A NIGHT WITH THEM CROOKED VULTURES – OTTAWA
It seems to be an age of the “supergroup” these past few years: Velvet Revolver may have started the trend in 2004 with their debut Contraband (no pun, I’m sure…) and they’ve been followed up by some powerful collaborations – think Audioslave and perhaps Chickenfoot – and some not so successful musical experiments (like, say, oh, Rock Star Supernova…?).
The supergroup idea seems to have really taken root in Canada as well, with The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene almost eclipsing the fame of their member’s preceding bands. We’re watching intently to see if the individual members of the latest Canadian supergroup Crash Karma can draw in the fans of their members 90’s successes…
Them Crooked Vultures, fist hinted at in 2005 and finally emerging in 2009, has taken the concept of the rock supergroup to a new level. Joining Led Zepplin legend bassist John Paul Jones, journeyman artists Dave Grohl (Nirvanna, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Eagles of Death Metal), Them Crooked Vultures brings together nearly 50 years of performances and three generations of fans to what may be the latest “ultimate” supergroup.
Grohl and Homme have made a career of lending their talents and musicianship to a variety of commercially and critically successful rock ventures, and with a true classic rock pioneer joining them for this project, Them Crooked Vultures rolls into Ottawa’s Scotiabank Place with some pretty big shoes to fill.
You won’t be surprised to learn that they didn’t disappoint…
Opening with No One Lives Me & Neither Do I, TCV set the tone early and didn’t let off the pedal once. Performing on full area stage to a small crowd for Scotiabank Place; attendance was announced as 3000, TCV brought the crowd in and made it feel like an intimate club show.
Lengthy, melodic jams of album material, like Scumbag Blues, made this feel like a classic rock show – seems JPJ`s Zep background has rubbed off on the rest of TCV.
Lots of young faces in the crowd may have been there by way of Foo Fighters or Queens of the Stone Age, but Grohl and Homme were there as Vultures exclusively. Really, do they have much to prove at this point? One a member of perhaps the greatest, most innovative rock bands of all times; another part of the Seattle grunge revolution of the 90’s (and a mighty fine top 40 career since) and finally a true artist, splitting his talents between a handful of critically acclaimed and incredibly various projects.
This is an exercise in music; a love of the lyric, the chord and the beat. This isn’t about selling records or getting radio airplay, though New Fang did make it to 14 on the US rock charts. This is about playing their songs to their fans, at a club, in an arena, on the street.
Supergroup? Perhaps by definition, but Them Crooked Vultures enjoys success not because of the names or their pedigree; this is old school rock and roll – power chords, booming bass drum and talent in spades. Did some fans buy tickets to see Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters? Sure they did, but I guarantee they left as fans of Dave Grohl of Them Crooked Vultures….
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