Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 6:37 am - longroad

Dear Caleb: I understand. You strive for perfection. Every show is important and you always want to put on a fine performance. I get that. I wouldn’t expect less. I am confused. Do you do this for the fans or yourself? If it was for us, you have a strange way of showing it. Berating your audience? Why? We all came to “the Mac” to see KOL. To be entertained by a band whose music we love. There wasn’t any other reason for us to be there. Apparently we, along with your sound crew, weren’t good enough to make the show perfect. You seem to lament the fact that most of your audience doesn’t know KOL’s older stuff. Again, why? Are you not interested in winning over more fans? You don’t see the opportunity every performance provides to show your new fans that there is more to KOL then “Only by the Night”? That the new fans can be hooked by your live performance and go out the next day to snap up your older material to discover a new side of the Kings? It’s too bad you don’t appreciate that. The great bands understand that some are late to the parade, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t eventually become some of your biggest fans. Well, unfortunately, you definitely didn’t achieve that in Council Bluffs. You may have turned some of them away. I am embarrassed. I introduced KOL to friends, my wife and even my eight year old son. Like me, they think you guys ROCK. I will never forget driving in the car with my son in the back seat, listening to my iPod, singing “On Call”. Not only was he belting it out, lost in your world of music, but he was mimicking your voice. Priceless. I couldn’t get my wife into KOL until “Only by the Night.” She then “discovered” the rest of your albums and rocked out to Molly’s Chambers and The Bucket with the best of them. I took her to the concert. Let’s just say she isn’t too impressed anymore. Why did you do that to me? All of my hard work went down the drain in your 75 minutes of expressed frustration. WHY? I DON’T UNDERSTAND. PS: Others have commented that, despite your bad night, the show still rocked. For the most part it did, but you seemed somewhat disinterested. Also, admittedly, my wife and I are still on a high from seeing a fantastic performance by Pearl Jam in Chicago. In Chicago, the crowd was lethargic at the beginning (it was also Monday night and that does make a difference), but Eddie, ever the showman, gently pointed out that the energy was lacking and vowed to make it feel like Saturday night. They did. PJ ended up playing for 2.5 hours and blowing the roof off the United Center. That is what you guys need to strive for. Develop the ability to turn a mediocre night it an unforgettable one. It is YOUR SHOW and YOU CAN CONTROL the outcome. Best regards and until next time…..