SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-CBC Studios (1999, 2000 or 2001).
This is a hard event to document. According to the Rheostatics Live website, this show was broadcast on Sonic 102.9 in 2000, but it appears to be a rebroadcast of a live show that the band recorded at CBC2 Studios in 1999 or, possibly, even in 2001 (according to the link to the video below which states Rheostatics CBC In Session October 26 2001 Just Concerts. Vancouver BC Studio 2, although that may just be a cut up version of the audio–so confusing!).
Whatever the case, the sound of this in-studio live show is tremendous. It is one of the few instances where you can totally hear Dave’s acoustic guitar in the mix.
Kevin Hearn is there too, so they play a number of songs that they might not be able to without him. And Michael Philip Wojewoda is on drums. (This complicates my understanding of the recording too, since Don left in 2001, but MPW often played with them anyway).
The audio version contains eight songs and two interview segments. The interviews are funny (of course) and informative (although Tim sounds totally high), but it’s the music which is the highlight.
They play “Wieners and Beans,” “Martin’s Waltz (Blue Hysteria)” and “Kevin’s Waltz” form Music Inspired by the Group of 7. They play “Easy to Be with You” “Monkeybird” and “Song of the Garden” from Harmelodia and then “Stolen Car” and “P.I.N.” as “new” songs.
The video below (which is the best video version of these recordings I’ve seen) has “Song Of The Garden” “Easy To Be With You” “Martin’s Waltz (Blue Hysteria)” “Stolen Car” and “Wieners and Beans.” No word where the other three songs went. But I love watching the video to see the way Martin makes the crazy sounds out of that little Steinberger guitar.
This is the last Rheostatics show I have for 2000. I’ll be resuming with some shows from 2001, including Don Kerr’s final shows in a few months.
[READ: March 9, 2015]: “Two Parts”
I have only read two things by Dixon–the two McSweeney’s-released books I and End of I.
This story is a reflective look at regrets and decisions. It is told, as you might guess, in two parts. He asks if he should start with his father or with Lotte. He decides to start with his father. He says he was thinking about something and he decided to talk at Abby about it. This framing device is used throughout the story.
The story about his father is from back when he was about ten and his father was about 51. His father had always been in good health, but he had a temper. Especially when it came to the narrator. And while the father never hit the narrator with his hand, he did whack him with a rolled up newspaper.
In this one instance, the narrator had done something and his father was angry. He chased him with the paper, but as they were running around, his father suddenly stopped and had to lean against the table. The ten-year old narrator wasn’t sure if his father was teasing or not so he continued to taunt him bit also tried to make sure he was okay.
Nothing serious happened, but the narrator never forgot the look of his father unwell.
He asks Abby what she thinks about his regrets for never saying anything but there’s nothing he can do now.
The second part is about Lotte. He tells Abby that Lotte was a girl he knew when he was younger . They met on Nantucket. She was very pretty and athletic and they hit it off. They’d had sex but he left after the summer, and they imagined they’d never see each other again. He moved to New York and ha no way to really contact her.
Two years later he ran into her in New York and they started having regular infrequent sex. They never dated, he would call her and she would come over. She started to resent it–how come they never went out, etc) but she never said no.
He wonders if he should call her an apologize. Abby (rightly) says no way. Don’t dig up the past to make yourself feel better.
The story ends with an interesting perspective as he does try to make contact. And things go unexpectedly.
There was nothing earth shattering about this story but it was utterly relatable. Dixon has a great command of recreating (or imagining) very real scenarios.
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