calldapplwondery83 said:

For real? Thats basically what I was saying. I don't think the public realizes that record companies will exploit anything if they think it will make them money.

I wasn't aware that she was in town. I heard rumblings. I am positive it was a packed house that you basically had to sell your first born to get in.

Where was it?

CarrieMpls said:

Not to mention that she isn't going home with the guy who got her the drink.

lazycrockett said:

I am having a hard time thinking of how someone could slip her roofies and get away with having thier way with her. she'd have to finish her set AND be somewhere not monitored for her to slip away with someone else or be dragged off or something.

I know there are sick people out there who'd pretty much do anything, even poison someone famous. But I really doubt someone would try and pull off a roofie stunt like that.

Stax said:

She loves Puff!

This kind of behavior is a turn off for me. I wouldn't want to see her after hearing about this. Whether her music is good or not, she should be professional and semi-sober when people pay their hard earned money to see her.

I can see a few cocktails before show time and perhaps a joint or two, but getting plastered and clearly not hiding it from anyone is irresponsible.

Sure, call me a party pooper, but lets face it, would you want to see Prince like that. I think not!

calldapplwondery83 said:

It ain't like she's hiding it. I'm mean come on, her lyrics tell the whole story. It's all about drinking and smoking weed and loving and living. She's a drunk and a pothead. She's not doing herself any good, but I doubt she's heading in the Janis Joplin way.

superspaceboy said:

In that case I'd call it self-expression. The other thing is just marketing somebody through something else than music once again.

Cloudbuster said:

superspaceboy said:

www.popscene-sf.com

This place has been getting the best indy shows in the city for a few years now, IMO.

Edit: as for the price, $24 for two tickets. most shows there do not have advanced sales, although this one did. even that was will call only. i don't think scalping gets out of hand.
[Edited 4/27/07 17:17pm]

Empress said:

But it's also part of her - dare I say it? - appeal. She's living the life she's singing about. Wouldn't work for many artists, I agree, and sure it's a shame and if she can't hold it together for performances and general life, then it will become a problem.
But for now, it's sort of part of the game.

CarrieMpls said:

The "go down joke" is cracking me up.

...even though I am slightly worried about Amy.

U can look up my posts about her voice, and how I feel about that, but this type of shit worries me with regards 2 longevity and survival. It's already going 2 be very challenging 2 follow this album ('Back To Black').

Glad she nailed it singing live though.
[Edited 4/27/07 12:03pm]

CarrieMpls said:

I do see your point, but it's only a matter of time before she crashes and burns. She looks like the walking dead now, she's so skinny.

superspaceboy said:

I'm NOT stating that shes going to be raped on stage or back stage by the person who is spiking her drink!!!! LORD. What I'm getting at is it unwise for anyone to be getting drinks from strangers. I find it hard to believe that her managers or the Bar Management approves of this behavior. If she wants to drink more power to her, but if she keels over and ends up in the hospital with something other than acute alcohol poisoning, the stranger who spiked the drink ISNT going to be the one held responsible, its going to be blamed on the Bar and her Management.

Madonna has done worse things on stage...and she's untalented!

MikeMatronik said:

Winehouse can drink Madge under the fookin table.


[Edited 4/27/07 16:46pm]

Here you go Mike, some video from last night: http://youtube.com/watch?v=DMkllifDPK4

last song of the night. unfortunately, the sound sucks

Stax said:

Oh wow! I love the Back to Black cd but seeing her live would have been a disappointment to me, and after hearing about the antics the past couple of months, I resolved not to check her live. 92.7 interviewed her, but I missed it and heard a different version of "Rehab." She is engaged to be married. I wonder who's the guy and if they will even make it down the isle.

fucking hell! Where did she play? Was that the only night?

CalhounSq said:

yeah, she is at coachella this weekend. she played at popscene, 330 ritch.

lilgish said:

Her name and probably her odor.

So sad. That clip is heartbreaking. I hope she gets cleaned up like Macy Gray seems to have.

What's heartbreaking about that? You Americans...she's like any other 23 year old girl here in London that I know. She likes to get pissed. Big deal. Amy gets drunk very quickly, that's her problem.

Her new management are quite astute really, using her "problems" as PR fodder, unlike her previous management.

I'm still not that keen on the material on the second album, but her US band in that youtube clip sound bloody amazing - they completely nail it. They're SO much better than her UK band, who make everything sound lifeless and bland (especially her guitarist).

Americans do make me laugh...you're all too used to piss weak shitty beer...

Mong said:

I say it's heartbreaking that: 1) She's encouraged to live that way by the machine that's supposed to be pushing her. I've seen a lot of phenomenal singers in my time. And, if I went to a show and the performer I'd paid money to see was looking like AW did in that clip, I'd be asking for a refund.

2) It's heartbreaking that the industry has sunk to the level of playing up a great singer's problems to distinguish her from the pack.

And, it's only fair that folks laugh at us Americans -- given the huge amount of time we reciprocate...

Trust me, she's not really been encouraged by the "machine" to live that way. A lot of her performances in Europe for the first album were cancelled owing to her not turning up as she was out on a bender or recovering from one. When she did turn up, she'd often be incapable of going on. Needless to say, a lot of this wasn't reported. If anything, she's a bit more together now, believe it or not!

The fact is, she's an antidote to the supposedly squeakly clean Jessica Simpsons...people perceived as fuck-ups will always sell and be viewed as marketable by record companies. As far as they're concerned, it makes them "authentic" in the public's eyes and allows people to buy into the (false) stereotype of the tormented artist.

Stax said:

Damn, the sound does suck. Hopefully it sounded better for those of you that were in the room... That heffa looks like she throws the drink & spits on the stage - wtf??

Mong said:

hence, the heartbreak.

CalhounSq said:

the sound in the room was fine.

The reviews are in ....

Winehouse seems fragile, but she's a tough act to follow

Aidin Vaziri, Chronicle Pop Music Critic
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi...PGU2V1.DTL

Saturday, April 28, 2007


Nothing about Amy Winehouse's appearance prepares you for her voice. Stumbling onstage at Popscene for her first Bay Area concert Thursday, the 23-year-old British soul sensation looked a bit like Christina Aguilera after being put through a shredder.

She wore her pile of black hair in an enormous beehive that, even before she walked into the room, had unraveled so much it resembled a haystack. Dropping her bruised leather jacket to the ground, she revealed skinny arms covered with scars and tattoos of naked women. And while the members of her 10-piece backing band were decked out in impeccable Motown-style suits, Winehouse opted for a dirty white tank top with thick bra straps tumbling out the sides. A new diamond barely clung to her ring finger.

Then she started to sing.

Playing nearly all the songs from her second album and American debut, "Back to Black," Winehouse revealed a natural instrument that was gentle, aching, rich, gauzy and incredibly soulful -- especially when paired with the band's lush arrangements and sharp lyrical twists like, "They tried to make me go to rehab, I won't go go go/ I'd rather be home with Ray/ I ain't got 70 days."

Those words arrived with her breakthrough hit, "Rehab," toward the end of the hourlong set, and throughout the night she made certain she lived by them.

"The first person to get me a Jack and Coke gets a kiss on the lips," she drawled in a coarse cockney accent miles removed from the delicate voice that graces her music, part Lauryn Hill, part Sarah Vaughan. When the drink arrived -- the first of many requested from the stage -- Winehouse delivered on her promise: "You're lucky my fiance's asleep."

The atmosphere was electric. As the night wore on, the songs grew more beautiful, while the singer grew more belligerent. Swaying back and forth with her eyes half closed, she knocked out a succession of heartbreaking R&B tunes such as "Just Friends" and "Me & Mr. Jones" just as quickly as she knocked back the drinks handed to her. When a fan passed along a couple boxes of Cracker Jack, having read in an interview that she liked it, Winehouse sank to the floor and momentarily examined them before throwing them at the band, the Dap Kings (on loan from New York R&B singer Sharon Jones). While the musicians did not look amused, the audience cheered on her every move.

It was entertaining stuff, for sure, but considering that Winehouse has admitted that she is battling a range of psychological issues -- from eating disorders to manic depression for which she refuses to take medication -- you have to wonder whether she was essentially facing a roomful of enablers.

At the same time, Winehouse seemed to realize what was at stake. She saved the most telling song, "You Know I'm No Good," for last: "I cheated myself/ Like I knew I would," she wailed over a blast of horns. "I told you I was trouble/ You know I'm no good." Well, at least she was half right.

Meanwhile, another group of London newcomers called Klaxons had the unenviable task of following the Winehouse spectacle. They'd been booked as the original headliners at the Britpop club, but a scheduling conflict relegated them to the second-tier attraction at their own show.

Not that it mattered. Celebrated back home for rejuvenating the sound of the '90s -- complete with synth sirens, wobbly dance rhythms and, yes, glow sticks -- the group felt more like a great art stunt than statement. However, there were a few perfect pop moments to be found amid the numbing keyboard drones and strobe lights, including the impossibly catchy "Golden Skans" and delirious "Atlantis to Interzone."

E-mail Aidin Vaziri at avaziri@sfchronicle.com.