The Saints of British Rock - Juvenile Humour at Best
As a comment on the vacuous nature of the rock and roll lifestyle in the 60s and 70s and how dumb people look when they’ve done too many drugs, this show does a great job. Unfortunately that concept was eloquently communicated in the preshow slideshow. The content of the live performance consisted of about three jokes (usually involving lots and lots of sex and lots of lots of drugs) repeated over and over and over again for the next hour. The music was pretty good. The content was two-dimensional. I like my satire with a bit more wit.
It feels like these guys hooked on three facts they knew about the Brits (they hate the French, they have a queen and the King Arthur legend is set in Britain) and then based an entire show on these three things. Oh and of course: sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. Because we haven’t heard that one before.
These guys have a talented band, lots of energy, a reasonable sense of timing and they can play more than one instrument each. They should hire someone to write them a script and then they could put on a really great show. As it was, it was juvenile humour at best. Although, a lot of rockers like that sort of thing. If you’ve had a few drinks, perhaps this show is hilarious. I only had one, it didn’t do anything for me.
I am actually a fan of British Rock. And I do find myself enjoying stories of excess. But I think in order to appreciate it, you have to have a sense of what came before or at least enjoy the flair and style in which said excesses are executed. If all someone has going for them is that they have a huge ego and a preoccupation with drugs and sex, I don’t think that’s enough to make them a rock star. No matter who believes they’ve transcended space and time.
Most burnt-out, doped up celebrities lead (at some point) real and interesting lives and an element of that still echos in them somewhere. It’s what makes their behaviour noble, understandable, romantic and exciting. If that was the intention of the Saints of British Rock, then it failed miserably. BUT if the point was to reflect the idiocy of our celebrity culture, it absolutely did that. If it was supposed to entertain me at the same time, it failed because after the first five minutes I was bored. It’s a good idea, but if you want a 60-minute show you need more.