How Oingo Boingo Killed AI Music
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Live music is so much more than singing and playing. The art of performing for an audience is such a crucial part of the equation. Today, marketing and technology CEO Ali Fathali will dive into a legendary concert that shows off exactly how performance can enhance the live music experience, without the use of AI or computer assistance.
The year was 1985. The band? Oingo Boingo. Venue? The Ritz. Danny Elfman and company put together a performance that’s equally as captivating and enjoyable now as it was almost 40 years ago.
This is the Art of Performance.
![Oingo Boingo Live At The Ritz 1985, NOT 1987 (Reupload) [Best Quality]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zAo1Ur3YBw8/mqdefault.jpg)
Very Kind, Thank You!!!
Hello Johnny! I had the privilege of attending your drum clinic c.1982. Your wild inventions, fluid transitions between rhythms, and metronomic accuracy blew us all away. Your style directly instructed my drumming. Speaking with you afterwards, you offered genuine generosity and kindness. You have my unending gratitude for that unforgettable day and later for inviting us backstage multiple times to spend time with the band. Thank you, Master Rhythmatist, for everything.
@johnvatos346
You are one of the main reasons I have been playing drums for the last 45 years!! Thank you for the inspiration. Thank you for all the music, and most of all, THANK YOU for keeping the legacy alive!! Never stop!
You guys earned all the accolades you could ever get. I was a huge fan back in the 80s and I'm now using your music to teach my kids how great music can be. My 11 year old son loves this version of Grey Matter. He's asked for an Oingo Boingo shirt and I'm sure it will impress the girls at school. My daughter (8) loves "We Close Our Eyes", which has been stuck in my head for a while. Thank you for the amazing music.
Hi Johnny. I’m a 15 year old guitarist from Kentucky and I also play drums on occasion. I just want to say how much I love your drum parts. Especially on those early Oingo Boingo tunes. Man what an underdog of a drummer.
And a HUMONGOUS thank you to you and all your bandmates for the great music you put out, whether with Boingo, the Psychotic Aztecs, or any other projects you've worked on over the years!
Bands used to spend A LONG time honing their skills and songs in front of audiences. Danny Elfman is as close to a musical genius as you can get.
Where is the "like times a million" button to agree with this statement? People know Dead Man's Party, or maybe the Simpsons theme, but they don't know that this self-made man basically wrote every hit song like... ever. And he's deep, tortured, and complicated. He's the whole package. Don't fuck with Danny Elfman. He's like Aphex Twin, Roky Erikson, and the remaining crew of ACTUAL musical geniuses (unlike people like, say, me, who just CALL themselves musical geniuses)... when you see them stretch their wings, musically, it's... Prometheus unbound. It's like getting to watch a god stretch his legs. It's... intoxicating. Bruce Hornsby is another one. Any of these -- I abjure you to watch/listen/think about their music. It truly deserves the epithet "next level."
theres few people on that level of quality output. Danny, Frank Zappa, Devin townsend, Mike patton, bjork and while I dont like him people put prince in the category often
Eddie, are you kidding?
do not tell this man about martini glass
also the 80s had the best cocaine
Just so you know, 'Oingo Boingo former members' Just played last week in Anaheim California. Everyone is still in the band except Danny Elfman. They still sound this good. We in California are waiting for the day Danny decides to do a show with the rest of the band members again.
The closest we get is the nightmare before Christmas shows. Some of the members drop in for the three songs encore
My understanding is that he's concerned about hearing loss and he can do better as a composer.
Oingo Boingo Dance Party!! Yes, they are fantastic and managed to find a singer who sounds a lot like Elfman!
I saw Boingo 33x back then!! And they were epic EVERY TIME!! I would give anything to see them just one more time!!
BEST LIVE BAND EVER!!
Any idea who the new vocalist is?
Or do they just not use one?
I know the instrumental versions of the songs would stand on their own without vocals
Danny Elfman was an absolute BEAST of a vocalist. The whole band was on point through their whole career. If you really want a great concert of theirs check out their final show, Farewell from 1995
That was my first concert! I was 14 and saved all my babysitting money for a ticket. I was so scared my strict Mormon parents wouldn’t let me go, but they knew how much Boingo meant to me, and my big brother offered to take me and make sure I got to the show and home safe. I feel so lucky I got to go!
@@suzybearheart530 That's awesome! I'm super jealous. I didn't discover their music until like 2001
@@cammychoate Better late than never! If you ever get a chance, go see Oingo Boingo Dance Party. It's most of the original band and a singer who sounds a lot like Elfman. I've seen them 3 times and it's always a blast.
@@suzybearheart530 That's awesome!
Dead mans party was awesome as well
: )@@suzybearheart530
The bass player is John Avila! And this is an edited recording. The video on UA-cam is about 30 minutes, cut down from a show probably an hour and a half or two hours in length.
Title: How Oingo Boingo killed AI music
Video: Oingo Boingo did a lot without the use of modern tools.
For my next video: "How the builders of the pyramids KILLED 3D printing!"
Exactly. This video is about nothing. Well, it's about him, liking this Oinbo Boingo live video. Good for him I guess.
And used A.I. art for the thumbnail
thats what i thought this would be. XD
LMAOOOO hilarius and true comment
Thanks for this comment. I'm one minute in and now know I don't have to keep watching what seems like a mediocre video.
I saw Oingo Bingo 17 times before they broke up and they never failed to put on high energy shows with outstanding music. The entire band were incredible musicians and performers.
how does it feel to have lived MY DREAM >:(
@@snailfish2931 American's take for granted how many awesome, polished LIVE bands they got witness back in the 80's.😭
I saw Oingo Boingo a couple times about 35 years ago where I grew up in San Bernardino, California and I'll never forget how amazing they were. I've been to a lot of concerts and they were one of the only live bands I saw where it was IMPOSSIBLE to sit still. I've never danced at a concert like I did at their shows!
They are the only concert I've left where even my pants were completely drenched in sweat. I tell people to this day they are the best concert I have ever seen. One particular show in Salt Lake stands above all other for me. Smallsih venue on the fairgrounds. The energy was palpable. Wish I could have been at the farewell show.
Saw them at the Orange Pavilion with X. Sweat was not an option (not a pun.)
@@brentottoson6974 It took me a few days to recover from that show. Being squished up against that slanted board that blocked the stage was brutal after a while. Still, an incredible show!
Dude I love that you took the time to appreciate and talk about Oingo Boingo. I agree on everything you’ve outlined. I recommend you deep dive more into the early years of the band and their later releases. I assure you that it will make you fall in love with the band every second you find more information about their history
Hey Johnny Joestar
Lucky to say I saw Oingo Boingo more times than I can count! Best live band of the 80’s and early 90’s! 3.5-4 hr sets were not out of the norm for this band!
Can confirm. They almost never had an opening band. Amazing performances!
Even now, as Oingo Boingo Former Members they still play for at least 90 minutes with an opener and longer without. (Also without Danny who’s doing his own thing but with a dynamic vocalist)
Clickbait title;
Don't even care. This band is BRILLIANT.
This is the happiest I've been to be clickbaited
Agreed
it really is clickbait and i dont need to see him fluff Oingo Boingos members
This entire video is just "bands were better back in the day" and has zero to do with AI.
Absolutely. I wonder if Danny Elfman uses digital mastering and sampling, computer sequencing, etc. in his processes now?
A lot of people see how some people did so much with so little and incorrectly assume something has been lost. No, new tools have made us gain greater ease. Yes, Oingo Boingo put a TON of work into their music, but now more bands can achieve a similar sound with less effort. I fail to see how this is a bad thing.
Well, the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo used 21st century crowd-funding techniques to finance the sequel to their cult classic movie "The Forbidden Zone", so they're definitely not neo-luddites...
@TheNazzerDawk because it crowds the scene with garbage. If the only artists able to produce and share art are the ones who push through the huge barrier of entry we only get the art from someone who has worked tirelessly to hone their skill, their voice and make something worth all that effort. I got no dog in this fight, i love the low barrier and have taken advantage of it plenty. But you only need to look at the Steam video game store and wade through the oceans of half assed video games to see the damage it does when you make it easy for anyone to achieve the facade of quality.
@@Altern84mYou make a fair point, but at the same time, the rise of information sharing to prominence has made it difficult to push a product that is no good (unless that is a selling point like with Sharknado) and the hardest workers still stand above the rest. One reason so much shovelware managed to survive during the advent of console gaming was that unless you were subscribed to a bunch of video game magazines, all you had to go off of was word of mouth from friends. I would say it balances out in a roundabout way.
@@PixygonYeah its definitely one of those things where the solution is built into the problem. It's an organism.
Oingo Boingo Former Members are still preforming. Even 35 years later, they still have it!
Dead Man’s Party
im 17 and oingo boingo is literally my favorite band and it just made to so happy to hear you talk about them with so much appreciation, I'm glad this video came up on my feed :)
Same age, same favorite band. Boingo fans are generational!
Good on you guys. So good to see younger generations appreciating amazing music played live. ❤
These guys were my favorite band back when I was 12 through much of high school. This would have been '85-'91. I eventually focused on jazz for a long time. My 11 year old son now loves Oingo Boingo and wears his OB shirt to middle school. I have a fresh appreciation for all these guys, but especially John Avila and Steve Bartek as I see all of these videos. The Ritz version of Grey Matter blows me away.
I FUCKIN LOOOOOVE OINGO BOINGOOOO
Danny Elfman,,,,pure genius, absolute animal composer, BOSS LEVEL STUFF
Having seen Oingo Boingo live 3 times, they put on an AMAZING show. They are all such quality musicians and Danny truly is a genius.
oh and in-ear monitors DIDN'T exist in 1986!!! Musicans actually had to sing on key and be able to listen to all the other musicians
Your breakdown is proof of why Oingo Boingo should have been MUCH bigger than they were. Great that you have gone back to look at their music, there are so many bangers to be heard!!!
And that’s why he almost went deaf.
@@nuclearcatbaby1131 that and the martini glass
@@penis2 shut up, you're contributing nothing
They had monitors in front of them on the stage. They look like small amplifiers, but they're aimed at the band.
Everyone of the band members were studio musicians. These guys are absolute perfectionists. I have been to many of their concerts at Irvine Meadows and Universal Amphitheater. They put on an amazing show for hours on end.
The Mystical Knights Of The Oingo Bingo, was what was known, as a street theatrical group.
It was a big change, to make it a pop group, but that performance energy, never left.
You put Jack Skellington (The Pumpkin King) on, right before Halloween. It's awesome, because this sounds like an organic experience, that happened to you.
This is a great live performance. The video has nothing to do with AI. And it wouldn't have killed you to look up the musicians' names. But otherwise I agree with your breakdown of what an incredible performance this was.
If you never saw Oingo Boingo live you have no idea what you missed. They were the tightest band I've ever seen live.
And they would go on for 2 and a half hours at this level. Truly amazing to see.
John Avila is a great bassist
Absolutely
I saw them live with Kerry Hatch and then with John Avila and noticed that Avila would skip a LOT of notes trying to play Hatch's parts on old songs. Hatch would play 1/8 and 1/16 notes while Avila would play 1/4. Avila is a good bassist, but not great.
@@Ziggy_Moonglow I was about to reply to the OP "He's no Kerry Hatch" but you beat me to it and with musical evidence! 🤜🤛
@@Ziggy_Moonglow
Who cares, he's still great
Boingo’s best stuff was their debut EP, their first three albums and Danny Elfman’s “So-Lo” album. They all were released before 1985. I saw them live in 1985 and it was one of the BEST concerts I ever attended.
Nothing to Fear is a fantastic album and ‘Reptiles and Samurai’ is possibly the greatest studio recording of that decade. Seriously, play the vinyl loudly on a stereo system with some heft. Amazing!
Boingo put out 8 albums in the 80s (technically one of them is a Danny Elfman Solo Album, but it’s really a stealth Oingo Boingo album since the whole band is on it. It was recorded in between record labels, so they couldn’t really freely use their name for negotiation reasons, but they weren’t foolin’ anybody) they were amazing. Regarding the timing in the sings speeding up, in 1988 they released a studio-live double album that is awesome, and showed how their songs had evolved over 8 years of playing them live..
As a consequence of all that music, all that touring, and so on, Danny lost 75% of his hearing. That’s part of why they broke up: he needed to save his ears for his film score work.
Also, if you get a chance, hunt around on youtube for some sets by “the mystic knights of the oingo boingo,” which is the original iteration of the bad from 1973-1978, which was a sort of avante garde musical cabaret act that just did weird, weird, weird, wonderful things. Danny was the lead singer (and occasional fire-eater, yes, he was a fire eater) for the band during that phase, too.
Even with todays tech , NO Band can compete with 80's Bands especially Oingo Boingo.
Danny's one of those rare guys who can do pretty much everything at a very high level, like Brian Setzer. Composer, lyricist, vocalist, instrumentalist, band leader, showman, just a fantastic front man.
To be clear: The Keytar, played by the Bass player John Avila IS the bass of the song.
Oingo Boingo and Huey Lewis & the News (with Tower of Power backing) were 2 bands worth every penny back in the 80's. Better than basically 99% of everything live today
Danny Elfman kills it. And he has absolutely no professional training. It’s all pure talent. Nothing compares to Boingo when it comes to energy level.
I saw Oingo Boingo several times and they never phoned it in. You left the show thinking you just saw the best performance they could ever give. The show at Red Rocks Amphitheater, CO in 1990 with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the opener, was amazing.
2:38 No in-ear monitors, still in tune, hits high notes: You can see him checking his ear a couple of times through the performance (just closing it with a finger to hear his own voice in his skull). He simply knows how to sing and has practiced the part. What a sad state it is that today we have no expectation of singers to do this.
Jesus, more? Come on, man. Put away the Katy Perry and put on some King Gizzard. There are still amazing live bands, and there always will be.
Saw the most incredible concert bill at Red Rocks outside Denver back in the day. It’s a bill you would never imagine today. Two warm up bands with Oingo Boingo as the headliner. Warm acts were Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Call. Brilliant show with its like never to be seen again.
How tf you guys only have 95 subs? This is a kickass video, may the algorithm gods bless you. I've also become possessed by that Ritz set . . . Danny Elfman is once in a generation.
I discovered Oingo Boingo in the early 2000s when I was a teenager, and pretty much wouldn't listen to anything else. This concert is my absolute favorite, and it's validating to know that my opinion isn't born solely out of ignorance of other artists. This is PEAK Elfman, and I fall in love every time.
I saw this tour in 85. It was awesome. It was the only time I saw them live.
Oingo Boingo has been my favorite band for the better part of a decade. I love Danny and all the skilled musicians involved
I bet Danny Elfman wishes he had had in-ear monitors/earplugs, dude had to retire from touring due to acute hearing loss
Well, hes also 70+ so its not that surprising
@fanni1652 okay but he retired from touring due to acute hearing loss at age 32 tho
the struggle is real. hearing frequencies are so important for studio work too.
I saw Oingo Boingo at the Ritz in 1985 - no idea if it was this this date or not - but they were renowned for their live performances. Even so, they were not super popular - more of a niche band, and among my cohorts in high school there were maybe 10 of us who were into them. The Ritz is not a large venue by any stretch. Iconic? absolutely! but it was a very far cry from Madison Square Garden. I think the clip I watched was about 30 minutes long, but I can attest that the show I saw, they played for close to three hours, with quite a few encores and they were thoroughly sweaty and completely (though very happily!) exhausted when they finally left the stage.
Anyway, I can say with all honesty that it is SO depressing to me that you think it is so extra special: that a band actually knows how to play their instruments, that they can actually sing, that they can put their hearts into the performance and engage with the audience in a personal way...all of that. Hell, I saw Slayer a few years ago on their farewell tour - they were borderline geriatric at that point - and they still killed it. With none of the "assists" you are talking about. What - are you guys only listening to Taylor Swift or something? I have a feeling there are plenty of good live bands out there, but you HAVE TO GO SEEEEEEE THEM. Smaller venues have always been better. Get out and about - you might be surprised at what you find.
I actually saw them twice on this tour… both small “just bigger than a bar” venues. It was amazing and incredibly fun.
Saw them over a dozen times, never disappointed. Dannys performances the last couple of years were the best.
woah, young Danny Elfman is a HOTTIE!
fr
I saw them back stage in 1985 I watch the whole concert and then hung out with Dale Turner
In a room full of geniuses
Bassist John Avila had just joined the band around 1985 and (I believe) was the youngest member. He definitely brought new energy!
Just give the Bingo Alive album. Instead of a live show, they went into a studio and just played all the songs live. All so much better than the clean tracks.
Boingo live was FUN! Got to see them three times. Wish it had been 30. They rocked really hard. Danny had the crowd in a fired-up trance.
Fan since 1983 and lucky enough to see them live multiple times. I’d say they were wildly underrated, but there are too many longtime fans who’ve been following them for decades who know exactly the who-what-when-where-and-why that makes Elfman and band mates pure genius.
Watch Danny from Coachella 2023! It is still up!
Where? I watched the original live stream but was never able to find a replay…
Do not fuck with Danny Elfman in re music. You will lose, he will devour you: he gets no respect.
8:33 what you hear is _talent_ .
What modern musical performers lack is _talent_ .
They can't sing in tune, they can't conspire with a live band, they can't move even while they _pretend to sing_ .
Oingo Boingo was peak what live music was meant to be.
Are you deliberately only listening to what you don't want to hear, and seriously comparing pop stars to Oingo Boingo? Good lord, there is plenty of talent out there. Like in every decade. And there is also a huge load of steaming hot garbage out there. Like in every decade.
the oingo boingo live at the universal amphitheater was a phenomenal concert
I saw Oingo Boingo in 1987 in California San Diego. Was the best concert that I think I’ve ever been to as far the ability to come out and perform like they did it was amazing. When Danny and the bass player were playing those xylophone or whatever the hell they’re called they were just so in tune with each other. It was crazy.!
I have so many great memories with Oingo Boingo. I was lucky enough to see when I was in the Marine Corps live around 87 at San Diego State. They played so hard and fast the drummer passed out. I was all into New Wave music then and Dead Man’s Party whenever I see or hear them. Of course the Bass Player stole the show. We rock. Thanks for the video
Most underrated group ever. They were so awesome.
l’m a jaded old Oingo Boingo fan … but, it’s fun to see someone just discovering the band, and being so enthusiastic! Definitely check out their whole catalog! ( And, if you want your mind blown, check out their pre-rock-n-roll selves as “The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo” !)
One of my favorite bands since the 70’s.
I went to Berklee college of music in Boston a few years after Steve Bartek. The talent runs deep in this band!
I’ve seen all of the loudest bands in history and none of them even came close to Oingo Boingo live! Those xylophone like instruments that they invented tore my head off.
Our ears rang for a week.
The drummer and bass player had so much drive I felt like I was Muhammad Ali’s punching bag after a three hour workout.
I saw them live in 1990. Most amazing show ever.
OB played to midi backing tracks constantly and possibly backing vocals on tape
Still genius though
And not to forget, no fckn phones in audience👏🏻👍🏻✌🏻
He and Oingo Boingo had a quick cameo doing Dead's Man's party in the movie Back to School.
My first internet post ever was about having gone to see Oingo Boingo in 1996 or so. It was a great show, and after the gig I ran into some radio station DJs I knew and they (and I) ended up taking Danny around town looking for a good keg party.
Unfortunately, every time we got to one the keg would have just floated and everybody was leaving. After three or four failures we gave up, and the last thing I remember was a tired, bored Danny Elfman lying down on this bemused college girl's driveway and letting several big dogs lick his face.
(When the girl asked who the guy was that was getting doggie-molested in her front yard, and we told her, she said "Wow! I've never heard of Oingo Boingo, but just the fact that you're driving this guy around trying to keep him entertained says to me that he's famous enough that this is really cool!")
LOVE Oingo Boingo. I’ve seen them 17 times in concert. (Years ago, obviously. During my high school times) I was even have Elvis (the little skull guy w/the cowboy hat & smoke) tattooed on my calf. Massive fan. Obviously I haven’t seen them in concert since their farewell concert in ‘95. But I just bought tickets to Oingo Boingo Former Members. (It’s everyone but Danny) Can’t wait to see them play in Montclair, CA in May. It’ll being back so many memories.
BTW. Danny says the reason he doesn’t do live concerts anymore and that there will never be a reunion tour is because he’s deaf from not wearing any ear monitors on stage all those years ago. And he refuses to wear them today. So sadly no concerts.
LOL! Elvis tattoo - check! Saw them in Montclair on Friday - Check! Many great memories came flooding back - CHECK!
Just Another Day in this concert is the best performance ever recorded. It's better speed than their album version. There's a remastered version out there that removes some of the guitar feedback too on YT. They kill it. Best song they do in my opinion and this is the best version of the song at the Ritz.
I grew up in L.A. and saw Oingo Boingo 18x live starting in 1985 at the age of 15. Made my way to the VERY VERY FRONT of the Hollywood Paladium and sang along with Danny to EVERY song! We made eye contact at some point then he noticed I knew the words to EVERY song and he made a point of giving me MULTIPLE High-5s throughout the show!!! I became OBSESSED with this band to the point that my obsession became my affectation and personality all through and beyond high school. STILL my favorite band of ALL-Time!!!
MY 80s GUY WON…
I live when people are blown away when rock musicians put on a show with theatrics and tight musicianship as if opera is something that hasn't existed for 400 years. I mean, you want to talk about "totally analogue"..
I've never been a groupie of musicians for reasons of principle. But when I saw the concert at the Ritz, I was mesmerised. That's when I started to have a crush on him. Such confidence, such energy.
Nothing is empty with Oingo Boingo. Every note has its place thanks to the talented musicians
This guy has more salt and pepper than I do, yet he's surprised out how good Oingo Boing is and talks as if he's never heard of them?! That band is absolutely legendary and were huge in the New Wave scene! And the bass player is the equally legendary John Avila.
I saw them in 1989 in Dallas-it was an amazing frenzy of perfection!
I was fortunate enough to see Danny Elfman perform live last year. Not Oingo Boingo related though. It was a celebration of all the film scores he's done with Tim Burton, with the music performed by a local orchestra. Most of the songs were purely instrumental, of course. But, he performed *ALL* of the vocals for the songs from "Nightmare Before Christmas." Talk about perfect pitch and presence! I don't think I've ever seen anyone just OWN a stage the way he did. I was so surprised. I knew he was quite the performer back in his Oingo Boingo days, but that was about 40 years ago. But, he's still got it 100%. Towards the end of the show, he said he was leaving composing for awhile so he can get back into performing rock. I have no doubt he'll be just as awesome as he was back in the 80s.
I saw his rock show twice, last August and October of 2022.
I asked an older guy at work about the best concerts and he didn't pause/immediately said Oingo Boingo was the best band he'd ever seen live
Nobody used in-ear monitors back then. Boingo was my first concert and still one of the best all these years later.
"The guy...". THE GUY?!?! A goddam genius and you call him "the guy." Good lord man. One of the top 3 live acts of all time. Welcome to the rabbit hole man.
They kept us coming back time after time with their amazing musicianship and well, you know the rest. I will cherish all those shows especially Halloween at Irvine Meadows forever. Love these guys.
I've always admired this performance, they are obviously brilliant, but have always wondered too if there was some post-processing/overdubs on it, that was done in the 80s on occasion for live footage moved over to video, Journey comes to mind, for example, the echo effect at 4:29, how would something like that be done within a live performance?
Oingo Boingo is an amazing band - absolutly unique sound and approach, melodies, conflicting rythms , fun lyrics, theatre and American SKA
i remember sending off a letter when i was 13 in 83 from Australia to join the "Oingo Bongo Secret Society" using the info on one of the album covers.
they are consummate multi-instrumentalists - watch Steve Bartek play almost anything on the BSG Live Orchestras Performances
And John Avilla is nuts on base
I saw them on Earth Day at CMU La cross field in 1990. At the time, it was the best moments of my life. I got to meet the band after the show and drank an MGD with John Avila and Leon.
Oingo Boingo, the band, started off as the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art troupe, which explains quite a bit right there. When the Mystic Knights disbanded, the remaining members formed Oingo Boingo and became a band, and they had a couple of lineup changes over the years but basically their core group remained the same until they disbanded officially in 1997. Their bassist, John Avila, was really athletic to be able to sing, play, and dance like he does; he and their drummer, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, later formed another band called the Psychotic Aztecs.
Please come back Danny
john avila goes crazy
Oingo Boingo was an amazing one-of-a-kind band. You literally cannot place them into any single genre because they incorporated pretty much every style of music into one crazy blend that was genius. They were unmatched as a live band.
Oingo Boingo was such a tight band. The reason, I think, is that they hid metronomes in the open. That arpeggiator that you mentioned was throughout the entirety of “just another day.” Oingo Boingo is one of my favorites.
"This dude has no in-ear monitors"
9 years later, he breaks up the band because he's losing his hearing. I dunno if monitors have a protection value, but one would hope so.
Danny Elfman still does this in his 70’s. Look up his recent performances since the album ‘Big Mess’ came out.
Every year on Halloween my husband & I watch this concert. This band is incredible
I saw Boingo in concert a few times in their heyday. They were always so much fun. Elfman is a genius and he put together an amazing band.
Great breakdown of their show at the Ritz!
First of all, he’s Danny Elfman! So that. Second, a quality onstage monitor setup and monitor mixer are non-negotiable, iwoth n-ears or monitor speakers.
Being 71, I was there for all this and I'll tell you that it was rare for a band to achieve "magic" - I mean the live interplay of human musicians male and female that resulted in a feeling that swept you up in it, especially the band themselves, because not only were you MAKING that music second-to-second, but you are right there in the midst of these lives drums, amplifiers blasting and man, there's NOTHING like that. Of course, with the BOINGO example, you have early A.I. - sequencers, digital samples, keyboards being used as bass guitars, drum pads that had sounds loaded, so the machines in my beloved Oingo Boingo were also there with them. But when it's magic, it's magic, as long as it's 98% human, in my opinion...but I guess the end result (driving people into a frenzy and having them say they went to the best effin' concert ever last night! The problem is when you THINK it's live cats and there's BS going on behind the scenes. I personally LIKE to hear a vocalist a little pitchy here and there like the Freddy Mercury example (with his out-of-control vibrato, that would now be tamed in Melodyne) because it says to your lizard brain THIS IS REAL. If someone reading this (haha, lost you a loooooong time ago if you're under 30) IS under 30, go listen to the big bands of the 30's, 40's and 50's, 9black, white or - best - integrated races. Or you could binge THE TUBES.
Biggest dance party I've ever been to was at the Greek Theater on Halloween with Oingo Boingo.
Oingo Boingo and Danny Elfman were the Cab Calloway of their day
Who doesn't see Danny and John working that xylophone whenever they hear 'Grey Matter' since this performance? This band is like no other!
Goodbye-goodbye - I lost my damn mind when this song kicked off with the end credits of 'Fast Timest at Ridgemont High'
Danny Elfman never had formal musical training. He is a natural gifted musician.
John Avila is the bassist. Guy gets it done.
Every one in the band was skilled. And Danny Elfman is a unique talent. Not a stretch to say musical genius.
Elfman has gone on to compose over a hundred film scores. He done symphonies and released an album of sorta heavy speed metal a few years ago.
Don't forget that steve bartek come with him to make films. They were a dynamic duo but most folks only name Danny, who is an incredible talent but he also surrounded himself with talented friends.
@@robertomonge1967
Bartec is the symphony conductor on Danny's latest tours. He steps in as guitarist for Dead Man's party near the end of the show
Just stumbled on this. A friend inSoCal was psyched about this band called the Mystic Knights Of The Oingo Boingo and their insane theatrical shows. By the time I moved back to the Bay Area, I heard Danny on a local college radio talking about their new EP and shortened name. He did many interviews at Foothill College. I was a huge fan from 1980, and saw them many times until they split in the early 90’s. I most like their first 3 albums, by Deadman’s Party they were getting commercial, and slowly lost their way as many do. They built those gourd percussions for their second LP. One of the best live bands ever.
John Avila is the reason i learned bass instead of guitar. Such a powerful presence and technique.
John Avila (the bass player of Oingo Boingo) taught my Rock and R’n’B/Hip-Hop classes. Very nice guy and player.
I was lucky enough to have grown up in L. A. and been introduced to the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo when they were just a local club band in 1973. I can't even count how times I have seen them live. One of the all time best bands ever.
So lucky
Bet you give anything to see them w/Danny just one more time I saw em 33x back then and I know I'd give anything!!
Oingo is stellar beyond belief. Saw them about 10 times... clubs to stadiums. So freakin' insane. Really great job on the video. Thank you!!
i have no idea how many times I've rewatched this specific concert, it's one of the best live shows I've seen. so happy more people are starting to discover boingo!
I saw Death Grips play live last year. Basically all it was was colored lights, a drum set, a mic, a guitar and a keyboard. All the vocals were amazing, and the instrumentalists killed it. I think they are definitely one of the best modern bands for live performances, amazing.
One point: Johnny Hernandez is playing what look like real drums - but they're rigged with triggers and are playing samples, which might have helped the onstage clarity.
Dude, this was 1985, sampling and triggers weren't a thing yet.
Saw them at a community college in the San Fernando Valley so long ago, maybe 40 years ago or so. My wife and I were right at the lip of the stage. Terrific performance except some girl in high heels spiked my wife's foot, but she soldiered on and would not leave the front of the crowd.