Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I was there, and here's some details, July 10, 2001
I don't know if "the ground rumbled," but it was a hell of a show. I was there, a student at the University of Missouri, Columbia (I don't know where the hell they got that Missouri University thing).Some details for you fans... The show was organized by MU's student radio station, KCOU, very nearly by accident. The station already had booked Alex for the annual Springfest, again organized by KCOU, and somebody there said - "Hey, wouldn't it be funny if.." and history was made with a couple of calls to Jody Stephens, Alex, and the Posies. We were outside in a tent, of all things, because the Hearnes Center was booked with, if I remember right, a Bryan Adams concert. There couldn't have been 200 people in the tent, either. As always, it was a great performance by the best unknown band in the world. Alex was in fine form, and was a treat to see during his waking hours, versus some of the darker shows I've seen him do. And it was the only time I've seen him perform Chris Bell's work, which was nice. Anyway, thought you might like some details from an eyewitness to the show. S. Clayton Moore Denver, Colorado
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The air was electrified and the ground rumbled, October 10, 2000
The short-lived Big Star produced some of the most significant hard-edged Pop to date - severe electric rhythms featuring irrepressible melodies. Columbia serves several purposes. Gratifying the appetite of core fans with a nostalgic tribute. Introducing graying Power Poppers to two superb young musicians (from the Posies). And perhaps sharing a bit of Big Star with younger Posies' fans.The air was electrified and the ground rumbled on April 25, 1993, at Missouri University. The fourteen song concert opens with the heavy-handed `In The Street,' and the bitter `Don't Lie To Me.' `In The Street' is a ferocious rocker built on a seven-note bass guitar progression. The opening song sets the tone for the evening: rumbling base guitar, rousing lead and rhythm guitars, and enticing vocal harmonies. `Don't Lie To Me' sounds like a solid brick wall of electric rock moving unstoppable from the stage into the audience. The song doesn't have a quiet second that you can stick your finger into. The poignant `I Am The Cosmos' (adolescent infatuation at its best) sounds as if someone accidentally plugged the toaster into a 220-volt socket - sparks fly. The concert continues with the vigor of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. Sing-along melodies? You can bet you copy of #1 Record - `The Ballad Of El Goodo' (a rebellious but melodic teenage statement) and `September Gurls' are gorgeous. The concert ends (too soon) with a rousing boogie titled `Slut' (the politically incorrect anti-feminist statement). Columbia includes a share of "imperfections." At times the tempo is not quite synchronized, and the harmony vocals are less than "angelic." Thank goodness. Columbia is not sanitized like the starched white linen at the Hyatt Regency - this is "live" rock. Crude, raunchy, brazen and liberating. Just the way rock is supposed to be.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
2/4 of Big Star avoid sounding like an oldies act, April 6, 2000
Perhaps it's a testament to the songwriting of Chilton, Bell, and Hummel, perhaps it's that Chilton and Stephens haven't been retreading these songs in concert for the past 25 years, or maybe it's just the added energy of the Posies' Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, but these renderings of Big Star's essential canon sound *fresh*. The performance is at turns sloppy, inspired, raw, and cohesive. It doesn't shed new light the way "Big Star Live" did at the time of its release (mostly because this isn't the first peek into Chilton & Stephens live sound), but it's certainly a welcome addition to any Big Star fan's collection.Now what *I* want to know is where to get tapes of the two missing tracks (shown in a photograph of the set-list, but missing from the disc): "O My Soul" and "13" - the latter being my very favorite Chilton composition. At less than 45-minutes, there was certainly room on the disc for these two tracks.
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