Well, this is a fun continuation of our ongoing White Stripes experiment. Of course it’s only Jack White attempting a new world record as he voyages out in the wake of his new album Blunderbuss.

Here’s the news according to a press release that I received and chuckled through as I read the details of this strange metaphoric concert quest.

Jack White has again decided to take on the tremendous challenge of making it into the Guinness Book of World Records.

During the rest of the performances on his current tour supporting his new album “Blunderbuss” (which incidentally is currently in the running for the world record of “the fastest named album in history” *pending), Jack White will every night on stage attempt to break the world record for most metaphors in a single concert.

The attempt may prove very exhausting and at times even dangerous, but the results could prove to be glorious and possibly even vainglorious. White and Third Man Records are certain that the extremely scientific and intricate analysis of the metaphors that occur will be examined in accordance with Guinness’ usually very thorough methods probably, or at the very least if somebody answers the phone at the pub.

Third Man Records encourages all attendees of said concerts to please not interfere or interject with any metaphors that they witness occur during the show as to not disqualify or worse yet, trivialize the metaphor in question. In addition all concert attendees are encouraged to entice as many metaphors to occur during the show that they possibly can as long as they don’t endanger themselves or Mr. White.

Sounds like fun, right?

Well, for the most part it will be entertaining to watch this unfold.

But I think if audience participation is not encourage White will be missing out on an intriguing opportunity for concert fan crowdsourcing. And if fans are just observers and not participants in this strange quest then we might have another unfortunate Looky-Loos situation on our hands.

Jack White vs. Guinness

The other twist to the story is that this isn’t the first time that Jack White has tried to make Guinness World Records history with his live show.

As Pitchfork reports, back in 2007 The White Stripes attempted to set a record for the shortest concert ever with a one-note show. The attempt was captured in the excellent film Great White Northern Lights and here’s what happened back then:

“Ultimately they turned us down,” White told Aldrin, calling the Guinness organizers “elitist” and their decision arbitrary.

“There’s nothing scientific about what they do. They just have an office full of people who decide what is a record and what isn’t. I mean, there is some stuff like Olympic records where they have a committee. But most of the records in there-who has the biggest collection of salt-and-pepper shakers or whatever-are just whatever they want them to be. So with something like the shortest concert of all time, they didn’t think whatever we did was interesting enough to make it a record. I don’t know why they get to decide that, but, you know, they own the book . . . Maybe this will help us get the word out.”

Well, it seems that it did.

Guinness World Records have now explained their decision to NME. The White Stripes were, apparently, recognized for their accomplishment in a 2009 edition of the book. But then Guinness received a barrage of applications from other bands attempting to outdo the White Stripes. The organization realized that “the nature of competing to make something the ‘shortest’ by its very nature trivialises the activity being carried out,” they told NME. They decided to do away with a range of “shortest” categories, including shortest song, shortest poem, and shortest concert. Also adding to the decision, they told NME, was how different interpretations of what constitutes a “concert” made the category hard to work with.

All this said, White’s metaphoric quest seems more like a personal mission between him and Guinness, than a fun thing for him and fan’s to experience during the forth-coming tour. Either way, I’m sure it will be entertaining to see if White can pull it off and see if Guinness finally approves.

What do you think about White’s quest?

Were you at the one-note show? Would you want to help White with his metaphoric adventure? What would you do to make this a true artist and fan collaboration?

Rock on my friends and do share your concert experiences and thoughts in the comments below, so they can be included in a future episode of Live Fix Radio.

Jack White’s Tour Dates:

05/18-20/12 – Gulf Shores, AL – The Hangout Music Fest

05/19/12 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel +

05/21/12- NY, NY – Roseland Ballroom +

05/22/12 – NY, NY – Roseland Ballroom +

05/24/12 – Detroit, MI – Scottish Rite Theater +

05/24/12 – Detroit, MI – Scottish Rite Theater (all ages matinee show) +

05/26/12 – George, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival

05/27/12 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre +

05/28/12 – Eugene, OR – Hult Center for the Performing Arts (Silva Concert Hall) +

05/30/12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern +

05/31/12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern +

06/21/12 – London, UK – O2 Academy Broxton +

06/22/12 – London, UK – Hammersmith Apollo +

06/23/12 – Hackney Marshes, London, UK – Radio 1′s Hackney Weekend

06/25/12 – Amsterdam, NL – Heineken Music Hall

06/26/12 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom

06/27/12 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk +

06/29/12 -Werchter, Belgium – Rock Werchter

07/01/12 – Belfort, France – Les Eurockeennes

07/02/12 – Paris, France – L’Olympia +

07/03/12 – Paris, France – L’Olympia +

07/05/12 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks +

07/05-08/12 – Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival

07/20-22/12 – Dover, Delaware – Firefly Music Festival +

07/25/12 – Melbourne, Australia – Festival Hallm +

07/26/12 – Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavillion +

07/27/12 – Byron Bay, Australia – Splendour In The Grass Festival +

07/27-29/12 – Niigata, Japan – Fuji Rock Festival +

08/03-05/12 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza

08/08/12 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater

08/10-12/12 – San Francisco, CA – Outside Lands

We apologize for the blog dust and switching around, but we promise things will be improved and back to normal. And we’ll have a new and improved site for you to play around on very soon.

We hope you’re enjoying the weekend and having a great time at concerts this year. And as always, we’d love to hear all about your adventures. Go ahead and share your stories in the comments below!

What happens when two concert fans team up to embark on a month-long quest to test the limits of their love for live music?

Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve wondered about the insanity and courageousness of concert fans. Back in 2008, I spoke with a fan who attempted to see 20 shows in 20 days.

And now, as 2010 comes to a close and we begin to contemplate and compile our list, we have another amazingly ambitious and crazy concert fan adventure to share with you.

Back in October, I saw the status update below come across my Facebook Newsfeed.

“Countdown to Rocktober Immortality: Seen 47 bands in 28 days. 3 more to go. Many of you said it couldn’t be done. Many of you clucked your tongues and stroked your beards saying “What’s to be done with this Drew Fortune?” Dare to dream people…dare to dream.”

And the second I finished reading that status update, I wanted to know more about this bold quest to see if it was worthy of other exciting fan news in 2010.

And it was.

To discover more of the details and inspiration behind about the Rocktober Challenge to see 50 bands in 31 days, I went right to the source.

So without further ado, here’s the list of 50 bands they saw during their cross-country quest, followed by a Q&A with the ambitious concert fans themselves: Drew Fortune and Tara Anderson.

As they reflect on the meaning and significance of their journey, you’ll see how their amazing Rocktober experience was filled with pleasure, pain, profound discovery and friendship. And for those of you thinking of trying the same thing, pay close attention to Drew and Tara’s sage warnings for concert fans who dare to follow in their footsteps.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about their quest, let’s continue the conversation in the comments below.

Rocktober band list:

1. Guided by Voices
2. Pavement
3. Sonic Youth
4. Yo La Tengo
5. Belle & Sebastian
6. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
7. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
8. Superchuck
9. Spoon
10. Cat Power
11. Fucked Up
12. Girls
13. Cold Cave
14. The New Pornographers
15. Esben and the Witch
16. Come
17. Teenage Fanclub
18. Zues
19. Jamie Lidell
20. Loneliest Monk
21. The Spectral Cities
22. Yawn!
23. Young Man
24. Japandroids
25. Walkmen
26. Craig Waldren
27. Greg Dulli
28. DM Stith
29. Sufjan Stevens
30. Paradise Waits
31. Devotcha
32. Band of Horses
33. Lucero
34. Social Distortion
35. Frank Turner
36. Honda Pavarotti
37. Canasta
38. Black Prairie
39. Bob Mould
40. JW Williams
41. Carl Weathersby
42. Infernaeon
43. Casualties
44. GWAR
45. Milk at Midnight
46. The Cathy Santonies
47. Rachel Roberts
48. JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound
49. Peter Terry
50. Joe Firstman with Trey Lockerbie and Marianne Keith

LF: What inspired you to challenge yourself to see 50 bands in 28 days? Did you have any examples of other fans that had tried it before?

DF: It all started when my partner in crime Tara Anderson and I realized how many insanely good bands were playing Chicago in October. For me, it was about the best concert month in memory. Matador Records announced their 21st Anniversary party Oct 1-3 in Vegas with some of my all-time favorite bands, so it seemed like fate had pretty much determined that we were going to be sacrificing an entire month to the music Gods.

We toyed with the idea of shooting everything for a documentary, but I’d just seen Joaquin Phoenix’s I’m Not Here documentary, so the idea of us actually losing our minds and blowing lines off of strippers on film might have proved detrimental to our careers. The actual idea of Rocktober seemed far-fetched even when we were halfway through the month, and it really did become an endurance trial. To my knowledge, I’ve never heard of anyone undertaking a project like this, and I don’t advise anyone to attempt it. After all, we’re professionals. And insane.

TA: Insane indeed. Looking back the goal of 50 bands in 1 month doesn’t really make much sense, or even have a nice ring to it. As Drew said it was all about October being epic and the idea kept snowballing with each new e-mail received about a gig that was not to be missed. At one point we even contemplated attending CMJ in New York and Voodoo Music Fest in New Orleans. Surely had we done this the goal of seeing 50 bands wouldn’t have been much of a challenge.

How did you come up with the list of bands and show dates that you wanted to see?

DF: We had a wish list of bands that we wanted to see, but ticket prices and sold out shows were obvious obstacles. Some gigs we had to attend simply to make our weekly deadline, even if it was an artist we knew nothing about on a cold Wednesday night when we were both exhausted. I interviewed Teenage Fanclub and Band of Horses opener Besnard Lakes, so certain shows were work related. At times, it got so desperate that we would have been willing to see a busker on a street corner playing a kazoo just to check off another gig.

TA: Throughout the duration of our quest I would prepare weekly ‘This Week in Rock’ emails that I would send to Drew and we would tweak along the way. This seemed to keep us on track to reach our goal and gave me the opportunity to dictate the bands I wanted to see (insert devilish smile).

What specific criteria did you have for determining what a show was. For example, did the shows have to happen at different venues, etc.

DF: We were pretty strict about our criteria from the beginning. DJ’s playing between sets didn’t count. If a band happened to be playing at a restaurant or a location incidentally, that didn’t count. We had to get the artist’s name and hear at least one song in its entirety for a performance to be put up on the Big Board. Different venues were not a priority, but we did get to experience an interesting cross-section of Chicago venues. For instance, one night we would be at a sold-out gig at the Chicago Theatre and the next we’d be singing the blues with ten people at Kingston Mines.

TA: I can’t think of a single band that we only heard one song and added it to the list. Don’t be so modest Drew, we stuck it out through full sets for those we counted.

What did you learn the most about your love for live music during the Challenge? Would you suggest other fans try the same thing?

As the Events Editor for PopMatters, I’m constantly seeing live music. This year, I covered SXSW, Coachella, Pitchfork and Lollapalooza. One thing that has constantly been on my brain for the past few years is that there is very little danger anymore in the live experience. I was born a decade too late. I would have loved to have seen The Replacements getting wasted and chunking sets. I missed literally getting shit on by GG Allin.

In that sense, after seeing 50 bands in one month, I never saw one fight or bit of bad behavior. That’s a good thing, but I yearn for a time when rock shows were dirty, raw and visceral. That’s just me being jaded. In the end, I learned that having sore legs and feeling fatigue is a small price to pay for the shared experience of seeing live music with an amazing person by my side. If you don’t believe that on any given night a band could suddenly be your life, it’s time to pack it in and buy season tickets to the opera.

TA: For me it was a realization of a preexisting condition: concert obsession. I think this was my way of dragging someone else into my crazy desire to inundate my life with live music. Before this we were already going to several shows a week and even after receiving congratulatory praises for surviving Rocktober, we’ve managed to make it to a handful of shows rather than do what most would expect and lay low for awhile.

What was the hardest part about the Challenge? Did it make you love live music more, or did it get to be a chore as the days rolled on?

DF: I think somewhere around the three week mark, I had completely lost any excitement about seeing live music. When I took a moment to analyze it, it was a scary thought. For me, music is the constant soundtrack to my life, and to not be excited about seeing Japandroids at Metro is just wrong. I’m 28 years old, but sometimes I feel like a 40 year old. I think that Japandroids show was really the turning point.

Tara and I were exhausted, and I slogged into the venue and ordered a 4-dollar water (I’ll refrain from spewing bile about inflated venue beverage prices because I’m already sounding like a bitter old bastard). The opening chords of “Young Hearts Spark Fire” hit me, and suddenly, I was there. I wasn’t thinking about work the next day. I wasn’t thinking about my tired legs. I was suddenly 14 years old again, seeing The Rolling Stones for the first time. Live music still holds an amazing power over me, and sometimes you just need to prick up your ears and wake up.

TA: The hardest part for me was trying to accomplish this task without getting fired or losing all my friends. The Rocktober challenge actually sparked a class action divorce on my Facebook page where friends wrote about my neglect of all other obligations. Somehow I managed to pull through with a job (for now) and plenty of supporters patting me on the back.

What was your experience like physically and mentally during your quest?

DF: I can honestly give most of the credit to Tara for us finishing our goal. All kidding aside, this really was an epic quest. One thing that constantly pisses me off is tardiness. On a Wednesday night, with a band scheduled to go on at 10:30, there is absolutely no reason for them to go on 45 mins late. They’ve got us there, and building the energy by staying backstage does not make me happy.

So, after long nights and early mornings, I pretty much existed in a state of perpetual exhaustion. There were many nights when I suggested we stay in and watch a movie, and Tara would end up dragging me kicking and screaming to a three billed concert just to make quota. What started as a lark quickly became a quest. I have her to thank for it.

TA: Drew hates tardiness, hahaha. In all seriousness, physically I was drained and it appears that caught up to me as I spent the first week of November sick as hell. And mentally, I lived in a fog, a really loud fog.

Other than completing the numbers side of the Challenge, did you have any other personal goals you wanted to achieve?

DF: We talked about the documentary for awhile, and to try and hit as many different venues as possible. We soon realized that the task of contacting publicists to get on guest lists, conducting interviews and merely surviving another week became the main goal. One day I’d like to turn this project into a memoir, and we already have the film adaptation in mind. Richard Linklater or Cameron Crowe will direct, and Reese Witherspoon and Seth Rogan will play Tara and myself.

As a music writer and editor, how did the Challenge impact your desire to write about live music? Did you journal or document your adventures with video or audio recordings? If so, what did they show you?

DF: I wrote a piece on our three days in Vegas with Matador, but writing about live events gets to be tricky after the while. There are only so many adjectives to describe the smell of a venue or the socio/economic description of the crowd. However, when a band delivers a killer, full-throttle set, my mind races and fingers fly on the keyboard. At one of the worst periods in the concert business, with high-profile festivals and gigs being cancelled and ticket buying at an all-time low, it’s interesting to see that people will still show up to support artists on a rainy Tues night. That love will never die, and that desire to share an experience with a band, even for an hour, is still a really special human connection. As a writer, I’m constantly interested in that experience.

If you were to do the Challenge again what would you do differently?

DF: It still amazes me that we set the number at 50. My initial idea was to do something with a nice ring to it, like 31 bands in 31 days, and Tara came up with the number 50. I still think she’s crazy, and it felt like a marathon, but a quest should never be easy. Whether you’re scaling a mountain, swimming the English Channel or seeing 50 bands in 31 days, you have to be prepared to make sacrifices.

When you cross that finish line, it feels good. And as we saw our last band on Halloween night, with November closing in at the stroke of midnight, we left the venue and drove off into the night feeling satisfied. There are a few things I would have done differently I suppose (maybe shouldn’t have gotten hammered at the Gwar show). In the end, I have zero regrets.

TA: Honestly I didn’t come up with the number 50 (I blame another person for this madness). But once it was on- IT WAS ON! My only regret is putting that ring on the wrong finger after a night of drinking at a show and ending up in the Children’s Hospital.

Thanks again to Drew and Tara for sharing their Rocktober experience. If you have a question for them or want to share your own concert challenge story, please post it in the comments below.

This Rocktober exploration is yet another fantastic chapter in our ongoing series of Live Fix experiments. You can check out more concert fan stories here.

And stay tuned as we continue to examine the results of this Rocktober Challenge, and more of the emotions, psychology and sociology of the live concert experience!

Yesterday, Colleen and I ran in the Hot Chocolate 5k in downtown Chicago with 30,000 other crazy people in 30 degree weather.

Like most 5k races, it was a mixture of pleasure, competition, and self-determination.

Even better, it was just like writing a concert review or a blog post.

Read on to see how you, and this week’s top posts, helped me finish the race.

Sure, there wasn’t a live band anywhere near the course, unless you count the DJ blasting cheesy jock jam techno music at Mile 2.

But the lack of live music during the race didn’t stop me from thinking about concerts, or the process of writing a concert review.

And what also got me thinking about live music was the location of The Hot Chocolate 5K course.

It was in and around Grant Park, which is the same location as Lollapalooza.

So as I was getting myself pumped before the race and throughout the 3.2 mile sprint, I thought about all my favorite concert experiences I had earlier this summer at Lolla.

So What’s The Connection?

I’ve shared before how running outside helps me come up with ideas, recharge and make creative decisions for Live Fix.

And I actually came up with the idea for this post during the Hot Chocolate race, which is why I want to thank you for helping me get through the race.

How Did You Help Me?

If you’ve ever run a 5k race before, you know that most of the battle takes place from the neck up: in the mind.

When I run a 5k race, like this Hot Chocolate race where I know there’s going to be thousands of other runners, I usually try to find something to loosely focus on so I don’t focus to much on the race itself.

And what you’re reading now is the direct result of thoughts I had during the race.

That’s Right – Thank You!

What you’ll read in the weekly wrap-up — the James Brown Flashback, Red Bull Tour, Writing on Bathroom Walls, Sugarland Livestream Chat and Bon Jovi Fan YouTube Contest –  is what I thought about during the race to help forget about my burning muscles, and not listen to the part of my mind that wanted me to stop running.

To put it simply, I want to say “thank you” because it was you and our shared love for live music that kept me going when the going got tough.

And just like when I can’t find the right words to write a concert review, I pushed on and forced myself to put one foot in front of the other until I crossed the finish line.

Why Writing A Concert Review Is Like Running A 5K

Many times writing a concert review feels like I’m pushing hard towards the finish line of a 5k.

Why?

Well, because you have to find the right words quickly, put them all together in order correctly and swiftly, then get the reader to the end fast. And it all has to make sense, entertain and hopefully challenge or educate the reader.

And running a 5K is much of the same. You have to start the moment the gun goes off, stay focused on your goal and your own pace, block out the self-doubt, put one foot in front of the other and get to the finish line as fast as you can.

And you can ask any music writer or 5k runner that when you finish a review or a race successfully, it can be totally exhilarating. The endorphins and pleasure receptors in our brain explode like fireworks on the Forth of July.

And whether the blog post/5k race is easy, or I have to struggle and fight through the process, for me there’s always a pleasure payoff.

And that pleasure payoff and the connection between running and writing concert reviews are the two main reasons why I keep running 5K races, writing concert reviews and churning out Live Fix posts. It’s a beautiful cycle of pleasure, pain and inspiration that never lets me down.

Now that you’re all inspired to write concert reviews, crank out blog posts and run Hot Chocolate 5k races, here’s all the stuff you missed last week and news about what’s coming up this week:

• Red Bull Takes Two Chicago Bands On Cross-country Tour

• The Beautiful Things That Concert Fans Write On Bathroom Walls

• The Secrets To Feeding Your Live Music Addiction With MOG
  
• Rock & Roll Art Show Comes To Downtown Chicago: Featuring Beatles Cartoon Animator Ron Campbell

• Sugarland Live Chat Via Livestream: Two Questions Fans Should Ask

• Bon Jovi Lets Fans Pick Concert Set List Via YouTube

• Weekend Kick-Start: James Brown Flashback, Wings Reissue Contest, Baeble Music, Downloads, Remix Sneak Peak

That’s it for the weekly wrap-up!

And stay tuned for more exciting explorations and interviews coming up this week…

We’ll have news on Live Remixed trio Keys N Krates, concert previews from our favorite bands, creative interviews with inspired fans, plus more free downloads and cool concert stuff from our sponsors.

Continuing our series on virtual concert experiences, here’s news about Bon Jovi hosting the first ever live-streaming concert using YouTube’s new Moderator Tool, which will allow fans to help shape the set list for the band’s upcoming show.

With all the possible bands available, we’ve been wondering who YouTube would pick to officially unveil their new Moderator Tool they’ve been testing and tweaking.

Going with Bon Jovi is not a big surprise because the concert producers AEG Live and YouTube most likely want the biggest audience possible to give the new technology and platform another live streaming test run, just like they’ve been doing with the Arcade Fire and other bands this year.

So as they test out the Moderator Tool in the virtual live concert setting, Bon Jovi fans around the world will play a very key role in the show.

Here’s How

The concert will take place at New York’s Best Buy Theater on Wednesday, November 10th and will stream live at 8pm ET via the band’s YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/BonJovi, and the band is giving fans the chance to help “shape evening’s set list”.

As we mentioned, the event is produced by AEG Network Live and marks the first time ever that YouTube’s innovative Moderator tool will be used in conjunction with a live concert event.

So this looks like another strategic move by AEG Live to stay competitive with Live Nation-Ticketmaster in the wake of the historic merge earlier this year.

It’s also interesting to note that this Bon Jovi/YouTube concert announcement comes just about a year since AEG Live’s inaugural and innovative voyage into 3D concert movies, so we’ll be sure to tune in and see how things go.

How Will Fans Virtually Connect?

The other reason we’re excited about this Bon Jovi YouTube show is because we’ve been talking with the makers of Recreate My Night and Big Live about the innovative blending of social media and live concerts. So if you plan on tuning in, we’d love to hear what you thought and how your experience is.

What About Fan Emotions? What Will They Virtually Feel?

It seems that, initially, the Moderator Tool is only being used to curate and pick the set list for the Bon Jovi show. Now that doesn’t seem that exciting since most fans will probably pick the same songs. But it’s one step forward with the new tool and fan engagement.

It’s also great to see the allure of The Almighty Set List evolving yet again.

And I’ll be experimenting with and taking a deeper dive into the Moderator Tool technology and I’m looking forward to seeing how it will allow fans to connect with each other.

When I heard the news, I figured that “Livin’ on A Prayer” would definitely make the set list so I thought back to our exploration into live music, classic anthems and leadership.

Most of all, I’m curious to see how it will allow fans to share their emotional experiences during the show.

How Fans Can Submit Song Requests

You can check out the video above and this quick rundown that explains the details:

• You can submit song requests beginning now until Monday, November 8th at 5:00 p.m. ET.
• Submissions can be sent to the channel in the form of comments or videos expressing what you love about favorite Bon Jovi songs.
• Viewers can vote on all of the submissions and the most popular picks will rise to the top.
• After helping to build the November 10th show’s set list, fans will have the chance to once again see the band perform a variety of their favorite songs on the Bon Jovi 2011 Tour.

For more info about Bon Jovi worldwide tour in support of his forthcoming Greatest Hits album visit www.BonJovi.com.

Download Bon Jovi via

This “failed stage dive” video has been circulating the web for the last few days and it brings up a very important topic: the art of stage diving. But I warn you… what we’re about to discuss is dangerous and extremely liberating.

We’ve talked before about fans who do crazy things during a show and we’ve explored the painfully unfortunate occurrence when an artist like Slash gets tackled on stage.

But after watching that video above, and thinking about the the Jesus Lizard’s David Yow painful leap, and Iggy Pop’s retiring from stagediving, I think it’s time to review a few things about the art of stagediving.

Now, you would think that stage diving is a pretty simple thing, right?

Apparently, some folks need a guide.

Think I’m joking? Just take a look at this ehow.com 6 step instructional guide on how to stage dive.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a really helpful guide to make sure you safely and successfully convert a stage dive.

But the only part that’s missing is the perspective. I say that because this guide teaches fans how to do it. And as we saw in the video above, it was the artist who flopped down hard on a fan, not the other way around.

Clearly this artist didn’t read Step 1 or 6 of ehow’s guide, or he would have seen that the crowd was a bit thin and the timing of his leap was all wrong. I added a few tips of my own in italics just to make sure the guide was complete and the fans were correctly represented.

1. Ensure that there is a critical mass of people pushing forward at the front of the stage. If you can easily walk through the crowd to the front of the stage, then there are not enough people to safely stage dive.

5. When you are ready to return to the mosh pit be sure to look before you leap. The stage front is often littered with such items as stage lights, electrical cables and flash pots. It would be too bad if your flying body connected with any of this equipment, or crushed unsuspecting fans who don’t served to be smashed underneath the body of an uneducated and inexperienced stage-diving artist.

What Should We Do Next?

For starters, I think we need to add an interactive and educational stagediving experience to the list for improving Lollapalooza 2011.

Now It’s Up To You

What do you think? Do we need to stop the violence and protect innocent concert fans by offering workshops? There’s a lot of videos floating around YouTube, like the one below, that show the exhilarating benefits of a well-executed stage dive.

So do we need to start creating online video tutorials for artists who don’t know how to correctly stage dive?

What tips do you have about the art of stagediving?

Yes, a lot of painful moments can happen on stage, but traveling to and from shows can be just as dangerous for bands.

It’s been over nine months, since Chicago-based orch-pop band The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir was involved in a terrible crash last year while in route to tour their latest album … and …and the horse you rode in on .

When I first heard about the crash last fall, I was worried about the members safety and I hoped that one of Chicago’s most promising indie-bands would be okay and recover quickly.

And thankfully they did.

They’ve healed and are slowly making their way back to performing live again.

The band made their first return to the stage last month and frontman Elia Einhorn had this to say in an interview with Chicago Sun-Times music reporter Thomas Conner that took place before the June 18th show, which was also their CD release show nine months in the making.

“You know, on our records our songs are usually at a more medium tempo, but our live show is like a punk show — everything’s going 200 miles-per-hour,” Einhorn said from home. “We’re taking it a lot slower now. We’re not at that gallop pace. … We were worried that with this much time away from the instruments and a lot of physical damage that it would affect the way we sound. But honestly I don’t think anyone will be able to tell a difference.”

Then as Chicago Tribune’s Andy Downing reports in his review of the June 18th show, Einhorn expressed his gratitude to the fans saying:

“I didn’t think we were going to be back so soon,” said Scotland Yard Gospel Choir singer and band founder Elia Einhorn early on in the local crew’s 80-minute set at a crowded Subterranean Saturday. “Thank you for sharing this with us.”

And continuing their triumphant trek back to touring and playing live The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir will play a FREE show at 9pm at Millennium Park by “The Bean” tomorrow, Saturday July 10th.

MP3: “Stop”

Buy …and the horse you rode in on via Amazon.

The Fiery Furnaces are Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger, a brother and sister duo who grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. Since 2003, they’ve released seven full length albums that embrace unpredictability in the songwriting and keep you guessing on every note and rhythmic detour. But with all the creative twists and turns sonically via piano, guitar or drums on their most complex or beautifully simplistic stripped-down tracks, the duo holds fast to their knack for telling a cunningly crafty story, lyrically and emotionally.

It’s great to have the duo back in their hometown for the weekend as they return to Chicago to play two concerts in two different venues. And to get you ready for the back-to-back night affair, we’ll take a trip inside the mind of one half of The Fiery Furnaces, Matthew, as he shares with us which of his concert moments are the most memorable for him growing up in Chicago, and how those moments have influenced his approach to live performance.

Going beyond inspirations, Matthew explains how high he would go to play at (or on top of) his dream venue; and then tells us the psychological role that fearlessness, duct tape and bored fans in the front row play during the band’s concerts.

So give a listen to the two mp3 downloads (“Charmaine Champagne” and “Ex Guru” ) below, and be sure to check out the video for their track “Even in the Rain.” Not sure if it was intentional or just timely, but either way the video is a fine tribute to the late actor and Hollywood rebel Dennis Hopper and one of his classic films Easy Rider. More details on both concerts follows the interview.

Interview with Matthew Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces

Live Fix: What shows or specific live music moments have influenced recordings such as last year’s I’m Going Away or your live album Remember?

M F: We think of our live shows as a different thing than our albums. Meaning that they should always be different. Making records is one thing; playing live is another. They are separate and autonomous spheres, so to speak. They should be slightly at odds! For instance, to speak simply, our album Rehearsing My Choir is not very ‘rock’. But live, the songs themselves decided to be played very aggressively. So to speak. ‘Live’ should have a mind of it’s own, don’t you think? In the same way that records shouldn’t be limited by how one habitually plays live.

As an artist, what “Little Things” do you look for during a show for real-time insight or inspiration?

I watch people watching the drummer, maybe. Really, I look for people who have come up very close to the stage, but who look bored and tired. I enjoy that. (I’m not joking.) I think that that is an…interesting dramatic situation.

As a fan, what “Little Things” have you noticed during some of your favorite concerts?
I remember the first show I went to, The Replacements at the Rivera in August of 1987. They all had duct tape on the bowling shoes they were wearing. Or was that when I saw them again in November of that same year?

As siblings growing up in Chicago, what have been some of your favorite or most influential concert moments that you have shared together? Did one of you experience a concert first and introduce the other to live music?

We shared no concerts together–none! Eleanor went to see things that I would not. Let me put it that way.

What was your first live concert like as an rock musician and what did you learn from it?

I remember being a teenager and thinking that playing a live rock show was no occasion for nervousness because you are most likely telling yourself what to play. And why would you tell yourself to play something you couldn’t? So, any mistakes you make must be, logically speaking, on purpose. You’ve decided to play them. Those things that are too hard for you to play, or however you think of them. So, one should always feel very comfortable. I do suppose, however, that you could be mad about something.

If you could play one “dream” venue in the world where would it be and why?
The top of the Sears Tower in Chicago, of course. With a big PA at the top of it so you could hear it all the way down at the corner on 95th and Western.

If you could take one element of your favorite concert you experienced as a fan and use it to inspire your own live show, what concert and band would it be and why?

I liked seeing the Jesus Lizard a lot. The music was very good, and the show was very fun, and very theatrical–without at all being so. The proper Rock-n-Roll way, I guess.

What do you love the most about performing live? What elements of modern live performance would you could change if you could?

Oh, that band’s don’t play. I don’t like seeing the Apple logo on stage with a Rock band, playing rock music. That seems less fun to me, if they are meant to be playing Rock Music, I guess.

What is something unique about your live performance that fans might not realize or be aware of?

Not sure, maybe they’d like to figure it out for themselves and let me know.

You and Eleanor are in the midst of tour right now with stops at Empty Bottle and Fitzgeralds this weekend. Do you change your approach when you play in different venues, for different crowds in various cities?

We do consider those things beforehand. And especially playing in Chicago, we think that we must do our best, we must do our utmost. And we also think that you don’t necessarily want to blend into the venue too much. Playing live is very particular, act to act, music to music. But we know that fans always want to hear something different when they come to a show.

Thanks again to Matthew for taking the time to talk about his and the band’s concert experiences.

Concert Info:

Friday, June 18th
Empty Bottle

Saturday, June 19th
Fitzgeralds

Amazon Store: Fiery Furnances

Charmaine Champagne

Ex-Guru

2010 Tour Dates:

Mon Jun 21 Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel
Tue Jun 22 Montreal, QC – Cabaret Du Mile-End
Wed Jun 23 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
Thu Jun 24 Hoboken, NJ – Maxwell’s
Fri Jun 25 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl
Sat Jun 26 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge

The Fiery Furnaces – Even in the Rain from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Thanks to our friend Frank over at Windy City Rock, who also covers the local live music scene in Chicago, I got word that Reggie’s Music Joint, Rock Club and Record Breakers is looking for live music fans to join their street team.

Here’s the details:

To participate, you have to be at least 16-years-old, live in the Chicago area and be able to put flyers up at least once a week.

Interested? Get involved by sending an email to reggieslive@gmail.com, including your availability and answers to the following questions:

• Why do you want to be part of the Reggie’s street team?
• Who are your top five favorite bands?

If you decide to join the Street Team at Reggie’s or you’ve been a street team member for another venue, let us know, we’d love to hear about your experiences and spotlight them on Live Fix.

Reggie’s has been the scene for some of the bands and events we’ve featured on Live and here’s a list of previous posts for you to check out:

Band Interview: The Kickback Is Ready To Explode

Concert Review: Every Drop Counts: A Community Grooves and Moves As One

Artist Interview: Every Drop Counts: The Making Of A Haiti Benefit Concert

Over the last three years, Rock the Bells has been the scene for some of our best moments here on Live Fix. And now that Guerilla Union announced the info about the “classic album” headliners for this summer’s tour dates, I’m feeling both excited and somewhat bummed out.

Let me say first that it’s always good for new, young and long-time hip hop fans to be reminded of the rap’s roots and realize that hip hop wasn’t always so auto-tuned in the mainstream.  And I have total respect for the classic hip hop albums and the artists who pioneered each evolution of hip hop.

But at the same time, I’ve always had a hard time accepting the reasons why veteran hip hop groups decide to put on concerts where they play their entire classic album as a tribute, especially on a tour like Rock the Bells that’s suppose to represent cutting-edge live hip hop and not just celebrate the past.

When you look at the current state of mainstream hip hop today, doing a concert tour like this year’s Rock the Bells seems to imply that the contemporary crop of (indie and mainstream) hip hop isn’t good enough to headline. And it also implies that today’s artists don’t have anything new to say or fresh beats to unveil.  And I know that’s not the case at all, because there’s a whole army of artists that are making revolutionary hip hop music.

So I wonder why Rock the Bells decided to go the classic album route this year. Did the fans speak up and vote or was the decision made by the higher ups to go with a sure shot classic bill that they know all fans would flock too?

But it’s not all old school for Rock the Bells, because it looks like there will be others on the bill besides the classic four headliners. Solid acts like Brother Ali and Immortal Technique will bring their contemporary and fiery flavor to the tour. That said, we’ll sit back for a moment and wait and see how the fans respond before we make any final judgments on the bill.

As noted on the Guerilla Union website, here’s all the info on tour dates and which artist is performing what classic album.

Where’s It Going Down?

• NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, CA. August 21
• Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco on August 22
• Governer’s Island in New York on August 28
• Merriweather Pavilion in Washington D.C. on August 29

Who’s Performing What?

Wu-Tang Clan will perform Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

Rakim and Eric B will perform Paid in Full.

Slick Rick will perform The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick [Explicit].

KRS-One will perform Criminal Minded.

Why No Chicago Stop?

For now, I’m feeling bummed out since the Rock the Bells tour isn’t coming through Chicago like it has the last few years. Not sure why they decided to do that. Maybe it was because the fan turnout in Chicago last year wasn’t up to par, or maybe it was a scheduling issue?

Either way,  again, we’ll hold tight and see if they do add a Chicago date to the tour once the Windy City hip hop fans express their disappointment.

Got Somethin’ To Say?

Do you think it’s a wise move by Rock the Bells to have the headliners only perform their classic albums? Who would you like to see headline instead?

Do you expect it to be a place of mourning like it was last year after Michael Jackson died a few days before the festival kicked off in Chicago?

Get the Rock The Bells Mobile App

If you’re planning on going to Rock the Bells, you’ll also want to check out the Live Fix summer music festival mobile app guide that includes the Rock the Bells app info.