7/22-23/16 Hollywood Bowl

[jb412]

Hi everybody,
agree to you - two great evenings. So cool to have met a bunch of you guys in real - hope to see you again soon

Here are my pictures of both concerts - just put them in a public Facebook album:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 560efac7fb

All the best, just about to fly back home,
Florian

Great pictures, Florian! Can I use a few of them in our recap piece of the Saturday show for RockCellarMagazine.com? Would credit you, of course...let me know!

[TMBJon]

Folks, the show was not recorded for a DVD, I can confirm with 100% certainty. Sorry to those who are disappointed, but you shoulda been there!! There are a lot of logistical issues aside from just "was there a professional enough camera present?" - The Hollywood Bowl charges an exorbitant amount of money to allow filming rights (remember, the band wasn't even supposed to take pictures from the stage). Additionally, it's not just cameramen who you need for a proper live recording but a director and cinematographer to make a compelling product that people would want to buy. The footage that played on the big screens was just meant to amplify the picture for those sitting too far away to see Al. The angles switched based on a guy sitting in a control room, not a director. I even have a source who tells me the crew was instructed that they couldn't record the Tacky entrance opening. Very strict rules at the Hollywood Bowl. I can only hope that Al secretly got a recording for his own collection, as it was truly something to behold.

The show was incredible. The second night was much better than the first night in my opinion. There were some mix issues I noticed the first night; the pre-recorded bits were way too loud and the orchestra was way too quiet. Al even joked on the first night: "Thanks for coming to our soundcheck. Tomorrow night's really going to be great!" These sound issues were fixed for night two.

Two huge takeaways for me from these shows:
One - The sheer size of the crowd for the two nights. Capacity is 17,500. I'm sure it wasn't sold out, but it was something close to that number. It was nuts seeing a huge line of traffic on the way in and realizing that it was all Weird Al fans. After seeing him in so many tiny theaters and state fairs over the years, it was ridiculous seeing such a large, mainstream crowd. Several times during the show, I turned around and looked at the massive crowd. The field of cell phones lights waving around during the encore was something you just had to see to believe.
Two - This is obvious, but the orchestra just added so so much to the show. I don't know if first time concert attendees would be able to appreciate how much it added, but as someone who knows what these shows are "supposed" to sound like, it was really incredible to hear the moments when the orchestra swelled. Highlights for me in this regard were: the polka, the acoustic medley, Foil, Amish Paradise, and the Saga Begins. I definitely sang along less than usual in order to hear the orchestra playing. I was glad to go two nights for this reason. The first night, I was watching it as a Weird Al concert. The second night, I barely focused on Al at all, watching the orchestra most of the time.

Really unique experience I am so lucky to have had. It was great bringing the entire CBB Post Dept to see Al, mostly for the first time. They all really enjoyed the experience. And I was glad to have an opportunity to say hi to some WOWAY friends on Saturday night including Alicia, Dave, Cid, Vikki, Nancy, and Joe. (And I ran into UHJeff on Friday night too!).

Finally, as this was my first show of 2016, I have to mention it was oddly surreal to see myself featured in a video clip, especially on such large screens as the Hollywood Bowl has. It has been great working with Al on CBB all along, of course, but I didn't realize I truly "made it" until I was featured during a Weird Al concert.

[remmy]

Finally, as this was my first show of 2016, I have to mention it was oddly surreal to see myself featured in a video clip, especially on such large screens as the Hollywood Bowl has. It has been great working with Al on CBB all along, of course, but I didn't realize I truly "made it" until I was featured during a Weird Al concert.

Totally forgot to mention this in my San Jose review, but I really enjoyed all the CBB clips, and was stoked to see you on screen! I even thought to myself, "Man, I wonder what it was like for Jon to watch himself at the Hollywood Bowl shows"

[Bridger987]

Y'all better bootleg this stuff

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

I wouldn't usually say this, but there better be a full concert bootleg available at some point...

I can't share it here, of course... but I can verify that a full okay-quality audio bootleg does exist.

I'd pay good money for an official/professional recording, mind you.

[Heds]

Folks, the show was not recorded for a DVD, I can confirm with 100% certainty. Sorry to those who are disappointed, but you shoulda been there!! There are a lot of logistical issues aside from just "was there a professional enough camera present?" - The Hollywood Bowl charges an exorbitant amount of money to allow filming rights (remember, the band wasn't even supposed to take pictures from the stage). Additionally, it's not just cameramen who you need for a proper live recording but a director and cinematographer to make a compelling product that people would want to buy. The footage that played on the big screens was just meant to amplify the picture for those sitting too far away to see Al. The angles switched based on a guy sitting in a control room, not a director. I even have a source who tells me the crew was instructed that they couldn't record the Tacky entrance opening. Very strict rules at the Hollywood Bowl. I can only hope that Al secretly got a recording for his own collection, as it was truly something to behold.

It's a shame they must charge such money to do so. But then again, I could see why...

[Heds]

Not relevant to the concert but Jeff Lynne has played one night at the Bowl and will be playing another and last night tomorrow. Apparently there was lasers involved

I miss everything

[thexoblivion]

I was there for the first night and it was amazing. The crowd was huge and the orchestra was a nice touch. Kind of a nice premier for what the Strings Attached Tour will be like hopefully.