SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Le Colisee, Quebec City, QC (November 30, 1996).
This is the same show that the Double Live version of “Saskatchewan” was taken from. It is also the show Dave wrote about in On A Cold Road.
This is also one of only two shows on Rheostatics Live that was recorded in Quebec. Once again, they are opening for The Tragically Hip.
The show opens with some recording in French–no idea what it is–a hockey game?
The “Saskatchewan” is of course beautiful. I love the way it gets really heavy near the end. It’s also fun to hear a different recording of it (you can really hear them chanting “home Caroline, home Caroline.”
Next comes “Fat” one of the few songs they also played in Buffalo. And then after a very brief “Digital Beach” they segue into “Claire.” This version of “Claire” is really pretty on all counts.
As the band introduces themselves: “We are the Rheostatics,” you can hear someone in the audience shout slowly and clearly: “Bad. Time. To. Be. Poor.” Dave asks what’s that man shouting? “Bad. Time. To. Be. Poor.” Martin shouts: “WHAT?” The guy then deliberately shouts: “We came here to see you guys.” I don’t think the band ever heard it, which is a shame as it’s such a nice sentiment and well executed.
The band plays “Four Little Songs” which is always fun live. Afterwards, Martin says, “See four songs in one.”
Don (who is not as chatty as Dave Clark but does talk quite a bit) tells everyone “This next song [Bad Time to Be Poor] is the current single from our new record which you can buy here at the venue.” Dave: “Well said, Donnie.”
The crowd is quite enthusiastic about the band prompting Dave to advise: “Save a bit for The Tragically Hip.”
This version of “Sweet Rich Beautiful Mine” does not feature Tamara Williamson, but it still sounds good. Although toward the end of the song things get kind of staticky which is a bummer. The warpy sound continues for a bit but it clears up near the beginning of “Dope Fiends.” The song is wonderful. At the end, Martin repeats “dark side of the moon” first quietly and then a lengthy falsetto on “moooooooooon.” The guys mutter things during this section: “Pink Floyd,” “Side 2” before launching into the rocking ending. The roaring song ends with a gentle version of the “You Are Very Star” lullaby, possibly the first version on the site. There is whistling and falsetto lyrics as the band whispers good night.
It’s like a complete show in miniature.
[READ: June 21, 2017] “In the Palace of Cats”
This is The Walrus‘ Summer Fiction Issue with new fiction & poetry from 6 writers in total. I won’t be reviewing the poetry, but I’ll be talking about the three short stories.
This story was really fun and weird. It began as one thing, turned into a few other things and then resolved itself all with bizarre turns without ever losing its internal logic.
The story opens as a teen spy caper with Andrew bringing Hillary a message in secret code. The message from Andrew is for Hillary so obviously no code is needed, But they are spies, so everything must be encoded. She goes off to decipher it–using a dictionary and selecting the word just prior to the word that Andrew wrote.
Greetings Math Princess. The Candy Ninja is ready to move.
She was amused/dismayed that even copying words out of the dictionary he spelled one wrong: needeled (for needled).
Hillary has chores to do but The Candy Ninja promises her money (and candy) which she can use to pay off her siblings for doing her work. Everyone agrees.
The caper is that The Candy Ninja’s parents own a motel and, amazingly, sometimes people just leave a few dollars lying around. A new customer has just vacated so they are going to try to score some cash.
Andrew was stealthy and knew ninjitsu, but he also knew that he worked best naked. So he needed camouflage. He gave Hillary a black marker and told her to start coloring his feet. “I’m not doing your doink” she said. He took his penis in hand and colored it with “rather more care.” They both paused to admire his handiwork.
But they ran out of markers half way through the job. Nevertheless Andrew was able to get the key to the room without being spotted. However, on the way back, his brother saw him: “‘Why the hell aren’t you wearing a shirt?’ He did a double take. ‘Why the hell aren’t you wearing any pants?'”
They get to the room which smelled “moist and tangy” and was in horrible disarray. They didn’t find much, although they did drink some instant coffee (and regretted it). They were very dejected and hopped on their bikes.
And then they saw the poster that would change everything! A flier for a missing cat with a generous reward.
They knew they could find him so they set off where the cat was last seen (by the lake). They didn’t find anything at first but then Andrew spotted a doorknob in the ground. And when he opened it, it led to a stairwell. Like a bunker!
And that’s when the story goes topsy-turvy. Because as they walk down the stairs they realize something is wrong. And as they adjust, they are confronted with long hallway with identical rooms.
They test some doors and then find a room that is just full of cats.
To reveal any more is to give away some more of the magic in this story.
When the cat episode ends (no spoilers), Andrew the Candy Ninja, goes in search of money for more candy. He does a surprisingly nasty thing to get it but then feels bad and plans to share his candy. Yes he does, he’s sure he will.
This was a mysterious and delightfully weird story. I really liked it and would definitely read more by this author.
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