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Rebecca Watson–“Punchline” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #15] (2022)

December 15, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 15, 2022] “Punchline”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 15. Rebecca Watson, author of little scratch, is wondering if you’ve heard the one about two people who walk into a bar.

I really enjoyed this delightfully odd story of getting to know someone, sort of. 

The narrator, whose name is not Briony, met a man at a her friend Amy’s birthday party.  Their eyes didn’t meet across a crowed room. Rather they met in a mirror.

They didn’t introduce themselves, but they did wind up spending the night together.  The fact that they didn’t know each others’ names was part of the thrill.

The next morning he said he knew her name (were they really drunk enough not to ask each other last night?)  He said it was Bryony (It isn’t).  She replied that it was coincidence how similar their names are since his name was clearly Brian.  he said he would call her Brian, short for Bryony. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Short Story, Christmas, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Hingston & Olsen, Rebecca Watson | Leave a Comment »

On Being an Angel (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022) [THE LEMONHEADS]

December 14, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 14, 2022] On Being an Angel

On Being an Angel are a four-piece from Austin.  Given that they were opening for Lemonheads and Juliana Hatfield, I was expecting a sound that fit in with them.

They were actually a bit heavier and a bit more fuzzy than I would have expected.  And I loved their sound instantly. 

And then singer Paige stepped up to the mic and…we couldn’t hear her at all.  Was it Union Transfer’s fault?  That seemed unlikely.  We were very close to the stage and that can certainly impact how you hear a band, but it seemed like the lead guitar (from Nick) was just cranked up super loud and drowned out everything else.

The guy next to me even typed out on his phone (fix the vocal levels) but no one reacted to that.

Then I saw this comment in a 2019 review of them in Austin: “[On Being an Angel] tore apart the crowd’s broken chatter with a roaring wall of sound. Rumbling electric fuzz nearly drowned out Paige Applin’s faint vocals as the slowcore quartet played.”  The rest of the band sounded great–a big grungy sound that I was really excited to hear on record, too.

But when I listened to the (first) record, the sound was really different–far more mellow, far less noise.  The opener, “Eyes Shut” has a fantastic 90s alt rock sound with a catchy lead guitar riff.  But on record, it’s a quiet folk song with no riff at all.

The newer record (on being a tape vol. 2) has a much heavier sound.–much more satisfying.  Paige’s vocals are also forward in the mix.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Juliana Hatfield, Lemonheads, On Being an Angel, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Foals / Inner Wave / Glove (Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA, December 14, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 14, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 14, 2022] Foals / Inner Wave / Glove

Back in 2008, Foals were a weird indie rock band.  Cryptic, with odd instrumental passages.  By their third album, Holy Fire, they had ditched all of that for huge bombast.  But it was still great, “Inhaler” was my favorite song of the year, getting bigger and bigger until it somehow exploded.

I kind of forgot about them, and then heard that they were releasing a two part epic: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost.

In 2022, they released their most recent album, Life is Yours, recording now as a trio.  I actually hadn’t heard anything from the album.

I had tickets to see the Lemonheads that night.  And I really wanted to see them, so Foals would have to wait until next time.

Although now that I check the setlist, I think that Foals show might have been the better bet.  Maybe.

Inner Wave was going to open for Chicano Batman when I saw them in 2020, but when the show was rescheduled, there was a new opening band.

Inner Wave is a five-piece ensemble, and three of the bandmates – lead vocalist and guitarist Pablo Sotelo, bassist and vocalist Jean Pierre Narvaez, and guitarist and keyboard player Elijah Trujillo – go all the way back to middle school. Some back-in-the-day homies left the band in 2016, and keyboardist Chris Runners and drummer Luis Portillo joined the group. [They are] an indie rock quintet who seamlessly float between psychedelic and synthwave sounds.

I can see them opening for Chicano Batman with their retro sounds and soft vocals.  I don’t exactly see it working with Foals.

Glove opened for A Place to Bury Strangers, a show I did not go to.  Glove is a retro synth band, in the vein of Depeche Mode or New Order.  They’re from Tampa but look like they are straight out of the 80’s UK music scene.

I don’t quite see them opening for Foals either, unless the new Foals music is a lot more synthy.

 

 

 

Posted in Foals, Franklin Music Hall, Glove, Inner Wave, Philadelphia, PA | Leave a Comment »

Ander Monson–“I’ve Thought About Taking Up Another Life” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #14] (2017)

December 14, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 14, 2022] “I’ve Thought About Taking Up Another Life”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 14. Ander Monson, author of The Gnome Stories, will get to the sports pages eventually.

This story had a very strange bookending component.  The narrator, as the title says, would like to start another life.

And so, he (I believe) cites the example of a couple, usually middle-aged, let’s call them Diana and Henry.  They have been married for a while and have two kids.  And then one of them suddenly disappears. Continue Reading »

Posted in Ander Monson, Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Venita Blackburn–“Not a Donut” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #13] (2022)

December 13, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 13, 2022] “Not a Donut”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 13. Venita Blackburn, author of How to Wrestle a Girl, never forgets to like and subscribe.

I enjoyed everything about this story until the end, when it got very real and broke the bubble that the story had created.

Dan Conway’s wife left him and his son Silus. Dan was ordinary but confident.  he was sixty and Silus was an adult as well.  But Silus was diagnosed with high needs on the autism spectrum.  So Dan rarely allowed Silus to be on his own.  Silus rarely spoke more than a few catchphrases (like “Not a Donut”) which Dan knew how to interpret.

Dan had started going to New Light Missionary Baptist church a few months earlier.  It had gotten three and a half stars which was Dan’s sweet spot (he didn’t trust four stars or above, figuring they must be fake, because who could ever perform that well at anything).

After one Sunday, Dan learned that he could leave Silus for the young adult session and the ladies would look after him. 

He seemed to really hit it off with Sis. Wilson.  There’s a wonderful moment where she startles him while he is watching Silus from behind a palm tree. 

“Jesus shit,” yelled Dan. 
Sis. Wilson slapped her thigh, laughing as he began to apologize for the language.  “Jesus wept,” she replied.  

There’s some background on Dan and Silus that really Fleshes out what a good man Dan is.  

There’s also a scene where Dan tries t o get Sis. Wilson to work out at the gym.  It’s during this session that she asks him why he didn’t go to a white church (I’m not sure from context clues if I was supposed to realized the racial implications in the story already).

Later on when Dan tries to scare Sis. Wilson the way she did to him earlier, it does not go well.   And that made me very sad.

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Jasmine Dreame Wagner–“Le Cochon” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #12] (2022)

December 12, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 9, 2022] “Le Cochon”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 12. Jasmine Dreame Wagner, an American writer and interdisciplinary artist, once received a stuffed unicorn from Tim Curry. (This one is true!)

This is a story of exaggerated possible deliberate misunderstanding.

Honey Vienna is an actress.  She is hanging out of a window of a flat in New York City.  She is calling for attention from everyone including her younger sister, Ingrid, whom she literally sent a letter to to come and see her.

In typical fashion she had even called the cops on herself.

She yelled that Lew called her a hack-voiced, freaked-out pig, a mass of psychotic confusion, infantile and heartbreaking. Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Jasmine Dreame Wagner, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Ruby Cowling–“Odam on Till” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #11] (2022)

December 11, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 11, 2022] “Odam on Till”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 11. Ruby Cowling, author of This Paradise, wonders whether you have any smaller bills.

This story is a puzzle from the start.  

Odam is working the till (the cash register) in the store.  He has been promoted from the sweltering kitchen.  He arrived just three months ago, so it’s all a little new to him.

Odam is from someplace else–he doesn’t need food or shelter.  He absorbs nutrients from his surroundings. He wonders if it was a good idea for them to send him here at all–did they know what they were doing?  What about his new physical body? Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Ruby Cowling, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Mathilde Merouani–“Masculine” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #10] (2022)

December 10, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 10, 2022] “Masculine”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 10. Mathilde Merouani, a writer and translator in Paris, never splits infinitives.

This is a very sad story about a girl who has moved  to France with her mother.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Mathilde Merouani, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VII] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 9 & 10, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 9, 2022 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 9 & 10, 2022] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

Somehow I missed that this show happened and only found out about it tonight in 2023.

It was the same dates, Dec 9 and 10, although on Fri and Sat.  Pat Finnerty opened both nights.

I have no idea how I missed it so completely.

There’s some clips on you tube from these shows.  Here’s one

~~~~

In 2015, Timothy Showalter played his first Strand of Oaks Winter Classic at Boot and Saddle.

Every year since then he has played two to four shows around Christmas time to a small but rabid fan base.  Obviously he didn’t pay one in 2020.  And now Boot & Saddle is closed

I have been to three of these fun winter events.

When he announced December shows at Johnny Brenda’s, it just didn’t occur to me that these would be Winter Classic shows.  I’m not sure why it would have made a difference, but had I realized, I would have gotten a ticket before they sold out.  Even S said, you love those, I can’t believe you didn’t go.

When I’m looking for it now I see that it was clearly stated that this was a Winter Classic, but I guess I was looking in the wrong places. Continue Reading »

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks | Leave a Comment »

Diane Schoemperlen–“Night Flight” [The 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar #9] (1999)

December 9, 2022 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 9, 2022] “Night Flight”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my fifth time reading the Calendar.  I didn’t know about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh), but each year since has been very enjoyable.  Here’s what they say this year

Like we always do at this time: the Short Story Advent Calendar is back for 2022. We had such a great time last year working with our first-ever guest editor, the one and only Alberto Manguel. This year, however, we’re bringing things back to basics. No overarching theme or format, just 25 top-class short stories, selected in-house, by some of the best writers in North America and beyond. It’s December 9. Diane Schoemperlen, author of Forms of Devotion, remembers not to pit stop at the Lake of Indifference.

This story is accompanied by collages that go with the story.

It is told in eight parts (with eight pictures).  I wonder if you could see the pictures in a larger (and color) format if they would be more impactful. 

I didn’t really get a lot out of this story, but I feel like the author is right in this comment about her story:

A curious combination of text and image that meanders and circles back on itself again and again with repeated motifs including knitting, maps, New York City, patience, fortitude, and darkness. I like to think that each reading of the story will reveal something new as the words and the collages intersect and intertwine on various levels.

In part two she takes a night flight to New York City.  Part three discusses the New York Public Library.

Parts four and five discuss maps.  As with many stories that I don’t like in total, in parts, I found this wonderful.  Like these lines: “Maps are so noncommittal.  This can either be infuriating or liberating.”

And

“Think of everything that you have ever lost, by accident or on purpose…. They are still back there somewhere, like  trail of bread crumbs stretched out behind each and every one of us.”

But the ending is just not an ending.  

Posted in Canadian Content, Christmas, Diane Schoemperlen, Hingston & Olsen, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

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