The lead singer of Dutch band John Coffey captured our rock and roll hearts and minds earlier this week, after executing one of the slickest moves we've ever seen at a gig. After a member of the audience, who we suspect has a future in cricket or rugby, spun a beer through the air during his band's gig, David Achter de Molen casually caught and downed the beer, before tossing the plastic glass aside. And he was crowdwalking at the time.
De Molen’s music might need a bit more work to reach stadium standard, but that move deserves a place along the best. Here’s a few of our favourite rock moves – expect to see versions of them all re-enacted at this weekend’s Body and Soul festival.
Freddie Mercury and his half-a-mic stand
There are two categories that all modern rock music stage moves can be put in: “Freddie Mercury”; and “Homage to Freddie Mercury”. The greatest frontman in rock set the bar for performance, and while modern acts rely on pyrotechnics and small armies, Mercury could capture a stadium just by strutting around a stage with half a microphone stand. Half. Just to be shown it could be done.
James Brown doing the splits
Where to start: the slow, one footed shuffle across the stage; the feet that threatened to walk off of their own accord; the screech and soulful wail that could shake a move out of the hardest of hearts? Nobody worked harder on a stage than James Brown, as exemplified by his love of a good split: the trick is he uses one move to get up and get down. We’d expect nothing else.
Pete Townsend and his windmill
Sometimes a guitar player generates a chord of such power that he must unleash his arm through a full 360 degrees to play it. Once played, especially in a pub with your local covers band, it’s best to follow it up by gazing into the middle distance around the room and giving the guitarist’s nod of approval.
Bon Jovi fly through the air
After a long argument in the office, we're not too sure about this one. At first we reckoned Aerosmith, the pioneers of the big stadium show, were the first to fly out over the crowd on wires, but there have been a few shouts for the Jovi, thanks to their excellent video for Livin' on a Prayer/Pirates of the Carribean. They also get extra marks for shooting the first half of the video in tasteful monochrome.
Wayne Coyne’s giant rubber ball
We’d love to have been at the production meeting where Wayne Coyne, obviously working with a budget of $10 and a bag of old peanuts, told the rest of the Flaming Lips that his big idea was to run through the crowd in a clear plastic ball. In subsequent interviews, he has revealed that he’s become quite the expert in fixing the damn thing himself. Now that’s show business.
Pink’s aerial antics
Pink seems to be on a one-woman mission to blow everyone else out of the water when it comes to modern live pop performance. Descending into the Grammy awards and spinning from some silks while holding down the vocal live? That'll do it. Also, shameless local news angle alert: the designer for many of Pink's tours is Irishman Baz Halpin, whose company Silent House works with some of the biggest names in pop, including No Doubt, Britney Spears and Katy Perry (see below). Here's an interview with him from earlier this year. http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/baz-halpin-the-irishman-who-made-the-biggest-show-on-us-television-1.2103041
Pink ft Nate Ruess - Try, Just Give Me a Reason (Live Grammy 2014) from Benjamina Falcon on Vimeo.
Angus Young’s spinning guitar solo
The last time we saw AC/DC live, they opened the show with a dubious cartoon featuring a runaway train before the screen split to reveal a life-sized train that rolled on to stage http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/reviews-1.748897 . Even that couldn't upstage the antics of Angus Young, who tears about their gigs with the energy of a schoolboy (maybe that uniform really does have special powers). It's hard to explain why a grown man running around in a circle on the ground while playing a guitar is such an impressive move, but like Machu Picchu and the birth of your child, it really is one of those things you need to see at least once in your lifetime.
Katy Perry’s giant lion
How do you upstage one of the biggest sporting events in the world during a halftime show bloated with stars and advertising? Ride in on a giant lion. Simple. Take a bow Katy Perry.
What else did we miss? Elvis Presley’s unstoppable hips? Chuck berry’s chicken strut? Michael Jackson’s moonwalk? Let us know below.
