Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Give 'Em Enough Rope

The concert that almost was.

For the past 2 weeks I have helped a local promoter in marketing an upcoming concert in Buffalo, NY that was unceremoniously canceled today. So I bring you the concert that almost was, specifically the poster for the concert that almost was (view here). On top of that, this was going to be my 1st DJ gig at the Town Ballroom. I was looking forward to that as much as I was to the concert.

Anyway, the show was being billed as Joe Strummer's Mescaleros. Joe being dead and unable to perform, the band, according to the poster, was to be made up of the following rockers:
  • Pablo Cook- founding Mescalero, who has played with Moby and Lily Allen, and who son's godfather is/was none other than the late Joe Strummer.
  • Derek Forbes- original Simple Minds bassist who played on the Breakfast Club soundtrack smash hit Don't You Forget About Me. A-huh, yep.
  • Steve "Smiley" Barnard - original drums for the Mescaleros
  • and Gregory Stuart Lee White aka Vince White- the notorious bass player that joined the Clash after they band broke up and has written a book about it.

All said- a rousing bunch of musicians which promised a good time. But as these things go when bands travel across the great pond to play one U.S. show, at the Town Ballroom, in little old Buffalo, New York- it ain't gonna happen no more! All travel plans have been canceled with a possible re-schedule sometime this Spring.

I was a little disappointed, so I had to share the poster design- since it may never see the light of day and wasn't really paid for. But if the show does get rescheduled- the poster may arise to entertain and entice once more- or maybe I'll just design a new one.....

The graphic-geek details:
This rock poster was designed at 11 x 17" with no bleed- color copier reproductions were suppose to be in it's future, otherwisz it would have been a full bleed, baby.

Using a blown-out screenshot of Joe Strummer from the motion picture Straight to Hell, the poster was built with a weathered, Wild West flair, jaunty 'wanted poster' angles and a washed out desert color scheme. The font, Rosewood, I never thought I would use (and I have done a lot of Steam Donkeys posters in my time). All other text was the non-fancy Rosewood Fill, which still has a rough-shod feel to it. Extra stars as usual, a happy accident of a slipped image that had some extra white border on it and there you have it!

The concert that almost was... Joe Strummer's Mescaleros (view here).
Spot the typo and be the 1st to win a prize...hey, nobody's perfect.

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