaned over and yelled, 'Germans don't dance!' as she pointed down to the people standing in front of the stage. I thought, these people have an even better view of what to us is clearly obvious - Amy is in terrible shape and is going to get off stage as quickly as possible. She sang a set that lasted about 40 minutes, and Dave and I were back inside our apartment well before 11:00. What a disappointment.
posted by Erin at 10:56 PM
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