Exploring Reunion Tours in the iTunes Era

So I went to the Camper Van Beethoven show last night, and I'm not gonna say much about their performance. I took a day off work so I could see the show, but also so I could get some work done today. I struggled to complete all the crap I had to do at work and drove back up to Motown in a rush with a little time to spare. When I got in the door I really wasn't positive I wanted to go out, because I was tired and a little frazzled, but I didn't want to miss the show. The openers really did nothing for me, so I went down to the bar and played pool for a little bit.

I never quite felt like being in a bar at a show but the steep $20 cover kept me from leaving. Camper Van Beethoven took the stage so I and my lady friend went up there to see them. Now, I won't pretend to be the world's biggest fan of Camper Van. I really only knew two songs: one an MP3 and one on one of the best mixtapes I have ever received. Judging on these songs, I anticipated something of a cross between the 80s college rock stalwarts the Feelies and the joke punks the Dead Milkmen.

I don't know if the band has always sounded as they did last night, or if they 'matured' as they aged. Knowing only two songs, it was hard to sit through material I didn't really know with probably quite clever lyrics I couldn't really hear. I was reminded of when I saw Aussie atmospheric rockers the Church at Mountain Stage in Charleston, based solely on their ethereal cult hit Under the Milky Way and Dreaming. It's difficult to enjoy rebirthed songs you don't know, even if you can imagine yourself liking the originals. When I saw the Go-Betweens' and the Pixies' reunions I knew all the words, and how every song went, so to see it reinvented was glorious. When I saw Mission of Burma I didn't need to know every single song, they had such bombast it only mattered that I knew half of their canon. But for Camper Van Beethoven, I think it was a tougher sell to someone hearing their songs for the first time. They just seemed a little blah. I hope it was just me. I saw a few other readers and contributors there, what did you guys think?