Monday night Mrs. R and I went to the Green Day concert at the baseball stadium downtown – roof was open for a gorgeous start of fall night.
But it was a long one: 3 opening acts!
First, and definitely my (& maybe a good percentage of the crowd) favorite was the teen band from LA, The Linda Lindas. A burst of total, genuine, youth joy, rage and outright fun. Honestly made me a little choked up to see these kids having such a good time and plowing into their future – and oh yeah, they’re really good too!
Next up was Rancid – but they were not! Kind of on the back end of the Linda Lindas trajectory, these guys looked the part of having pounded it out for 30+ years – but it was still fresh, hard-edged, but punctuated with heartfelt vocals (Tim Armstrong, his hat over his heart) that the driving guitars made room for.
Biggest and lastest was Smashing Pumpkins, which I could always do without – however, Billy Corgan (sporting a long black with red buttoned Zippy The Pinhead type caftan), & company’s musical pomposity and overly long set was broken up near the end with an inexplicable “comic” pantomime by a scantily clad man & woman Professional Wrestler duo, enacting some sort of domestic abuse – at a strip club? – culminating in a center stage brawl where the Stripper woman body-slams the about to be neutered man (who then needs to be dragged from the stage, whimpering, by a Roadie). While nonsequitor on a cosmic level, it did make me appreciate Corgan a bit more for apparently not taking himself as seriously as he seems to.
Did I mention we were there to see Green Day? But what can I say? They were awesome as expected – blasted it out for an hour and a half (I think; Rimkus was a bit dizzy after 5 hours…). They Hit all the Hits which the crowd devoured and sang along to (they were warmed up before GD came on: a recording of Bohemian Rhapsody started playing and by the end the totality of the maybe 30,000 in attendance were belting it out – even Rimkus who seldom participates in such displays). Green Day continues to be relevant, touching and fun. And just TRY not sing along – you can’t! Nope.
But Knute’s not done yet with rock’n’roll this week. Tonight, I head to the Showbox to see Peter Hook & the Light. Who’s Peter Hook, you ask. Hooky was a founding member of Joy Division and its successor, New Order. His bold bass lines are in a class by themselves, actually carrying the melody in many New Order and Joy Division songs. Hook and his mates in New Order went their separate ways about six years ago, and now both tour, playing New Order music. Hooky plays the Joy Division stuff too. His voice lacks the range of the real vocalists of those bands, but lots of energy. I’m hoping the show energy makes the gruff vocals work.
And music is not my only news: I wrapped up the Tech career this week. I am no longer a corporate monkey. I have one last task, but I am essentially done, enjoying life with Joy Division’s “Radio Live Transmission” on my playlist.
My home office has been decluttered of all corporate paraphernalia. Now I only see guitars, notebooks, and books from the pending booklist that I can now enjoy.
Mrs R. and I plan on visiting Utah in the next month or so before it gets too cold.
Leaving the corporate world is similar to exiting from a cult. In a Fortune 500 company you are groomed to talk a certain way, dress a certain way, wear the same haircuts, and most importantly, fall in line with the company dogma and whims of the executive management whether or not you agree with it.
Here is what I hated about my job in the last few years:
-I had to fake enthusiasm every day with my team, manager and other colleagues.
-There is a constant state of obligatory compliance (damn those stupid lawyers).
-Everyone is your enemy, they want your job, and they will seek to destroy your career if you aren’t careful.
Now, my tennis/kayaking/hiking/surfing/traveling schedule has greatly expanded.
