SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-3rd Annual Green Sprouts Music Week Show 6–all ages (Ultrasound Showbar, Toronto Ontario September 23 1995).
It has been a while since I’ve listened to a live Rheostatics show. Darrin at Rheostatics Live has added a number of new shows in the last eight months. On the last night of Green Sprouts Music Week, the band played two shows in one day. This first one is all ages, which I kind of think of as a children’s show, but really it means that people under 21 (or whatever the drinking age is) can get in too.
Sixth show of the annual Green Sprouts Music Week held at Ultrasound Showbar September 18-23 1995. This is the all ages afternoon show. Very solid fun show. Of note is Aliens sung by Julia Pietrus and her stuffed chicken followed by Joe Jackson’s I’m The Man sung by Don – actually this to me could be considered the genesis of his band Communism. A couple of nice acoustic in the crowd numbers as well. Near the end the band mentions they were commissioned to perform the GO7 but hadn’t as of yet written a single note for it which is pretty crazy seeing as it would be performed just a month later.
Dave says that at this show they have people aged 6-60. A nice sober crowd–a daunting thing. Martin says “after we play tonight they’re going to tear this place down.” Tim: No.
Martin’s wearing sailor blue for the nautical song “Saskatchewan.” It’s great to hear this. There’s a line in the song about knowing the truth and when the song is over, Dave asks, “what is the truth?” A prescient and profound young person says “I’m the truth.”
Tim tells everyone that this is his first week with picks taped to his stand. Do you put them back or drop them? Dave says you fling them. Tim does and is mocked–you throw like girl. Tim: which isn’t a bad thing.
Then comes three solid versions of “All the Same Eyes.” “Four Little Songs and “Introducing Happiness.”
Dave then calls Julia Pietrus and her stuffed chicken Dale to the stage. Dale has been to all of the shows. Julia is going to sing “Aliens” in Polish. Her mom made her translate it and she’s here tonight to sing it. She’s also in a band called Ow, That’s My Head.
It’s amazing to hear her translate this song and hear how it works and doesn’t work at the same time. But it’s really cool. They they give her a Rheostatics single from 1980.
Then comes some “Old New Wave” as Don Kerr sings “I’m the Man” (it seems like he used to sing this with his old band). It’s really fun.
That song was written by someone we’ll tell you who it was in the next song. They play “Fan Letter to Michael Jackson” but shout JOE! JACKSON! (no relation). Dave starts shouting “One Step Beyond” and then sings the Tuesday night in the discotheque. I can’t dance what the heck, I’m an Uzbeck.
Dave: You kids okay out there? I didn’t know it was gonna get so dark and loud and weird but I think you’re loving it.
People start whistling “You are Very Star” which is pretty cool.
Up next is the “Digital Beach / Earth segue and then they announce they’ll do a few acoustic songs in the audience.
They are in the crowd for a spirited run through of “Take Me in Your Hand” and “Peas & Rice.”
Dave says that they have been commissioned to write 40 minutes of music for the Group of 7 at the National Gallery next month. But we haven’t written a minute of it, yet.
Martin asks him to tell the Neil Young story. Dave says he went to see Neil Young at the Garden during the Ragged Glory days. It really wasn’t very good. They all had Marshall stacks and were trying to be the loudest band in rock. These two folks behind me shouted “acoooooooustic” through the entire show–he never brought the acoustic out.
Martin: the loudest sound I have ever seen was at the first stadium concert I went to about three years ago for Rush. It wasn’t Rush though, it was this guy behind me who was whistling so loud I couldn’t believe it.
Tim: Whistle like this? [puts fingers in his mouth and can’t do it].
Dave: have you done that and tried to say “puck?” Don: The title of the next BNL album is going to be Born on a Pirate Ship. They all crack up.
Martin: We unplugged and we plugged it back in. Replugged?
After a great “Sweet Rich Beautiful Mine,” Dave plugs the Green Sprouts Music Club–people who have written to us and we’ve written back. We’ve met many bands. Like The Inbreds, Farm Fresh and Local Rabbits (in the audience now, playing tonight at the Horseshoe).
They play a lovely version of Tim’s “All in a Row.”
Don: Are there any more Dave Bidini dolls? Sold out!
Dave: When you pull the string, what does it say?
Can I let you off the corner?
I can’t break this 50.
I found a great thrift store.
Can you pick up my dry cleaning for me?
Martin brought art to sell but left them in the back–I declare them for sale. A page from the lyrics from Saskatchewan and the other is a story book. We were going to do Melville part 2 with corresponding songs.
We’ll do one more song and they’ll be available. They end with a great “Fat.” How fun to be done with a concert by 7:30. But it was totally worth it to go at night as well because it’s a very different set.
[READ: February 5, 2021] Cleopatra in Space Book Six
Book five was dramatic and pretty intense. Where do you go from there?
You start on Cada’Duun, the home of the Golden Lion, where a battle with the Xerx has left yet another one of their forces dead. But our heroes are okay and Brian has made Cleo a new crown.
Her old one was an heirloom but it was destroyed. Cleo us touched. They even got the ibis just right (they thought it was a snake). She asks if it does anything–Brian made it after all. Brian is annoyed to be figured out but he is pretty pleased to show of that the lower left side makes her invisible.
They are en route to Thonis, a remote, previously unpopulated planet where they have terraformed a small section to make it habitable. They been bringing refugees from around the Nile galaxy. Luckily, the right side of the crown is a universal translator (thanks Brian). (more…)
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SOUNDTRACK: PICTUREHOUSE-“Sunburst” (1998).
Picturehouse drummer Johnny Boyle was in the Irish Drummers book. I was unfamiliar with them, but apparently they were pretty huge back in the late 1990s (at least in Ireland). Boyle played on this album (Karmarama) and the follow up.
