The B-52s
Fairplex
Pomona, CA
September 7th, 2012
"FAIRPLEX"
VG+
Lineage / Equipment:
100' from rail dead center (Sec: GSF / Row 4) / 20' rob -> 4.5' h -> slavesound omni's ->
custom bb - no bass roll-off -> edirol r09 (44.1/16) -> sandisk 16gb class 4 sd -> reader ->
audition 3.0 - minimal level boost (+0 dB l / +2 dB r) (no normalization) -> har-bal 2.3 - moderate eq
(bass attenuate, treble boost) -> cd wave editor (track split) -> tlh (flac 8, etc...) -> DIME -> you ->
sense of enjoyment -> sharing is caring -> support the artist (yes) -XX convert to mp3 (no!!!).
Taper: mixter_
K.I.L.L. = Keep It LossLess
Setlist:
01. Planet Claire
02. Mesopotamia
03. Private Idaho
04. Lava
05. Give Me Back My Man
06. Funplex
07. Eyes Wide Open
08. Roam
09. 52 Girls
10. Love in the Year 3000
11. Too Much To Think About
12. Hot Corner
13. Whammy Kiss
14. Band Introduction
15. Love Shack
16. Wig
17. Rock Lobster
01:20:00
The Band:
Kate Pierson - Vocals, Keyboards on 05, 09, 16, Maracas on 05, Tambourine on 13.
Fred Schneider - Vocals, Glockenspiel on 05, Synth Pad on 13, Cowbell on 15, 17.
Keith Strickland - Guitar, Vocals
Cindy Wilson - Vocals, Bongos on 02, Tambourine on 04.
Sterling Campbell - Drums, Percussion
Tracy Wormworth - Bass
Paul Gordon - Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar
The performance:
It's great to see the Beez again. This time performing to a crowd of 5,000+ fairgoers. The Beez put on a a very solid L.A. County
Fair set that covered five newer Funplex tracks, five standards and no less than six deeper cuts. Sadly, still no "Summer Of Love"
this time either. The bouncy "Wig" from the highly magical and underrated "BOTS" is performed as an encore. A nice surprise in the
set. The Girls sounded fantastic with Cindy's vocals more present and dominant than their show at The Greek 2 months prior. Their
harmonies appeared to be on more solid footing this time around. Perhaps it was my closer proximity. The vocals absolutely dominate
this mix! Cindy sounds sublime on the angst-ridden yet fun "Give Me Back My Man" and Kate's theramin-like "Planet Claire" is pitch
perfect. A great fun party atmosphere, a cross between a concert and a Frankie - Annette Beach Party. A very tight band, suplanted
by ex-Duranie, Sterling Campbell and Gail Ann Dorsay protege, Tracy Wormworth. Paul Gordon handled double duty on keys and rhythm
guitar very well, sometimes simultaneously a la The Edge playing "New Year's Day".
The recording:
After my issues at The Greek two months prior, I thought I would have another go at taping the Beez. I had even lower expectations
this time around surrounded by a drunken fair crowd. I managed to find a really good single seat dead center in the fourth row of
the grand stand 2 weeks prior. I was eye level with the center of the stacks, nearly equidistant. A nice e-triangle. Furthermore,
the crowd was pretty good around me for the most part. No clappers or chatterers so to speak. Don't get me wrong, you can here the
crowd especially between songs and during quieter moments. The sound engineer was trying to square the vox during most of "Planet
Claire" and the crowd most expectedly goes off the rails during the anthemic "Rock Lobster". The girl behind me even shrieks for me
to "get up" in order for my nearly seven foot frame to block her view. Okey dokey. No problem, miss. There's a "coming through"
moment during "Wig". Fortunately the drunks to my left rear can only be heard at Fred's prelude to "Whammy Kiss". Although the
placement was excellent and the crowd around me surprisingly well-behaved the sound was slightly off. It wasn't quite muddy but a
little boomy. Vocals were at a near saturation point for the venue's sound system. My omnis didn't fair as well as cards would have.
That being said, it's not referential but it's still a fairly solid pull of a very fun show. Oh yeah. Nearly 3 minutes of the encore
break was parsed to make this clock in at 80 minutes. Does anyone still have a CD player out there? Anyone? Sorry to the purists. No
music was lost. It's not quite seemless but you weren't seriously going to listen to 3 minutes of cheering were you?
Of note:
Terri Nunn and Dave Schulz from Berlin hopped on stage to dance their mess around during "Rock Lobster". They were truly having a
great time doing the "Watusi".
Keith wore a harlequin hat throughout the performance and appeared more like Johnny Depp as a Batman villain.
Please support the band:
Buy the excellent referential "With The Wild Crowd: Live In Athens, GA" on CD, DVD and BluRay (oddly the CD leaves out "Rock Lobster".
Heresy!)... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HWUCQ8/
See a live show.
Buy some cool merch including their new retro chic Lunch Box or Beach Towel!
Go to Red Lobster and set one free!!!
Party On!
mixter_
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