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Archive for September, 2015

Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Gordan Sudzuka–Wonder Woman: Volume 6: Bones (2015)

Posted in Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang, Goran Sudzuka, Lawrence Arabia, Myths, Tiny Desk Concert, Unfinished series, Wonder Woman on September 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

vol6 bones SOUNDTRACK: LAWRENCE ARABIA-Tiny Desk Concert #75 (August 23, 2010).

lawLawrence Arabia are from New Zealand.  I don’t know what their album sound is like, but in this Tiny Desk, they play a sort of country folk.  With outstanding harmonies.

“I’ve Smoked Too Much” has some lovely “Do Do Doo’s” and the “ooohs” behind the second verse are just perfect.  I also like the way the bridge ratchets up the songs from the early country vibe to a more rocking feel.  Of course, with percussion provided by a shaker egg and tambourine, it’s impressive that they can get as rocking as they do.

The blurb only gives me the name of the lead singer (as the band is his and he says it is “his” album), so for everyone else I have to resort to instruments.  Thus Lead singer/guitarist James Milne and tambourine player have nice beards, but the shaker player has an amazingly thick beard.

“The Beautiful Young Crew” opens with Milne saying he had a morning voice problem and it isn’t as deep as it should be.  But he overcomes that with some nice humming.  The lyrics are amusing: “They love each other, but they hate each other, they’re afraid of each other because they want to screw each other.”   There’s some more lovely harmonies (dah dah dahs).  And then the electric guitarist now plays a gentle trumpet solo (thoughtfully facing away from the microphone).  At the end of the song, Bob thanks him for dropping the spit on the floor.  The trumpeter says it is condensation which makes Bob laugh.  And then the trumpeter delicately wipes it up with a tissue.

Before the third song, Bob asks about the album title, Chant Darling.  Milne says that he was in a covers band called The Chant Darlings.  He likes how it sounds so different in America (in New Zealand ChAHnt DAHrling) in America ChEHnt darlin’ (with a southern accent).

“Apple Pie Bed” has a more conventional structure–very rock and roll.  But the harmonies (ahhs and ahhs and the repeating of the lyrics) elevate everything.

The harmonies on the final song “Like a Fool” are the best yet with multiple parts.  And this song is just Milne on guitar and lead vocals.  But the three other guys really flesh out the song.  I’m curious to hear what these sound like on record–is there more to them?

[READ: May 29, 2015] Wonder Woman: Volume 6: Bones

After reading the Sensation Comics book of Wonder Woman short stories I was intrigued to read this book.  I actually assumed it was Vol. 6 of the same series, but indeed it is not.  This is Volume 6 of another series that I don’t know.  I’m not sure if the previous volumes are different story arcs or not.  The back of the book suggests that this is the end of the series (it collects Wonder Woman 30-35 and Secret Origins 6).  So at least I know how it all ends.

This series was written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Cliff Chiang and Goran Sudzuka.

The previous volumes have set up that Wonder Woman is an Amazonian named Diana.  She is the daughter of Hephaestus.  The Greek gods play a huge part in this story.

They live on Paradise Island, where only women are permitted.  The crux of this story concerns the birth of a baby boy (named Zeke) to, I assume, a human-only mother (there’s some backstory alluded to which I don’t really know). (more…)

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Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman Volume 1 (2015)

Posted in Amanda Deibert, Amy Mebberson, Batman, Cat Staggs, Corinna Bechko, David A. Williams, Dean Haspeil, Ethan Van Sciver, Gabriel Hardman, Gail Simone, Gilbert Hernandez, Ivan Cohen, J. Giels Band, Jason Bischoff, Marcelo do Chiara, Marcus To, Marguerite Sauvage, Neil Kleid, Ollie Masters, Peter Wolf Crier, Rob Williams, Sean E. Williams, Sexism, Superheroes, Tiny Desk Concert, Tom Lyle, Wonder Woman on September 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

wwSOUNDTRACK: PETER WOLF CRIER-Tiny Desk Concert #74 (August 17, 2010).

pwcWhen I saw the name of this band, I assumed it was Peter Wolf, the former lead singer of the J. Giels Band.  But indeed it is not (confusing much?).  Rather, it is a singer named Peter Paisano and his drummer Brian Moen.

They play three songs.  Paisano has a good voice.  But to me the highlight of this show is the drums.  Moen uses this really heavy-looking set of “brushes” that bring a deep resonance to his drums.

“Untitled 101” is short (all the songs are short with no guitar solos).  I like the breakdown when it’s just the drums.  “Saturday Night” he dedicates specifically to Bob Boilen.  It is a bit more dramatic in delivery.  The end has some nice hummed parts, but I find the sounds that Peter makes to be unsettling (more of a grunt than a hum), especially compared to the normal hums of Moen.  “Crutch & Cane” has a bit more of that unusual pronunciation, which I think I find more upsetting than interesting.

This was a short set, but I’m not likely to track down more from them.

[READ: May 26, 2015] Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman

I was never a big fan of Wonder Woman when I was growing up (I was a boy after all).  I never watched the show, really.  As it turns out, I had no idea about Wonder Woman’s origin story, which is totally fascinating (I also don’t know if it was ever introduced in the TV show).  Turns out that Wonder Woman’s real name is Diana.  She was a Princess on the Amazonian island of Paradise.  An island where only women lived.  And, most interestingly, she was made from clay when her mother could not bear a child of her own. Whoa!

So this book is a collection of short stories by different artists with very different styles. (more…)

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Charles M. Schulz–The Complete Peanuts: 1950-1952: The Definitive Collection of Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip masterpiece: Dailies & Sundays (2004)

Posted in Baseball, Be Good Tanyas, Charles Schulz, Comic Strips, David Michaels, Fantagraphics, Figure Skating, Football, Frazey Ford, Funny (ha ha), Garrison Keillor, Peanuts, St. Paul Pioneer Press, The Saturday Evening Post, Tiny Desk Concert on September 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

1950SOUNDTRACK: FRAZEY FORD-Tiny Desk Concert #73 (August 15, 2010).

frzeyFrazey Ford used to be in the Be Good Tanyas.  Here she is touring her debut solo album Obadiah.  She is quite a character, wearing a leopard print outfit.

But her music is really complex and interesting.  On the opener, “Firecracker” she plays the guitar with unusual chord progressions but it’s her voice that is so arresting.  She use atypical phrasings and pronunciations that belie her origins (I could never guess where she was from).  Strangely, I get a kind of Cat Stevens vibe from the way she says words, but also another inexplicable emphasis: the way she pronounces exploding as explohdun.

She talks briefly about her new record while apologizing for having to tune her guitar.  “Lost Together” slower, pretty song.

“If You Gonna Go” is a breakup song which she messes up and then apologizes for, saying she’s nervous and very tired.  And she mocks herself for wearing a ridiculous cheetah outfit.  She says she bought it in London where everyone was dressed like this.  Stephen Thompson chimes in that if it was cooler they’d all be dressed like that.

She asks if they want one more and she ends with “The Gospel Song.”

It’s a really good introduction to an unusual voice.

[READ: September 10, 2015] The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952

After reading the Sunday Peanuts books, I had to go back and start the series from the beginning.  Holy cow, Peanuts started in October 1950 and ran into the 21st century!  That’ amazing.  It’s also amazing to see how different everyone looked back then.  It’s very disconcerting.  The only thing more disconcerting is to immerse yourself in the old comics, start to really appreciate them, and then see a contemporary version and wonder why he changed them so much.

When the strip first started there were just three of them: Good Ol’ Charlie Brown, Shermy and Patty (not Peppermint Patty) and they are all four years old.  Those first comics are really really different–the kids are practically stick figures.  (Although Charlie always had that little wisp of hair).  The kids all have huge heads and tiny bodies and are very minimal in their expressions.  Snoopy is there too and he looks very much like a real dog.  As it turns out I like this version of snoopy better than the current one.  He looks much more like a dog and he acts alike a dog–Schulz gets some great jokes out of doggie behavior.  Things like Snoopy hearing and smelling food and running over to beg started almost from the beginning.  As did they ways that Snoopy interacts and often drives the other characters crazy.

peaWhat’s mostly different about the early ones is that the kids are all mean to each other and CB sometimes wins in the verbal sparring.   He’s as much of a buster as the others.  It’s really fun and funny. (more…)

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Richard Ayoade–Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey (2014)

Posted in Biography, Boom Goes the Neighborhood, Funny (ha ha), Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Hot Sauce II: Afterburn, Inside the Actor's Studio, Interviews, Man to Man with Dean Learner, Richard Ayoade, Submarine, The Double, The IT Crowd, Tiny Desk Concert on September 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ayoade SOUNDTRACK: MAVIS STAPLES-Tiny Desk Concert #72 (August 9, 2010).

mavisMavis Staples is a legend.  She has been singing for decades.  And her voice still sounds amazing.

For this Tiny Desk Concert, it’s just her singing and Rick Holmstrom playing guitar.  Staples sings two songs from her then new album (recorded at Wilco’s studio).  In fact, the first song she sings “Only the Lord Knows” was written by Jeff Tweedy.  It’s a great bluesy number.  And Staples hits notes all over the place–it’s great.

Before the second song, she calls Rick Holmstrom “Pops Jr.” and he says “I wish.”

Next she plays “You’re Not Alone.”  There’s a funny moment after the first verse where she forgets the words–she shouts “don’t tell nobody.”  She says she was busy looking at all the friendly faces and got lost.  But she comes back and knocks the song out.

For a brief encore she does a few verses and a chorus of “I’ll Take You There.”  And you can hear the disappointment in the audience when she sings, “And that’s all for today” after a chorus.  She is happy and claps and does apologize saying “you all will make me hurt myself.”

It’s amazing how good Mavis sounds after all these years, and how she wins over the crowd in an instant.

[READ: July 15, 2015] Ayoade on Ayoade

Richard Ayoade is best known by me as Moss on The It Crowd.  Probably the most frequently asked question by me about him is how the Rhell you say his last name.  The book does not help with that, although online searches reveal eye-oo-WAH-dee to be pretty accurate.

Ayoade cracks me up whenever I see him.  And he even starts the funny before you open the cover of the book.  The cover sticker notes: “Once in every generation, a man writes a book.  This is that book. I am a man.”

I knew that Ayoade had recently released The Double (I read the screenplay), but I wasn’t aware of his previous film, Submarine.  (I have subsequently watched it and enjoyed it very much–it’s an unusually dark comedy about young love).  And these facts, along with maybe one or two others are what I gleaned from this book.  The rest is pure nonsense–a right silly lark, full of Ayoade’s outrageously self-deprecating wit and scathing comments about his own writing, acting and directing skills. (more…)

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Samantha Matthews–That Thing You Do with Your Mouth: The Sexual Autobiogrpahy of Samantah Matthews as told to David Shields (2015)

Posted in David Shields, McSweeney's, Memoirs, Nell Zink, Samantha Matthews, Sex, The Holmes Brothers, Tiny Desk Concert on September 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »

ttydwymSOUNDTRACK: THE HOLMES BROTHERS-Tiny Desk Concert #71 (August 2, 2010).

brosI’ve never heard of The Holmes Brothers.  So I was a little surprised to hear that they have been playing together for 30 years.

The trio consists of Sherman Holmes on bass, Wendell Holmes on guitar and Popsy Dixon on drums (in this case, just a snare and a lot of rim shots).

They play soul music steeped in Baptist hymns, blues and spirituals.  Wendell is a great guitarist, playing effortless solos–playing with the volume and creating interesting effects.  Sherman plays a fun bass with some cool bass lines (although felt he may have been a tad too loud in the mix).  And Dixon keeps the beat–nothing fancy, but he propels the song along and it would never sound as good without him.

They play three songs from their then new album.  Sherman sings lead on “Dark Cloud” while Wendell sings lead on “Pledging My Love” and “Feed My Soul.”  Especially noteworthy on the latter two tracks is Dixon’s falsetto which is really amazing (I thought they had a female backing vocalist hidden somewhere).  In fact, the three of them sound like there might be four or five people in the band.

They put on quite a show.

[READ: August 7, 2015] That Thing You Do with Your Mouth

I often don’t know what McSweeney’s books are about before I read them.  I had a vague inkling that this book was about sex (I’d read that Matthews did voice over for Italian porn), but I didn’t know that this was going to be a kind of biography of Matthews and her history of sexual abuse.

According to the introduction, Matthews told her story to David Shields (author and also Matthews’ cousin) who says that the interview garnered 700 pages worth of material.  Thank goodness he edited it.  I felt this book (which comes in at 113 large print pages) was way too long as it is.

Despite all of the accolades on the cover, Matthews is not a very compelling individual.  It’s strange to read personal incidents from a person that you’ve never heard of or, for that matter, was someone who hadn’t done anything terribly interesting. (more…)

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Grantland Quarterly, Number 12 (2015)

Posted in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alex Pappademas, Amélie Mauresmo, Andrew Sharp, Andy Greenwald, Andy Murray, Anthony David, Baseball, Basketball, Bela Fleck, Bill Simmons, Books about music, Books about writers, Bryan Curtis, Chris Ryan, Chuck Klosterman, Culture Shock, David Shoemaker, Death, Edgar Meyer, Essays, Game of Thrones, Grantland, History, Hockey, Jonah Keri, Jonathan Abrams, Jordan Conn, Katie Baker, Kirk Goldsberry, Kiss, Lana Del Ray, Louie, Louisa Thomas, Mad Men, Mark Harris, Mark Titus, McSweeney's, Molly Lambert, Nostalgia, OutKast, Rany Jazayerli, Rembert Browne, Sam Knight, San Antonio Spurs, Shane Ryan, Soccer, Stanley Cup, Steven Hyden, The Other Woman, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, Wesley Morris, World Cup, Wrestling, Zach Lowe, Zakir Hussain on September 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

grant12SOUNDTRACK: BELA FLECK, EDGAR MEYER, ZAKIR HUSSAIN-Tiny Desk Concert #70 (July 26, 2010).

belaBela Fleck is a rather legendary musician, and yet I realized I don’t really know that much about him.  And somehow I never knew he was a banjo player (that’s a pretty serious omission on my part).  I had never heard of the other two musicians, although they are apparently world-class masters of the bass fiddle and the tabla.

I also didn’t expect this Tiny Desk Concert to be so interestingly world-musicy.

This set is only two songs but each is about 7 minutes long and they are both very cool (and from the album The Melody of Rhythm).

Fleck’s playing is amazing, with a tone that is often unlike a standard banjo sound.  And I absolutely love the tabla–I am fascinated by this instrument.  The first song, “Bubbles” is an amazing demonstration of Fleck’s banjo.  About midway through he is playing in a decidedly middle eastern style (which works great with the tabla).  And when the bass starts getting bowed around 1:50, it adds an amazing richness to this already cool song.   There’s a cool bass solo (I love that the tabla pauses a few times during the solo).  The ending is just wonderful.

Before the second song, “Bahar” (which means “springtime”) they talk about being nervous, which is pretty funny.  This song opens with the bass fiddle’s bowed notes (including a very very high note).  This one seems to be a more solo-centered, with some elaborate work from Fleck after the introduction. And the tabla solo, while brief, is really cool to watch.  I prefer the first song, but the more traditional nature of the second song is a nice counterpart to the first.

[READ: August 24, 2015] Grantland #12

I enjoyed this issue as well.  This was mostly the spring and summer of 2014, which sounds so long ago, and yet so many things seem so current.

CHUCK KLOSTERMAN-“The Life and Times of Kiss”
I love this article about Kiss.  And I wrote about it back here.

WESLEY MORRIS-“Poison Candy”
This is about the disastrous state of female comedies.  It focuses on the movie The Other Woman which is ostensibly a female centered comedy but is entirely other.

BILL SIMMONS-“Sterling’s Fold”
A drumming down of Donald Sterling.  It’s hard for me to believe that this happened over a year ago.

ZACH LOWE-“Building the Brow”
An article about Anthony Davis of the Pelicans, who is proving to be better than anyone imagined. (more…)

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Jeff Bartsch–Two Across (2015)

Posted in Crossword Puzzles, Felicia Day (author), Jeff Bartsch, Johann Sebastian Bach, Smarty Pants, Tiny Desk Concert, Zuill Bailey on September 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

2across  SOUNDTRACK: ZUILL BAILEY-Tiny Desk Concert #63 (June 4, 2010).

baileyZuill Bailey plays a cello.  Well, actually, that’s not right.  The cello he plays is old “very old — but it’s also special, built by the renowned Venetian maker Matteo Goffriller in 1693. That means Johann Sebastian Bach was all of 8 years old when Goffriller slapped on the final layer of shellac.  The instrument is unusually large, with a tawny orange hue, and one of only two Goffrillers which can boast an intricately carved Rosette under the fingerboard [see below].  And its sound? A full, round, burnished tone that pours forth with remarkable volume.”

Bailey plays three pieces from three of Bach’s suites (he had just released an album of six suites).  And they sound amazing.  The first piece is instantly recognizable and sounds incredible on this instrument.

But beyond playing a gorgeous cello, Bailey is a great storyteller.  He describes how when Bach started writing suites for cello, the instrument was considered a church bass–basically a piece of furniture and not something to write gorgeous suites on.  He also says that people have asked him if he has named his cello and he says that he calls it J.Lo. because it is “robust in the bass tones.”

Introducing the second piece he says that the sarabande was banned from polite society because it was considered too slow and sensuous in those times (which is why he’s going to play it now).

bailey2And then he describes the feeling of the sound that comes from that cello–it resonates through the maple in the instrument and vibrates his body. It is clear how much he loves this instrument.

Obviously the pieces are beautiful, but his renditions are really stunning.

J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 1 – “Prelude”

J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 2 – “Sarabande”

J.S. Bach: Solo Cello Suite No. 3 – “Prelude”

[READ: September 13, 2015] Two Across

Sarah brought this book home and loved it.  She thought I’d enjoy it, too.  And why not?  The main character, Stanley, is a crossword puzzle maker (Sarah finished it on the day that puzzler Merle Reagle died, sad to say).  The other main character, Vera, is a math genius who also becomes a puzzle maker.  The fact that I just finished the Felicia Day book in which she (a real person) is a math genius, gave me strange parallels between Felicia and Vera.

If those character traits interest you, there is so much to like about this book.  We first meet Stanley and Vera as they are competing for the national spelling bee in Washington D.C.  They are both certain that they will win (we get alternating perspectives from each of them).  And we see their minds as they hate the other one who is trying to take the title from them.  When the bee ends, they are both rewarded for their efforts.  And they form a strange bond, because they both have a lot in common even though their lives are entirely different.

Stanley lives in a hotel.  His grandfather was a chef there and his father died in WWII, so the hotel has offered them their cheapest (crappiest) suite for the rent of $1 a month. Stanley’s mother never leaves the room… ever.  She had never recovered from Stanley’s father’s death.  The hotel staff is like Stanley’s family, and he is well looked after.  But his mother pushes Stanley very hard, insisting that he go to Harvard.  And Stanley is clearly a genius–he used to memorize the encyclopedia, and he has all kinds of facts at his disposal.  But he is also deeply wounded by never knowing his father.

Vera, on the other hand, is pretty much transient.  Her mother is working her butt off to become an IBM sales rep and so they travel everywhere.  Vera is also a genius, finishing her school work in a few days and then spending the rest of her time reading or doing challenging math.

They are both quite likable, even if neither one has any social skills at all. (more…)

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Felicia Day–You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) (2015)

Posted in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Felicia Day (author), Fredrik, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Geek & Sundry, Joss Whedon, Swedish Music, The Guild, Tiny Desk Concert, World of Warcraft on September 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

felciaiSOUNDTRACK: FREDRIK-Tiny Desk Concert #57 (May 3, 2010).

fredrikFredrik are a Swedish band.  They were a duo, then a sextet and then a duo again.  In this concert, they are in that duo state–Fredrik Hultin on vocals and guitar and Ola Lindfelt on electronics and percussion.

Their then new release was a dark album called Trilogi and was just the two of them.  They play two songs from that album and one form their debut.

“Ner” is quite dark, with the whispery vocals and the minor chord progression.  The simple thudding drum beat also keeps the song somewhat ominous.  Speaking of the drummer, he is using a microphone (into which he later whistles) as a drumstick (he hits the cymbal with it later).  But his main “drumstick” is a maraca.

“Locked in the Basement” is a bit louder but with the same percussion set up.  It maintains that ominousness (just see the title of song).  Although in the middle it quiets down to just a thumping drums and gentle guitar noises with Ola’s backing oohs.

“Black Fur” is a bit more upbeat (in the blurb Robin says it is a soaring song on their debut).  It is stripped down here and it quite catchy–almost upbeat and positive.  It’s quite different from the other two songs. You can hear their recorded version of it (when they were a sextet) here.

I enjoyed these songs, and wonder if Fredrik has continued as a duo in the last five years.

[READ: September 7, 2015] You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) 

Like most geeky folks, I love Felicia Day.  The Guild was an awesome show and her creativity behind it is really masterful.  And she was in Dr Horrible, which is how I found out that she was one of the slayers in the final seasons of Buffy.

So Felicia has the geek cred.  But I didn’t know anything about her.  And I wasn’t sure that I cared all that much.  I mean, Felicia is the bomb but do I need to know how she got to be that way?  Nevertheless, I was curious to see what she would put into this book.

If you’re looking for salacious stories about working on Buffy, you won’t get them.  Aside from an intro by Joss Whedon, there’s very little information about her time on Buffy.  Rather, she talks about her childhood (which is fascinating) and her Guild making days and her post-Guild success.  And there’s a rather dark turn near the end.

But really, this book is all about empowerment (as the title hints at)–all about embracing your inner loves and following what you want to do.  In the book, which is chock full of pictures, she calls these coffee mug moment sand Photoshops her aphorisms onto mugs for our edification.  There’s also a lot of very funny pictures of herself from throughout her life. (more…)

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Kathy Page–“The Last Cut” (The Walrus, September 2015)

Posted in Black Widow, Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Deep Purple, Ford Pier, Frank Bonner, Hibakusha, Kathy Page, Neil Young, Paul McLeod, Rheostatics, Short Story, The Walrus, WKRP in Cincinnati, tagged on September 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

  uberSOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-The Casbah, Hamilton, ON (November 12, 2005).

casbahThis is the first show of their’s that I’ve heard open with a kind of jazzy instrumental.  MPW is playing a jazzy beat on drums and Martin seems to be noodling on mellow chords (or is that Tim?).

And then they kick into a mellow version of “Bad Time to Be Poor” which I feel doesn’t sound quite right.  It may be the recording levels (the quality is crystal clear), but it feels very sharp and not very relaxed.

For “Aliens,” Martin forgot the words a bit.  And when he starts “The Tarleks” Dave interrupts after the first line to say that Frank Bonner (Herb Tarlek from WKRP in Cincinnati) emailed him and said that he’s on an internet soap opera now.  Then they start talking about Green Day (who Martin describes as “chicken little punk”–the sky is falling but I’m drinking bottled water.  But he is mostly upset because instead of holding up lighters people are holding up their fucking cell phones.

Once again the “Song of the Garden” is punky–fast and fun.  They also have a ton of fun with “Four Little Songs.”  Ford Pier is playing keys again, and his contribution is an old song called “Nanaimo.”  He had asked if they should do “Mustang Sally” and Dave said that if they play that it will automatically be the worst gig ever.  And they throw in the (I believe intentionally) worst rendition of “Smoke on the Water” I’ve ever heard.  Later on, Martin throws in the riff from “Hey Hey My My” into “Feed Yourself” and as that song ends he starts singing the Neil Young song, but he’s got the words all wrong too.  It’s pretty funny, especially when he sings “It’s better to burn out than it is to fuck up.”

“Power Ballad for Ozzy Osbourne” has a lengthy intro about Billy Joe Rent–I have to wonder if this and the middle part of “Feed Yourself” about the dead body are impromptu things Dave makes up and then maybe sticks with.

“Satan is the Whistler” i sloppy but good.  Until they get to the fast section which totally falls apart.  Then they count off 1,2 ,3 4 and speed through it much better.

Martin talks about his CBC movie Black Widow, which I’d love to see.  Is it available for viewing anywhere?

Paul McLeod (his band Hibakusha opened, I believe) sings a great version of “Jesus was Once a Teenager Too.”  They follow it with a great version of “Stolen Car” (with some amazing backing vocals in the “marijuana” section.

In the previous show, “Try to Praise his Mutilated World” was amazing, but this one falls a little flat I’m afraid.  But it is all made up for by the hilarious synth “Record Body Count, Now!” done to the tune of “Everybody Dance Now.”

As the show comes to an end they play “Legal Age Life” and someone shouts “Take it, Ford,” and he seems stunned and then plays an incredibly lame (again, I believe intentionally) solo.

It’s a sloppy but fun show and comes up to their multi-night run at the Horseshoe.

[READ: September 10, 2015] “The Last Cut”

This is a very short story and an emotionally draining one at that.

The premise is fairly simple.  Eric, a hairdresser, is happily cutting his new client’s hair.  She is pretty and is willing to try a dramatic new cut, which he believes will really accentuate her looks.  He is mid-way through the cut when he gets a phone call.

It is Mrs. Swenson.  She is Renee’s client, but Renee is out for a couple of days.  Mrs. Swenson says that she needs to have her hair cut tonight.  And then there’s this dramatic line: “His throat and eyes ached. His chest, too. He wished he had found a way to say no to Mrs. Swenson.” (more…)

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Kevin Hardcastle–“Montana Border” (The Walrus, June 2015)

Posted in Bidiniband, Canadian Content, Cheap Trick, Dave Bidini music, Kevin Hardcastle, Rheostatics, Short Story, The Walrus, Violence, tagged on September 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

walrus jun SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Starlight Club, Waterloo, ON (November 5, 2005).

starlightAfter a summer tour, the Rheostatics live site picks up again in November with this, the first of the last few shows the site has until 2007.

This recording was recently added by Soundmann.  The quality is excellent, and the show is fantastic.

It opens with a tremendous version of “Saskatchewan.”  Then Dave throws in some banter about driving through town and that Ottawa Street exit.  He also comments that Kitchener has really let itself go.

We also find out that Martin is getting shocked by his microphone, which will happen periodically.

They play a really fun version of “Me and Stupid” with a rocking ending.  Later the crowd is really into the “Hey hey ho ho” ending of “Polar Bears and Trees.”

It also turns out that Ford Pier is helping out on keyboards tonight (although he seems kind of shy about it).

Tim seems to be having a slightly off night, though.  His vocals on “Marginalized” make him sound a little under the weather, and he is really creaking on “Here Comes the Image.”  And in “P.I.N.” he forgets to play the opening bass note after Martin’s guitar, and they all kind of lose it for a bit.  They seem to be laughing and there’s no words until the second verse.

At the end of “Image” someone in the band asks “Michael” to tell us a story about the end of the world (he doesn’t).

At the end of “Jesus was Once a teenager Too” Martin gets a shock and walks off.  Someone comments that in the past “every time we gave Martin an  electric shock we’d give him a cigarette.”

Despite Tim’s poorer vocals earlier, they sound great for “Claire” and it is one of the best versions of this song ever.

“Stolen Car” is also great (Martin gets shocked again) it’s a long version with a lengthy jammy section and a noodly keyboard solo.  There’s even a really aggressive punky “drive away” section.

“Power Ballad for Ozzy Osbourne” features Tim on drums (!) and Ford on keyboards.

Then they bust into a lengthy version of “Feed Yourself” with Trevor (whoever that is) on lead vocals.  It sounds weird with someone very unlike Dave singing.  But I like when he modifies the line “Like a box a chocolates and a Beatles song. These are the things you can count on” to “Like a box a chocolates and a Rheos song. These are the things you can count on.”  There’s a long jam in this song too. And the end of the song sort of morphs into “Record Body Count” with Martin singing the new song while the old song is still in place.  The band doesn’t really catch up until the 2nd verse.

Before the encore they talk about their upcoming ten night run at the Horseshoe.  But don’t come on Tuesdays since Tuesdays are free the band only gives 65%.  The encore features “This Song Ain’t Any Good” which Bidiniband will record later.  “Self Serve Gas Station also has an interesting jam at the end.

For the last few songs, they play a really punky version of  “Rock Death America”with a verse of Surrender thrown in for good measure.   And they end with “Four Little Songs” Paul McLeod comes out for a little song and winds up singing the Rheos’ old song “Crescent Moon.”

What a great show.

[READ: September 7, 2015] “Montana Border”

I don’t often read stories about fighters, but I find that when I do, I rather like them.

This story was really interesting in its timelessness and almost placelessness.  It could start anywhere, although it ends bear the Montana/Canada border.

Daniel earns his living by beating people up.  He travels from town to town and gets into cage matches.  They are a no holds barred, winner by knockout kind of deal.  And he is really good at it.  He’s not that big, but he is scrappy and he has only lost one fight.  Well, he is 12-1 in official fights but he has won many other, less official ones.

Hardcastle has a great vocabulary for the fights.  I like when Daniel hit his opponent who had “gone down like someone hit the off button and now he lay there limbstretched on the mat.” (more…)

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