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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic VI] / Pat Finnerty (Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA, December 9 & 10, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 9, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 9 & 10, 2021] Strand of Oaks / Pat Finnerty

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, Full show video, Johnny Brenda's, Pat Finnerty, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks | Leave a Comment »

Mia Couto–“The Marine House” [Mozambique] (translated by David Brookshaw) [The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar #9] (1997/translation 2021[that’s what it says])

December 9, 2021 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:  hiatus

[READ: December 9, 2021] “The Marine House”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar.  The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories.

As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check this link where editor Alberto Manguel is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

This is the story of a young person being enamored with an old hermit named Tiane Kumadzi.

The narrator’s parents said to avoid this strange man, but the narrator loved that Tiane saw signs from the world beyond.

One day Grandad Tiane tossed the narrator a piece of wood–it’s what he’d been looking for, he said.  The narrator started looking for more wood and son enough Tiane built a boat==a boat that could walk on water.

The villagers were horrified by this abomination and decided to set fire to it.

The fire seemed to make the villagers drunk–was the wood covered in poison?  And when the smoke cleared, the boat was still intact.

Posted in Alberto Manguel, Canadian Content, Christmas, David Brookshaw, Hingston & Olsen, Mia Couto, Mozambique, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Cirque Dreams: Holidaze (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, December 8, 2021)

December 8, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[ATTENDED: December 9, 2021] Cirque Dreams: Holidaze [moved from December 29, 2020]

My family loves going to Cirques.  We have gone to many and we’ve enjoyed them all.

But we haven’t been to one in a few years, and the kids are older now, so we weren’t sure how much they’d remember about this kind of show.  But we figured they’d enjoy it.

And, it was holiday themed!

The show is about 90 minutes long (with an intermission).  And like most cirques, it features acrobatics: juggling, balancing, strong men, a Cyr wheel, and men and women spinning through the air.

The big difference between this show and other cirques is that there was a lot of singing!

Christmas was not so much the theme as the plot of the show.  Set a the north pole, two people set about going to different stations to collect things for a gift for Santa.  So they would travel from one act to another, watch the performer do his or her thing and then collect an item for the sack.  A tenuous story, but you don’t really need a narrative for a show like this (although it is fun to have one).

The acts were fun–a guy who balanced on a cylinder on its side (after adding more and more things to it–it was quite impressive and his feigned fear was very effective).  He then juggled as well.  There was another juggler who bounced the balls off of boards to creative a very cool visual effect. Continue Reading »

Posted in Acrobats, Cirque Dreams, New Brunswick, NJ, State Theatre | Leave a Comment »

Stars: The Together Tour / Lloyd Cole / Shamir (Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY, December 8 & 9, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 8, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 8 & 9, 2021] Stars / Shamir [was Lloyd Cole]

Back in the early 2000s Stars was one of my favorite bands.  They write clever, thoughtful pop with gorgeous harmonies from Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan.

Stars doesn’t come around all that often and I really wanted to see this tour.  When I heard that Lloyd Cole was opening, my mind was blown.  I didn’t Lloyd Cole was till making music–that’s pretty cool.

These shows were at Le Poisson Rouge which I learned last time I Went there, is a super duper pain in the ass for me to get to.  And these shows were midweek.  I just don’t know how I would have managed it.  So when they announced that they were going to play World Cafe in Philly, well that made everything all better.

It also transpired that Lloyd Cole had to cancel at the last minute.  He was replaced by Shamir, another artist I would love to see live.  But it just hasn’t happened yet.

So Stars, please don’t be gone for too long, I’d love to see you.  (Especially since your set was 24 songs!)

 

 

Posted in Le Poisson Rouge, Lloyd Cole, New York City, Shamir, Stars | Leave a Comment »

Liliana Heker–“The Night of the Comet” [Argentina] (translated by Alberto Manguel) [The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar #8] (2001/translation 1997 [that’s what it says])

December 8, 2021 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:  hiatus

[READ: December 8, 2021] “The Night of the Comet”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar.  The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories.

As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check this link where editor Alberto Manguel is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

Somehow it feels cheating that Manguel is the translator of this story (although it does suggest that he really likes the story).

Not much happens on the night of the comet.  There is talk about the comet before its arrival (a man plunged to his death to avoid its arrival).

Everyone talked about it.  Some people said they’d seen it (like a scarf made of light).

The newspapers predicted fabulous things–it would pass so close to earth!  It would be the size of a small melon.  It would cover seventy percent of the visible sky. Continue Reading »

Posted in Alberto Manguel, Canadian Content, Christmas, Comets, Hingston & Olsen, Liliana Heker, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

100 gecs / Tony Velour (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, November 7 & 8, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 7, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 7 & 8, 2021] 100 gecs / Tony Velour

My son played us “Stupid Horse” a while ago and I thought it was crazy–funny, catchy, irritating–a perfectly weird pop song.  When they announced a tour, I asked him if he wanted to go and he laughed and said no.

I looked up a concert review to see what their show was like and people said they played their entire catalog, which was like 30 minutes.  And that was it.

Crazy.

I wasn’t going to go either, but the idea of the show makes me smile.  (Turns out they played for 50 minutes at this show).

Tony Velour is a rapper I’ve never heard of.  Apparently he has partnered with the gecs for something or other.

 

Posted in 100 gecs, Philadelphia, PA, Tony Velour, Union Transfer | Leave a Comment »

Amos Tutuola–“The Complete Gentleman” (Nigeria) [The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar #7] (1952)

December 7, 2021 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:  hiatus

[READ: December 7, 2021] “The Complete Gentleman”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar.  The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories.

As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check this link where editor Alberto Manguel is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

Manguel has this to say about Amos Tutuola:

He was educated in an English school but never quite abandoned his native Yoruba. Instead, he began to write stories and novels drawn from the collective imagination of his people in an English that is certainly not that of English schoolbooks, but is enriched by strange turns of phrase and an idiosyncratic grammar and spelling that the reader can follow easily.

That’s pretty interesting.

As is this story which is, indeed, pretty unusual.

Each small section has a heading which outlines the action.  First we meet the “complete” gentleman.  He was perfect in every way.  So much so that a woman decided to follow him. Continue Reading »

Posted in Alberto Manguel, Amos Tutuola, Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Huh?, Magic, Nigeria, Short Story, Supernatural, Superstitions, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Ray Bradbury–“The Fire Balloons” (United States) [The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar #6] (1951)

December 6, 2021 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:  hiatus

[READ: December 6, 2021] “The Fire Balloons”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar.  The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories.

As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check this link where editor Alberto Manguel is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

I haven’t read very much by Ray Bradbury.  In the past it was because I kind of dismissed him as a genre writer.  But I have read a few things in the last few years that I liked and thought I should give him more of my time.

This story is from The Martian Chronicles, which I have not read.  I actually don’t really know much about the Chronicles at all.

This story is set in 2033.  Two priests are headed to Mars as missionaries.  Father Peregrine and Father Stone spoke about the Martians and the kind of sins they would find among them.  Mars was so different, no doubt sin was like a virtue.  Continue Reading »

Posted in Alberto Manguel, Canadian Content, Christmas, Hingston & Olsen, Mars, Ray Bradbury, Religion, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar | Leave a Comment »

Homer–“Ulysses and the Cyclops” [Greece] (translator Alexander Pope) [The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar #5] (8th century B.C,/translated 1725)

December 5, 2021 by Paul Debraski

SOUNDTRACK:  hiatus

[READ: December 5, 2021] “Ulysses and the Cyclops”

This year, S. ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my seventh time reading the Calendar.  The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individually bound short stories.

As always, each story is a surprise, so you won’t know what you’re getting until you crack the seal every morning starting December 1. Once you’ve read that day’s story, check this link where editor Alberto Manguel is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

Obviously Homer is a classic–the classic–poet.  But it seemed an odd choice to pick Homer (from B.C. days) when surely there was a more recent Greek writer who deserved some attention.

I’ve read The Odyssey at least three times.  However, I’ve never read it in verse form.   And I found this form to be very challenging.  I was certainly glad I knew the story already. Continue Reading »

Posted in Alberto Manguel, Alexander Pope, Canadian Content, Christmas, Cyclops, Death, Greece, Hingston & Olsen, Homer, Sheep, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Violence | Leave a Comment »

Loudon Wainwright III / Deni Bonet (Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA, December 4 & Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, December 5, 2021) [DID NOT ATTEND]

December 4, 2021 by Paul Debraski

[DID NOT ATTEND: December 4 & 5, 2021] Loudon Wainwright III / Deni Bonet

Loudon Wainwright III has been playing pretty and also pretty funny music for decades.  I discovered him about fifteen years ago and quickly became a fan of his work.

His newer material deals more with old age than his earlier stuff but it’s still enjoyable.  I’m sure he would play songs from throughout his career.

I’ve been aware of Loudon Wainwright playing the Sellersville Theatre for a long time (like two years).  I’ve wanted to see him for a while now, but Sellersville Theatre is a real hassle to get to.  When I saw that he was also playing in Red Bank, I thought that I might go to that show instead.  And that something came up and I never got there either.

I’m under the impression that he tours a lot (when he’s not acting) so I’m sure I’ll be able to see him again.  I hope so (maybe a little closer to me).

Deni Bonet is a pop/rock singer/songwriter and classically trained violinist who has recorded and performed with R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan, Cyndi Lauper, Scissor Sisters, and Warren Zevon among many others.

I’m not sure if she played in Red Bank as well, since there was no opening band listed.  But I’ll assume so.

Posted in Count Basie Theatre, Deni Bonet, Loudon Wainwright III, Red Bank, NJ, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA | Leave a Comment »

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