My attitude to it all, despite what it may appear from what I say, is that Depp has a perfect right to be up there on stage. He's obviously a decent guitarist at the very least (some say he's very good). He co-wrote the original tracks on the album, both of which I like a lot more then the covers, and I think it's obvious he's having a great time doing what he always wanted to do. It's well known he went to LA to be a musician, not an actor, and now he is getting to play the big stages and live that dream. More power to him. Many of us in his situation would do exactly the same if they could.SickThings wrote:One can argue "stage presence," but when I saw them perform, Depp was totally engaged with the crowd the whole show. I was rather surprised, as I had expected him to be too "cool" to interact, but he was constantly engaging with the audience: high-fiving people, pointing at them, making eye contact with them, playing to the crowd. He looked like he was having fun, and he gave the Depp fans in the audience exactly what they wanted. I came away a bigger Depp fan than I went in....Saint&Sinner wrote: What makes it worse is depp is the main attraction for 90% of people. Who is, a piss poor guitarist with zero stage presence. How sad.
Hunter
My issue with it all, and I wouldn`t be surprised if Depp is uncomfortable about it as well, is the way the media are presenting it. It is all about Depp and what he is wearing and who he's dating etc, the gossip, and the music is barely mentioned in many of the articles.
Plus many of the people going to the shows it seems are fans of Depp the actor and no nothing about the music or even appreciate it. They go to gawk at Depp and couldn`t care less what he is playing which is a shame. I would bet many of them have hardly listened to the album (many of US have barely listened to it!) and would normally be listing to top 40 pop. If they own it it is only because Depp's name is on the credits.
At this point the HV are basically a cover's band and would be playing clubs etc for fun if it wasn`t for Depp being there forcing them into bigger venues than their sales probably justify. Seeing them in a club would probably be awesome under most circumstances. Seeing them in the biggest halls in the UK loses that feel completely, and the ticket fiasco just makes it all that much less appealing.
I've yet to get a ticket to any show as I have found nothing I'm prepared to pay the price for. I admit I'm being very picky here as I don`t want a crappy seat in a horrible venue. If it was standing I would be doing three shows and be all sorted by now, looking forward to meeting up with people and having a good time. With the seats that won't happen as so many friends are only doing one show and those there won`t be seated together. That to me isn`t worth the cost of tickets, hotels and other expenses, and the hours of driving.
My hope is that the new HV album is the reverse of the first. All original material with maybe a couple of covers, heavily reworked into their own style. Assuming the material is as good as the two tracks on the first album it would give them more validity as a true band and make them a more attractive proposition (to me). Of course even if it was the best album in years the mainstream press would still ignore it and we would still have the same issues, but at least there would be something to be excited about.