[DID NOT ATTEND: December 8, 2022] Autumn Defense / Nels Cline Duo / Eucademix
When this show was first announced, I grabbed a ticket immediately.
Two of my favorite members of Wilco are Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche.
So to be able to see them do their work solo was incredible.
Then all of a sudden, when I looked at the show poster it looked like this —>
instead of the one at the bottom of the post.
Where was Glenn?
There was no word or information. A day or so before the show I discovered that Glenn had hurt his arm (or something) and wasn’t going to be there. Continue Reading »
[READ: December 8, 2020] “Parnassus on Wheels” [excerpt]
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 8. Christopher Morley, author of The Haunted Bookshop and Parnassus on Wheels (from which this story is drawn), died in 1957 and was unavailable for comment.
As I started this story I thought, why do people write stories in an old-fashioned dialect? It seems weird and out of character with contemporary writers. I didn’t realize until a bit of the way through the story that was, indeed, an old story (over 100 years old!).
It is also an excerpt from what I expect is a long book, so it was frustrating to have it build up and then just end. However, it does end in a strangely satisfying way as well. Continue Reading »
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 7. To officially kick off the 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar, here is a story about faith and carbs from the author of The Prince of Mournful Thoughts.
This story had interesting components but overall I felt uncomfortable about it. Continue Reading »
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 6. To officially kick off the 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar, here is a story about faith and carbs from the author of The Prince of Mournful Thoughts.
I really like this kind of story that seems very grounded in reality but which ha a kind of fantastical element.
Essentially the narrator of the story is a wet nurse. She has been the wet nurse for every baby in the King’s castle for decades. Continue Reading »
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 5. To officially kick off the 2022 Short Story Advent Calendar, here is a story about faith and carbs from the author of The Prince of Mournful Thoughts.
I really enjoyed this story of familial conflict. The conflict is between two sisters. One who has done everything correctly and one, Nikki, who, has been digging a hole for herself her whole life.
Nikki has come to live with the narrator. She has also stopped drinking (sober for the first time in thirty years). But the narrator is not perfect either (far from it). She is divorced and her daughter is not talking to her.
The narrator, Sisi, is, to be blunt, really uptight.
They’ve even got the CN Tower decorated with ridiculous multi-coloured lights now, and every night they shine as a beacon for degenerates and deadbeats.
[DID NOT ATTEND: December 4, 2022] Bit Brigade / Standards
I saw Bit Brigade in 2018 and really enjoyed the show. The premise of their live show is terrific.
The band plays the soundtrack to a video game while their resident gamer plays the game. The band is heavy and the sound is amazing.
I can’t believe they were here in May and are back now in December and I didn’t get to go to either show.
For this show they were playing MegaMan II and Ducktails, two games I don’t know at all, so maybe that had some impact on my decision.
Standards opened the set. Once again, I had not heard of the opening band for a Bit Brigade show. But once again, they picked wisely. Broadway World (!!!) has this succinct review of their music
Led by ebullient guitarist Marcos Mena, the pair boast a fruitful combination of musical chops and catchy guitar-driven melodies which has garnished popularity among fans who laud standards for their uniquely danceable brand of complex instrumental rock. For almost five years, their instrumental compositions have captivated audiences all over the world.
I need to reiterate this one part: uniquely danceable brand of complex instrumental rock.
It’s a spot on description. The guitar is kind of showoffy intense and complicated, but never obnoxious and the light touches of synth and almost chiptune, make the songs really delightful and bright–almost like a video game is scrolling past.
[DID NOT ATTEND: May 14, 2022] The Dead Milkmen / MC Lars / Gibbous Moon
I wrote this opening for a concert in May.
I’ve been a fan of The Dead Milkmen’s bratty brand of punk for years–probably since 1988. I’ve never seen them live.
They sort of, but not really, broke up and then reunited and so on. I didn’t really think I’ve ever get to see them, but they announced this short run of local shows and I thought, YES! I will finally get to see them.
They seem to be popping up here and there doing shows in the area. This one at Ardmore Music Hall actually sold out before I could get a ticket (I wasn’t sure if I was free that night). So good for them.
Having watched a few videos, I’m not sure I want to see them in Philly–I feel like the local crowd is a little too drunk and rambunctious for my liking. Although the band probably eats that up.
I’d never heard of Those Troublemakers. They are an old-school Philly punk band that plays short fast songs about silly subjects.
Here’s a review of this very show from That Music Mag with a description of the opening band
To start, Those Troublemakers tore open the sky and thrashed so hard. The band, consisting of Ashley “Butters” Heitzman (Bass and vocals.), Evan Abramson (Guitar and vocals.) and William F. Orender (Drums) set a fast and fun pace for the rest of the night as they opened the show. With songs from their Beach Bod, Runnin High, and Your Problem LPs, if you weren’t a fan before you got to Ardmore, you were when you left.
And here’s what they said about the Milkmen
Whether you were a diehard lifelong fan or simply a casual listener, there was something for everyone to latch onto and make a memory from in their setlist. With Dean’s Dream to start the show, the band rolled along through a menagerie of their hits, one by one. From Bitchin’ Camaro and Welcome to Undertown to Punk Rock Girl, the audience slowly and organically began to be enchanted back to a place of reckless abandon. More and more, the audience would be wound up a bit more, move a bit more intently, and sing a bit louder until, like a powder keg erupting, the dank, humid walls of the Ardmore Music Hall would erupt with the energy of a full-blown mosh pit formed on the floor. People were jumping, screaming lyrics & bodies cackling with glee while being tossed about the room. Now, here in that moment, we were undeniably at a punk rock show. A real granular Philly punk rock show.
The band would go on to cover The Cramps’ “Human Fly,” and Rodney would even grace us with his editorial commentary on Nazi lives. (And how they do not, in fact, matter.) The Milkmen would finish with an encore of a few more notable hits like“Smokin’ Banana Peels,” “Big Time Operator,” and the reprise from the earlier-played “Life is Shit.”
Yea, I should probably go next time.
Here’s a couple of videos of The Dead Milkmen’s recent(ish) shows
I have been a fan of Stars since about 2004. I have wanted to see them for a really long time. I thought I’d be able to see them last year on their Christmas Together Tour. It was at LPR in New York (which is just too much of a pain to get to) and at World Cafe Live. But it happened to be on the same night as our holiday party, so I couldn’t swing it. I never guessed they’d do another one. So this year I made sure to get tickets and schedule our party around this show.
The show came around and it was cold and I didn’t really feel like going out, but oh I wanted to see them. So I drove out to Philly.
Turned out there was a wedding in the Fillmore main floor so parking was free (yes!). I even wound up talking to some nice people around me and we had an enjoyable time waiting for the band. There was a little girl (maybe ten) who was bouncing with excitement over seeing Amy Millan. She couldn’t wait to meet her and get her autograph. I was so curious about this! How did this little girl get excited about this (relatively) obscure band from Montreal that sings about relationships and breakups? (I’ll never know). Continue Reading »
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 4. Please enjoy this interview (from Fail Better) with Steven Millhauser, author of Martin Dressler, responsibly..
I have read a lot of stories by Millhuaser, although I had not read this one before. I tend to like his stories although I have noticed that sometimes there’s something about them that really sticks out for better or worse).
This one didn’t really have a component like that exactly. It was just so singularly fascinating as to make me wonder what made him think of it.
So the guide tour of the title is a tour of the route that the children of Hamelin took when the pied piper came back to get them–after the adults of Hamelin refused to pay him for ridding the town of the rats. Continue Reading »
[ATTENDED: December 3, 2022] Lydia Persaud & Christine Bougie
I have been a fan of Stars since about 2004. I have wanted to see them for a really long time. I thought I’d be able to see them last year on their Christmas Together Tour. It was at LPR in New York (which is just too much of a pain to get to) and at World Cafe Live. But it happened to be on the same night as our holiday party, so I couldn’t swing it. I never guessed they’d do another one. So this year I made sure to get tickets and schedule our party around this show.
I didn’t know who would be opening. Technically, the opening act was just Lydia Persaud, but since it was just Lydia and her guitarist Christine Bougie, (and I’d never heard of either before) I’m listing them both here.
Lydia was speaking for herself, but I believe that they both play together in a lot of things. Lydia has been a member of The Soul Motivators, The O’Pears and Dwayne Gretzky and she and Christine are part of the the Queer Songbook Orchestra.
When this show was first announced, I grabbed a ticket immediately.
I Just Read About That... 