Just Not The Same

Buried amongst the dozens and dozens of channels on my TV is HDNet, which is one of those high definition channels which can be completely random. The programming is all over the place - sometimes it's a sitcom, other times it's a movie and a lot of the time on weekends they like to show concerts. The other day when I paused on HDNet it was a concert by Journey, so of course I had to watch some of it and see how they were. While occasionally they'll break out a classic show, this time it wasn't an old concert by the original line-up but a show from the last couple of years with the new lead singer that they found on YouTube. Now, the reason that they hired this guy was that he sounded just like Steve Perry, who was on lead vocals when the band had it's most commercial success. But I have to tell you, it doesn't matter how similar the voices are, it just isn't the same.

Bands try and do this all the time, finding a singer who sounds enough like the original lead singer so they can keep on touring with the same songs. But I feel like bands underestimate how much impact the change makes during a concert. While the studio albums might still sound enough alike that you can pass them off on the radio, changing the face of the band in concert just doesn't work. I don't care if the rest of the lineup is the same, as long as they try to perform the old hits with a new singer it will always feel as though you are simply watching a cover band with a high production value. Why do you think that Aerosmith thought better of touring without Steven Tyler and Van Halen keeps reuniting with David Lee Roth, despite the fact that they clearly can't stand him?

Van Halen actually has shown both the right and the wrong way to change singers. The first time they hired Sammy Hagar and completely changed their style - a little more pop, not as much rock. Changing the style was a good attempt to show a clean break from the DLR days. But when Hagar left and they brought in Gary Charone, it just didn't work because they essentially tried to get him to sing as Hagar and Roth. That failed miserably. So, let that be a lesson to you bands out there - if you're going to make a change, go all the way. Just changing one thing is more cheesy than effective.

-I was reading a story on ESPN this morning about how a lot of the players in the upcoming World Cup are unhappy about the ball. This, of course, led me to have a question: how do you screw up a soccer ball? It is literally just a round ball. It's not like a golf ball with divot technology. I've always thought one of the big reason soccer was so popular world-wide was because it was the easier sport to get all the equipment for. All you need to play are shoes, a ball, something to shoot that ball at and maybe shin guards if you are feeling fancy. Now, on the biggest stage the game has, they've screwed up what should have been one of the last things they ever would have had to worry about. Honestly, who is in charge of this stuff?