2008 Live
This year, we probably saw less live music than years past... partially due to my accident, partially due to not enough good tours coming through Minneapolis. As it was, we roadtripped several times to Chicago and once to Austin for shows.
Some particularly noteworthy nights:
King Crimson, Park West Chicago. Two nights. Very few of my friends understood why I went, but they would have had they been there. I saw the second and third of three shows, each very different but both powerful. As these may be the last King Crimson shows due to the increasing reticence of Robert Fripp to appear in public and/or engage the business of touring, I'm glad I was there.
The Pogues, Riviera Theater Chicago. The classic lineup from "If I Should Fall...". Shane McGowan looked as if he could be blown over by a sneeze, Philip Chevron was still obviously recovering from his illness, but they were MIGHTY and life-affirming and tear-generating and magical.
Wilco, Stubb's Ampitheater Austin. A particularly comfortable Austin night, with Tweedy and the band in top form and lots of humor. Fantastic sound.
Calexico, Fine Line Minneapolis. This may be tied with Wilco for show of the year. What a great, great band. Openers The Acorn were excellent as well, and will be big if they can stay on the path.
New Pornographers, Walker Arts Minneapolis. Even without Neko they rocked.
David Byrne, State Minneapolis. Amazing integration of dance with music, killer band. This show was NOT sold out. Shame on Minneapolis.
The New Standards, Dakota Minneapolis. My favorite local band.
Nachito Herrera Big Band, also at the Dakota. Playing his Cubanismo charts with some out-of-town help. A blast.
BIggest regrets (missed shows): Shelby Lynne, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Chicago the night after my accident.
I'm forgetting some other great shows but these stand out.
UPDATE: see the next post for a few words on The New Standards Holiday Show.
Bring on 2009.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
We were at a loverly, albeit rain-soaked, reception last Saturday night. The most excellent bride had the foresight to have the caterers stock some Fernet behind the bar. As it developed, it was not ALL for me...I met a stylish Argentinean named Felix, who introduced me to the Buenos Aires style (with Coca-Cola over ice). Normally I drink it SF-style, shots with ginger ale chaser.
I love making new friends.
I love making new friends.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Less-than-Great Cities Of The World
#1 in a Series: Seattle
transcribed more or less directly from my tiny note pad...
1. In a word, dismal. There is no other word to describe this sorry jetsam of aluminum siding, rotting shingles, smog-choked ever-sorta-green trees and 1972 Datsun pickup trucks. See #4 below on that topic.
2. lower-middle-class shanty town that makes Berkeley look like a vanguard of urban planning chic.
3. death of the monorail expansion plan can only be attributed to transplanted Californians’ desire to not be reminded of whence they fled, including any good ideas about efficiency, quality of life issues and building communities.
4. the sheer quantity of driving required to get around puts California to shame. There is an acknowledged obsession with keeping older, less efficient “vehicles” (any hunk of metal with wheels and the latent capacity for forward motion) on the road as a badge of honor.
5. Frankly, the only “green” culture I saw was mildew-related.
6. what music scene?? Are you counting the punk grrls stripping to Soundgarden at the Lusty Lady? The clientele I observed appeared to be exclusively restaurant kitchen staff on break. If you see or hear the phrase “A visit to the LL is a rite of passage, and no one can otherwise claim to have seen Seattle”, trust me and run away.
7. Does it not seem odd that there are exactly two decent breakfast places, owned by the same guy, one with atrocious coffee and one with great? Find them yourself.
8. There is a very cool Cuban hole-in-the-wall neighborhood café with some of the best food, and certainly the absolute best grilled chicken, I have ever eaten. Three expat co-owners in the kitchen turning out food and great drinks with godknowswhat liquors. Dinner for 3 with cocktails $77. whew. Maybe Seattle is not so dismal… again, you can find this place on your own just like I had to. Hint: it’s triangular.
9. People will smile at you, talk to you, listen to you. Women hold doors for men. This is good.
10. Downtown is hideous. Barely discernable grid, illogical one-way patterns, bums. Good, old-fashioned American bums.
11. The bums are the apparent guard anointed at the gates to the Public Market. The highly touted fish kiosks are no better than any others in town, with the added cachet of inaccessibility to the locals (now that the city is eliminating short-term parking that would make access by locals feasible) (see “monorail”). Flying fish shows for people whose knowledge of tuna begins and ends with Charley and Jessica Simpson.
12. On a more positive note, the shoe selection at Nordstrom (adorably designated “Store #1” on their website) is pretty darn sweet.
13. another mitigating factor re: item 5 above…a Sunday night session in the basement bar of a well-known club yielded some surprises. The Latin band in house supplied enthusiasm and individual talent in quantities sufficient to overcome their less than rigorous approach to arrangements or rehearsal. There were also excellent dancers on the floor. At times, watching lithe, mostly Asian and mostly expert dancers twirl and spin against a white backlit plastic wall, the effect was magnificent. Not to mention that my tab for a premium whiskey and a boutique ginger ale was six dollars. Hell of a bartender. Doubled as the sound guy.
14. We will not even discuss the tragedy known as Pioneer Square. Look it up, visit if you must, but I’m telling you it is a waste of time.
15. The rainfall estimate is not exaggerated.
16. All three of my cab drivers spoke perfect English and knew where they were going. Unusual. Pleasantly so. As a tourist, I should not have to give directions to a cab driver, yet this is more and more frequently the case everywhere I travel (from Phoenix to Paris). Maybe it was just my weekend.
17. I found a pretty interesting store specializing in “grey-market”, meaning probably smuggled from Canada, mod furniture and accessories. Their hesitancy to order an Eames knockoff for direct shipment to my home town was telling; then again, I see conspiracies and collusion everywhere.
#1 in a Series: Seattle
transcribed more or less directly from my tiny note pad...
1. In a word, dismal. There is no other word to describe this sorry jetsam of aluminum siding, rotting shingles, smog-choked ever-sorta-green trees and 1972 Datsun pickup trucks. See #4 below on that topic.
2. lower-middle-class shanty town that makes Berkeley look like a vanguard of urban planning chic.
3. death of the monorail expansion plan can only be attributed to transplanted Californians’ desire to not be reminded of whence they fled, including any good ideas about efficiency, quality of life issues and building communities.
4. the sheer quantity of driving required to get around puts California to shame. There is an acknowledged obsession with keeping older, less efficient “vehicles” (any hunk of metal with wheels and the latent capacity for forward motion) on the road as a badge of honor.
5. Frankly, the only “green” culture I saw was mildew-related.
6. what music scene?? Are you counting the punk grrls stripping to Soundgarden at the Lusty Lady? The clientele I observed appeared to be exclusively restaurant kitchen staff on break. If you see or hear the phrase “A visit to the LL is a rite of passage, and no one can otherwise claim to have seen Seattle”, trust me and run away.
7. Does it not seem odd that there are exactly two decent breakfast places, owned by the same guy, one with atrocious coffee and one with great? Find them yourself.
8. There is a very cool Cuban hole-in-the-wall neighborhood café with some of the best food, and certainly the absolute best grilled chicken, I have ever eaten. Three expat co-owners in the kitchen turning out food and great drinks with godknowswhat liquors. Dinner for 3 with cocktails $77. whew. Maybe Seattle is not so dismal… again, you can find this place on your own just like I had to. Hint: it’s triangular.
9. People will smile at you, talk to you, listen to you. Women hold doors for men. This is good.
10. Downtown is hideous. Barely discernable grid, illogical one-way patterns, bums. Good, old-fashioned American bums.
11. The bums are the apparent guard anointed at the gates to the Public Market. The highly touted fish kiosks are no better than any others in town, with the added cachet of inaccessibility to the locals (now that the city is eliminating short-term parking that would make access by locals feasible) (see “monorail”). Flying fish shows for people whose knowledge of tuna begins and ends with Charley and Jessica Simpson.
12. On a more positive note, the shoe selection at Nordstrom (adorably designated “Store #1” on their website) is pretty darn sweet.
13. another mitigating factor re: item 5 above…a Sunday night session in the basement bar of a well-known club yielded some surprises. The Latin band in house supplied enthusiasm and individual talent in quantities sufficient to overcome their less than rigorous approach to arrangements or rehearsal. There were also excellent dancers on the floor. At times, watching lithe, mostly Asian and mostly expert dancers twirl and spin against a white backlit plastic wall, the effect was magnificent. Not to mention that my tab for a premium whiskey and a boutique ginger ale was six dollars. Hell of a bartender. Doubled as the sound guy.
14. We will not even discuss the tragedy known as Pioneer Square. Look it up, visit if you must, but I’m telling you it is a waste of time.
15. The rainfall estimate is not exaggerated.
16. All three of my cab drivers spoke perfect English and knew where they were going. Unusual. Pleasantly so. As a tourist, I should not have to give directions to a cab driver, yet this is more and more frequently the case everywhere I travel (from Phoenix to Paris). Maybe it was just my weekend.
17. I found a pretty interesting store specializing in “grey-market”, meaning probably smuggled from Canada, mod furniture and accessories. Their hesitancy to order an Eames knockoff for direct shipment to my home town was telling; then again, I see conspiracies and collusion everywhere.
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